TargetTalk

Can anyone recommend an optometrist in Massachusetts (preferably in the Metrowest area) that has experience working with shooters? I'm hoping to find an optometrist that understands the specific needs of shooters and wouldn't be opposed to me bringing my rifle to the examination.

I don't know what constitutes the Metrowest area of Massachusets, but there is one in the Albany, NY area that will work with you, and an Opthamologist in Montpelier, VT who shoots long range and does a great job selecting shooting lenses. I've used both. If either of those are feasible, I can get you the contact information.

Incidently, while both will allow you to bring a rifle to the office, neither says that it's necessary. If you take a few eye-to-sight measuments, they can go from there.

Thanks JohnD. Both of those locations are 3-4 hours away so I'm not inclined to drive that far. But thanks agian...

I didn't bring my rifle, just the sights and a target. I measured the distance between them and placed them on a table to demonstrate. You could also post a notice on your clubs bulletin board. Go to a couple of rifle and pistol matches and ask if anyone there uses someone local. I think you'll find that an Ophthalmologist will be more helpful than an optometrist. But your milage may vary.

mike

Thanks...what's the difference between the two?

Ophthalmologist is a M.D. and is usually much more versed in oddities such as sport. An optometrist is not an M.D. and may be more limited in his exposure to the quirkier aspects of vision. Just what I've noticed.

Mike McCabe wrote:Ophthalmologist is a M.D. and is usually much more versed in oddities such as sport. An optometrist is not an M.D. and may be more limited in his exposure to the quirkier aspects of vision. Just what I've noticed.

My experience has been just the opposite; the opthamologist being the one to go to for medical problems involving the eye; the optometrist is much more skilled at finding the correct lenses for optimum vision.
Take a look at http://www.starreloaders.com/edhall/nwongarts.html

Fred

Thanks, guys. I think I'll start with an exam from my regular eye doctor (its been years!) and then go from there.

As I said, your milage may vary. You may also have to work with your optician (lens maker). It's a lot of bother but well worth it. Good luck.


ps. I'm in Boston area south shore.

Mike, do you shoot smallbore rifle? I shot for about 10 years in the 80s and 90s when the smallbore scence in MA was very strong. Now, after about a 8 year hiatus, the MA smallbore rifle scene seems to be hurting. And, I don't see a lot of active Junior programs either...which is worrisome...

I shoot smallbore and service rifle myself as well as coach them both.
I am the juniors director in Braintree, we currently have 275 juniors signed up into the program.
The problem in smallbore relates to the fact that no one is running smallbore matches for adults only juniors. GOAL is only interested in juniors matches. I am going to try to change this with help from my club.
On Aug 26 we are running an all ages summer biathlon in 1k, 3k and 5k formats.
Next summer I intend on running the BayState Games Open divisions in Braintree.
There are various leagues around, but open matches are few. Road Island has a much more active smallbore community.

mike

http://www.brp.org/html/junior_s_program.html

Wow, that's a big Junior program! Checked out your website and it looks great. Do you guys go out to Perry?

I'll be down at the Metric match in CT on July 15th.

I think the summer Biathalon sounds like a lot of fun...

We have not been to Perry. Maybe next year. I will be placing announcements on this and other sites like stirton, smallbore.us, and northeastshooters for the biathlon, everyone is welcome to attend. It will be open to anyone over 11 that can show safe handling of a .22 before the match/race. The entire course I've laid out is a 1k loop on club property. It goes over paved, grass and rough sufaces. The course will consist of:
1k = 2x 500m loops + 1x 5 shot prone target between loops
3k = 3x1000m loops + 1x 5 shot prone + 1x 5 shot offhand
5k = 5x 1000m + 1x 5p + 1x 5o + 1x 5p + 1x 5o

so in all courses you run, shoot, run .....ect
Missed shots will count as time penalties. Low times win.

All my sons idea. He is a college runner and a 3p shooter.

I haven't been out o Perry since 93, but we are planning to go next year. If you end up going, drop me a line, I'd be happy to help...dan~AT~danielholmes.net

Hi Dan and Mike,

We should all get together sometime. I have started a junior program in Harvard MA and am proparing for my first trip to Perry since 1991..... I would also like to see some senior matches also. I see no reason that matches in Mass can't be open matches so us oldsters can shoot too.
I have about 20 interested juniors as well as some interested parents. I'm starting from scratch with these kids so it is a lot of work/fun. We are also tying to get biathlon going too.

Rick

A year or two ago, there was an optometrist at Sears Optical in the Natick Mall that claimed he had worked with shooters in the past.

I just hosted a Biathlon in Braintree. Lot's of fun, good time. The winner had a corrected time of 23:20 for a 5KM event. I will be organizing more.
For adult smallbore shooters, next summer I am planning to host at Braintree the open section of Bay Sate Games Smallbore Rifle.
Leading up to this I will host a couple of NRA approved matches as well as a qualifier.
I'll keep posting updates on this and other sites such as 'smallbore.us' 'northeastshooters.com' and 'stirton.com' .

If I may be so bold as to suggest a name, Doctor Johnson at Eye Health Services in Weymouth Mass. I use him and the attached optical shop and have been delighted with the level of service.

Somthing your eye doctor never wants you to know.....:

The eye blank out at one second of sighting or shooting. This is called the Perky effect and was sicovered around 1910 by Dr. Perky. In other workd the eyes stop seeing after one second due to visual cortex cancling the image to the visual cortex at the one second point. Point to be made is all shooters that are attempting to sight after one second are not sighting in any way but using a image from memory.

There is an optician in Sharon MA that has made two sets of lenses for my Champion shooting glasses. One was for iron sights and another for a red dot. There was no problem with bringing a firearm to the office. On one occasion he accompanied me to my club to test lenses on the indoor range. Being able to focus on the front sight (or red dot) and also assess how much fuzziness I could tolerate with a 50 ft target was very helpful. It's probably a 45 minute drive from Metro West. Sharon Optical is the shop and the owner is David Hazell. 781-784-8284