Not sure how many of your students, or colleagues have come across this, but do you have any insight on how to battle [u]presbyopia[/u], myopia, or other degenerative diseases effecting eyesight while employing a firearm?
We realize you’re not a doctor, though you may have a unique vantage point to see countless “older” students in your open enrollment classes. From experience, in IDPA and IPSCA, I use 1.0 magnified safety glasses. In real life, I won’t be able to call timeout to run get my “cheaters”.
Red dots seem to be the answer for a few M4C members, either on the pistol or carbine. Though some also opt for a magnified optic like the Trijicon, S&B, or NF. Are these the only viable answers, or are some sights better than others for diminished eyesight in HD/SD scenarios?
I know this will probably boil down to personal preference on a viable solution, and everybody is different, but we could learn how others have made adjustments, and help us all. Thank you for your time.
If you feel this question is better answered by Larry, Pat or Jason, please redirect.
What I’ve seen the most guys do to help with these issues is;
Pistol - majority use some type of fiber optic sight. Of those, the majority use same color dots on rear sight, different color on front. The best "older’ shooters I’ve shot with in the past 7 years or so have had this setup.
Carbine/rifle - again, majority I encounter with eye issues use some type of magnified optic. I would say true scopes (at least 1 power to varible) are 70% the norm with a red dot/magnifier combo the other 30%. If it were me , I would go for the scope because with the above mentioned eye issues, and certainly with an astigmatism, red dots will sometimes appear as lines or multiple dots (poor shooter’s way of telling he has an astigmatism!) The magnifier will alleviate some of this, but not all.
At this point in your life, two things come into play in my opinion. One , is that you need to be more aware to keep potential targets at distance- where EVERYONE equals out a bit, or YOU have the advantage because of training. Two, depend on experience and a calm head/proper mindset to get an accurate hit out of the gate, as going for speed without the ability to see your sights that fast will put you behind the 8 ball tactically.