Aperture Irons W/ Contact Lenses

[Dannicus]

Anyone have an issue with contacts while shooting with aperture sights?

Went to the range today with my contacts thinking it'd be better than wearing safety glasses over my prescriptions and if I didn't purposely keep my eyes super wide open, the ghost ring would sometimes go oval. Sucks because I used to be okay with irons before my eyesight went all to ****.

[Nate87]

Used to shoot with contacts and glasses. They both sucked. Never had any issues with irons though. My problems were with optics, and getting blowback in my contacts and burning my eyes all to sh*t!! Then I had laser surgery. BEST THING EVER!!

[MrPlink]

Used to shoot with contacts and glasses. They both sucked. Never had any issues with irons though. My problems were with optics, and getting blowback in my contacts and burning my eyes all to sh*t!! Then I had laser surgery. BEST THING EVER!!

I was just about to ask in this thread if anybody has has laser and if they were still able to use irons etc etc

[Dannicus]

Laser surgery still freaks me out since an old friend of mine had a botched operation. She ended up being legally blind before she ended up having 2 follow ups and now she still needs corrective lenses. My wife recently had it and her eyesight has deteriorated a bit in less than a year.

Guess I'll still wear glasses @ the range.

[Nate87]

Laser surgery still freaks me out since an old friend of mine had a botched operation. She ended up being legally blind before she ended up having 2 follow ups and now she still needs corrective lenses. My wife recently had it and her eyesight has deteriorated a bit in less than a year.

Guess I'll still wear glasses @ the range.

JEEZE! If I were you I'd be scared to do it also with those stories. They told me the same thing before i went under the laser. That for the correction I needed, that there was'nt a guarantee it would work. But with the hobbies I have, I was willing to take the chance and make it better. Luckily it worked out and I'm at 20/15 in both eyes and can now ejoy the things I love without the hassle of glasses or contacts.

[Creampuff]

Unlike the normal hours where I wear my contacts, I notice I don't blink when I shoot. Well, I don't blink as often. I am straining my eyes more than usual, and blinking much less frequently, so my contacts dry out more than usual.

If I force myself to blink more frequently and I maybe use some artificial tears before I go in to the range, it helps.

[Dannicus]

JEEZE! If I were you I'd be scared to do it also with those stories. They told me the same thing before i went under the laser. That for the correction I needed, that there was'nt a guarantee it would work. But with the hobbies I have, I was willing to take the chance and make it better. Luckily it worked out and I'm at 20/15 in both eyes and can now ejoy the things I love without the hassle of glasses or contacts.

I do kinda wish I had gotten it done in the Navy when they'd foot the bill, tho.

[mceod]

JEEZE! If I were you I'd be scared to do it also with those stories. They told me the same thing before i went under the laser. That for the correction I needed, that there was'nt a guarantee it would work. But with the hobbies I have, I was willing to take the chance and make it better. Luckily it worked out and I'm at 20/15 in both eyes and can now ejoy the things I love without the hassle of glasses or contacts.

This has been my experience with laser surgery too. 20/15 the day after the operation and no drop off since.

[MrPlink]

a simple truth about laser eye surgery:

while looking at the percentage of success rates involved in the operation it looks very safe. But you have to consider what the numbers are really saying. The key to understanding the high rate of "success" is laser eye surgery is that it only takes 1 thing into account: is your vision closer to 20/20 than it was before?

What the numbers do not take into account is a laundry list of side effects which have nothing to do with how sharp your vision is. Some things are minor, some not so much.
These include

- night blindness or over sensitivity to light (typically in the form of all light sources, esp at night, have extreme glare or "star" like patterns around the source)

- tear duct issues, which lead to dry eyes. In severe cases, patients have been known to have to use eyedrops several times a day. There is no cure for this side effect, if you end up with this issue it is for life.

- double vision. Rather self explanatory. Sometimes so extreme people are declared legally blind afterwards.

I did some very extensive research on this topic about 5 or so years ago. At that time there were 3 documented cases of people who committed suicide as a result of loosing (in a practical sense, not completely blind mind you) due to the negative effects of of laser eye surgery.

One issue I also heard about, but did not research personally so I cant confirm or deny this, is that it greatly weakens yours eyes and can be dangerous if you live an active life (sports) or have a bad habit of getting punched in the face a lot.

Im not sure how the technology or technique has changed since I did my research, but Id like to think it has improved. All I can say is a few years back... it was pretty scary stuff.

[Nate87]

One issue I also heard about, but did not research personally so I cant confirm or deny this, is that it greatly weakens yours eyes and can be dangerous if you live an active life (sports) or have a bad habit of getting punched in the face a lot.

Im not sure how the technology or technique has changed since I did my research, but Id like to think it has improved. All I can say is a few years back... it was pretty scary stuff.

This is true. There are quite a few different options to choose/qualify for. Many of the stories I have heard of were people getting hit in the face and having the Lasic flap rip off. In some cases it would come off from simply rubbing their eyes. That's scary stuff.

Two options I had was Lasic or PRK. From what the Doc explained to me was that with Lasic they slice a thin flap that they lift up then blast your eyes with the laser then let the flap heal back up. The pros to this option are a speedy recovery in a few days/weeks with no pain real pain. The down side is the durability. As mentioned, in some cases the slightest thing could mess it up and lift/rip that flap.

With PRK they basically laze/reshape the ocular lense and let it heal over time. The upside to this operation is that it is extremely durable. Downside is that recovery takes a few months and is EXTREMELY painful. I chose this option...... I was willing to deal with a few months of intense daily pain for having more durable eyes. And let me tell you, it was PAINFUL! For me it was'nt until 6 months after surgury that I no longer felt pain.

Having had the surgery through the military, they ask on the application if you are/plan on being SpecialOps. If so, the only option for you is PRK becasue it IS more durable. So it really depends on what type of lifestyle you have. If you have an active lifestyle it's recomended to go with PRK. If you dont do much and just want to see better, then Lasic is a better option and what most people choose.

A friend of mine recently had surgury as well and from what he told me, the operations and technology had changed quite a bit from when I had it done. There are the downsides to consider though. Many people end up having glare and halos at night off of light sources. It's just a matter if you are willing to accept the risks.

[MrPlink]

Im holding out for bionic eye replacements that I can directly upload an eotech reticle to

[Nate87]

Im holding out for bionic eye replacements that I can directly upload an eotech reticle to

Sign me up as well!!

[mceod]

At my one year checkup, the opto couldn't even tell I had had a flap cut during LASIK. He had to look in my record because he didn't believe me.

[railroader]

I have a different issue with arperture sights. I wear bifocals and I have problems focusing on the front sight post. With the standard .070"/.200" the large hole makes the front sight sight a complete blur and with the small hole I can see the front sight but it isn't completely clear but usable. On my one rifle I went with a .052" aperture. The smaller hole cleared up front sight. The front sight looks pretty crisp. I just ordered a .043"/.050" rear for my other rifle so I will see how that goes. I have my fingers crossed. Mark

[drdanno84]

LASIK

LASIK is a safe procedure, the new "wavefront lasers" are the state of the art technology that yield extremely good results. I personally underwent this procedure in 2004, I have maintained excellent and comfortable vision.
Not everyone is a "good candidate" for this procedure, very thin corneal tissue, history of dry eyes, very high prescriptions, history of prior corneal infections, i.e. herpes simplex can yield devastating results if LASIK is performed.
The patients that we refer for LASIK are carefully screened and monitored carefully post-operatively. In our office we are presented with patients who NEVER should have had the procedure and are miserable with symptoms of dry eyes, glare and flare at night, and fluctuations in vision. To a degree, we can minimize these complications medically and with spectacle lenses.
As for cost, the average procedure from a competent surgeon who utilizes the latest equipment runs around $4000.00 for both eyes. AVOID the cut rate clinics that promise good results and charge $299.00/per eye.