In my 50's and having troubles seeing out to 200 yards

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Metrocruiser

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Hi all,

I have not been to the range in 3 years now but I went yesterday to zero 3 rifles for my sons. My eyes have degraded quite a bit. I was ok at 100 yards with a 3-9x cheap Weaver that came on the Savage axis II. I took a peep at someone's target at the 200 yards and could not see anything but a blur. Is it my eyes or the scope? Im thinking I am on the border line of using my bare eye at the 100 yard target. I don't like looking through my glasses with a scope. My top of the frame is always interfering with my vision. Maybe I should get some of those glasses the snooker players wear??

We got a Ruger PC and paired it with a Vortex Crossfire 2, I have to look through my glasses otherwise it blows up into a big red blob.

Getting old sucks

I am thinking to get a higher magnification scope, can you suggest a good value scope under $500? I was lucky to get the PCC and the red dot. Wife won't let me get anymore toy accessories.
 
Q
can you see clearly 100/200 with out glasses ? or do you need glasses to see 100/200 ?

Q
Hunting rifles ? what is the farthest you will shoot at game ?

Q
do you shoot with both eyes open ? or one eye ?
 
I have not experienced what you describe. I am 65 - I have worn glasses since I was 12. One quick and easy thing to check is whether or not your scope is focused - most scopes have a lock ring at the rear end to "lock" the eye piece - the eye piece will screw in or out and then gets "locked". As per instructions that would have came with that scope - aim up at sky / clouds / a blank wall - do not want to focus at a "thing" - you want to be looking at infinity. Turn eye piece in or out - take another look - do not stare - after a few seconds, your eye will try to change to accommodate the vision - what you are after is to get the cross hairs to appear as crisp and sharp as you can get them - at the first glance - when looking at infinity. That will get that scope set for your vision at all ranges. May or may not work for the next guy to use it, but that is why it is adjustable.

With practice, you can very much train your brain to accept two different images at the same time - the business of shooting with both eyes open. With scopes, is easier, I found, to start with lower power like 2.5. Then move on to 4. I shot my last elk, it was on the run at about 125 yards, in bush, with a 6 power scope. You will get to the point of looking at what you want to hit - with both eyes open - rifle comes up and the cross hair is super-imposed on the scene - fire when it is all as you want it. It is possible that I close my left eye at the moment of firing - not real sure of that...

I was thinking about your issue of seeing the top of your eyeglasses frame. I suspect that is occurring because you are hunched way down on the rifle stock - so, perhaps try to use higher sandbags - get the rifle up higher - that way your head would be more erect, and should be more looking through the centre part of your lenses, where the best correction will be? That is all just a guess - I was trying to figure out how the glasses frame could be in the way, and the head tipped forward is the only way that I can see that happening? Sort of like when shooting a hard recoiling rifle like a 338 Win Mag or a 375 H&H - want to be sitting more up-right, with your head up - otherwise will pound you pretty good...
 
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I am 54 and have trouble seeing iron sights with the naked eye or wearing eye protection - I have no problems seeing with cheapo scopes though out past 200 yards
 
I have shot with glasses on most of my life. Something is wonky if you have to look past your glasses frame to see through the scope. Your glasses don't fit, or your rifle doesn't fit, or your shooting position is incorrect.
 
55recce said:
The first thing you should do is go to an optometrist and get your eyes checked out properly
Click to expand...

That is my thinking, I had laser surgery on my eyes 20 yrs ago, for cataracts. I would see 2 sets of headlight on the road at night meeting cars , not a great thing.
I used a clip on thing on my glasses when shooting bullseye pistol before eyes where done; it is like a camera lens, you can adjust the size of hole , really works good, but with a scope, I never tried it, red dot maybe.
I need glasses for reading, scopes never had a problem, other than focus off .
PS. Dad could tell which of his cow was coming over the hill close to a mile away when he was in his 80's
 
I have the same issue with the top frame section of my glasses splitting my vision between the top of the lens and looking over the top of the frame.I had to get a separate pair of prescription glasses that had the top part of the frame riding higher above my eye sockets,similar to the old yellow and red Bushnell and Tasco shooting glasses from the late 70's.The nose pads have also been adjusted to allow the frames to ride higher on my face.
 
55recce said:
The first thing you should do is go to an optometrist and get your eyes checked out properly
Click to expand...

This first.

Quit dicking around, and take care of yourself! Cataracts are a simple fix, and vision changes over the years.

Once you get your prescription, price shop hard for the new glasses! They are almost all the same stuff, the markup varies fricking HORRENDOUSLY! Check out Costco, if you are a member, also check out the online sources like Zenni or Eye Buy Direct.

As a point of comparison, I (foolishly) paid over $700 for a pair of glasses at my Optometrist, Zenni was just over $100, for a better set of lenses (they did not develop crazing in under a year), both were progressive bifocals.

Once you have your own vision sorted out, THEN you are in a position to adjust, check, and otherwise judge how the scope is working.
 
What kind of scope? With (or without) parallax adjustment?

Assuming your parallax is OK

https://www.leupold.com/blog/post/how-to-adjust-your-riflescope

EYEPIECE FOCUS:
Focusing the eyepiece ensures the reticle or crosshairs looks clear for your specific eyes. Generally speaking, younger eyes have an easier time focusing. As we get older, our eyes degenerate and don’t focus as easy, which is why most people need reading glasses as they age. Younger shooters usually have a negative adjustment, which means the eyepiece focus is screwed all the way in. Older shooters will generally have a positive setting, so the eyepiece is screwed further out.



The eyepiece focus is located on the eyepiece end of the scope, closest to your eye. There are a few different types, but the two main ones are called “standard” and “fast focus”. With the standard type, the whole eyeshell will twist. The fast focus type has an inner rotating piece that turns the lens while the eyeshell stays in place.
DSC06059.jpg

With the rifle on a stable platform, point the scope towards a bright, solid color background. The brighter the background, the easier it will be to see the reticle. Shoulder the rifle so it’s in your standard shooting position and simply turn the eyepiece focus until the reticle is nice and crisp. The scope is now tuned for you.
Click to expand...
 
I would get:
1) complete check-up at your doctor’s clinic
2) complete eye exam at optometrist

I’ve had many weird eyesight and medical issues over the last 5 years.
The root cause turned out to be a treatable major health issue!!!
 
AlexF said:
I would get:
1) complete check-up at your doctor’s clinic
2) complete eye exam at optometrist

I’ve had many weird eyesight and medical issues over the last 5 years.
The root cause turned out to be a treatable major health issue!!!
Click to expand...

Good tips, do you mind sharing what the treatable issue was that was causing your eyes issues? Diabetes?
 
You require mid range eye glasses for shooting. There are some optometrists who specializes in prescription shooting glasses which are similar to computer screen eyewear.
 
I had to get glasses a couple years ago and have 2 pairs instead of bifocals.
They work great and I agree with others that the eye piece on the scope needs to be individually set for each shooter.
I was doing great until the doctor put me on gabapentin as it messes with my eyes big time for the first couple hours after taking the stuff. To the point where i don't like driving at night much anymore. Didn't hunt much this past season but I didn;t have any troubles with my nikon m3 with side parallax an the generous range on the eye focus ring. I'm also a both eyes open shooter so and the same for irons which I don't trust myself with much past 50 yards these days.

next up is a "real" quality scope with maximum light gathering capabilities and anti glare coatings..... my hunting partner and I agreed this season that true high end optics are starting to make more sense as our eyes age.
 
45ACPKING said:
....

next up is a "real" quality scope with maximum light gathering capabilities and anti glare coatings..... my hunting partner and I agreed this season that true high end optics are starting to make more sense as our eyes age.
Click to expand...

Being able to see and use light is a real thing as we age. I read that young healthy people have iris in their eyes that can open out to 7mm or more. Old fart like me probably 4mm or so. Simple math on the scope or binos - mm of the objective divided by magnification equals mm of the exit pupil. Exit pupil is what is available to go into your eye. So a 10 x 40mm scope - 40 mm divided by 10 power equals exit pupil of 4mm - about all an old guy like me can use. Switching to a 6 x 40 is 40 mm divided by 6 = 6.67 mm - I likely can not use that extra width of exit pupil, but a younger guy could. Hence, a healthy 25 year old might rave about a scope set up as being "so bright", yet us old farts can not see it...
 
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