Shooting with Monovision contact lens arrangement

[Oldfire]

Hi all,

As a new shooter I am trying to work through an aiming issue. I am hoping there are some experienced shooters here that can provide me with some assistance.

I need glasses or contacts for my vision. Greater than 99% of the time I wear my contact lens. With my contacts, I wear my distant lens in my right eye and my left eye has the close up lens. My right eye is my dominant eye.

When I aim with my right eye, the target is generally in focus, but the sights are fuzzy. The opposite is the case with my left eye, clear sights but fuzzy target. With both eyes open, I seem to be ok focusing in on the target using my right eye to aim if I shoot soon upon acquiring the target. The longer I hold the aim to be more accurate, the view starts to be a little less clear.

All shooting has been at an indoor range so far. I have been practicing using each eye with the other open as well as each eye with the opposite eye closed. I am solidly hitting a 10-12" target, but I feel I should have a clearer focus. All shooting has been at about the 20-25' distance.

I have not shot using my normal bi-focal glasses. Both lens on the glasses are the same. I will need to practice with them also since if I am awakened at night, it will be the glasses I put on. Both eyes will be focusing through the same lens in this situation. When I eventually start carrying though, I will be wearing the contacts.

I have not visited my Optometrist since I started shooting.

If anyone has experience working through this, I would appreciate your feedback.

Thank you,

John

[pleasantguywhopacks]

I just finally had laser done. Sacrificing up close (less that 14in) and got the sharpest vision 14in out to infinity. I just use reading glasses for up close work and really its rare I need to get anything closer that 14in. I do have less night vision now but its not terrible and I have slight starbursts in lights. Again nothing compared to what I have gained in day to day vision.

I'm very happy with my results. Had Dr. Schneider Midwest Eye Center do mine. Explained I wanted good shooting vision and what that entails. He got it spot on.

Research it well and make an informed decision.

[BobK]

For near-sighted people who subsequently develop age-related presbyopia, laser surgery is of little help. The primary issue is still the age-related loss of elasticity of the crystalline lens which hinders a person's ability to shift their focus from far back to near. Surgery does nothing to correct this deterioration in the focusing mechanism due to age. Most people by age 60 are not able to focus closer than 1 to 2 meters away. The speedometer on my car is already out of focus if I am looking through the distance portion of my glasses and I am only mid-50's.

My next step in addressing this question is filling a prescription I received with a pair of shooting glasses where the near prescription is on top to see the sights (tuned for that distance) and the far prescription is on the bottom to see the target. You raise your head ever so slightly to shift the focus from sights to target.

[calvin56]

I did just the opposite of the OP. I have a right lens for close work and left lens for distance. I works pretty good. I can see the sights with my right eye and the target with the left.

[mreising]

I had been severely nearsighted (myopia) all of my life, my normal corrective lenses were in the -4.5 to -4.75 range. When I finally needed bifocals about 12 years ago, I had the lasik surgery perfomred and corrected both eyes for proper binocular vision. i use reading glasses when necessary, getting more and more necessary as I near 60. I had the option of getting monovision correction but I still would have needed readers eventually and I prefer to have good binocular vision. Because it is important to maintain good focus on your front sight I would recommend having both eyes corrected to the same vision and just use reading glasses. My shooting glasses for rifle have a +0.5 correction in the right lens with the center moved towards the upper left corner (as viewed while wearing them), thus allowing the sharpest focus on the front sight with a proper cheek weld on the stock. My regular shooting glasses for pistol have no correction, but I am contemplating having a +1.0 added to the right lens but centered. My normal readers are +1.5.

[Oldfire]

Thanks for the feedback so far guys.

I appreciate the varied methods of coping with aging vision. I am 56.

Calvin, Is your right eye your dominant eye also? My optometrist set me up such that my dominant eye (right) is my distant eye. Did your Dr.set you up this way originally or did you request it?

John

[Harlie]

Ain't it a sorry affair, loosing your eyes to age.
I had lazic at age 60, right eye only. Need readers for really close work, but for shooting had a pair of glasses set up for a +175 right eye and plaino left for sight focas. For street and every day, right eye is +1 with a +175 top left corner about dime sized. Again plaino left eye.
Can manage fine with out glasses for every day, night vision improved a bunch, lenses are a light Amber. Can use either set up for shooting at age 73.
With the +175 taget is reasonably clear at any distance. There is no one cure for everyone, but working with the right people you can have something that works for you likely.

[calvin56]

Thanks for the feedback so far guys.

I appreciate the varied methods of coping with aging vision. I am 56.

Calvin, Is your right eye your dominant eye also? My optometrist set me up such that my dominant eye (right) is my distant eye. Did your Dr.set you up this way originally or did you request it?

John

Right handed and right eye dominant. I wear those lenses all the time. The only time I notice a problem is when I'm looking inside the car then look up to a distant road sign. It takes a few seconds before I can see it. I still have issues in dim light, like the difference in shooting a one inch group and shooting six inch groups.