There has to be some opto's out there that can steer me to a solution for hunting glass as in eyeglass.
I wear tri focals, to shoot I need to be able to focus on iron sights( pistol or short rifle) also use a scope. I say eliminate the read part and make it into a bi-focal, but whats the best use of the glass? Also what is the best product or safest product shooting this rx glass?

Hey Jim -

There's a world full of us with the same problem. I have tried a number of things. Here's what I think may be the next and best solution for me, and maybe it will work for you.

As to the glass strength, my eyeglass supplier sells me a plastic lens that she swears is very tough, but I don't think it is polycarbonate like shooting glass. I have had lots of flying stuff bounce off them over the years in my production shop -- stuff that ripped my skin when it ricocheted off my glasses, but the glass didn't break. Ask your eyeglass seller.

For me, trifocals are a pain because the eyeglasses keep getting cut up into smaller and smaller segments.

When you go to the eye doc or optician, for no extra charge you can get a perscription for different focal distances. I got one for my bifocals, and another one for single vision cheap glasses focused at arms length. That's my distance from my computer monitor and I keep them next to the computer.

I took those computer glasses shooting one day and ZOUNDS AND ZOOKS! They are just right for shooting my open sight revolver. Since I don't do much book reading while shooting or hunting, I am going to have a set of bifocals made with my normal distance vision on top and my arms length focus in the bifocal part. You know they can cut the bifocal part in different sizes and locations on the lens. For those shooting glasses I will have the transition line higher so I don't have to tilt my head back very much when aiming. And I won't have it cut all the way to the side. I want my distance vision down on each side of the bifocal cut so i can roll my eyes down from a high place, like a tree stand or a bluff and see sharply what's below without having to roll my head way down. I THINK that will be a good solution. By the way, those arm length focus glasses are good for looking at maps if you don't hold the map too close, and they aren't too bad for distance vision either.

Is this advice a case of the partially blind trying to lead the partially blind? :p

Dave I have a pair of computer eyeglasses that are all the midrange part. They work fine for pistols and Iron sight rifles. I wanted the long range on top and the sides as you mentioned. they would have to physically move the frames up on my face to give me enough long range space to use. The lab called back and they could not place the bi part where we determined it had to be. I was going to use some old large frames for this. Using poly the price was about $130 for two lense's. Let me know how you come out and what lab was used.
Jim
wyle43@dwx.com

Using poly the price was about $130 for two lense's. Let me know how you come out and what lab was used.
Jim
wyle43@dwx.com[/QUOTE]

If your distance vision isn't too bad--- Go to your neighborhood drugstore, pick up a set of Off The Shelf reading glasses for 15.00$ +/-. Just choose the vision range for arms length crispness.
They come in large sizes and are of tuf plastic. I've been using these for several years in the action pistol shooting game. 'Tho my vision was perfect as a younger man, the retirement years have brought on the normal vision problems. I've been thru the whole range of trifocals, both Industrial and regular.
Nothing will beat a good set of eyes but these cheap glasses come the closest for me.
Pepe Ray

About five years ago I found a pair of safety clip-ons in amber that fit very nicely on my prescription tri-focals and offered a brighter picture as well as safety. Unfortunately, I've never been able to find another pair since then. I don't know why they only make (as far as I can tell) framed safety glases that aren't prescription and not clip-ons. Kids aren't the only ones shooting?

From the stand point of 'can't see the shortarm front sight', the Merit lens works great. Unfortunately they/re rather expensive (about $75) and stick to your glasses via a suction cup. But both front sight and target are clear.

I had a pair of glasses made that used the left lens as my normal prescription and the right lens set for 74 mm, distance from eye to front sight on my 7 1/2" barrel revolver. It works great for giving me a clear front sight picture, but then the target is quite fuzzy, so not a perfect solution. I dearly love my iron sighted revolvers, but red dots, cross hairs and holosights have become my regrettable solution.

One potential solution I haven't tried is a peep sight replacement for the rear sight on the revolvers. I've got to get around to doing that, they're pretty cheap and apparently easy to install and may work?

Dan

Found a flip-up, clip-on set of lenses at the local gun show some years ago. Left lense is clear yellow plastic, the right is solid black plastic with two very small holes drilled to align with either handgun shooting or rifle shooting for most people. Have found these cheap ($12 bucks or so) lenses to work really well in helping to sharpen up the open sights on both rifles and handguns.

Several of the innovative guys at the local range merely take squares of black electricans tape and make a small hole in it, then position the square best suited for their needs. After shooting, merely throw the square away and use some glass cleaner on the lens.

Found a flip-up, clip-on set of lenses at the local gun show some years ago. Left lense is clear yellow plastic, the right is solid black plastic with two very small holes drilled to align with either handgun shooting or rifle shooting for most people. Have found these cheap ($12 bucks or so) lenses to work really well in helping to sharpen up the open sights on both rifles and handguns.

Several of the innovative guys at the local range merely take squares of black electricans tape and make a small hole in it, then position the square best suited for their needs. After shooting, merely throw the square away and use some glass cleaner on the lens.


Several of the indoor old time range shooters in Florida do that also. They use a 'sticky' with various sized holes drilled in them to move them around on the lens until they're situated in the correct alignment and have the best sight picture for that shooter. And then mark the glasses and drill the size hole whose sticky worked best. Pretty cheap fix that offers safety and reasonable sight improvement.

I know this is an old thread but i have to ask about these glasses with the holes in. I have good vision (20/20 or so) but i have very limited experience with open sights. I recently bought an 8"dan wesson 357 and i need to sharpen up my my open sight skill in a hurry (big groups stink!), would these glasses help and how do you go about making a pair in greater detail)