OzFclass

I am a right handed target rifle shooter aged 50 years. Over the last 2 years I have noticed that my eyesight has deteriorated . I use a 0.5 Eagle eye and have slowly increased ring size from advice given to me by other shooters. Before shooting this morning I stood at the shooters mound and closed my left eye and looked at the target , it was blurry like there was mirage running. Closed my right eye and looked at the target , it was a lot sharper and could easily make out the aiming mark , this was at 700 yards. My first application was 47.4 with 3 x's . My second application I increased my ring size from 6.2 to 6.4 and had a shocker 39.1. Conditions were very good other shooters scored 49 s and 50 s.
I cant seem to get a sharp ring picture and a slightly blurred aiming mark . I shoot with both eyes open. When I finished my second application I decided to aim left handed,
Wow a much clearer ring and aiming mark with my left eye , it was like winding the clock back 10 years . I had reading glasses made from Spec Savers last year and they noticed that my right eye was weaker than my left during testing which I suspected from shooting experience. I am also sure that I am right eye dominant. Is this problem common and what can I do , any advice greatly appreciated.

Well you should sight with both eyes open. If your left eye is stronger and you are unable to shoot left hand then a outrigger is an option to shoot right hand but with left eye.

I's common for guys to get a set of glasses made specifically for shooting.

Tell the optometrist your needs (type of optic, distance from eye etc) and he'll do the rest.

As Jarrod said,some optometrists understand shooters needs better than others,obviously you need some correction in your shooting eye.

Thanks for the replies. What are the pros and cons of prescription shooting glasses or a prescription lens behind the rear sight. I have a prescription lens and frame that my dad used to use that would need to have a lens that suits my right eye. Interested on the experiences of those that have used either of these solutions. I am led to believe that outriggers are the least preferred option.
Thank you
Brad Probert.

Hi Brad, I've used the glasses, the lense on the rear sight, and am now using a dioptre. I found the glasses hard to set up correctly. I know a lot of people use them very well, but I had trouble with them. The rear mounted lense was good and did me very well, but with my eyes being as shit as they are, I found that it would go in and out of focus as my eyes fatigued. Especially during Queens, with shooting multiple ranges over multiple days. With the diopter I can change the settings then and there. The only down side I've found so far is that you have to take the eagle eye out. Luckily I frame the whole target in my sight picture, so it isn't too bad. I haven't been using it for long, but I don't think that I ever seen the targets as good as am now. I also haven't shot any longs with it yet so I can't comment on how that's going to go. I would be interested to try one of the non magnified diopters, you can use your eagle eye with them.
Scott

Before I had my cataracts removed I had a special set of glasses made. Shooting eye prescription to suit sighting in that side, and a normal prescription in the other to see downrange. Worked well, and was easy to shoot with both eyes open. Hope this helps.
Cheers,
Trevor.

https://gehmann.com/english/products.php?id=1695
These have been quite successful for me. Diopter with no magnification. It allows you to still use an eagle eye.
To adjust it, I open the iris up, adjust he sight correction until the ring is clearest. Then I start closing the iris until the aiming mark is clearest. Then its a matter on fine tuning each adjustment until I'm happy. Keeping in mind that its not a set-and -forget. Your eyes change every day and if you keep fine tuning at each distance, you will find that small adjustments are warranted.

Hi all.. so as a still newbie (but a well aged one).
I was contemplating a prescription lens holder such as put out by Sumo (Ryan Neilsen)
When fitted with a prescription lens, will that then require the removal of the .05 EI to meet TR rules??
thanks

Hi Wayne,
You can have a lens at the rear along with a 0.5 eagle eye in the front as long as the rear lens is a fixed dioptre (ie not a variable dioptre).

Cheers,
Ryan.

You only have to remove the eagle eye if you use a magnified diopter. It's all good with a presciption lense.
Scott.

hi Tom1....Doug here....I`m 60 odd nd have wore glasses since I was 13 years old....I started shooting in the early 80`s had a break in the late 90`s...until 2 years ago....got back going again ...nd so many things have changed target sizes rifles ammo and the like...including my eyes to the fact that it was very hard to get a picture and shoot well enough to keep up with everybody else`s scores...so I went t optometrist nd she explained a few things ..nd I told her I just wanted to shoot targets ...so she gave me some options they all wer`nt good ...then I remembered about a couple of other shooters getting a new lense put in shooting eye...I asked about this nd she said it was a good opion...so I had the operation under local anaesthetic nd got a new distant lense in right eye ($3500) that was the BEST thing ive ever done ...now I don`t wear glasses at all...and can see anything at any distance as clear as a bell...improved my shooting out of sight...so was a good option for me...

Hi Tom,

I do not claim to be an expert my any stretch.

To draw a direct correlation between a crap score because you don't think you are seeing the target well is not really that simple.

Could I suggest you have someone else shoot your rifle and load, preferably from a bipod, see what that shows you. Then you shoot it from the bipod straight after.

Shoot someone elses rifle, one that is shooting well. See what that shows you.

Could be a dirty barrel, bad load, oil under your bedding, loose sight, loose eagle eye, sticky trigger, old firing pin spring, you were dehydrated,,,,, the list of possible causes is virtually endless......

I find it amazing how well the eye and brain is able to align all the circles, and if you pull a good shot with good gear, you can give the FS shooters a run for their money.

I would suggest do some testing before drawing too many conclusions.

If you think you will need to bolt a scope onto your rifle to continue in the sport, the sooner you do it the better.