I used to play golf, a long time ago, and I quite enjoyed it because while I wasn’t that good, at least I was good enough not to make a fool of myself at company golf days, or playing with clients — a competent social golfer, in other words, with some really good shots and not too many abysmal failures.
The problem was that I had to play a lot of golf (at least three rounds a week) to keep that standard up. And as time went on and I moved into upper management, there was less and less time to play. Three times a week turned into every other week, then once a month… and my game went to shit. So eventually I stopped playing, because the most frustrating thing is to know what shot to play, but no longer being able to play it; and I was just making a damn fool of myself by even trying.
I’ve reached that point with shooting.
People sometimes say that a bad day at the range is still better than a good day at the office, which is total bullshit, of course: I’ve had days at the range where equipment broke, where I’ve arrived at the range but forgotten my ammo at home — you all know what I’m talking about here. And I’ve had some days at the office which were pretty spectacular, both from a career perspective and just feeling the satisfaction of having done a really good job that day.
But in my whole life, I’ve only done things until they stopped being fun anymore; and I’ve reached that point with shooting. I’ve always been a competent handgun shooter, and a little better than average with a rifle, but I’m no longer either. My eyes are absolute shit — despite several surgeries, I have advancing glaucoma (which is incurable, and can only be arrested with prescription eyedrops) and even worse, my always-severe astigmatism seems to be getting worse with advancing age. Crosshairs in a scope now appear to be two overlapping sets of crosshairs:
and a red-dot sight looks like a Mastercard symbol:
When trying to place a shot into a 1″ target at 100 yards, it’s almost impossible to shoot consistently because sometimes the left-hand image is in focus, and other times the right-hand one seems to be the one to use.
Frankly, after squinting and refocusing for what seems like minutes, I sometimes just pull the trigger to get it over with. With predictable — i.e. shit — results.
It’s no good using the best equipment either, because no matter how good, the results are going to be terrible because I just can’t shoot for shit anymore. And I get no joy out of shooting the good stuff anymore either.
I’m not looking forward to this year’s Boomershoot, where the ranges start at 400 yards, and go out to 900. If I hit one Boomer over two days, it’ll be a miracle. And that’s no fun at all, especially when I’m not some newbie shooter — not after sixty-odd years of shooting — even though my targets look like one.
And I’ll be trying like hell not to have to drive at night to get up to Idaho, because:
Last Thursday I was at the range, doing some final adjustments to both Boomershoot rifles — the .308 Win CZ 557 Varmint (this year’s ULD raffle prize) and my 6.5×55 Swede 550. When I finally gave up, checked out and the counter guy asked me if I’d enjoyed the session, I replied, “No.” Then I added, “I think my shooting from now on is going to be Coke cans at 25 yards.” And as I said that, I realized that this really is going to be the case.
I’m done with the Gun Thing. This will be my last Boomershoot, I won’t be hunting deer in Scotland or birds in Devon with Mr. Free Market, and most probably not even sporting clays. My only shooting will be to keep in training with my self-defense guns, and a little plinking with .22 rifles at large targets (cans, oranges, that kind of thing) at close range.
I will probably be selling most of my guns — details to be announced later — keeping only a very few that I’m comfortable shooting.
It’s just not fun anymore, so shooting is going to go the way of golf.
Fiddle dee dee, tomorrow’s another day.
No, seriously, don’t let it get you down too much.
Renew, regroup, try again, reassess, try different techniques.
But never, ever, give up entirely.
So you can’t shoot a natz dik off at 1000 yds, so what?
Coax the little fukker closer, then shoot his dik off.
Remember your golfing analogy, well, that works for shooting and everything else too. If you quit entirely all will be lost in short order. Do don’t give up.
sigh…So don’t give up.
Kim. Since I went zero carb nearly three years ago my vision has improved significantly, and the developing glaucoma diagnosed four years ago has disappeared. Last summer when I went to the
DMV to renew my license, I improved on the eye test so much that I no longer need corrective lenses to drive. Just one 72 year-old guy’s anecdotal evidence I suppose, but I couldn’t be happier about it.
Seconded.
Zero-carb works for me.
I see absolutely zero-zero-zero need for grains/legumes in my diet.
I replaced those ‘FDA-recommended’ empty fillers with fresh organic local-sourced vegetables.
I aim for twelve servings of vegetables daily… drenched in coconut oil, olive oil, bacon grease.
With my animal protein — smoked salmon, elk burgers, venison sausage, wild boar hams — I quit all those ‘allergy’ meds.
Those ‘allergies’ bugging me for decades were merely my natural reaction to the lectins/phytates in grains/corn/oats.
The instant I quit that ‘pizza/donuts’ nonsense, my allergy-meds use dropped to nothing.
And I dropped 60# of bloat.
And that carpal-tunnel burn went away.
And my knees quit popping like fire-crackers.
Currently, and into the foreseeable future, I’m on no prescription meds at all, or even OTCs. So very many chronic conditions improve, or even disappear, on low-no carb. The gummint recommended Standard American Diet is nothing but an unrelenting daily bolus of inflammation and immune system corruption.
I have recently switch to a low carb diet to keep my bit-to-high blood sugar under control. It would be a real serendipity if that improved my vision too.
One word Kim……TEXAS !!!
I’ve had lasik done on my eyes so I get a lot of glare when night driving, more or less just like what your picture shows. I found that night driving glasses have helped quite a bit. Not “perfect night vision” but the glare spikes have significantly improved at least, taking night driving from annoying-to-scary down to a manageable “eh, it’s not great, but not a big deal.”
I was tipped off to this design by Instapundit, but there are several others — https://www.amazon.com/Night-Vision-Wraparound-Glasses-Prescription/dp/B0719S97TH/
Hang in there. I know well how demoralizing constant medical problems can be.
I have and always have had multiple eye problems. Cataract surgery took my uncorrected vision from 20/800 to 20/40 and completely eliminated night vision problems but there is some weirdness that is making it harder for me to find the front sight. Might be my eyes, might be my glasses or might be loss of presentation consistency due to inability to practice because of shoulder replacement at the same time. Working on that. I have always been cross-dominant and severely so to the point I have to shoot long guns left handed and am a one-eye shooter no matter what. Astigmatism in my case is correctable, if that is the problem with the multiple focal points rather than the glaucoma. I also have floaters due to injury which temporarily obstruct vision without affecting the measured vision but can make finding sights odd. I can still do iron sights on a rifle but I am slow as can be picking them up. Red dots and scopes are much better these days.
Question: Is your eye doc a shooter?
Good for you Kim… I’m like you in that my interest often change. When I feel that I’ve self mastered something I wanted to do I move on. Life is short and there are many challenging and exciting things to pursue. If you’ve decided this one has run it’s course then I look forward to hearing about your next adventures.
So sorry to hear it, Kim. I am not in your boat yet, but I’m not far behind either. In my glory days it took a competition level shooter to best me, and if they weren’t in top form I could give them a spanking too. Today I sling up and the ground and air and gravity shift about. And you know what they say about eyes: they are always the second thing to go!😆👍
I’ve seen the old geezers at the range that can’t hang them up; there’s a lot of them at our range and they’re nothing but trouble. They fight about stupid stuff with the shooters and management, a few were downright unsafe and had to have their memberships revoked, and it’s hard on everyone. I honestly wonder why they come out; it can’t be fun for them either… can it? The hell of it is many of those seniors built our club from the ground up.
I actually respect your decision and if it’s your time – sell the guns off to tomorrow’s shooters and get the hell out of their way. It’s what I intend to do too. There is season for all things.
…For heathen heart that puts her trust…
.
In iron tube and reeking shard….
….Have mercy on thy people, Lord!
Kim
I just turned 69 this week and had been seeing (ha!) the same kind of results when shooting anything past 100 yards and even at 100, it was 2 hits and 3 misses, that is until I went in and had my eyes checked. Turns out the old eyeballs changed quite a bit in 2 years and a new prescription was issued.
With the new glasses, the nighttime driving with double star fuzzy images cleared up enormously. Single point brake light used to look like a fuzzy triangle with 3 red points, that went away.
Now that we are getting above 50 temps, plan to go out to the long distance range and give these new glasses a try. Honestly suggest you get a checkup and then see if a new pair of specs will improve the double dot issue. I used to hate no line progressive focus glasses and had used tri-focals. Now am using these newfangled things and after about 6 months the brain, head tilt and eye coordination is almost automatic where I used to have to constantly and consciously change view angles.
Best of luck with the shoot. Will see if I can kick a few more bucks your way after taxes are done (today’s drudgery).
Kim, I’m so sorry to hear this. I’m praying for you, even if you don’t believe in it.
Early-1970s, I flew.
Helicopters, twins with a ton of radio gear in place of the rear seats.
Crop-dusters.
To picture-perfect the comic-book super-hero of my dreams, all I needed was an ascot, jodhpurs, and silk scarf.
By the 1990s, my game deteriorated.
At that point, my best use was instructing, sharing my experiences with whipper-snappers.
By the new century, I could barely maintain my craft within a few hundred feet of my assigned altitude… my former ‘rock-solid’ turned into a slack roller-coaster.
I quit before I became statistical.
As part of my three Core Values — Fun, Freedom, Health — it stopped being fun.
.
.
My ancient BMW motorcycle has 138,000 miles.
I parked it in 2018 after MyLastRide left me covered in sweat and shaking from anxiety, worry, and nigh onto terror.
That failed to reach my ‘fun, freedom, health’ requirements.
.
.
I visit elderly shut-ins.
Part of my reason — as a retired medical perfessionel, I like to eval their competence to live alone.
* in the kitchen, does a geezer leave the faucet running or a burner blazing
* how often do other drivers need evasive manoeuvres to avoid killing/decapitating me in the passenger seat
* how often do my gentle reminders about such trivia as ‘looks like that light turned red’ result in an ‘oops!, I missed that…’
.
.
A couple days ago — a few weeks from turning 69 — I left a kitchen faucet running while I was in the shower.
And if I don’t write an op manual for certain equipment, I get to once again figure-out which wire goes where prior to me using it.
.
.
I realize my best use is offering my experiences to youngsters as a way for them to avoid some imagined potential tragedy.
And I think that imagination is probably my asset.
I realize I might not remember everything perfectly, I may not practice piano often enough to justify keeping it sitting on the stand and plugged in, I may need to re-familiarize my fingers with the laptop keyboard each time I go to writing my memoirs… but giving-up shooting!
That would be akin to quitting thinking about naughty activities with naughty companions.
.
.
Good grief.
In my imagination, I possess so many skills, so many automatic abilities, stuff I do without thinking about doing it:
* predict the weather
* interrogate a suspect so gently, she/he wants to self-incriminate
* wrench an engine or section of plumbing or weld/fabricate…
and
* work with dogs to the point I am part of the pack.
And therein lays my next segment of fulfilling my ‘fun, freedom, health’ mandate:
* I can sit in the porch-rocker while tossing an occasional tennis-ball to the dogs… and be perfectly content.
What happened to my disgust! at TheRulingElites!, TheMalignantOverlords!, the pelosi-harris administration! !
Where is my frustration with the self-imposed incompetence I see in youngsters, their “that is too scary so I would never try” give-upitude!
I think my greatest lessons about less-doing-and-more-being come from the dogs, their acceptance of what-is, and their happiness at simply hanging-out with their chums.
.
.
Let’s you and me hang-out a while longer.
I get a kick out of it.
It fits my ‘fun, freedom’ health’ dealy-bobber thingee.
I know there is a name for it… give me a sec, it is right on the tip of my tongue…
Kim,
I get it – I really do – and I’m sorry.
I am at the same point with my old MG’s – I just don’t enjoy it like I used to and I can no longer physically do the “jack up, crawl under the car, take this or that apart or replace” that I used to. It saddens me greatly as age advances and life changes.
Thank God I can still cook and my skills there are better than ever. However, due to the chinkavirus, I no longer have friends or extended family to cook for.
Ah, well…..there is wine, various spirits and other sides of life to comfort. Not the same…..different.
And so it goes……
Mark
About that getting older stuff, if you’re lucky it happens. Going past the mid 70’s this I ain’t what I used to be but I am what I am. Every year a group of us 25 to 30 gather up in Abilene to shoot doves opening weekend and we have been doing that for over 25 years. Our original group from the mid 90’s including me have gone through those changes, some becoming ride alongs such showing up to eat and tell stories while some have passed on. I am one of the older guys and my son and those his age are filling in the middle bringing along young ones who seem to keep the numbers about the same. I had to struggle last year to stay out and get my limit the first day but I did hang in. The second day for some reason I was in a sweet spot on the field and took my time letting each shot develop and I limited out before my son, averaged two shots for the last eight dove I shot and that made my year. I have had a lot of wonderful hunting trips shooting deer and upland quail and pheasant and those are now just memories, I don’t have the energy to raise and train another dog, last Brittany was way too old when she died last year, and as for deer it is too expensive to have them processed and my back gets out of whack just dressing out doves now a days, so there’s that.
I have also reduced my expectations on competition shooting only Steel Challenge with .22LR pistol and rifle and working hard to come in the middle of the competition knowing that it about the best I can do. Each month I try to go out and shoot one trip of 100 yard center fire, some center fire pistol and at least two rounds of skeet, not enough to make improvement but it does make for a fun day.
As for the eyes, I am lucky so far and hope you, Kim can find some solution for improvement, I can’t hear for shit and I becoming more deaf very year but I do still have reasonable vision.
Unlike you, I was never much of a shooter. I dabbled but was never considered good. I sold my Mini-14 and MkII bull barrel to get a down-payment together for my 1st house. So endeth my shooting days.
But give up golf? Never! I may have lost 50 yds off the tee and have trouble reaching par 4’s in two but that walk in nature keeps me going regardless of how badly I’m playing. (yes, I still walk even as a geezer)
I think someone had a quote once about “cold, dead hands” and golf clubs.
Sorry to hear you’re giving up a hobby that has given you such pleasure for so many years.
For a new hobby, take a look at croquet. It’s a combination of golf and snooker for grown-ups.
It takes wisdom to know yourself. I hope you find new experiences to fulfill the next phase of your life.
I have known several lifelong shooters that reach this crossroads and I want to have the same grace about it when my time comes.
FWIW, as my eyesight and my health deteriorated with age, I found shooting the bigger rifles less satisfying. Lugging them up to the range and putting even a box of 20 rounds through them seem like too much of a chore. I’ve kept only two of my 308 rifles — one bolt the other lever — on the off chance I may get to hunt again. Or to shoot rioters at the far end of the street (~300 meters). The remainder of the 308s went on consignment where they were hopefully bought by someone who someone who will enjoy them more. There is a move in the near future so the last holdouts may go also on consignment as I ready myself to wave goodbye to California.
Not being entirely willing to give up rifles, I found that pistol caliber carbines filled the gap somewhat and, since they are not long range by any stretch of the imagination, I am not concerned with reaching out over about 100 meters or so. Me eyesight is still good enough that I can make closer shots with a peep sight and a 2X scope is enough for me out to 100 meters. Maybe, with the proceeds from one of your sales, buy a lever-action carbine or even one of those new-fangled autoloaders though most those fire the euro-pellet.
Yep. It’s a damn shame, but it reaches that point sometimes. My golf clubs haven’t seen the light of day in 5 years for the same reasons you gave after playing nearly 50 years. Hit my first ball at 6 years old. When I hung up the game if asked about handicap, my answer was tall blondes & good single malt scotch. Gave up competitive trap & skeet a couple years ago. Regularly shot 300-400 targets a week and was damn good at it until life got in the way. Curling’s another…that’s still fun, but I can’t commit to it thanks to a very high paying gig that requires being tied to a phone too often. I’m too old to give that up and too young to retire.
Walk away for a bit. Try a few ideas the gang has mentioned and see what happens. You can ALWAYS pick it back up.
I had cataracts, I couldn’t see but it happened so slowly that I didn’t really notice, I kept shooting full bore rifle and thought that my game was off. Then I was diagnosed, two operation later, (have no fear it is totally painless – I went in the supermarket with my wife on the way home from the first one), I went down the range – back to Deadeye Dick! I could also see to drive at night, (before it was like your picture), and I didn’t need glasses for driving at all! My eyesight was so much better, I gave up full bore and went to .22, (for a few reasons, mostly, I can see and I’m not so keen now on lugging big heavy guns around). What I haven’t mentioned were THE COLOURS, they came back! If you haven’t been checked for cataracts… You never know?
Everything he said.
Hang in there, Kim. Maybe give your guns to Son and Heir or at least give him first dibs. Then you can “borrow” them back from time to time.
Sorry to hear this, Kim, and you know I’m not far behind you. I may not be at all behind you, I know our relative age is very close.
But, why gauge your enjoyment on what you used to do well and can’t as opposed to finding something new to do that piques your interest again. For example, I did a two day, long range rifle class a couple years back that was very fun, taught by a former Marine Sniper. However, my neck is no longer mobile enough, believe it or not, for me to sight through a scope. I had to put my jacket over some pads under my chest to raise me up enough to sight through the scope. Well, I had fun in that class, but I knew it would be my last.
But I’ve leaned that IDPA shoots are a lot of fun, and I’m not trying to be a bullseye shooter. I shoot pistol with both eyes open, and I do OK with the targets. I’m not that fast, but then I’m not that competitive, either, I’m out to have fun. IDPA is fun and practical and something I can still enjoy. So, no more long-range riflery, but more close up pistol fun! I’ve never been much of a shotgunner, but I’m planning on getting some trap coaching this summer.
In short, maybe this should be your last boomer shoot, but that doesn’t mean you need to give up all other shooting in disgust. Enjoy what you can, and be thankful you enjoyed what you can no longer do as long as you did. You can also coach, if you have any conservative younger friends you can mentor. I don’t do martial arts any more, but I can still watch a teenager or college student perform a technique or a form and offer expert coaching.
Give some thought to they kinds of shooting you can still do, and settle for enjoying that. Glass half empty or half full is what’s going on here, I think. And a curmudgeon’s resistance to change, which I sure understand, as a bona fide, card carrying GET OFF MY LAWN curmudgeon myself. 😀
Kim, have you had lens implant/cataract surgery? That can make a big difference with driving at night, seeing through optics, etc. I do know where you’re coming from… Prismatic sights can do better for you than red dots too.
I had 20/15 vision in my younger days, that’s no longer the case. Lens implants did help me quite a bit. Astronomy is another hobby of mine, has been for 40 years. My eyes ain’t what they used to be, but I do what I can. Moving big scopes around is a chore anymore too.
Kim: I read somewhere recently on one or the other of my daily favorite blogs (might have been here, for all I know,) that we (the readers) are a relatively small group of growing-older people who share the same interests and who wish for the old days when we were faster, smarter, stronger, more studly/beautiful. But in the quite, late-night moments of reflection and truth, there is no denying that we’ve pretty-much all seen the last of our “better days.” Eyes, knees, lungs, you name it, all are way past their prime. Too many things I used to enjoy are gone from me now. At my advancing years, the spirit is willing, but that’s about all anymore.
One thing is certain, you’re not alone, judging by the responses today. We’re all right there with you. Some have suggestions on what to do that might improve things for you. My two cents: find things that will occupy your mind when your body just can’t keep up anymore. When all you have left is porch-rocking, be the best damn porch-rocker you can be.
just a quick note about eyes:
I’ve been wearing ’em since I was five years old. my teacher complained to my folks that I was making funny faces at her, couldn’t even see ‘er worth a damn.
back in the mid-’60s when I was on active in the great American mid-West, having learned on a 150 and flying it all over the place, I used to go up with my instructor once a month and do a half-hour of touch-and-goes without my glasses including short field over obstacles – y’know, just in case.
once/twice a week, even in the rain, I go out into the backyard (15 m.) range with the 10 and set up the 2″ dia. heavy steel plates; if I hit them one out of five, I’m happy.
BTW, just turned eighty two months ago – don’t ask for a list of ailments; couldn’t fit it in this small a space.
I’m 73 and have gone through a similar experience. My eyesight has never been good and it certainly has gotten worse as the years wear on. I enjoy Sporting and was a “C” class shooter most of the time but I never let it bother me that I was not the greatest shooter. I went through a rough time when my scores dropped off and frustration set in. Gave up for a time but could not stay away, I enjoy it too much. I now shoot with a group of old fogies most of whom have vision or physical problems. We shoot and do not keep official scores. Just shoot and enjoy without the angst of maintaining a level of shooting or being embarrassed by misses. I will keep shooting until I drop or cannot lift the gun. I stay away from the highly competitive shooters with their egos and attitudes. Relax, shooting should be fun.
I second every thing that’s been said here. As a long time friend (I hope) or pain in the ass (more likely) I’ve got to throw in a few thoughts. The bad news is that this happens to us all. The good news is that we’re around for it to happen.
This wouldn’t be a Dave story without the next words: “Many years back” – I built plastic models. Some aircraft but mostly tanks. I was deeply involved in the International Plastic Modeler’s Society (IPMS) and I was able to build models that were competitive at the national level. By the way if you think that gun people are different and at least a little strange check out the modeling subculture. Its a refuge for people who have very severe cases of Asperger’s Syndrome. Ask me how I know. Anyway when I hit around 40 I discovered that my eyes just wouldn’t work to do the close up level of detail that I wanted. My eye doc said that even with bifocals or close up reading glasses there wasn’t much he could do for me. So I regretfully put the xacto knives and Dremel tool into the toolbox and found something else to occupy my time.
Around the same time I joined the Sheriff Dept as a reserve officer and that became my hobby for the next 28 years. I found that I could shoot reasonably well and I was able to keep up with the administrative side of running our reserve division. I retired from my real full time job two years ago and then turned in my badge 18 months ago. I could still hit the target well enough to qualify, but I realized that at age 67 I was just getting too old to chase or fight skinny 18 year olds on meth.
I’ve found enough new stuff to keep me busy. We got involved with hurricane disaster relief after Harvey hit the Gulf Coast. We also do housing assistance projects here in central Oklahoma.
I stopped hunting two years ago when the friend I hunted with was taken by heart failure. I didn’t kill many deer but I loved to get out in the woods away from my computer and cell phone.
There’s a great John Wayne movie that talks about this idea of growing old called “Big Jake”. Its not historically accurate but it is a fun adventure story. I’ll bet that almost everybody’s seen it but I want to call your attention to a scene with Jacob McCandles (played by Wayne) and his old Indian friend Sam Sharpnose (played by Bruce Cabot). Jacob recruits Sam to help him rescue Jacob’s grandson who has been kidnapped. The dialogue goes something like this:
Sam – I have no gun
Jacob – Close or far?
Sam (gesturing at his eyes) – Close up. My eyes, no good.
Jacob throws him a sawn off 12 gauge Greener double – Me too
My eyes aren’t as good as they could be so I’ll leave the thousand yard work to some kid who can see that far. I’ve got a Shockwave, an 870 and a Stoeger double for close work and I’m still having fun .
Don’t give up.
Kim,
I hope you can take sometime off and maybe later revisit shooting so that it can be fun once again.
Don’t give up yet. Fishing is fun too.
Franky
I would rather stick fish hooks in my scrotum than take up fishing.
Damn! I almost sprayed coffee all over my keyboard.
Stephen Wright: There’s a fine line between fishing and standing on the shoreline looking stupid.
Don’t give up, Kim. Look into what the others here have said. I could add my own cataracts story here, but why be redundant? As the Brits say “Keep your pecker up.”
If you do that with fish hooks, you may attract a 20 something barista who is into “creative” piercings.
JQ
I could set you up in one of the many amateur scrotum-hooking leagues, but I suspect that you haven’t thought this one through. As your eyesight fuzzes out, you start missing the scrotum and hitting other places that are far more painful. But if you insist on trying, two words: barbless hooks.
Something to ponder from time to time. I do.
Paraphrased –
‘gettin’ old ain’t for sissies but if you consider the ONLY alternative,
it ain’t that bad, at least not yet !’
As long as I’m not a burden to anyone, I’ll do my best to stick around.
Damn, Kim…..giving up shooting, that’s going to hurt.
But, I know a bit about what you’re going through.
Made the move out of CA starting in ’16, with the final load in 04/18, and haven’t been back.
Then, I went to the local Costco (3 hr drive to Vegas) for an eye exam (had been using the Costco in CA for two decades & even had a shooter for an eye Doc) and was told about the cataracts, and given a referral to a first class eye surgeon in Vegas (New Eyes, if anyone’s interested – Dr. Helga). Had both eyes done in the fall of ’19, and ended up at 20/30 but good enough for DMV. I’d been using bifocals since Jr. High, and was at trifocals 35 yrs ago and at 20/400 when I couldn’t read the dashboard any longer……and that mid-distance grind proved good for computer screens too (when they came about). But, 2020 sure screwed up any chance to go shooting so I have to get out into the desert and set up a range and find out if I can still print decently, or shoot at all, without having to wear corrective lenses. Plus, I was always right-eye dominate, but now my right eye is just a hair weaker than the left, and I have no idea how that will turn out.
Anyway, I’ve got .22 pistols and rifles to try to get comfortable with once again, and then I can pull out the M1a, and the 1911, and see how that goes. The incentive is to NOT be a gun dealer who doesn’t (or can’t) shoot any longer just because he’s pushing 80.
I’ve read that more people have their better eye on their non-dominant side. No idea why, as I have never seen an explanation. Still better than having your dominant eye on your weak hand side. Not a big deal for handguns, but makes long guns a problem.
I’m 68, a little ahead of you, or a little behind. My astigmatism is quite horrid too.
Doesn’t matter. If you can’t shoot to kill, shoot to wound, if you can’t do that shoot to keep their heads down while your sons, friends and comrades shoot to kill or wound, if you can’t do that shoot to hear the lovely loud bangs that cheer the lads up.
But shoot.
I think I’ll go and shoot a few at one of the targets I can clearly see, a lovely large hillside just north of Montana. If I can’t hit a Rocky Mountain, then I’ll quit.
75 here and the same problem.
I use good quality reading glasses, or for pistol SSP Eyewear ( the model with upper correction ) and you will need several corrections
As long as you can have a good front sigth picture or clear view of the reticle you are good for ” field shooting ” at least.
It happens to all of us.. I now have three pairs of glasses I wear.. (distance, readers, computer). I think what you need is to forget accuracy and get some spray and pray action. Machine guns, bump fire, etc. If you can hit a tin can at 100 yards, try some “reactive” targets like tannerite.
Sorry sir. Aging stinks.
I recently bought a shotgun and went to a couple of the local club’s Tuesday trap sessions. Lots of fun although I don’t really know what I’m doing. One of the new friends I made there is Bob. He’s a WWII Army Air Corps Vet (I had to do the math in my head while he was talking – looks better than I will if I make it into my mid-90’s). Bob shoots maybe one string before his eyes and / or shoulder start to bother him, then he keeps score. But he still has a good time and enjoys the time with like-minded men.
Kim,
I’m sorry to hear that shooting has lost some of its joy for you. Maybe a little break, pick up different hobby for a bit.
My shooting has waxed and waned over the years. I was really into it for a while then life changes I hardly got to the range. Some of the people that run the pistol matches at my club can be an unpleasant group so I stopped competing. I have definitely seen my skills deteriorate and I chalk that up to more time between range trips and now possibly aging.
Don’t sell your kit yet.
JQ
April 1 was damn near two weeks ago.
If this isn’t that….bullshit.
Quitting in the face of adversity doesn’t suit you.
Just one more cataract story: best part about having the surgery comes the day after, when the Doc takes the bandages off. I was in tears, literally, when I was able to see all that had been slowly hidden from me over the years before I did the deed. It is worth the effort if you haven’t done the surgery yet.
As someone who had severe myopia, that first look at the horizon and seeing it in perfect focus was incredible – especially after wearing glasses for 60+ years.
Maybe I’ve got a good optometrist, but, he’s able to keep my astigmatism corrected well with glasses. That should be correctable. I can’t speak to effects of glaucoma on night spikes, though. That sucks.
I will be *really* annoyed if anything gets between me and Boomershoot this year. Now, to find that checkbook and grab a raffle ticket or two…
Kim,
Don’t give it up old man. Suck it up and figure out a way to make it fun, even if you are shooting coke cans at 25 yards. When you quit, you are beaten and we don’t put up with that shit.
I’ve had cataract surgeries in both eyes. Five surgeries to correct RD’s and various infections from the surgery. I’m essentially blind in one eye and my “good” eye sees the tail lights in your picture the same way. I was never more than an average shooter and now I’m not even that. Someone comes through my front door and it will be a mag dump! My family has a history of glaucoma and MD. And I’m only 54 in otherwise good health. I’ll be happy if I have your vision in 15 years.
I struggle with car repairs and restoration; things that are my hobby. But I’m figuring out how to work smarter and make do with what I have to work with. I can’t do some things now so I get some help or make do. You should consider doing the same. We all have to accept our mortality and aging as it doesn’t stop because we don’t want to.
rdb
Kim, I’ve taken a day to chew on this post for a bit, trying to refine my reply.
So, here it is. I don’t know who your eyeball doctor is, but I can gather from your summation, that whatever he/she’s doing, ain’t enough. So, please allow me to make an introduction for you.
This guy. Dr. Mark Whitsett, Katy, TX. He’s one of a very small handful of ophtimologists in the U.S. who “do” the USDA Clinical Trials for stuff like custom lens implants, variable focal geometries and the like. Plus, he’s been the eyeball doc for MANY of the Pro Sports types in the Houston market, for years. He knows exactly what you’ve described in your illustrations, and if he doesn’t have a “fix” for it, I’ll give you 50 rounds of .45ACP.
https://www.whitsettvision.com/
Worth the drive, I assure you. In fact, I’ll wager you this. You get on the phone with their office, and point them to this post. Ask them to look over the illustrations and your description(s), and then listen to what they have to say by way of suggested remedies. I think you’ll find new hope, and a new lease on your shooting career.
Jim
Sunk New Dawn
Galveston, TX
Kim,
Try Jim’s advice. What do you have to lose by seeing another eye doctor? Aside from time and possibly hearing another “no.” Maybe another doc can do something for your or refer you to someone who can.
JQ
edit to my previous: It’s Dr. JEFF Whitsett, not “Mark”. My error, my apologies.
Jim
Sunk New Dawn
Galveston, TX
Ah, geez, Kim. I dunno what to say, other than if it’s no fun anymore, it’s no fun, and there’s no duty to keep doing it.
By all means, though, you may consider other manifestations. Do find ways to pass on your lore and knowledge to more of the upcoming generation. I’m sure there’d be some sort of market for “Gun 101 (and 201, and 301, and 401…) with Kim, that curmudgeonly guy from Africa” 🙂
Kim,
So sad to hear this. I’m sure you can understand/translate the following: “nemo me impune lacessit”.
Or, as Churchill said, “Never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never—in nothing, great or small, large or petty—never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense.”
But, if you’re convinced, I can’t persuade you otherwise. : (
I hear big things from getting High pressure Oxygen therapy (HBOT). I don’t see your problem listed for it, but that doesn’t mean much. Worth checking it out.