Improve Your Shooting: Choosing the Correct Top Focal Magnification
by Ali Juten on Mar 19, 2019
Using Top Focals® to Improve Your Shooting
By Ali Juten
As your eyes age, it can be difficult to keep improving your shot without a little bit of help. That's why we designed our best selling Top Focal Kits.
The Top Focal® glass is designed to work as readers, but the magnification is at the top of the lenses so you can easily see your sights. By placing the magnifiers at the top of the lenses, you can maintain a proper shooting stance and see a clear sight picture.
Over the years, we've taken many questions about how to go about choosing the correct magnification for shooting with Top Focals so here's a breakdown for you:
How to Choose the Correct Top Focal® Magnification
The first thing to note is that the magnification that you use for reading may not be the same for shooting. The reason for this is because, when you shoot, you hold your firearm out at arms length. Now think about how you would typically read a book...you hold it much closer. An arms length, when it comes readers, makes all the difference.
- Go to your local drug store and locate their reading glasses section. Bring a pencil along for testing purposes.
- If you already know what your reading glass magnification is, try on a pair of reading glasses at a magnification that is slightly weaker than your reading glasses.
- Now, hold your pencil out at arms length. With the glasses on, focus on the tip of the pencil like you would your sights. If the tip of the pencil is clear, this would be the correct magnification. If it is not clear, try different strengths until you can see the tip of the pencil clearly.
The SSP Top Focals are offered in: 1.00, 1.25, 1.50, 1.75, 2.00, 2.25, 2.50 & 3.00 magnification. So, whether you are shooting recreationally or relying on a firearm for your everyday job, the Top Focal® shooting glasses from SSP Eyewear can improve your accuracy by providing a clear sight picture.
BONUS TIP: Ways to customize your Top Focal® glasses to improve accuracy
- Using the Top Focal® Ast Kit, wear both right and left Top Focal® lenses. This will make your sights clear but target softly blurred.
- Using the Top Focal Premiere Kit, wear a Top Focal® lens on your dominant eye and a Chelan lens (no magnification) on your non-dominant eye. This will make the sights clear and the target unobstructed with both eyes open.
- Using the Top Focal Ultra Kit, wear a Top Focal® lens on your dominant eye and a Denial lens (bottom bifocal) on your non-dominant eye. This will make the sights clear, the target clear, and reading clear when using both eyes.
I use a handgun and rifle for work. Just cataract surgery. I used to wear progressive glasses. Now I can see at distance very well, but need readers for up close. I need to be able to see the reticle in my scope and my hanging sights. I have shot the handgun with both eyes open for decades. I shoot the rifle with the right eye closed. What would you suggest.
Hi SSP gang! Been using my TopFocal shooting glasses for three years now! As I’ve said before, I didn’t even realize I could NOT see my front sight until I started taking my shooting to the next level, no longer wanting to be a “newbie”! When I was unable to do the simple tasks my mentor was telling me to do, I felt stupid and inept. My mentor told me about SSP Eyewear and their “glasses that help you see”. I ordered them immediately, what did I have to lose? Putting my TopFocal glasses on for the first time, bringing my Glock up to look down the sites and SEEING THE FRONT SITE, literally made me jump up and down yelling “I can see my sights!” Love these, and for the price, you have nothing to lose….
I need my right eye in 3.50 and my left eye in 1.50. I would buy a pair of each and mix them myself if had a 3.50 lens. Can you help me?
How does someone determine which eye is the dominant eye?
Hi, Here is my problem, I’m ok with the front sight on my handguns but I have a problem with the target, The target is about 10 to 15 feet away.