Any optomerists on board?

[Gary Wells]

I need optometry counsel.
Any on board?
I had my eyes examined a few months back for new glasses and the optometrist cut back the strength of my dominant eye and strengthened my non dominant eye.
My new glasses were $600 for everything and the only improvement is that they work only a tad better than my old glasses for driving. Stupid things won't work for reading, computer work, & shooting. I am curious if weakening my dominant eye ito meet the other one is standard operating procedure?
My shooting in now a total disaster. I was also diagnosed with advanced glaucoma & cataracts. My main issue is did they do my glasses prescription correct? Should they have weakened my dominant eye?

[Blsi2600]

ZenniOptical.com  $60.00 & $5.00 shipping for glasses.  

Type in your prescription and wait 2 weeks.  

I have glaucoma and cataracts.  

Shot a Master score and a 98-2x SF with my 16 year old Rock River last October.

Not too bad for a 73 year old ustawuz that can't see too good.  Using cheap ship China glasses.

[Richard Ashmore]

I need optometry counsel.
Any on board?
I had my eyes examined a few months back for new glasses and the optometrist cut back the strength of my dominant eye and strengthened my non dominant eye.
My new glasses were $600 for everything and the only improvement is that they work only a tad better than my old glasses for driving. Stupid things won't work for reading, computer work, & shooting. I am curious if weakening my dominant eye ito meet the other one is standard operating procedure?
My shooting in now a total disaster. I was also diagnosed with advanced glaucoma & cataracts. My main issue is did they do my glasses prescription correct? Should they have weakened my dominant eye?

See Dr Norman Wong's Articles at http://www.starreloaders.com/edhall/nwongarts.html

[weber1b]

There is a guy in my area who works with shooters who want glasses specifically made to work with open sights. If you specify a shooters appointment, he gives you the last appointment for the day and has you bring you gun in with you. After your regular appointment to check your eyes etc and determine the prescription for your regular glasses, he then lines you up with a target across two offices and determines your prescription with a focal point of your front sight. I use optics in my regular league and match shooting, but want to shoot more open sights for EIC and Revolver. So far I really like them. The biggest thing I found is that besides not having to find the sweet spot in my progressives, I can more easily focus on the front sights because they are crystal clear, and the target is fuzzy, period. I was also able to move from sub-six to point of aim as I can make out the sights even against the dark background. He did this first for a rifle shooting friend of his but is gaining a reputation amongst the shooters in the area for doing this work.

[james r chapman]

If you have bad cataracts coverable by insurance get them removed and replaced by high quality implant lenses. Your shooting will thank you.

[SteveT]

+1 for the Dr. Normon Wong articles. 

If you can get to San Francisco I highly recommend Dr. Wong's Shooter Eye Exam. It cost a little more than what VSP will pay for a normal eye exam, but he spends a lot of time with you to not only get your distance prescription and reading prescription but also your prescription for dot and open sights. He's also a great guy. I only wish he could make it to Camp Perry (or I could make it out to San Fran) more often.

[Gary Wells]

Many thanks for all  of the comments & suggestions. Sorry about not getting back & thanking everybody sooner but I have had a busy week. I have decided to do the right thing and get my cataracts corrected before doing anything else. Many thanks again.

[mikemyers]

I'm not in any way an optometrist, but I've been doing volunteer work at Aravind Eye Hospital in India for about 30 years, for photography, videography, and computers.  I've learned a lot while there.   Just a few random thoughts:

a) You wrote that you have "advanced glaucoma".  More so than anything else, you need to get treated for this, while you still can.  Everything else is "comfort".  Glaucoma can leave you blind.  You need to see an ophthalmologist, not an optometrist.  

b) Unless there is something else going on, your optometrist can prescribe whatever glasses you need, and if you're older, and your eyes don't focus like they used to, you either need to get several different pairs of glasses, or bifocals, or the new progressive lenses, which have prescriptions at the top for distance, in the middle for mid-range, and reading at the bottom.  The prescription changes gradually from one to another.

c) When you get your cataracts corrected, you get to throw away all your old lenses.  They will probably make the new lenses that go into your eyes with a prescription for distance, and you'll need glasses for reading, etc.

d) At any time you want, now or after the cataract operation, you can measure the distance from your eyeball to the front sight, and glasses can be made specifically for that prescription.  You can have them made from polycarbonate material, for safety.  Probably best to wait until after the operation, as the other lenses will then be useless.


You can also get special shooting glasses, which have a lens with one prescription, and an inset, right in front of your eye, with the prescription for shooting.  I'm not sure if as a newcomer, I can post pictures yet.  If you want, I can post the link to where I plan to buy those glasses, after my own cataract operations.

[carykiteboarder]

Dr. Alan Toler is an optometrist and Master class shooter.  He's based in Virginia but has a "kit".  www.customsightpicture.com/ and click on "Introduction" and go from there.  I'm getting old and my eyesight seems to change every year.  It's cost effective for me to have "Champion" shooting glasses and simply get a new lens when needed rather than a whole new set of prescription shooting glasses.  Custom Oakley lenses were $240 and useless once my eyes changed.  A replacement lens is considerably under $100 depending on tint/anti-glare coatings.

[dronning]

Another option for shooting glasses especially if you need corrective lenses is Rudy Project's Rydon shooting glasses that come with 5 sets of lenses.

For those that need a prescription lens it's very cool because the 'script clips on behind the colored lens and are very cheap to replace when your eyes change.  I have an EyePal static cling peep on my prescription lens which makes it simple to change colored lens.  I use the EyePal to keep the dot round due to my astigmatism.

- Dave

I'll post a pic when I get a chance.

[mikemyers]

Suggestion - instead of seeing an Optometrist, instead make an appointment with an Ophthalmologist.  He will give you a full eye exam (as opposed to just finding a prescription for your glasses), after which you can send the prescriptions he will give you to any of a number of places that make good shooting glasses.   .....and the lenses you get should be made from polycarbonate, for safety reasons.

An ophthalmologist will give you a thorough eye examination, measure your eyesight, determine the necessary prescription(s) for glasses, test the eye pressure, then dilate your eyes (the iris will open much larger) so fifteen minutes later he can examine the back of your eye, the retina, for any problems that might be developing.  People should do this once a year.  

There are so many things that "can" start happening in your eyes, that need to be dealt with.  Doing it early can stop the problem.  Waiting too long might mean all they can do is prevent things from getting worse.  If you're developing cataracts, you'll know ahead of time that you'll be needing to get them corrected.

Maybe people who know the better places from which to order shooting glasses can also post that information here.  The place I was looking into recently was:

      wileyx (dot) com/products/collections/shooting

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