Shoot WITH or WITHOUT glasses?

[Texas10]

Some very interesting reading in the optics board! Which brought to mind a question I have been mulling. When using optics, is it better for those of us using corrective lenses to take them off when shooting? What if any slight errors can glasses induce into a sight picture? Is a consistent cheek weld an even more important factor in accuracy if the shooter is wearing corrective lenses?

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

[Boudin]

Great question. I've been wondering this same thing.

[cowtownup]

I've wondered this also.. I have a slight vision issue in my right eye which I use to look through optics and I've tried both with and without glasses and seem to do just as well by NOT wearing them. I think its going to depend on how severe the vision issue really is. I look forward to hearing what others are doing and maybe even someone has some expertise in this area...

[earl39]

Scopes are not designed to correct vision, even tho they will correct some problems, they are designed to magnify and correct the distortion caused by it's own lenses

[barrel-nut]

^ this is my opinion as well, though I am no expert on optics. I do wear glasses because I see very poorly without them, therefore I use them while shooting also. I could shoot without them, but I feel image clarity suffers.

[LongRange]

i ware correctives as well but dont shoot with them...my glasses slide down and i can see the frame at the top of the lenz and that bugs me so i was constantly pushing them back up. also i can feel my eye focusing back and forth so i have my eye piece adjusted so as soon as i open my eye the reticle is clear and crisp the down side is that when i change the magnification(which i rarely do) i have to adjust parallax a little to clear the image but other than that i have no issues shooting without my glasses.

[barrel-nut]

This is a good example of how the choice of optics is such a personal matter. People's eyesight can vary greatly from person to person, with various color blindnesses, near/farsightedness, cataracts, etc. A scope that is great for my eyes, may not seem so great for someone else's. Certainly there are objective standards by which optics are measured, but so much of our personal preferences are based on the biases imposed by our own perceptions. One need look no further than the recent Internet flap about the dress that was obviously, without question, to any sane and sober person, gold in color, (while some incorrigible reprobates insisted it might be purple), to realize that there are some real differences in perception between people. I know my eyes need help, and in spite of some of the same minor annoyances that Long Range noted above, I prefer to wear mine.

[sixonetonoffun]

A little off topic but I wear safety glasses when shooting targets. Just find I get a flinch from percussion blowing back as it hits my face.

Have the kids do the same. We just keep everything in a bag glasses, foam ear plugs and headsets.

Friends who shoot with us usually except some ear plugs after the first few rounds. Pretty much just a given after that. Especially after I pull out the 500/375.

[BigDave]

Scopes are not designed to correct vision, even tho they will correct some problems, they are designed to magnify and correct the distortion caused by it's own lenses

Correct. Scopes will correct or aid SOME problems. The adjustable diopter allows me to not have to use my 2.75 power readers. I keep the readers handy when I need to read the turret values. I cant even read my smart phone with the big screen! But I can get a scope reticle crystal clear with just my naked eye if it has enough adjustment in the objective.

But you are correct that scopes dont correct for things like astigmatism and guys who cant see distant objects with out glasses.

My distance is still pretty good. I have mild astigmatism. My red dot scopes are more like a star than a dot now. But I dont need glasses to see pretty well other than reading.

My eyes get tired pretty fast now is what I find. Members here are telling me that eye fatigue (age) can be helped by using good glass PLUS the larger 34-35mm tube.
So, that is another factor where scopes can aid failing vision.

Why is it that only ONE ocular of binoculars has an adjustable diopter? It has something to do with the prism, right?

[Texas10]

Earl39, I think you're right, and that is why I am thinking that the addition of another lens OUTSIDE the scope may induce a sighting error, especially if parallax is not precisely adjusted out. So here's the reason I am asking this question. I have noticed that when shooting a particular load that I will group one 5 shot sequence in a tight group, but the next 5 shot sequence might be a three and two group with about a half inch between. I am fairly sure that it's me and not the gun/load but I don't know what is causing the disjointed groups. This spread has improved since I changed out scopes due to a reticle that was jumping around, but it has not vanished completely. Any ideas that don't include spending a grand or more on a scope?

You guys are a wealth of knowledge and I'm so grateful for any light you can shed.

[earl39]

Crazy as it sounds try readjusting your parallax after each shot. Could be the scope has play in the adjustment. And always adjust it in the same direction, go past then back to the adjustment you need

[foxx]

Seems to me if you wear glasses when shooting through a scope there is a chance you will not be looking directly through the glasses lens and therefore cause issues. So far I get away with doing what Big Dave said.

To answer big Dave... binoculars allow you to focus one eye peice with the main focus adjustment that moves both lenses and then fine tune for the other eye. You are supposed to first adjust the "2 adjusting nob" thingy while covering the eye that is not individually focused. Once that one is correct, cover the other eye and focus/adjust the single ocular for that one. Once done, both eyes should be adjusted correctly when both eyes are open.

[yobuck]

Foxx is correct on the binnoc focus but you might have to close an eye and fool with it till their right. Once they are the the center knob will suffice
for future changes. Some binnocs are individual focus which tend to be better for long range viewing but not as nice for closer as
they both need changing more often as distance varies. So for normal viewing distances center focus is easier.

[DrThunder88]

I just picked up a NV scope with literature that mentioned something along these lines. I don't remember the exact words, but the gist was that they recommended people with prescription ±2.5 or thereabout use the diopter adjustment. Those of us in the -10 neighborhood would just have to use our glasses. Either way, I usually try to wear contacts when I go to shoot.

[Texas10]

I just picked up this from the Web.


So the comments that you should always wear eye protection when shooting is wise and well stated. In fact, I've certainly seen (and experienced) all sorts of unburnt powder spots, lubricating oil spots, and brass pinging off of my glasses. I probably have to clean them every few range sessions. None of that stuff would I like to get in my eyes much less the more catastrophic things that can happen.

Now, all that being said, it is absolutely the case that the best image quality your eye can get is going to be without anything between your eye and the scope. Both contacts and glasses have varying levels of image distortion, occular warping, and particularly if the glasses are tinted, chromatic aberation. Even glasses that are not perscription will have some aspect of these issues, and certainly any perscription glasses will. If get worse if for some reason your head is shaped or sized so that it is difficult to get your eye to be right at the focal length of lens.

For example, if you wear glasses, look at a flat wall. As you are looking at the wall, without moving your head, look up through the top part of the glasses, then side to side through the sides of the glasses. Then take the glasses off and do the same thing. For most people there is a clearly detectable difference in the apparent flatness of the wall.

Now, think for a minute about how you set up with a rifle on a scope, it is pretty common that you can't get your eyes completely square into the scope and rather are looking through your glasses at an angle. So you will have some distortion. Perscription glasses are worse. This can be particularly noticable in cheaper scopes where the "eye box" of the scope is small. The eye box is the area in front of the scope where your eye can be and get a clear image through the scope. Better quality scopes have more sophisticated lenses to give you more flexibility in positioning to get a good view.

Most good quality scopes will actually allow for a certain amount of diopter adjustment - which is more or less exactly what your glasses do. So, I know several pretty dedicated rifle shooters who have scopes which they have adjusted to their eyes and then just wear non - corrected safety glasses for exactly this reason. Since I mostly shoot pistols I haven't done this, but if I moved to doing alot more rifle shooting I probably would do this as well.

[Texas10]

Another rather brilliant idea I picked up online is to have a set of glasses made so there's a non prescription lens on my shooting eye and a prescription lens on the other. That way I could see normally while shooting but not suffer any possible distortion of the scope sighting characteristics.

I too have noticed that with my glasses on, a flat surface is does not appear to be flat, but curved with my "transition" or "no bi-focal line" glasses. Which leads me to believe that it is quite possible that my glasses are distorting my aim.