Any Optometrists or Opticians Here? Should I wear my glasses?

I've got middle-aged eyes and need glasses to see worth a darn (I'm farsighted).
To read a book, I like 2.5 or even 2.75 diopters.
To read a computer monitor or the labels on items on a supermarket shelf 4 feet away, I like 2 or 2.25 diopters.
So see well at infinity, for driving, I like 1.5 diopters.

Question: When I'm using my Leupold Mark 4 scope (6.5-20X), should I wear eyeglasses (other than safety glasses)?

I usually take my glasses off and simply adjust the rear lens on the riflescope (this requires a LOT of adjustment) but I'm beginning to wonder whether this might introduce errors/parallax/inconsistency.

What is the "standard" or "preferred" way to use a riflescope for farsighted people like me, who need correction even for an infinity focus? Glasses or no glasses?

I can't believe I've never asked one of my eyeglass guys this question...

Thanks in advance for any answers.

I am also far-sighted and right or wrong, I wear my prescription glasses.

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Originally Posted by Rick_W

I am also far-sighted and right or wrong, I wear my prescription glasses.

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This.

It's a lot easier to adjust the scope when you have proper eye sight, than trying to make the scope correct your eye sight. They were designed to overcome minor correction issues, that's it. You are far better off having corrected eye sight then adjust your scope if needed.

the adjustment on the eyepiece is simply to adjust the clarity of the reticle.
wether or not you would need glasses would vary among users.
parralex is a different issue not connected to the focus. some scopes are factory set
for parralex and have no means for further adjustment. others have either front or side
adjustments for setting parralex. although parralex adjustments can impact scope clarity,
that in itself is not the main purpose of the adjustment.

FWIW

Same glass, same problem. Wear contacts to see beyond my arm clearly. Wear glasses to type this. Lucky enough to be able to get reticle clear without using glasses. But to shoot without glasses using iron sights= all guess where the front site is.
Sucks getting old.



Snipe

I had all sorts of problems with sights/scopes then I found an Optometrist that is a shooter and told him what was going on, he fixed me up with progressive lenses that resolved all my issues. Thank goodness I have pretty fair insurance.

Bob

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Originally Posted by yobuck

the adjustment on the eyepiece is simply to adjust the clarity of the reticle.
wether or not you would need glasses would vary among users.

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^^^^^^^^^^^^^^THIS^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Point the rifle at the sky or ceiling. Adjust the eyepiece until the reticle is sharp. YOUR DONE.
Adjust parallax for target clarity.

I need the "cheaters" for reading as well. Fortunately, my distance vision is perfect, so after setting the scope for reticle clarity, I can just use ordinary safety glasses.

Presbyopia (middle to old age inability to focus at near, sometimes for far too, vision) might be corrected by adjusting the scope focus.

Vision problems like astigmatism won't be resolved by simply refocusing the scope.

Also, one wants to use distance vision for hunting. This means that the best bet is to get the best prescription shooting glasses you can and then do the minor scope focus tweaks.

Thanks, guys. I guess I'll get some good driving glasses (instead of the Dollar Store jobbies).

Optician for twenty years, my advice is to wear whatever you use at a distance and the adjust scope for reticle clarity.

Thanks, bflee.

I have the same issue as you with almost the same diopter preference...about .5 less for me. I went to the eye doc and got some 2.0 daily wear contacts to shoot with. Work very well especially when I put the yellow lensed shooting glasses on in additon to the contacts.

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Originally Posted by bflee

Optician for twenty years, my advice is to wear whatever you use at a distance and the adjust scope for reticle clarity.

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Very succinctly stated!

Given the variety of frames and lenses on the market these days, can you comment on styles that one should NOT wear while shooting.

An example might be Granny glasses.

The corollary question is "What classes of frames and lenses should one consider as minimum protection?"

I understand that all glass today must be shatter-resistant. Is this resistance enough to provide acceptable protection levels.

Formal wrap-around shooting glasses can be fitted with corrective lenses or inserts.

I see a lot of folks, including me before I got a good shooting prescription, who often wear what appear to be their normal every-day glasses. Some of these may give enough protection, but others look more like reading glasses.

I am referring to prescription levels when i say wear what you wear at a distance. I am not recommending not wearing safety glasses at all. There are prescription safety lenses and safety glasses that go over regular lenses. They can be aggravating, but alot less aggravating than shooting with one eye or blind!

Safety lenses will have Z87 imprinted on frames or lenses. Just thought i would mention that.

Just an interesting fact I would like to share on this topic. Back in Optician school in Durham we shot a 1mm thick polycarbonate lens with a 45 pistol at point blank range and it will not go through it. I wouldnt want to have been wearing it at the time but it sure was impressive.
Needless to say the polycarbonate lenses are tops in safety. The only drawbacks are chromatic abberations and they scratch easily. You wouldnt think the most impact resistance lens would scratch the easiest but thats the way it is.

Good information, many thanks.

I remember talking to my Dad about wearing safety eyewear when woodworking. He was an outlaw when it came to that sort of thing, because as he said, many "safety" gizmos on WW equipment end up putting you at more risk because you can't see what's happening with the work (clamping down on the blade or climbing up on top of the blade on a table saw, for example).

He wore prescrip glasses at the time and it's a good thing, because he apparently hit a staple in a piece of wood one day and that staple left a staple-shaped DENT in one of the lenses of his glasses! "Can you imagine how that would have felt if it hit you in the eye?" he said.

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Originally Posted by bflee

I am referring to prescription levels when i say wear what you wear at a distance. I am not recommending not wearing safety glasses at all. There are prescription safety lenses and safety glasses that go over regular lenses. They can be aggravating, but alot less aggravating than shooting with one eye or blind!

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Thanks! That helps -- particularly knowing that one has choices that make sense:

• Prescription shooting glasses
• Shooting glasses that fit over your favorite lenses, including contacts.

(I recapped bflee's summary because wearing eye protection so darned important for so many parts of our daily lives -- not just shooting and hunting!)

having spent many hours in lab I can tell you that prescription glasses are ok but a full face shield or at least safety glasses are a must to be safe.
My neighbor is single mother in her late 50s, so I help her out when I do my weed whacking, I had a stone fly off the string and hit me half an inch below my eye, left quite the bleeding wound, the scary part is the angle it came in, it would have easily made it into my eye.
There is just too much gap around regular glasses.

I have prescription safety glasses with shroud around the edges and irony is I never wear them, go figure.