TargetTalk

Hello,

I have Astigmatism.
I am wondering what is the most used by shooters with my condition and why.

I would like to know what you prefer, contact lenses or prescription glasses.

What are the pros and the cons.

Has antbody tried lasik surgery and what was the outcome?

I prefer contact lenses I see better with them then I do with my glasses.
In fact the book "Ways of the rifle" suggests wearing contacts if you can.
You can get contact lenses for Astigmatism that is no problem. And if your eyes get dry then get contacts for dry eyes (thats what I did)
I can tell you that for all the matchs that I go to I don't see alot of people useing eyeglasses, most of the time I will see people using shooting glasses.

-Brian-

I also have Astigmatism and i personally use shooting glasses. (Champion more specifically) I will say that both contacts and shooting glasses present unque problems. As mentioned earlier, contacts can dry out. Yes they do have 'non drying' contacts now, but im not an expert on how well they perform. Shooting glasses need to be set up very precisely. Reason being most people choose to get as small a lens as possible, which is recomended, but if you do not set the lens so you are looking directly through the center of the lens there will be a distortion because the prescription is put in the very center of the lens. Even shooters at the highest level sometimes have difficulty maintaining consistent enough head position in standing to make this happen. Believe me, if i could shoot with contacts i would because of this problem, but i have other eye issues that prevent that. My suggestion would be to start with a good set of contacts, and if you have drying or irritation issues, when your head and overall standing position are good enough then get a good set of shooting glasses. When and if you do get the glasses, have someone help you get them set up, and have someone check the position of them often. i usually have my brother check mine once every month or so. Just my two cents. good luck.

ryan

Before you do any type of surgery on your eyes, make sure you chat with a few doctors and get the long term prognosis.

I am not eligible for lasik or anything like it as I've had two corneal transplants, (each eye) but I'm a curious sort, and all my eye docs have told me that, long term, folks should plan on the eyes that undergo lasik progress towards far-sightedness down the road. The timeframe depends on your age and of course other factors. (10 - 15 years or so)

IMHO, if you are a younger shooter, stay away from a surgical option as long as you can, and work with a doc that is good fitting contacts. The gal that fits mine has been doing so since she began practicing 32 years ago. She is the only one I've ever let fit me as she always worked until we got it right .... even if it was taking 6 months. I'm kinda freaking now that she is planning on retiring. So get a good doc and stick with them.

JH Martin,

My wife has also had two cornea transplants. Last year her doc did laser surgery (hand held). This help flatten the high spots on her corneas. She also had both lenses replaced with corrected power. She sees pretty darn well now.