Eye fatigue

Denka

Denka

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After shooting for an hour, I get eye fatigue( eyes are blurry). I thought, maybe scope issue, so I tried to readjust it, then I thought eye dominance, but after checking all info on how to see which eye is dominant, end up being right one as always was. Is there anything else can be checked or some advises(practices) to avoid that or at least limit it?
 
the only time i suffer from eye fatigue is when the scope isnt adjusted properly for ocular focus. out side of that its never been a problem, do you shoot one or both eyes open?
 
On my last trip to the range, I really worked to adjust my optic for comfort. The eye relief was good, yet parallax and focus ring needed some fine tuning. After that, I practiced shooting with both eyes open. I found that is way more comfortable and reduced my flinch.

Not sure if it helps you, thought I would share.
 
I experience this as well from time to time. I find it is worse when there is sun and mirage as my eye is straining to see through the conditions. I find if I take a few seconds to look away from the rifle or close my eyes for a couple of seconds they are refreshed. I assumed this happened to most shooters ... maybe not I guess.

I use Sightron SIIIs and adjust for parallax but it still happens.
 
If you can shoot both eyes open it helps. A few other tricks that can help is don't keep your eye closed and look through the scope for long periods. Take breaks, open it between shots. Also try not to really squeeze your eye shut, just close it enough so it is closed, but not tensed. I know some people really seem to force their eyes shut, which can really put a strain on the muscles.
Another thing i used to do while surveying and looking through lenses for much of the day is to switch eyes. If you hunt you never know when you will need to shoot left handed to clear an obstacle or if in a stand location set up for someone left handed, so take a few shots to practise your off hand once in a while to balance it out.
Beyond that, just try to relax as much as possible, the more you tense up and strain the harder it will be on you.
 
Good points, dand...gotta try what you've added. I have shot with both eyes open, but mostly with one. I do notice the difference (less strain) when I keep 'em both open, but I'm a bit faster to focus on target when I shoot with one.

Another thing that I want to try is to make my left shooting glasses lens opaque. This will allow me to keep both eyes open, but simulate shooting with one. I don't know how this will play out in the long run with regards to eye-fatigue, but I will give it a shot.
 
Lubrication is something that people forget. Stay hydrated. I shoot target rifle with iron sights. It is a little different because you need to focus or change your focus between the rear sight, front sight the front level and target during your shot sequence each time you fire. Stay too long in the sight picture also put a lot of strain on the eyes.
 
maynard said:
Lubrication is something that people forget. Stay hydrated. I shoot target rifle with iron sights. It is a little different because you need to focus or change your focus between the rear sight, front sight the front level and target during your shot sequence each time you fire. Stay too long in the sight picture also put a lot of strain on the eyes.
Click to expand...

Exactly...I notice that when I stare at a target too long through my scope, my eyes (well, my right eye) begin to "lose focus." I hope that this is just a newbie condition and that after a few seasons of dedicated shooting, and concentrating on proper precision shooting technique, my eyes will develop that bit of extra strength that is so tremendously required. If that sounds retarded, I appologize in advance...
 
strider007 said:
Exactly...I notice that when I stare at a target too long through my scope, my eyes (well, my right eye) begin to "lose focus." I hope that this is just a newbie condition and that after a few seasons of dedicated shooting, and concentrating on proper precision shooting technique, my eyes will develop that bit of extra strength that is so tremendously required. If that sounds retarded, I appologize in advance...
Click to expand...

I have found that it's not so much a matter of your eyes devolping more strength, but more your brain learning not to really focus with intent untill you're ready.
The only way i can describe it is like you're focusing on nothing but just happen to be looking through your scope and almost find your target with peripheral vision, then you focus intently when you're on your target and fine tuning where you want to shoot, or maybe like 70% focus to find target so you're not at maximum strain and only then going to 100% when you're just about to fire.
 
I too have a similar issue, if I have an eye completely closed for too long I can lose the reticle all together.
Some great advise already....what works for me is to keep both eyes open and try to be completely relaxed and don't focus too hard or you will go cross-eyed.
As I start to prep the trigger, I will only close my non shooting eye enough to increase the dominance on my shooting eye which will bring everything in to a crisp focus.
You can dry fire this one as it still takes a bit of practice, but will also help in overall relaxation.
 
dand883 said:
If you can shoot both eyes open it helps. A few other tricks that can help is don't keep your eye closed and look through the scope for long periods. Take breaks, open it between shots. Also try not to really squeeze your eye shut, just close it enough so it is closed, but not tensed. I know some people really seem to force their eyes shut, which can really put a strain on the muscles.
Another thing i used to do while surveying and looking through lenses for much of the day is to switch eyes. If you hunt you never know when you will need to shoot left handed to clear an obstacle or if in a stand location set up for someone left handed, so take a few shots to practise your off hand once in a while to balance it out.
Beyond that, just try to relax as much as possible, the more you tense up and strain the harder it will be on you.
Click to expand...

Thanks Dand, super appreciate these tips.

FWIW, I knew someone that although he normally wears glasses, he would take them off while shooting. Complained of headaches after an hour on the range. It was suggested that the glasses stayed on and the problem went away. Seems obvious, just got lost in the details.
 
I get eye fatigue too. I've learned to relax my eyes. Shoot based on what I see. Don't try to focus your eye into seeing the target better. When using a scope, focus the scope and not your eye. When shooting with mirage, don't try to eliminate it by super eye effort. It's a funny thing, but you can actually tire your eyes out trying to see what isn't there, or trying not to see what may be there. (anyone hunting deer at dusk when a doe comes out will know what I mean; I practically try to will a doe into growing horns on the spot sometimes I look for horns soooo hard!)

With Irons, it's a whole other thing entirely. I try not to looks around me up close. I continue to look down range between shots to keep my eye focused for long range. Sometimes I have to stop and blink a few times and 'rest' the eyes a bit.

I've also been told that holding your breath is bad for your eyesight. That when the brain is starved of oxygen for 5 seconds, eyesight can start to be affected. Something else to think about.

Hydration is good too. I have been known to use a couple drops of visine on sunday mornings...
 
I get blurry vision in the eye I close after amwhile, but my right eye stays good. I'm not sure why, but I get the same thing happening when I am out taking lots of pictures too. It goes back to normal after a half hour or so.
Kristian
 
Some amount of eye fatigue is unavoidable. Snipers have complained about seeing crosshairs all the time because the image was burned into the eye for quite a while.

The trick to setting the ocular focus is to look only briefly through the eye piece and observe the focus then look away at something far away while making the adjustment. Then look again, just briefly.

The idea is to set the scope so the eye does not need to work to overcome the out of focus setting on the scope.

Since you have eye strain you can be certain the current setting is not right for you, so you can make your move incrementally over a period of weeks or months until you are comfortable..
 
Denka said:
After shooting for an hour, I get eye fatigue( eyes are blurry). I thought, maybe scope issue, so I tried to readjust it, then I thought eye dominance, but after checking all info on how to see which eye is dominant, end up being right one as always was. Is there anything else can be checked or some advises(practices) to avoid that or at least limit it?
Click to expand...

Train yourself to shoot with both eyes open. Helps me quite a bit.
 
Likely the eyepiece focus is not set up properly so your eye is trying to adjust for the image and reticle which is not on the same focus plane.

Just play around with it and I am sure you will find a good setting.

Jerry
 
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