long range and going from glasses to contacts

[SmileDocHill]

How significant is the change in your dope when you go from glasses to contacts. I would think it would be akin to changing your cheek rest since moving your head with glasses distorts the field of view but contacts do not. (but then again I have no actual experience in what the difference would be.) I wear glasses at work and therefore almost all the time but I find I do much better with contacts when outdoors.
Are there any rules of thumb or commonly accepted concepts from you High power rifle guys and gals?

 

[42769vette]

tag for a good question.

 

[1946]

The big difference I found for me is when using optics.
When looking through a scope that I sighted in wearing contacts with glasses, I find that the cross hairs are no longer vertical or completely horizontal. In other words they appear to have moved from the twelve and three o'clock position to one and four.

 

[sloughfoot]

I shoot iron sights. About ten years ago when I was 49, I lost my front sight on all my rifles and handguns. I wear readers with a positive 1.5 correction for reading the newspaper and such.

My shooting glasses have the same correction...+1.5 in the right lense. The left lense has no correction for looking through the spotting scope.

BTW, I can easily see the shot spotter at 1000 yards, with bare eyes. but my front sight is blurry.

I can't imagine why there would be a difference between contacts and glasses, but I only know about what I see when looking through iron sights. I don't shoot any scoped rifle. FWIW, guys that I know that wear contact lenses don't wear them when shooting because they float around...?

This probably doesn't help you at all, but it is my experience. I'm still figuring stuff out as my eyes change.

What I eat the day before, and the day of a match can help my vision also. Or hurt my vision.

 

[thompal]

What I eat the day before, and the day of a match can help my vision also. Or hurt my vision.

I know that foods that affect blood sugar can wildly affect vision, but have you found other foods that do?

 

[Litlratt]

Optically, I would suggest that anytime you introduce or remove a lens from a sighting system there is a very good chance that the front sight, crosshairs or the target could appear to be somewhere other than they were before.

Shooting with your normal glasses is not recommended for precision work as the optical center is ground for an erect head position. For a right handed rifle shooter, you would be looking through the upper left corner of the lens when in position. Thus the need for custom frames which allow the nose piece to be lowered, raising the frame/lens. Advanced frames allow adjustment of the lens holder, nose piece, ear pieces , etc. so the shooter can place the lens for the aiming eye directly in front of it, it being the aiming eye.

The problem with modern day contacts is that they are water based. When shooting outdoors, they tend to dry up as you are not blinking as much as you normally would and the wind compounds the effect. As they dry, the prescription changes.

If I understand the op, if you change one of the lenses, it's entirely possible, and probable that your zero will change. If you're talking about the different amount of cheek pressure you're applying to the rifle, yes your zero will change as a result of the rifle recoiling differently.

Regarding diet. Hypoglycemia affects most of us, at least that is what an optometrist who was also a very good shooter told me years ago. Sugar, and/or products containing sugar, should be avoided if you suffer from this.
Most of us shooters aren't world class athletes and we don't normally concern ourselves with the affects that other foods have on us. If you deprive your body on match day of something it normally gets, caffeine being the main culprit, then the disadvantages of it, your body, screaming for caffeine far outweigh the advantages gained from the absence of it.

Regarding long range shooting. Seeing the target isn't necessary, knowing where it's at is.

 

[ArmedProgrammer]

Along these lines - and because my vision stinks... has anyone tried the "Superfocus" glasses? Supposedly they are designed to help with this - specifically for shooting. I'm curious if anyone has any kind of experience with them.

 

[x10]

I found some peel and stick aperture's in packs of 6 that stick to your shooting glasses and you locate them properly and they do a pretty decent job of cleaning up sight picture.

if you want to shoot don't give up because of eyes getting old while true you won't ever get the clarity of a 20 year old but I've had eye trouble that would fill a forum and I have been able to shoot pretty well with eyes that aren't up to snuff.

Desire and fortitude my friends sometimes are more important that any other component of shooting

 

[SmileDocHill]

Great well informed answers guys! Thanks.

 

[sloughfoot]

Here is a few words on nutrition.........

CMP - First Shot Online!

 

[SBGR55]

I recently did the change over to contacts for numerous reasons. I could not see the front sights with glasses clearly, fog up etc. Went to scopes on my rifles and it seems better as the eight pointer I got this year would testify if he could. The jury is still out on the handguns yet. I will have to read some more of the comments on this later as I have to go to work shortly. Kingsbury shooting range that is. You would think that I could try out all the different scenarios wouldn't you.