I took my AR build to get the BUIS and Scope sighted in yesterday, and was reminded…again… why I hate shooting Irons.
I am extremely near sighted. Without my contacts, in order for me to see anything focused has to be within 9" in front of my face.
All I have for a rear sight reference is a very, very, vague haze. I have no way to tell if I am centered in the rear aperture.
I know that consistent cheek weld, and repetition are 90%, but that last 10% needing a rear reference is killing me.
I was half tempted to move the rear sight forward about a foot on the rail. Even pistol shooting I barely get a clear enough rear sight reference to stay consistent. Thank the gods for the 3 dot.
So how do those of you with really bad corrected vision (near sighted) compensate with irons?
And AK rear sights are more like in the middle. So my theory of moving the rear sight forward may have merit. Can’t wait for the flak to arrive after posting pics of that.
The best answer I can give is practice.
Also I shoot best with smaller apeture.
Do you get a lot of eye floaters?
I find mine are less annoying with diet and excersize.
I have more of a problem with eye strain and protein deposits after long days. Makes it sort of like looking through saran wrap
No, I’m a freak. I have daily disposables. I have been wearing the same pair, 24/7 for 9 months now. Been doing that since '89 (disposables were not available then). Much to my optometrist’s irritation, she can find no signs of damage, and to her “They look like they have only been in for maybe a week”. The last time I ordered my 6 month supply was in 2007. I still have 8 pairs left.
Back on topic, I wonder if I were to try a second front sight (an HK), remove the center post and use it as a rear.
Oh, and focusing on the front sight for that 100y target…nothing but haze where the target should be. The only reason I got all 5 on paper (8.5x11) was because I was shooting from a seated position, bipod, and arms firmly braced on the bench. I did much better focusing on the target and the fuzzy front sight.
I would be considering refractive surgery if my eyesight were that bad. It’s a life-changer, especially for shooters and people who wear helmets a lot.
A buddy of mine did that when he was in his early 60’s. Completely changed his life! Went from wearing bottle cap lenses to 20/20. right now he competes in trap and long range rifle competitions and say’s it was the best decision he ever made and has made his life so much fuller and exciting again.
it’s supposed to be blurry, not sharp.
i have terrible eyesight as well. to better help you center the front in the rear, use the small rear aperture. it may also help to use a circular hood front sight (open on top) - i find it easier to center naturally than the standard ears. do not get a front HK sight and use it in the rear - the hood is much too large to use as an aperture.
I think the mistake most people make is trying to center the front post in the rear aperture. The advantage to an aperture is you are just supposed to look through it. Your brain will subconsciously get your head to move so your eye is in a position behind the aperture to get the most light through it. This is a precise position, so then all you just have to do is put the front sight on the target.
If you are purposely centering the front sight in the aperture, you might as well have regular open top rear sights. You are not supposed to even really notice the aperture, don’t think, just look through it.
I had horrible vision, but luckily was correctable with toric contacts (for astigmatism). I wasn’t a good candidate for Lasik, so I had lens implants put in. It’s a relatively new thing. The implants are very similar to the ones used for cataract patients. One of the big benefits of this is that if necessary the lenses can be removed and I’m right back to where I was before. Anyway, the point of all this is to say that I do still have some lingering astigmatism, but not as bad as before. I get some blooming on lights, including my Aimpoint dot, but I can still do Ok with it. As far as shooting with irons, I’m Ok, but I really hate regular black sights. I would have a really hard time telling my front sight apart from a black target if that’s what I was shooting at. I got some bright orange hobby paint and painted the front sight post of my AR and it helped quite a bit.
I wear rgp aka hard lenses. Was told I’m 2 high risk for surgery.
Also read you focus on the sights. Gotta focus on the target let the sights fuzz out. I like tritium white stripe front post. Gives me that little extra pop.
Maybe some HK style sights? As ucrt said above, the rear sight isn’t something to look at but a hole to look through. The orange paint isn’t a bad idea but Truglo makes a sight post for an AR that combines a fiber and Tritium. That fiber is BRIGHT and is an easy to see spot.
I’m really, really lucky with my eyesight. I need reading glasses, so I can conduct my life without anything on and only need put on some cheapo dollar store glasses to read. What this also means is that the rear sight is fuzzy and the front sight is clearer, a great help (and finally an advantage to “too short arms”.).
Has your vision changed since you ordered your contacts in 2007?
I asked my doctor about surgery too but was told my eyes were not bad enough. The peep works well for me but the 4 MOA RDS is a no go the 2 MOA works better but still looks like grapes, just smaller ones!
I find that I now can’t really use a peep less that 0.100" and really 0.125" is better. The smaller peeps ghost on me and see overlapping rings… Old eyes… But at 25 yards I can were the target out with the 6450 and the resized peep… Ron
Peep sights still work for me it is the front sight on my pistol that’s tough now. I tried many options before settling for something thanks worked. I could not get the FSP clear only the rear. It was squared away with a wider plain black rear. It makes the FSP pop for me.
I resisted getting NEEDED bifocals for 3+ years (I’m nearsighted). Now that I have them, I’ve discovered I can find my red dot better through the larger aperture, which is a definite improvement.
If you’re 40+, get the eyeballs inspected (the cornea starts to harden after 40, thereby degrading your vision such that bifocals/trifocals aere necessary), and upgrade your specs accordingly - it DOES make a difference!
Tested it last night. Had one of those sheets with 5 targets. At 15 yards shots were touching, at 20 still inside a quarter, and at 30 yards I can’t see a 4 inch target well enough over iron to really test it (but the ACOG was great).
