Macular Degeneration

[Sharing246]

The macular degeneration in my left eye has advanced significantly in the last 6 months which explains why my skeet game has gone south big time. For the last several weeks I can’t break a high house target to save my life. Hoping someone on here has experienced the same issue and can offer some help.

I’ve read of using a patch on the left eye, shooting with left eye closed as well as using a dot on the left eye. But can’t find anything that helps my condition.

If anyone on this forum as experienced the same problem and can offer some insight I’m open to all suggestions. I don’t want to give up shooting skeet but need something to help me out.

 

[Saul]

I am sorry my friend. I will ask around.

 

[WAB]

I assume you are right eye dominant. If so, in a perverse way, the degeneration of your left eye is already accomplishing something others use a patch or
Dot to accomplish. My guess is that your sight picture has changed and needs an adjustment right or left. A good coach can see the shot charge and tell you which.

Another thought. As it’s the high house you’re missing, the left eye is key to acquiring this target if you are shooting high gun. Dismount your gun slightly and turn your head to the left on the high house.

 

[michael458]

The macular degeneration in my left eye has advanced significantly in the last 6 months

Find a Retina Doctor and go as quick as you can get an appointment and start injections.

Yes, sorry, there is no other way. I suffer MD in both eyes, it started in 2017 with the left eye and a couple of years later with the right....... Wet....... means you have leaky blood vessels..........

Injections will take it away, I use Lucentis and they have a great program.

We started stretching injections out to 3 months with both eyes. My Right eye started leaking and I noticed it the Friday before Memorial day. We were busy all the next week, and I knew I had an appointment anyway on June 5th. Last Wednesday I received both injections and now waiting for my right eye to clear, about another two weeks before I can see well again.

I have a dark gray spot, wavy, just low and left of center. I am not able to hold a handgun and see it with my right eye, forget sights........... I cannot shoot or even see iron sights on a rifle, I can almost shoot with a scope, sorta, kinda, but not very well......... I can shoot Green Laser if so equipped. I can shoot handguns with my left eye, not my dominant eye, but it almost works.......

It will not get any better....... if indeed it is "Wet". Dry is not as serious, so not sure which one you have.

I am having one hell of a time right now, as we type, just trying to see properly, left eye is doing all the work, and the right eye is screwing with the overall vision. Eye patch does help and gives you some fatigue relief....... Almost a week in, my gray spot is starting to diminish, some, hopefully I see some improvement in another week............

I go back for the left eye in 3 months, and 6 weeks for the right eye. In the beginning it is always injections every 4 weeks for some time, and then you can start stretching it a bit to see how far you can go.......... It is a pain, it is not so much fun getting your eyes poked, but it is a damn sight better than the alternative...........

If you are not under a Eye/Retina Doctors care, go as fast as you can, no matter how far or where you have to go.............

 

[Firebird]

Agree with the above post-get a good eye doctor as soon as possible.
I’ve been dealing with my mother’s eye problems for several years now and an eye specialist has worked miracles for her. Sadly, age and the delicacies of the human eye taking their toll. . .

 

[Ontario Hunter]

First, let me ask if you have your ophthalmologist's okay to be shooting skeet? Twenty years ago when I was in my early fifties I started having trouble with my retinas, including three major operations on my left eye plus at least ten laser patch-ups on both eyes. Eventually after several years, eye surgeons determined the vitreous fluid in my eyeballs stabilized and I was given the go ahead to resume shooting. But I had to retire my 870 magnum pump for something with less recoil. Hopefully you are not shooting skeet with a 12 gauge O/U! I would think fixed breech shotgun is not for you unless you're shooting mini guns (28 or 410). I switched to a very heavy old Magum Twelve A5 Browning auto so I could also resume goose hunting (which accounted for my second detachment).

For three years after the third major surgery I was effectively blind in my left eye. The nitrous oxide bubble injected into the eyeball to hold the healing retina in place ruined the lens. But they wouldn't replace it (cataract surgery) until they were sure that eye would hold up. I was only given 15% chance of saving it when I had the third surgery (counseling was provided to prepare me for blindness in both eyes!). I did hunt that last season before the lens was replaced ... and I never shot better. I vividly remember taking six geese in as many shots pass shooting one morning, including a triple. Five was the daily limit but the third bird in the triple almost hit me coming down and I missed seeing the second goose drop. A guy hunting the next field over saw it glide down and his dog picked it up. He brought it over when the geese stopped flying. We both had limits so I had to smuggle it home. The next week I did a repeat five for five with triple in another field. The following year the left eye lens was replaced. I could once again see out of that eye but poorly. And I shot very poorly! Vision in it was oriented up and to the right with much of the center field of view "confused" by mass of retina scar tissue, i.e. macula region.

But I adjusted eventually. A prism lens for glasses helped. What really made the difference was learning to shoot with one eye without blinding the left eye. I practiced mounting my shotgun in the house at night pretending the line where wall meets ceiling was target flight plan. Both eyes open, I mount the gun, close the left eye as barrel meets the flight line, follow through and shoot (a snap cap). Hundreds of repetitions every night till it became habit. This way I have both eyes open to acquire target and estimate range but only shoot with my good eye. In poor light I have to be attentive or my brain will tell the left eye to open as I strain to find the target. If my score drops that's usually what's happening.

 

[NE 7x57]

Vision problems suck. I've always been nearsighted but about 20 years ago I started having problems with my contact lenses not staying in my eye. What was happening was a condition called Keratoconus it is a progressive eye disease that causes the cornea to thin and bulge into a cone shape. It messes with the vision but thankfully so far mines been correctable with glasses.

The next thing that came up was a problem with Epiretinal membranes in both eyes. That is a delicate tissue-like scar or membrane that forms on top of the retina. When it forms over the macula, it can cause distortion and blurring in your central vision. It makes the vertical lines wavy in my case. Makes shooting with a scope interesting.

Then I had a vitreous detachment in the left eye which is a condition that occurs when the gel-like substance in the eye liquefies and pulls away from the retina, causing flashes and floaters. In my case it isn't just a little floating spot, its a large piece of crap floating around. I told my wife it's like I have a piece of polliwog tail in my eye.

I had surgery on the left eye to take care of the the epiretinal membrane and the viterous detachment. Then had to have surgery to remove cataracts in both eyes. Things were going good and then I had a viterous detachment in my right eye which I've yet to do anything about.

As many of you know, getting old is a challenge. To the original poster.....I'm with everyone else, if you haven't consulted a retinal specialist you need to do that yesterday. Best of luck.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

Another suggestion. If you are not pulling targets low gun, you should try it. But first make sure your gun fits perfect. That's another thread or PM me. Pulling targets low gun allows you to find the target quicker with both eyes open and gun out of the way. Then as the gun is brought on target your left eye closes (per the at home practice regimen I described in my above post). Exception for me is station eight. I pull that one high gun but held low below the target's flight route. I believe I may shoot that one both eyes open. Not sure. I'll check tonight. With target coming straight at the shooter close range I doubt it makes much difference.

I shoot best on bright days with broken clouds. On very bright days my light sensitive badly damaged left eye is almost squinted shut. Good riddance. Unfortunately, bright conditions play havoc with the detritus floaters in my good eye left over from past retina incidents. These gather light creating shadows in my field of view. About 25% of shots on those very bright days I actually cannot see the target the moment the gun is fired. But still manage to maintain a very respectable average. Just follow through. Best days for me are slightly overcast. I just have to make sure I stay in rhythm closing the left eye once gun is on target. As I said earlier, in poor or waning light closing the left eye at the right moment can require some concentration as my brain strains with all resources to find the target, including my buggered left eye.

You are missing the high house because you're pulling your head off the gun as you turn to look with right eye for target coming from the left. Once you're off the gun, it's swinging at target but your head has not caught up. Your cheek is still "off the gun" when you shoot = shooting eye not lined up with the barrel. Or you're trying to get lined up (looking at the barrel) when your eyes should be following the target = missed shot. Shooting from low gun should fix this. When you mount the gun, your eyes have already found the target. Head is following the target as gun is brought to your shoulder and cheek. If your gun fits perfectly, everything will be in line as gun comes on target and you close the crippled eye. It's all one smooth motion: acquire, keep eyes on target while mounting the target, close bad eye, shoot.

In theory, one would think there might be a jump to or away from target when the eye is closed. I don't notice it. Possibly this could be more of a problem for cross dominat shooters attempting this method (I am right handed and right eye dominant). But I suspect the jump could be tuned out with some serious repetitive practice.