Sidearms & Scatterguns Miraculous Accuracy Improvement Solution

[Centuriator]

Breakthrough in Handgun Accuracy: One Simple "Trick"

First, let's talk about one of the most significant problems causing marksmanship and accuracy problems for many shooters, many more than would either care to admit it or even realize it. It sneaks up on you so gradually you just kind of get used to it. I'll give you the problem and solution right away and if you want to read more and read about my "miracle" yesterday, keep on going. I'm so excited about it I can hardly stand it.

SUMMARY

Here is the problem: PRESBYOPIA

Here is the solution:

Presbyopia is the normal loss of near focusing ability that occurs with age. Most people begin to notice the effects of presbyopia sometime after age 40, when they start having trouble seeing small print clearly — including text messages on their phone. You can't escape presbyopia, even if you've never had a vision problem before. Even people who are nearsighted will notice that their near vision blurs when they wear their usual eyeglasses or contact lenses to correct distance vision The eye's lens hardens with age, resulting in blurred near vision. This is called presbyopia.The eye's lens stiffens with age, so it is less able to focus when you view something up close.

What impact does this have on handgun accuracy? The less you are able to see objects in sharp focus the less you will be able to get a super sharp front sight focus and accurate sight picture. Again, it sneaks up on you and many just think, "Oh, well, I can get along with it ok." WRONG.

Now, what is the "miracle breakthrough" ... eye protection that has full lens magnification, not partial lens magnification, not bifocal, but full lens magnification. Yesterday I brought out to the range a pair of full frame magnified lenses and the results were nothing short of, miraculous, for me. I've been training for years and have been doing "ok" but ... after all these years of intense training my mechanics were improving, but my eyesight was declining, so I was not getting the kind of tight groups I was always chasing, and I was unable to get rounds decently on targets from 25 yards and beyond. Until yesterday.

Yesterday with the glasses I'm going to tell you about I was able to put every round into an 8" target from 25 yards, very consistently and at closer distances, I was able to get ragged single holes in the bullseye, it was, simply "miraculous." Why? I could finally see a super sharp front sight and an in focus sight picture!

Now, the good news is this, when you use magnified lenses you do NOT have to get the same strength you may be using for reading glasses, in fact, you should not, since you are looking at something at arms length to begin with, you need less magnification, so I bought a 1x magnification and I'm going to get .5 magnification to see how that works as well.

At the end of the day, I backed up and was banging my 12"x20" steel target from 35 yards, center mass, and could even place shots at top and bottom at will.

So needless to day I left the range more joyful than I have been in a VERY long time. All that training has paid off for me and I've got grip and trigger manipulation down, and with that sharp front sight focus, the rounds are actually going where I intend them to go.

Here is where you can buy them on Amazon, very inexpensively. Note: You can buy them in various power magnification. Buy at least .5 under what you wear right now to read comfortably. I'm still experimenting with the right power for my eyes, but right now the 1x is working fantastically well.

 

[natdscott]

“Here’s a guy, here’s a guy who when he puts his contacts in, he can see better”

-John Madden

 

[Centuriator]

And in my case, just to make things more "fun" I had LASIK corrective eye surgery about ten years ago so my right eye/shooting eye is my distance eye, so I was already setting myself up for problems with handgun shooting.

I hope guys who have thought about trying some magnified shooting glasses give them a whirl, I'm pretty sure they will be blown away by how much of an improvement they make.

I was like, "Well, look at that, I am a pretty good shooter after all!"

 

[natdscott]

What we 'conventional' target shooters do on the weekends is far from 100% positive.

That being said, the whole thing is set up to give repeatable and consistent metrics between shooters, ranges, and conditions. Because it does just that, and because we have historically only used irons, we 'catch' this kinda thing quickly.

The amount of money and time and equipment used to solve vision issues enough to shoot a front post into 1/2 MOA can be pretty significant. I'm no exception, and I have a team of professionals I call every spring to get a tune up on my eyeballs.

It works better than a new loading gidget!

 

[Centuriator]

Um....I'm not sure I understood a word of what you posted, but ... cool.

 

[natdscott]

If I can't see, my groups become 2.0 Minutes instead of 1.0 Minute. That shows up in score on the standardized decimal targets, and in holes in the paper.

When I know there's not another problem, vision is a good place to start looking for points. Pun intended.

Start at the optometrist, and finish with an educated purchase of corrective lenses.

Irons tolerate little.

 

[natdscott]

Oh yeah. And if you have a great OD, have him or her schedule you for TWO appointment slots. Use the additional time to have them help you find the EXACT script you need to focus on additional point 1.5x the distance from your eyeball to the front sight of your pistol. Bring the pistol if they are okay with it, and if not, just have a friend help you with measuring your front sight diatance...then take a string to the OD that is 1.5x that measurement.

That 1.5x thing is called the "hyperfocal distance", and by setting up focus there, you get close to a 'perfect' blend of sharp sight and sharp enough target to aim precisely.

It is a serious mistake to set up your vision for a 101% clear front sight, because you won't be able to see longer distance targets.

The older you get, the more power you will need for the front sight, and the more pronounced this effect becomes.

 

[Centuriator]

At this point, the $8 solution I've found seems to be working well. I'm not worried about using them for any other purpose than as a range accessories and they work fine for me at the targets I'm shooting my handgun at.

 

[natdscott]

I'm not questioning your solution or your reasons for being happy with it.

But more information to fill out a concept is not a bad thing for anyone..

 

[Mike 556]

I was in a similar situation a few years ago, trouble finding and focusing on the front sight. A good friend and fellow shooter, who happens to be an eye doctor made me a pair of shooting glasses with magnification in the right lense, my dominant eye, and my regular prescription in my left lense. It's worked wonders for my pistol shooting. I'm able to pick up and have sharp focus on the front sight and still be able to maneuver around a stage without falling on my ass! Took a few matches and practice sessions to get used to the glasses, but now I probably couldn't be competitive without them.
Mike

 

[Potss]

Also good to point out that a pistol mounted red dot like an RMR 2.0 or Leupold Deltapoint also gets rid of the focus problem. I'd still recommend OP's solution of just wearing contacts or corrected shooting glasses for QoL and target identification, but red dots address it as well.

 

[Mike 556]

Also good to point out that a pistol mounted red dot like an RMR 2.0 or Leupold Deltapoint also gets rid of the focus problem. I'd still recommend OP's solution of just wearing contacts or corrected shooting glasses for QoL and target identification, but red dots address it as well.

Agreed, I ve been playing around with a fast fire mounted on a G19. Makes a world of difference. I have aimpoint Pros mounted to a couple of ARs and C More red dots mounted to PCCs my old eyes really like the red dots. Still no division in IDPA for carry optics and not many guys shoot carry optics around here for USPSA. So I still shoot production and try to keep up with the younger crowd.

 

[alpine44]

I asked my eye doctor to adjust my contact lens prescripton so that my right, dominant eye can focus on the front sight of a pistol. That is also pretty much the distance to my computer screen and navi in the car. Left eye is focused on infinity.

The concept of different focal distances for each eye is called "monovision". The default version is dominant eye for distance but when I decided to reverse that my brain had no problem making the switch in a few days.

Disadvantages of dominant eye focused on arm length is that you need to adjust you scope's diopter accordingly and that the dot on red dot sights will bloom out somewhat. Neither issuse has been a big enough detriment that would negate the clear advantages for me. In fact, having my "distance" eye off the scope or sights greatly increased situational awareness.

With monovision, my 60 year old brain can do what the young bucks can't - have sights AND target in focus.

 

[Greg Langelius *]

72 in May (2018), I get new glasses from the VA every year. Since I can't use bifocals, I have a pair for reading, and a pair for distance, each getting upgraded on alternate years. The distance glasses are made with the largest size lens I can manage, so I'm not peering through the upper edge of the lens, and to provide a bit more coverage for safety. The readers are small and lightweight, almost something like 'Granny' glasses.

My previous pair of distance glasses were prescribed by an Intern, and nothing against Interns, they were way off the correct prescription. The current ones are oh so much better. I get them for free, and as such, don't make a big deal about issues.

BTW, if you want your vision to stay clear, invest in a big box of those wet lens wipes and carry a bunch at all times; otherwise they will scrtch up with hundreds (thousands?) of micro scratches, and it'll be like looking through fog.

Greg