What Are the Best Pistol Sights for Old Eyes?

[Mr. Untactical]

This phenomenon manifests for irons and dots, too. It's a matter of the shooter training him/herself to realize that this wobble manifests no matter the shooter's skill-level, to accept it, and to -borrowing from Frank Proctor- simply get out of the way of the supercomputer that's sitting inside their skull, and complete the trigger press.

Thanks T - of course, you are correct. I notice the "wobble" using any sights, but with the laser it felt like I was playing "chase the beam" with a cat. I found the wobble most egregious with the laser - which I assume is because of the physics of the extended beam. With irons or a red dot, I try and keep my breathing steady, not over-squeeze (the grip or the trigger) and, as you say, just make the shot.

Practice makes perfect

 

[Twister716]

I was hoping this article would address the better sights for people with astigmatism.

 

[TSiWRX]

...with the laser it felt like I was playing "chase the beam" with a cat. I found the wobble most egregious with the laser - which I assume is because of the physics of the extended beam.

Yup, that's exactly it.

But like that cat, we can also get pretty darned good at catching that dot that's dancing out there.

Laser sights

I have seen too many people forget the basics and rely on finding the laser dot instead of looking down the sights on pistols. They became much slower with the laser. So began a Facebook thread in …

tacticalprofessor.wordpress.com

^ It's really too bad that the video is of such low resolution, but Werner's performance on the Rogers Reactive is pretty convincing (even accounting for the fact that he was a former Chief Instructor there ).

 

[TSiWRX]

I was hoping this article would address the better sights for people with astigmatism.

Me too, but alas....

The only thing that really works for us is an etched reticle - aside from that, correct, threat-focused, technique is about as good as it gets.

Dimming down the dot to the lowest usable for ambient conditions and target conditions also works but this may or may not be possible, depending on the constraints of the engagement/scenario.

 

[MatthewG]

Try these guys out ........( www.egwguns.com ), they work with this fit everyday. They can make the cut for most any sight, or they can fit most any sight to this cut. They also sell machine tooling if you can do this work yourself.

Also got a phone # for you ...... (212) 538-1012 .................. give 'em a try. I have no financial or other interest in this company, just happen to know they can handle the job.

Let us know how you make out.

Joe - THANKS!! Greatly appreciate the suggestion!!

 

[HD63]

Great info but I want to know which Red Dot Optics fit without modifications?

 

[BobM]

I have heard Meprolight bulls eye sights are helpful.

MEPRO FT BULLSEYE FRONT - Meprolight

Born from an engineering masterpiece, the Mepro FT Bullseye™ family, the world’s smallest and brightest reflex-style optic for pistols, is so intuitive it will make you a much faster and accurate marksman. The low height over bore single-night-sight design is powered by fiber optics to master...

www.meprolight.com

Sounds good Classified, like the tritium and fiberoptic combos. Supposedly the largest and brightest sights available. Have heard of them too, but ever seen any in person though. Went to their site, they have a lot of nice sights for various firearms, but their only North American retail site listed is in Canada and can't see anything, browse or visit w/o joining.

 

[Blackfeather]

These work for me.

 

[youngolddude]

I had my wife measure the distance from my forehead to the front sight on my pistols and rifle which was approximately the same and gave that to my optometrist. I had a single vision pair of shooting glasses made with a bit of magnification done. My no line bifocals work well enough, but not as good as my shooting glasses.
Black sights on black targets don't work so well, but there are brass sight covers that some competitors have adopted. A cheap fix can be silver HVAC tape affixed to the front sight.
It is nice to see manufacturers providing decent sights on stock guns such as tritium and/or fiber optic.

 

[USS Callister]

Count me in with astigmatism and being legally blind without glasses crowd. I've tried red dot sights, and find them useful, but I prefer big/bright iron sights (not a paid endorsement, but I like (and have mounted) Big Dot sights from https://xssights.com/ on my pistols.) Tritium and big--it's a hard combination to beat.

Speaking of being blind without glasses, a consideration that hasn't been brought up, yet, is say you're awakened by an intruder and need to access your gun in a hurry; what if your eyeglasses are out of reach or your natural reaction is to reach for a gun, first? I don't think any red dot sight will help then, but you do stand a chance with bright iron sights. Just something to think about.

Also, consider that the most likely time you'd draw on a bad guy would be when they're relatively close--would having a red dot sight be a tactical advantage at a short distance or no? I would think that in that kind of situation, plain ol' iron sights would do the job...but I could be wrong.

 

[TSiWRX]

Speaking of being blind without glasses, a consideration that hasn't been brought up, yet, is say you're awakened by an intruder and need to access your gun in a hurry; what if your eyeglasses are out of reach or your natural reaction is to reach for a gun, first? I don't think any red dot sight will help then, but you do stand a chance with bright iron sights. Just something to think about.

^ Excellent consideration!

I am quite nearsighted, and because of this, my home-defense weapons, in-particular, kowtow to this consideration.

In post #5 (https://www.thearmorylife.com/forum...-pistol-sights-for-old-eyes.9060/#post-112918), I wrote the following, which was based on my discussions with a legally blind shooter and concealed-carrier on my home OFCC.or Forums -

Similarly, for shooters with low-vision, the statement that "[the RDS] is a major advantage for people with eyesight challenges, because if you can see the target – you can also see your handgun sights at the same time..." isn't a sure-fire absolute. For example, for one legally blind shooter whom I advised, the visible laser was the only viable option for him as at full-presentation as his limited vision was insufficient to resolve the dot in his RDS, even when he is able to make positive identification of the threat. While he could not see the laser designator as far off in the distance as a normally sighted shooter, what he found was that he could resolve the laser very easily at distances at which his visual limitations allows him to also make a positive identification of the threat.

-----

Also, consider that the most likely time you'd draw on a bad guy would be when they're relatively close--would having a red dot sight be a tactical advantage at a short distance or no? I would think that in that kind of situation, plain ol' iron sights would do the job...but I could be wrong.

^ For most well-trained shooters, unsighted fire will likely more than suffice.

That said, if sights are brought into play, it is likely that the RDS will still be faster - provided that everything else is equal. But the latter is perhaps the hardest part of the cross-comparison. There are few shooters out there who are equally as proficient with both (this is compounded by the fact that shooters may gravitate to one system or the other, based on their own shortcomings - not necessarily in terms of shooter skill, but even in terms of biological issues such as eye function), and can render truly an unbiased comparison between the two.

Remember that the pistol-mounted RDS crossed-over to defensive/duty use from competition use - and while speed is definitely an important factor in the former, it's quantifiable differences often means that rules/handicaps are specifically made in the context of the latter so as to make the playing field more fair.