I can't see anything with iron sights anymore. Aged eyes.

[theorangecat]

I'm at threescore and started having trouble using long gun irons in my mid-40's, but managed to get about another decade of shooting in before the situation became bad enough to make shooting a chore rather than a pleasure. "Loss of accommodation" was my ophthalmologist's verdict. "Golden years" my azz!

Any front sight with pretensions to precision will blur to a ghost for me unless it is WAY the hell out front, which is fine for a flintlock long rifle or a 36" BPCR. Using a small enough aperture rear can help out, but they tend to be problematic for fast work or where the light isn't optimum. I can manage a shotgun with a big white bead, but if there is a rear on it, it has to be a ghost ring or one of the low-profile XS express shallow "V" sights. Carbines all get an Aimpoint H-1, which may not always be the ideal optic, but is small enough that it does't bug me (although a slight astigmatism "blobs" the dot, making a 2 MOA my choice); rifles get an appropriate scope. FWIW, I keep irons in place because they are still better than nothing in a pinch… and "minute of broad side of a barn" I can still do.

While I use - and prefer - Ultradots on any handgun other than straight SD/HD rigs, at SD distances, I have learned to instinctively tilt my head up to get the front sight into the "magic zone" of my bifocals. (If I had any shooting style points to begin with, this would erase them- it's somewhat akin to Rooster Cogburn snapping his head from side to side when firing his two Colts, only up-and-down, and really, really nerdy.) Unfortunately, anything with a stock on it prevents me from using this bobble-head technique, which is probably just as well as it is not a mid- or long-range panacea.

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[Hmac]

I have never undersood this. I want to start off by saying that I have 20/10 vision in both eyes - so some of you may immediately dismiss what I have to say.

With iron sights you are only focusing on the front sight - which is what? 20" from the rear sight on an A4? Of course you need to see the target, but all you really need to see is the "blurr" that is the target. Then you focus on the front sight and place it in the middle of the blur.

It's easy, really.

Yes. You don't understand this. But you will, eventually.

[Doc Safari]

The really sad thing is that once your eyesight isn't perfect you sort of realize that all those guns you invested in are useless in a self-defense scenario.

A couple of years ago I started really rethinking my firearm and optics choices with this in mind.

For example I would not seriously even think of investing in a weapon that did not lend itself to many optic and sight options.

[jmoore]

Yes, grasshopper - this too will you learn.

As a 7th decade shooter with severe myopia and astigmatism, an RDS trumps irons in oh so many ways.
And if you haven't done so recently - get your vision checked and then suck it up and wear the correct glasses or contacts!

geezer john

[Hmac]

The really sad thing is that once your eyesight isn't perfect you sort of realize that all those guns you invested in are useless in a self-defense scenario.

I simply haven't found this to be true at all.

A rudimentary understanding of the physiology of presbyopia and a knowledgeable ophthalmologist or optometrist and you will have no trouble with irons, RDS, or magnified optics.

[Eurodriver]

Yes. You don't understand this. But you will, eventually.

I didn't realize I was the only guy on here still in his prime

I kid...but I would be very upset to no longer have the ability to use irons. No wonder all the guys at the range give me funny looks when they see me shooting to 400+ with them!

How does eyesight get so poor one cannot focus on the front sight though?

[theorangecat]

How does eyesight get so poor one cannot focus on the front sight though?

Generally speaking, it is because the ciliary muscle that changes the shape of the lens has less ability as we age, so we can't focus as well. On average, a man will notice problems in his mid-40's, but that's not written in stone- some can have an issue earlier, some later.

There are plenty of younger shooters/hunters around here who have to deal with far more serious vision issues, so I can't complain too much about the cards I have been dealt. Most days, my tinnitus - shooting related - bothers me more than my inability to easily focus on a front sight.

Getting old sucks, but alternatives are a bit limited.

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[Hmac]

I didn't realize I was the only guy on here still in his prime

I kid...but I would be very upset to no longer have the ability to use irons. No wonder all the guys at the range give me funny looks when they see me shooting to 400+ with them!

How does eyesight get so poor one cannot focus on the front sight though?

The lenses in your eyes will lose flexibility as you age. You will progressively lose the ability to focus on items close to you, including the front sight of your handgun or rifle. It will start progressively sneaking up on you starting at about age 35-40. You'll start with reading glasses to read, after a few years you'll need them to focus on your front sight. You'll need to get glasses that let you "sort of" focus on the front sight and still be able to "sort of" focus on your target. Then, around 55 or 60, you'll need to start shopping bifocals because your distance vision will begin to get worse as your cornea changes and your eyes begin to change shape. I used to have 20/10 vision. Now it's about 20/30 and I have several pairs of glasses with different prescriptions that I use depending on whether I'm shooting handgun, rifle, RDS, magnified optic. You will too....count on it.