New Eyes

After a meeting with my optometrist, and some trial and error with sample lenses, I am happy to report a solution to my vision issue previously lamented here. The fix is a lens that corrects for close up focusing on my dominant eye, while retaining my usual distance correction on the other eye. Coincidently, this is similar to the solution shared by blogger Fill Yer Hands in a comment on my previous post, which he described here. With the two different lenses I can see distant objects and still focus on the front sight. The front sight once again appears crisp and sharp. The difference between the left and right lenses is small enough not to give me much trouble with normal walking about, and I no longer have to raise the glasses when looking at something close up.

Getting the right adjustment figured out was an interesting process. In order to try out the options offered I spent some time outside the doctor's office, dry firing my pistol towards the brick wall, focusing on signs posted at varying distances. Fortunately no SWAT teams showed up! Both the optometrist and the optician were quite helpful and willing to listen to my needs and spend time discussing solutions. Once we had a decision, the lens was made while I waited and I was on my way. The optometrist also happens to be an old friend who's just getting into pistol shooting so I need to get him out to the range soon. 

In the past I've considered doing away with inserts and getting single lens prescription shooting glasses. The double lens system of the ESS ICE glasses with the Rx insert creates some distortion, and sweat sometimes, to great annoyance, collects between the two. But now I'm seeing an advantage to this set up. As my eyesight changes, and I have been assured it will, I can get a new lens made for about $30, rather than buying all new prescription shooting glasses.

I've not yet been able to do any live fire with the new prescription, but have been doing a lot of dry fire. Finding the sights is much easier now, even in low light. I'm very much looking forward to trying out my "new eyes" in a match soon. However, now that I can see the front sight clearly, I'm going to have to find a new excuse for those misses!