Handgun Sights for “Old Eyes”

Rob Pincus is often asked what type of sights on a defensive pistol are best for a shooter with “old eyes”? By “old eyes,” we mean people with degrading vision or whose vision has changed from when they were younger and their eyes were sharper. Rob offers his suggestions with the caveat that the way people’s vision changes varies from person to person, so there is no “one size fits all” answer.

SCIENTIFIC DATA

Rob’s advice on this topic, as with many other shooting, personal-defense and defensive gear-related topics, is not based on what he personally likes but on scientific data, in this case concerning how eyes work, the way we process shapes, the geometry of weapon sights and the distances involved in trying to get sight alignment and sight picture.

Though for the record, Rob’s at the point where his vision has changed too.

THREE OPTIONS

Rob presents three popular weapon sights for people with vision issues.

Adding a red-dot sight to the pistol. This option has become increasingly popular.
Traditional geometry front and rear iron sights with a fiber-optic piece added.
I.C.E. CLAW Sight. Rob designed this many years ago for Ameriglo. It’s a wide front sight with a brightly painted square and a wide rear notch cut into the blacked-out rear sight.

Rob recommends the CLAW Sight for any shooter with a vision issue, and he explains why in detail, while also discussing the good points of the other two options.

WHAT WORKS FOR YOU?

Rob emphasizes that you must get out on the range and do some handgun training and practice with different weapon sights to see what works best for you and your vision issues. It may not even be any of these three choices. Finally, don’t just obsess over the sight alignment piece — make sure you factor in a dynamic sight picture too.