Pistol Iron Sights with Progressive Glasses

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Leavenworth

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Hope this is the right forum for this ,if not tell me after to place it
I have just recently completed a Handgun Fundamentals Course
I have never shot a pistol or revolver before . Rifles with scopes and shotguns , Yes as I hunt .

I used my brand new CZ Shadow 2

I suck !!! I can hit the bullseye at 10 yards but beyond that forget it
We had a lunch break and I went to to the washroom after lunch we resumed practicing .
I was sure someone had messed with my pistol due to my poor performance after
The instructor took my pistol and put 2 billets in the same hole ! Not the gun he said !

I’m 70 I wear progressive prescription glasses . You know the glasses that are for close up and distance
So I need help , much help ! I know , practice ,practice and practice ,dry firing at home , practice at the range

Anyone wer glasses me shoot handguns with iron sights ? How to improve ?

Also anyone recommend good YouTube videos on proper aiming ? Or specifically when wearing progressive glasses ?

I want to good !

Thanks a lot
 
To be honest dry fire fundamentals won't let you down. Check out youtube. I have progressives and find my red dot solves the problem of accuracy.
Like you I struggled a bit with iron sight past 15 meters.
 
The solution is an optic. 🤷‍♂️

I was an iron sights guy for 35+ years. Then it became obvious my multi-focal glasses didn't play well with iron sights. I tried to fight it but in the end an optic solved the problem.
 
A red dot couldn't hurt help with the vision part but the bulk of improvement will be learning the fundamentals of grip, stance and trigger pull..... Most newer guns today have optics cuts from the factory and that trend started a few years before the Govt Freeze of private assets.

I find dry firing, specially double action to really help strengthen and smooth out the trigger pull. Lasers can be helpful to visually see how your trigger pull and break are moving the pistol.

I assume your gun is not cut for optic mounts but it might be possible to get it machined out if you decide to go that way..... you should see if you can try a pistol with a red dot and see if that works well with your vision.

Osight lights and lasers are not seen as "operator level" equipment but for dry fire practice and a just in case bump in the night setup you could do worse.... they seem to have sales every 3 months or so and might also be on Amazon now.
 
Target style matters a lot the farther it is. Most people who shoot precision will be focussed on the front sight post, so you will tilt your head to look through your eyeglasses to get a clear front sight post, and place it over the fuzzy bullseye, at the same place, every time.

Simple in concept, tough to do.

Many bullseye shooters use a 6 o’clock hold. You aim for the bottom of a bullseye circle, and it will shoot in the middle of the bullseye. This can work well with fixed distance shooting, at a specific type of target.
 
I have progressives (trifocals) and found that practice was the answer for me.

Paid big $$$ and had a pair of shooting glasses made with the focal point right where the front sight is (front sight front sight ...) which makes the target completely out of focus. In my case this did not improve my shooting with irons.

Went to a red dot but you need to know if you have an astigmatism then the dot can turn into multiple dots or be skewed. For me I see 3 dots in a triangle pattern and the middle space is where I put it on target lol.
 
Paul_T said:
I have progressives (trifocals) and found that practice was the answer for me.

Paid big $$$ and had a pair of shooting glasses made with the focal point right where the front sight is (front sight front sight ...) which makes the target completely out of focus. In my case this did not improve my shooting with irons.

Went to a red dot but you need to know if you have an astigmatism then the dot can turn into multiple dots or be skewed. For me I see 3 dots in a triangle pattern and the middle space is where I put it on target lol.
Click to expand...
I was just looking at a video by Massad Ayoob . He was talking about having the reading
( bifocal ) part placed in the top of the glasses as opposed to the bottom where it normally is .

Also just looked up an outfit in Washington State that You Tuber Shooter recommend
https://sspeyewear.com/
 
Before you go spending more money, try a simple test next time you’re at the range. Bring a few different sizes of bullseye circles with you, and try one that is similar to the width of your front sight post at the distance you want. Say 20 yards. This might be 2-3”.

Then tilt your head up to look through the bottom part of your glasses, so the front sight post is clear.

Align the front post just below the black circle, so it looks like a lower case i. The dot of the i will be the bullseye, and make the gap between them be very small. You’re looking for a sliver of white between the front post and the bullseye. This will help you align both left/right and up/down aspects of aiming, regardless of the fuzzy bullseye.

Btw, when I say front sight post, I’m referring to the flat top of it, not the fibre optic.

In single action only, fire 3-5 rounds max. Do not fire 10 rounds in one string. You’ll probably get too tired in your arms and start moving too much.

If this works out for you, then go buy glasses with the focal point on top for comfort.

If you cannot shoot the way I described above, keep at it, or as others have mentioned, a dot is much easier to shoot.
 
Leavenworth said:
I was just looking at a video by Massad Ayoob . He was talking about having the reading
( bifocal ) part placed in the top of the glasses as opposed to the bottom where it normally is .

Also just looked up an outfit in Washington State that You Tuber Shooter recommend
https://sspeyewear.com/
Click to expand...
Flipped lenses like that would work, I never thought of it when I had mine made. Would be hell on your brain going from one way to the other I'm thinking.
 
The big benefit of a red dot is that you only need your distance correction. Target focus. You can just "float" the dot in front of the target.

But it's not a panacea. The fundamentals of grip and trigger press still apply. If you put too much trigger pressure on without a proper grip, the rounds will go low-left for a right-handed shooter. The biggest issue I see with new shooters is smashing the trigger and then adjusting the sights.

A few years ago, I was shooting beside a guy who just SMASHED the trigger on his Sig P226. 12" groups at 5-7m. He started to adjust the sights... I asked him what was wrong and he told me, quite confidently, the sights were "off".
 
jimbo14 said:
Before you go spending more money, try a simple test next time you’re at the range. Bring a few different sizes of bullseye circles with you, and try one that is similar to the width of your front sight post at the distance you want. Say 20 yards. This might be 2-3”.

Then tilt your head up to look through the bottom part of your glasses, so the front sight post is clear.

Align the front post just below the black circle, so it looks like a lower case i. The dot of the i will be the bullseye, and make the gap between them be very small. You’re looking for a sliver of white between the front post and the bullseye. This will help you align both left/right and up/down aspects of aiming, regardless of the fuzzy bullseye.

Btw, when I say front sight post, I’m referring to the flat top of it, not the fibre optic.

In single action only, fire 3-5 rounds max. Do not fire 10 rounds in one string. You’ll probably get too tired in your arms and start moving too much.

If this works out for you, then go buy glasses with the focal point on top for comfort.

If you cannot shoot the way I described above, keep at it, or as others have mentioned, a dot is much easier to shoot.
Click to expand...
Thank You Jimbo14 ! I see your in the GVRD . So am I .
Do you do lots of pistol shooting ?
 
1riot1ranger said:
The big benefit of a red dot is that you only need your distance correction. Target focus. You can just "float" the dot in front of the target.

But it's not a panacea. The fundamentals of grip and trigger press still apply. If you put too much trigger pressure on without a proper grip, the rounds will go low-left for a right-handed shooter. The biggest issue I see with new shooters is smashing the trigger and then adjusting the sights.

A few years ago, I was shooting beside a guy who just SMASHED the trigger on his Sig P226. 12" groups at 5-7m. He started to adjust the sights... I asked him what was wrong and he told me, quite confidently, the sights were "off".
Click to expand...
Yikes ! I’m squeezing rounds off not smashing .
 
I got ballistic prescription shooting glasses. Being a right hand shooter, the right lens is setup for me to see the pistol front sight nice and sharp. My left eye is a bit off for distance so that is corrected. Then I have bifocal readers on the bottom so I can do fine sight adjustments or check my phone. Not to be used for driving. Interchangeable lenses let's me pop in the sun-glass version if I wish. Ash your optometrist if they work with RE Ranger https://www.reranger.com/ Expect to pay $400+ depending on your optical plan but the way I look at it it's a small price to pay for quality of life. Good luck!
 
Leavenworth said:
Yikes ! I’m squeezing rounds off not smashing .
Click to expand...
I'm not casting aspersions as to your trigger press. Just saying it's a common problem.

A red dot is a great accessory for people with vision issues - I have corrective lenses for shooting as well. The lenses I have allow me to see the target clearly, but not the red dot. The shift to "target focus" is a win if you have to pick a single focal length for a corrective lens.
 
1riot1ranger said:
A few years ago, I was shooting beside a guy who just SMASHED the trigger on his Sig P226. 12" groups at 5-7m. He started to adjust the sights... I asked him what was wrong and he told me, quite confidently, the sights were "off".
Click to expand...
I’m an RO at a local range. Many moons ago, a new guy came in and had a new gun. Walther PPQ.

He was shooting poorly, (lots of 7 o’clock shots and everywhere else), so I offered to try it out to see if the sights were good.

Put a mag in a tight group at 10 yards, and the sights were solid from the factory.

I explained all that to him and went over the fundamentals. He started shooting better, but the flinching was still there.

Ran into him a few months later. Found out he adjusted the sights to compensate for his flinching…. Oh boy. He had been reinforcing his flinch from then on. (Sigh)
 
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