Due to length, I didn't include all the messages in the queue this time. I
will send them out later this week.
In this issue:
Re: Rifle shooting glasses
Re: Rifle shooting glasses
Re: Pistol aiming technique
Re: Rifle shooting glasses / pistol aiming
Re: Rifle shooting glasses
Re: Rifle shooting glasses / slings
Jackets for sale
Pictures wanted
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My vision is -3.00L, -2.00R, with astigmatism in the right (Aiming) eye.
Shooting lenses are a good thing - your glasses are, as Michael pointed out,
only spot-on near the centre of the lens.
I used to be able to shoot in my contact lenses (gas-permeable) but since
I switched to high water-content lenses, I've found it impossible to maintain
a good sight picture. Glasses will always provide a higher optical quality,
and it's easier to correct for astigmatism.
I know some women (at World Championship level) who successfully use
contact lenses, and I know of other shooters who have no complaints with
them.
Unfortunately, with shooting lenses, your peripheral vision is gone unless you
turn your head - difficult in the aim. This is the advantage of contact lenses
to those shooters with bad, rather than "just a bit off" eyesight.
As a result, I use the Champion pistol lens holders (42mm diam?) rather than
the rifle lens holders (15mm diam) for both eyes in an attempt to keep some
peripheral vision, but I do have problems moving my right lens far enough to
the left to centre the lens for standing shooting.
One other thing from a Sports Science point of view - dehydration has an
amazing effect on endurance (vital in a 3x40) but also affects eyesight;
I certainly found in a hot climate (Malaysia) that staying fully hydrated made
a big difference to my sight picture. I was also amazed at how fast that
edge can fall away in the heat. Most of us in temperate climes don't drink
enough liquid anyway, so it's worth bearing in mind. (Note - a sugary drink
like Coke will actually dehydrate you, let alone the insulin rebound, so it's
best to use one of the proper isotonic / hypotonic drinks). Better to drink
well, but have to break position so as to take a leak, than to dehydrate.
Martin Sinclair (martin.sinclair@gecm.com)
[Editor - I prefer the smaller diameter (I'm using the 37mm that came with
them but would prefer the 15mm). I'm assuming Martin wants the big one to
see wind flags and other wind indicators without haing to move his head,
which is a valid point. Though I rarely shoot outdoors, I have no problem
with that with the 37mm at least.]
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In response to Mr. Jarvis' question about the merits of shooting
glasses, at -9.25 in my shooting eye, I've got myopia and astigmatism
to beat even his profound prescription. With eyes as bad as ours,
shooting glasses are an absolute must. Of all the money I've spent on
equipment, the $60 I spent years ago on my Knoblochs (that I still use)
has paid bigger returns than many more-expensive items I've bought.
Here are some reasons why regular glasses are bad and adjustable
shooting glasses are good:
- With a big prescription, it's imperative that you look through the
optical center of the lense and avoid the distortion near the edges of
the lense. When you look through rifle sights with regular eyeglasses,
you are looking through the upper corner of the lense. This is not the
part of the lense the optometrist oriented to your eyes when you had the
glasses made. Distorted vision is inevitable.
- No matter how much foam you put on the nose-piece of your regular
glasses, you'll never get the lense to line up in-between your aiming
eye and your rear sight.
- Severe myopia is often accompanied by astigmatism. With this comes
the added problem of having the lense of your glasses rotated to the
correct angle. Do this simple test: take off your glasses, hold them
in front of your eyes, hold one eye closed, and rotate your glasses as
you look through them with the other eye. If distant objects become
tall and skinny and then short and fat as you rotate the glasses, your
prescription is an astigmatic one. This means that your glasses only
work properly when they're level on your face. When you fire a rifle
(even in standing) your head is tilted compared to the way it was when
the optometrist fit your glasses to your face. The result is an oblong
and blurry sight picture.
- With adjustable shooting glasses, you can move the lense so that it is
directly between your eye and your rear sight, thus using the optical
center of the lense and getting the full benefit of your prescription.
- If you have an astimagtic prescription, you can rotate your lense in
the circular frame to compensate for your head being a little tilted.
- Shooting glasses don't fog up as much because they sit a little
farther from your eye and air circulates more freely around them.
- Once purchased, the frames can be used for years. Replacing the lense
each time your prescription changes costs only $20 or so.
As for size, I recommend the smaller-diameter lense holder. I own both,
but I found that lining up the center of the lense is easier when it's
smaller. With the bigger one, I found I get sloppy and end up looking
through some part of the lense other than the center. As for lense
coatings, the only one I use is the standard ultraviolet filter that
they recommend when you buy regular eyeglasses. I don't know if it
makes a difference to shooting or not. Regarding brand-choice, I can
speak only for Knoblochs: they're cheaper than the other brands, but
seem to work just as well. I've had the same $60 frame (they're $103
now) for 14 years and I've never thought I needed anything else.
Regarding importance, I recommend myopic shooters buy Knobloch or other
frames before they buy a custom-fit coat, shooting boots, or almost
anything else. If you can't see, you can't shoot. If you quit
shooting, you can easily sell the frames to someone else. One final
note: I shoot 300meter and NRA highpower as well. For 300meter, I use
extra eye relief and must move the lense back into place frequently.
For NRA highpower, I cope with using a sturdy pair of prescription
sunglasses that sit high on my face. Recoil is pretty hard on light,
adjustable frames.
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There is no great advantage of raising the pistol above the bull. The
technigue is just use as a measure to make sure the sights are align before
bring them onto the bull. The main reason for this is that it is easier to
see the sights on the white than on the black. It is preferance to wether or
not you go above the bull. If you wanted to you could catch the sights at
the bottom of the target. As I said, it is all about preferance.
I'll see if I can't get some more info from a pistol coach on the topic
Adrian Pardy
* Mount Pearl Senior High Shooting Team *
* Team Page: www.mps.k12.nf.ca/~huskiessc/ *
*Personal: members.tripod.com/~huskiesmembers/*
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RE: shooting glasses and optics.
Shooting athletes should have the Eye doctor make a lense out of Poly
Carbinate for a focal length equal of the distance from the front of the
front sight to the eye ball. This will correct any problems a shooter may
have and is also correctable for eye problems as well.
The eye tiredness is really a clue to the fact that the shooting athlete is
using incorrect sighting procedures. Extenders or bloop tubs will only
place the front sights beyond the eyes ability to focus correctly.
Therefore, they will cause the same condition the shooting athlete is
complaining about in the UIT list of the eye becoming over tired in a short
time.
In answer to the question in Pistol bull approach. Both methods are used
and for the most part is accomplished by an athlete because that is how the
athlete was first taught.
In my Pistol book I start the shooting athlete using the 6 o'clock approach
in a precise timed procedure. The first element is the 2 second rist of
the pistol to bull. This means that the shooting athlete starts from a 45
degree angle and moves the pistol up to the 6'oclock bull placement in 2
seconds precisely. After the shooting athlete achieves precision and the
adaptation to the correct timing sequences involved the rise time is reduced
to 1 second precisely to the 6 o'clock position. Arrival meant that the
front sight had just arrived at the 6o'clock position and a white light is
still noted between the front sight and bull. The reason for this is the
pistol is fired at the front sight mating with the 6o'clock position of the
bull and the bullet will clear the barrel as the front sight arrives at the
perfect bull's-eye of the target. For greater detail about thi procedure
the athlete can order a copy of the book for "The Mental Art of World Class
Competitive Shooting for Pistol".
In reference to the method of going over the bull and coming back down on
the bull. This procedure is hard because it blinds the shooter during the
sighting process and prevents the shooting athlete from gaining a perfect
sight alignment prior to firing time.
Over all this is very time consuming and at a time when the pistol shooter
does not have the time to spare.
Chet Skinner
cskinner@dol.net
http://www.geocities.com/Colosseum/Midfield/1245
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In response to Jason W. Jarvis question:
I too have bad eyes, -7.0R. I tried to use regular glasses, shooting
glasses and ended up shooting with contact lenses.
The reasons for not using shooting glasses are the following:
1. Since my lens is high (-7.0) the further the lens is from the eye the
target seems smaller, and getting it closer cause it to fog quite easily.
2. It is hard to find the point where you look through the center of the
lens.
I tried plastic and glass lenses and did not find difference.
With contact lens I get the best sight picture as the lens is on the eye.
The problems with Contact lenses are:
1. The eye tends to tear if it is windy or dusty.
2. The eye dries one do not blink enough.
3. Eye tears or other liquids dry on the lens and one should blink, like a
car window wiper, in order to clean the lens.
4. Soft lens numbers goes up by -0.5, e.g. -7.0, -7.5, -8.0, -8.5, -9.0 and
you can not get the -8.75.
I am considering the LASIK procedure, but have not made up my mind yet.
Eitan Barazani
Eitan@ytd.com
http://www.geocities.com/Colosseum/Dugout/2862/
[Editor - you should have had your doctor write the prescription
differently for your shooting lens since it is further from the eye. It
should be a quarter diopter difference. My image is still a bit small, but
not as bad as it would have been with no correction and I have noticed no
performance difference. It's too bad they can't grind them more precise.]
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I would echo what Michael wrote regarding shooting glasses: Shooting
glasses are highly recommended. It is impossible to overstate this. They
should be your next purchase. Again, as Michael writes, the brand does not
matter. My experience is that a glass lens gives a better image than plastic
or polycarbonate. As to coatings, a non-reflective coating helps to
eliminate distracting reflections, especially if you shoot where you
are often back-lit (i.e., there is a light source behind you).
Hope this helps. Good luck!
RE: Sling keepers: Yes, some folks really do still use this type
of sling keeper! It seems to be related to the type of shooting
one does. While one almost never sees a UIT-style shooter using
them, many NRA-style shooters do.
I see two types of slings that actually tighten around the arm.
The first type, the old military style which is essentially a sling
loop that is tightened with a thumb screw clamp, is not very popular.
It is quite thin, which makes it both uncomfortable and prone to
slipping if there is no hook on the coat. It seems to be used by
beginning juniors and folks who are not terribly serious about shooting.
It is, however, UIT-legal.
The second type is much better. It is a cuff which is can be completely
separated from the sling. The cuff is quite wide, perhaps twice as wide
as a UIT sling, and tightens around the arm with thinner straps, above
and below the buckle where the sling attaches. Folks who use it say
that it is very comfortable and that it does not slip. Some folks also
use spray adhesive (e.g., Firm-Grip) to help keep it in place. This
type of sling is not UIT-legal, but useful for NRA prone shooting.
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hello all,
i have got two shooting jackets i'm looking to sell. they are both
hawkeye leather jackets, one a size 36 regular and one a size 40 long.
they are practically new, less than one year old and barely used.
contact me at 1-318-394-3611 or at tenx20@hotmail.com.
may God bless
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I am currently working on a webpage for the Somerset Jr. Rifle Club, of
which I am a member. Can anyone recommend me some sites where I can
find some pictures of shooters, related equipment and such? Or if you
have any can you e-mail them to me? Thanks and have fuN!
Maxim
posidon@ix.netcom.com
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End of UIT Mailing List #8
Michael Ray - Systems Engineer
Rose-Hulman Inst. of Tech. Rifle Coach
UIT Shooting Page - http://www.geocities.com/Colosseum/1190/index.htm