Tired, old eyes

[Broomhandle]

When shooting targets with my EMF SAA, the front sight is soon a blur and I completely lose it. Would it help to put white epoxy paint on the rear surface of the front sight ?
Similarly would a white dot at the top of the front sight and also a dot on either side of the rear sight of adjustable sights work ?

[yahoody]

Couple of easy things to try.  Pick up a Sharpe  Marker pen in silver metallic at the local office store.  Paint the front sight edge.  They come in gold as well but I think silver stands out more for me.  Easy to try both..they are cheap.  Paint works too but the marker is easy and can be redone at any time..any place.

I ended up liking that so much I took some steel wool to my front sight edge and polished mirror bright.  Reflection of the light on a polished surface doesn't give you the most perfect sight picture some times but sure helps to see it    

Stick with a new colored front sight and I'd bet you solve your problem. 

The other option is have your rear notch recut to a bigger square or even a half round notch.  More "air" on either side of the front sight with the sights lined up will really help our older eyes.  Good luck!

[Navy Six]

Had to do the paint thing on my CAS rifles and it made a real difference for me at matches. Since I am near sighted, the pistols are no problem--yet. Thanks for the tip on the Sharpie markers, Yahoody, never thought of that.

[JaegerRex]

White Out also works and is easy to scratch off if you don't like it.

[Rowdy Fulcher]

Howdy
White out works real good . I have used model paint , red worked real good . I have a Cimarron that has a German silver front sight it works real good .

[Blair]

Many of the targets are painted white so that they show up better with the background.
I like to use something that contrasts with the target color on my front sight, so that I might be able to see the front sight better.
Opinions, of course, may vary.
My best,
Blair

[yahoody]

I actually prefer black on black sights for 99% of my shooting.  Better/more precise sight picture generally.  But every CAS steel target our local clubs use are dark in color so black on black does not work well even for good eyes on good days.

As they say, "no target too big or so close you can't miss"

Your eye will see some colors easier than others.  Everyone is a little different.  Some colors are better than others.  I do well with silver and gold on a multitude of target colors.  Others may find red or lime green good.  Worth playing around with different colors to see what looks/works best to you.

[Cliff Fendley]

White shows up fairly well on white targets for me. Other colors seem to blend more with targets of the same color.

[llanerosolitario]

Your problem is ver common among shooters. In my opinion target shooting glasses with a diopter or an special lens by a professional optician  to focus at sigth distance will solve your problems with tired eyes.

These glasses are  made round with a screw so it is very easy for your local optitian to put a lens on it though many  prefer a diopter .   Noblock and Champion are the best brands. They are not cheap but they work.

Painting the sigths will make them more visible but it wont solve the problem.

I use Knobloch glasses for all my shooting as they let me focus  both sigths and target on the same focal plane wi
thout effort.

Using a yellow/brownish tinted lens or filter will also help to increase contrast between sigths and target. I use yellow and it works for me.

http://www.knobloch-schiessbrillen.de/wp/en/shooting-glasses/k1/

[rdstrain49]

Broom;

Simple solution, find an optometrist who is gun friendly.  Take a weapon or two (rifle, hand gun) in for an exam, have him average the focal distance to the front sight (mine is 39").  Have your shooting glasses ground with normal distance Rx in non shooting eye & whatever he comes up with for focal distance in shooting eye.  There will be a period of adjustment, but soon your brain will simply adjust to the glasses.

Ive been doing this for years, for shooting purposes my 66 year old eyes see the sights like 20 year old eyes.

Hope this helps.

BTW, I'm not sure the Knobloch glasses will fulfill the safety glasses requirement.   

[llanerosolitario]

They are specially made for international target shooting competition in ISSF, MLAIC and the Olimpics. For safety if you use a diopter,  there should be a glass allways behind it.

the germans are very serious about target shooting.


your solution is good. Another one is buying a  diopter and putting it on you normal shooting glasses.

[Black River Smith]

For me the cheapest, easiest and best color options are ladies 'lacquer' finger nail polishes.  Even comes with built-in brush.  The cheaper the better.  And it can be touchd-up or removed without bluing or finish damage.
I have used black - gloss and flat, white, red and others for different jobs like this.