Hi, my name's Nathaniel and I am a Range Curmudgeon.

[Nathaniel Firethorn]

Nine months and one week shy of my fiftieth. Sigh...

I went out to a range in a city distant from my home. Impulsively, I rented a Ruger Mark III and bought a box of Minimag.

Everyone else in the range was blasting away with .44 mag, .357 mag, .45, stuff that makes a very loud noise and leaves very big holes. Not so long ago, that was what I wanted too: Deagles, Smith Model 19s, you name it. The louder and more obnoxious the better. I was not too different from these folks, as a callow youth of 45 summers.

But lately, I've been taking a 10/22 ultimate to my home range every week to try to learn how to put as many shots as possible into the 8-ring of a sporterifle target at 50 feet. It's soothing. At this point in my life, I need soothing.

But back to tonight. The 25-year-old whippersnappers were making so dang much racket that I couldn't concentrate. Besides that, I couldn't see the front sight with mah dang graded bicycle-focals.

The only consolation is that someday I might wind up as an 85-year-old range curmudgeon. Hopefully not sooner than one would think.

- NF

[280plus]

Them Bicycle-focals make shootin' harder than it has to be. Spring for a pair of straight glasses that will allow you to focus on the front sight. When it's real noisy I like to put earplugs in under the ear muffs. Justsome hints I picked up along the way.

[Werewolf]

Them Bicycle-focals make shootin' harder than it has to be. Spring for a pair of straight glasses that will allow you to focus on the front sight. When it's real noisy I like to put earplugs in under the ear muffs. Justsome hints I picked up along the way.

Before you spring for those single vision or even progressive allow your optometrist to show you what the rest of the world will look like - it ain't pretty.

Last time I went in to get a new prescription I asked the doc to set it up so that there were three focus points, reading, shooting, distance. He asked why and I told him. He told me he was a shooter too and that setting up trifocals like that or bifocals with the close set to the front sight range would be very uncomfortable. He showed me what it would look like while I was on the machine. Trifocals was kinda OK but confusing, bifocals - no way - wouldn't have been able to read with them and single vision set to sight range - ROFLMAO - no freaking way. Not for me.

So have your optometrist give you a look see before spending $300 or $400 on shooting glasses.

[280plus]

I use mine pa-spiffically fer shootin', they stay in my range bag, but YES definitely find a optometrist that will allow you to try your gun / sights in the office to make sure the prescription will work.

What I've found with Bi focs is that if I don't look through the exact same spot in the lense every time my groups will move around.

[Nathaniel Firethorn]

I over-hyperbolizated above. I can see the front sight, but only if I tilt my head way back. Then the target becomes a blur.

I think mebbe I need a handgun scope or one of them newfangled red-dot sights.

- NF

[280plus]

yup, red dot, but the bifocs will STILL move your groups around on you. Then there's the problem some have of the dot looking more like a misshapen blob which requires the proper prescription to clear it up. I have a pair for iron sighted pistols and another for red dots. Someday I want a pair for rifle iron sights too.