TargetTalk

Hi All.

I am looking for recommendations on where to buy some lens to suite Champion shooting glasses.
I know my correct prescription and I am lucky that I do not have any astigmatisms and only require low powered (+1.0) correction
As I am located in Australian I do not have many choices on where I can buy the lens. My local optometrist would be around the US$70 per lens but is checking the factory to see if they can cut the lens for me.
Is there anywhere online where I can buy 42mm diameter lens with anti-reflective coating that ship internationally?

Regards,

Spaceball

My suggestion would be to claim it against your private health insurance - most allow one pair of prescription glasses per year.

Or try the budget eye places - Specsavers, OPSM, Budget Eyewear, etc.

Or call one of the Bruces at Potter Firearms (Ormeau, Qld or Shepparton, Vic). They sell Champion shooting glasses.

Any optician should be able to it for you - evens specs avers and the like.

Rob.

Thanks guys

I was trying to see if there were places that sold pre ground lens to suit.
I did find this from a USA company http://www.champchoice.com/cat-Champion-424-1.aspx
I have sent an email to them to find out a bit more about the material used and any anti-reflective coating.
Would be nice to find a cheap online store where we could buy this. Be nice to have a few lens to try based on range and light conditions.

Spaceball

Hello Spaceball.

I know that Bruce at Potters in Shepparton has a selection of Varga odds and ends from when he bought the business so you might find a solution there. From memory he has a pretty comprehensive set in the larger lens diameters.

Another thing worth considering is that plastic lenses from cheapo $2 shop glasses (or $5 pharmacy readers if you're going to spoil yourself) are extremely easy to shape if you have access to a Dremel tool and belt sander. I wanted to do some trial and error testing and ground a +1.0 lens to fit my small 23mm lens holder in about 10 minutes. To avoid scratching it I stuck a low-tack paper sticker on either side of the lens while shaping it. A scribed line in black pen provides a margin to grind up to and the rest is easy.

In the end I bought some +0.50 and +0.75 lenses for my 23mm Knoblochs from Champions Choice in the US (link above, $16 each) since the low cost readers are hard to find below +1.0 and I needed the small diameter for prone. But since my reading prescription is +1.5 in my shooting eye they were a little underpowered - better than nothing, but neither as helpful as the +1.0.

Contact Art at Shooting Sight LLC in Cincinnati Ohio at the web site below. He will set you up. Will cost you $ 40.

http://www.shootingsight.com/lenses.html

Yes, if they are straight round lenses, I can set you up. I'll have to dig, I recall I actually bought a 42mm Champion holder, just for fitting lenses, so I can cut the lens and ship to Australia.

Cost is US$40 delivered for a PC lens with AR coating.

Contact me at shootingsight@nuvox.net

DavePat wrote:Contact Art at Shooting Sight LLC in Cincinnati Ohio at the web site below. He will set you up. Will cost you $ 40.

http://www.shootingsight.com/lenses.html

+1 for Art.

I've bought a couple of lenses off him and have been very pleased with the quality.

I went to Specsavers in Liverpool UK but they weren't worth a blow on a rag-man's bugle, Macmillans were good if you have a branch there

TommyH

Huh? How much is a blow on a rag-man's bugle worth?

I lived in Leeds for 9 months, and getting the Jordie accent was only half the battle. After you got the accent, you still had to figure out what the words meant.

We were evaluating glue formulations, and they told me one formula stuck like '$hit on a blanket'. I later asked someone, and they explained that if you have ever been a parent, you should know that $hit sticks to blankets VERY well ....

They would also talk about my mother's family, insisting she had a brother named Robert. We'd be adjusting a machine, and when it started working, they'd throw in "Bob's your uncle' for no apparent reason.

None of this was as bad as Scotland, where I'd walk into a pub and the barmaid would talk to me, and I was absolutely amazed that after speaking English all my life, I still didn't understand a single word she said ......

ShootingSight Huh? How much is a blow on a rag-man's bugle worth?

Not much my friend

TommyH

The $40 lens shipped sound like a great price and probably a great lens. Last time I checked, our host Pilkguns had the cheapest lens for around $20. Can't remember the name off hand but there is a large shooting supply store in Germany that has a catalogue and ships worlwide but also has a walk in store at the range in Hannover as well as a flagship store somewhere further north in Germany. The name starts with a K and it is the last name of the only German to ever win a 3p Gold medal at the olympics from what I am told. Maybe those clues are enough for someone to tell us the name of that company. I know every year when I shoot a match there they offer complete vision, glasses, and lens testing and will obviously ship you a good lens as well if you need another option. I have some Varga, Champion, and Knoblock frames (and need to think about selling some of them) and have found I like using regular cheap reading glasses better for a number of reasons. Not sure about the shipping overseas but Readingglasses.com offer hundreds of pairs for as little as $15us starting at .75. It has allowed me to try out several different scripts even though I went to the eye doctor and spent a lot of money to find out the proper one as well as having a shooting supply company fit me with the correct lens (for that day). My eyes don't always see things the same on every day and sometimes I like .75 and sometimes I like 1.0. Depending which event I'm shooting, sometimes part of my goal and reason for using glasses (besides seeing the sight) is to blur the target which makes it easier to concentrate on the sight. Anyway, just some more cheap options and for those not owning proper frames and knowing which lens to get, buying 2 or 3 sets of reading glasses for less than $50 bucks will not only get you by in the meantime but will be much cheaper than going to the eye doctor to get an exam.

I personally bookmarked the site with the $40 lens because if they are glass with a coating, you can't beat that. My guess is the $20 lens that Pilk sells is prob plastic non coated which is also fine if you are careful with them and your eyes just need a little correction and you are in a position to make every dollar count.

Whilst I understand what you're saying, reading glasses dont make a good substitute for shooting glasses. For a start you don't shoot with your head in the same position as you read, so using reading glasses you'll be looking through the edge of the lens and with the lens a long way from perpendicular to the line of sight. I would also advise against self diagnosis as a means of working out your prescription, followed by trial and error.

Rob.

Self diagnosis isn't much different than what the eye doctor or the specialist at the Hannover match does. They put different power lenses in front of your eye and ask which looks better. Same as using different $15 reading glasses if that is all you can afford. Since I can afford and do have 3 or 4 different shooting frames and a number of lenses that were prescribed and have tried and used all of those as well as several pairs of reading glasses and seem to prefer the reading glasses at this point, then I would say it is a very valid option for someone who 1. doesn't have the means or access to pay for a doctor or a $250 pair of shooting frames and for 2. someone who only needs a slight to no correction. Also keep in mind, that your vision is not the same every day. There are many things that affect this, one of the most noticeable is when you become dehydrated during a match for example and your vision starts to go. Anyway, I understand why a proper pair of shooting frames can and should be the best option with the adjustability but its hard to argue with being able to see the sights and target just as good with a pair of reading glasses and having the scores to back it up.

ShootingSight wrote:They would also talk about my mother's family, insisting she had a brother named Robert.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob%27s_your_uncle

Fairly kind of them, considering the comments I used to make about my co-worker's mothers. Generally a donkey was involved.

ShootingSight wrote:None of this was as bad as Scotland, where I'd walk into a pub and the barmaid would talk to me,

Hey, at least she was talking to you! What else do you need to know?

USMC0802 wrote:Self diagnosis isn't much different than what the eye doctor or the specialist at the Hannover match does. They put different power lenses in front of your eye and ask which looks better. Same as using different $15 reading glasses if that is all you can afford. Since I can afford and do have 3 or 4 different shooting frames and a number of lenses that were prescribed and have tried and used all of those as well as several pairs of reading glasses and seem to prefer the reading glasses at this point, then I would say it is a very valid option for someone who 1. doesn't have the means or access to pay for a doctor or a $250 pair of shooting frames and for 2. someone who only needs a slight to no correction. Also keep in mind, that your vision is not the same every day. There are many things that affect this, one of the most noticeable is when you become dehydrated during a match for example and your vision starts to go. Anyway, I understand why a proper pair of shooting frames can and should be the best option with the adjustability but its hard to argue with being able to see the sights and target just as good with a pair of reading glasses and having the scores to back it up.

If you want to do the job properly then you need to pay for it. If you want to 'make do' then do as you say, cut corners and save some money, but don't expect a great outcome. The choice is yours to make.

Rob.

My lens for $40 shipped is an ophthalmic lens in polycarbonate, with AR coatings. It is not a safety rated lens, though Polycarbonate is inherently impact resistant. Most reading glasses are not polycarbonate, and are not impact resistant.

My attitude towards the 'do it yourself' approach depends. I actually sell test lens sets for shooters, so rather than buying multiple reading glasses, you buy a set of lenses, and hold up different lenses to see what works. If you have no underlying vision issues, and just have 'old eyes', this approach works fine. Different lens powers is just like focusing a camera - you turn the knob till you get the focus you want, you don't need a professional to help you do that. THe only difference is that rather than the continuous adjustment of turning the lens on a camera, you are trying a bunch of lenses, each with the focus set in a different spot.

If you have an underlying vision issue, like an astigmatism, then you need a professional to get that sorted out. Any lens you need would have to have the astigmatic error corrected in it, and just adjusting your focus in/out with reading glasses would not do that. Also, if you have vision issues and have never had them checked by a doctor, it is a good idea to do that. Vision issues might be just tuning the lens in your eye, but it might also be a host of eye diseases that you need to get evaluated and treated. Those you cannot self-diagnose, and if untreated, might cause serious problems.

I have spent years playing with glasses. One thing I have always done is use the same optician throughout. That way we get to know each other and I insist he feeds back to me what he thinks of what I am feeding him. Eventually we get to testing my eyes. I take a target with me and stick it on the wall of his rooms about 20 to 25 yds away. I have also used 50m targets on the other side of the street to look at.

He sets me up with his multilens holder with the "correct" prescription and I go walkabout. Checking if I can see nice clear black, sharp edged circular targets. This is my ultimate test. I get to twiddle the astigmatism to fine adjust rotation and also to check what does happen when it is rotated a tad.

Once that is sorted we go back and see if there is any differences the testing hasn't picked up.

Once we come to a decision, I get the "Right" lens made for my aiming eye and 1/4 diopter stronger and weaker made for my shooting glasses.

Then I have fun playing with them on the range.

I get all my lenses antireflection (AR) coated on both sides.

As I have got older my accommodation ability has deteriorated and I have great difficulty in changing focus from sights to target. I now need to focus a fraction closer to the front sight than I used to and need a 1/4 diopter stronger to get there sometimes.

I say sometimes because recently I discovered that my shooting improved without glasses!!! It was purely accidental I found out and it was because I had left them behind and had to shoot without.

It is always useful to go back to "zero" and check to see if there really is an improvement with glasses!!!

Typically, you always want to use the strongest (most positive) lens you can, without overpowering the eye.

Lens powers add if you look through multiple lenses. So either your eye does the focusing, or the lens does the focusing, or your eye does part, and the lens does part.

Since focusing your eye requires muscular exertion, your best option if for your eye to do the minimum, and the lens to do the maximum. Since your eye muscle only exerts in one direction to add power from the relaxed position, if you use a too powerful lens, your eye muscle cannot exert to compensate to reduce power. This is why eye doctors always start testing you with excessive power, and then back down until things just come into focus, and then you stop there. If he were to go lower in power, you could start exerting the eye to add the missing part, and you would still see OK, but you would be exerting. You don't want that.

Many people who self diagnose start low, and work their way up, which means they can sometimes stop before getting to sufficient.

Reality is that even with perfect vision, there is a mathematically defined lens power required to shift focus from infinity to the shooting hyperfocal distance, and this incremental lens power is defined by the sight radius, not by your vision, or the target distance.