Can anyone help?

[dave palmer]

Hi all,

I do 10m target rifle shooting and i seem to have developed a sighting problem.
Let me try and explain.
As i look through the diopter sight the target seems to fade into the white of the card.
I lose sight of the target through the rifle sight and have to look away for a second and try to aim again.
I guess you could call it "Target blindness".
Ime wondering if the artificial light shining on the target is the problem?
I do have to wear glasses, but i should point out that i have no problem seeing the target in natural daylight and the problem just doesnt occur.
Ime begining to contemplate a visit to see my doctor to rule out any developing sight problem.
Ive also seem the optician and hes assured me that he rates my vision as better than 20/20 vision, so ime mystified as to what is causing the problem.
Has anyone else ever had a problem like this?
Any help or advice would be most welcome as this is playing absolute havoc with my scores, and its putting a bit of a dent in my confidence too.
In advance, thanks for your help.

[AD_K]

Trim your eye brows

[RobinC]

Dave
It could be several things, If your eysight is OK and has been checked here are a few things to check. You say it has developed, how long have you been shooting? How old are you? What is your average?

1. Lights on the target very excessively bright? Possible but I think this is unlikely.

2. Foresight too small, a common problem. It's personal choice and dependent on how good your hold is, I think 4 mm is small, my wife shoots 90+ and uses a 4.5 mm on a short sight base, that's equivalent to 4.7 or bigger on a normal sight base. To test take out the foresight and try, I guarantee you will not have the problem then, if you do its definately a medical issue. Then start with the biggest you can get, 5 mm is usable and then reduce to preference but stay as big as you can handle.

3. Rearsight aperture too small, standard ones are around 1.1mm ish. Do you have an adjustable iris? If not could be a worthwhile investment, adjustable 1.1 to 1.6 ish is sensible. That said my wife wanted one, and then leaves it on 1.2 regardless of conditions!

4. Are you tired when you shoot? Tiredness goes to the eyes first, have you been on a computor prior to shooting, this is the kiss of death to a good sight picture.

5. Do you drink when you shoot, dehydration goes to the eyes first, and it happens very quickly. 1 litre of water per 40 shots is a good basis.

6. Re 4&5 above both are excaserbated when you are over 40 years old.

7. Is your head level-ish, the previous reply was joking but if your position has your head forced down to gain adequate cheek pressure you may be forced looking through the upper part of the eye, hopefully not your eyebrows! Try raising your cheek piece or packing if you don't have an adjustable one. Consider sight raising blocks and raise the cheek piece higher to bring the head more upright, might help your ballance as well.

Phew! I think that's enough to be working on.

Good Shootiing
Robin

[wonky donky]

All that Robin has said, the condition is called "greying out" & the biggest cause is over long aiming.

If your in the aim for longer than 5-8secs then you may well experience a problem, more so as we get older.

Top shooters already have the aiming mark in the near centre of the forsight before they even look through the rearsight thus cutting down on aiming time. They also look away if the aiming process starts to take too long & try again after giving the eyes a short rest by looking at a far object without breaking the position.

[hwtyger]

You say developed, so you didnt have this at first? Than its you, unléss you changed something on the rifle.
Some like shooting with diopter tunnels to avoid stray light, and/or use blenders on their diopters.
Adjustable iris diameters are available as well.
Not aiming too long is very important. If its you, my tips above are just aids, not fixes.
Allthough too bright light on the target can cause this as well (or worsen).
Take a few good breaths before starting yr buildup, also blink a few times.

[pr1uk]

All that Robin has said, the condition is called "greying out" & the biggest cause is over long aiming.

If your in the aim for longer than 5-8secs then you may well experience a problem, more so as we get older.

Top shooters already have the aiming mark in the near centre of the forsight before they even look through the rearsight thus cutting down on aiming time. They also look away if the aiming process starts to take too long & try again after giving the eyes a short rest by looking at a far object without breaking the position.

Never heard of this greying out but i am 62 and yes if for any reason i try sighting too long and am tired i get the same effect.

[RobinC]

Put in a bigger foresight, at least 4.5 (at 10 mt), open up the rear iris to 1.3 or 1.4. Drink lots of water when shooting, and as soon as it starts, look away, blink, and return to aim, and practice shooting quicker.
Welcome to old age!
Good Shooting
Robin