Free for All Friday: 4-11-14, Eye strain and Misc. AR parts
Been on a bit of a tear about those stick figure family stickers on cars. I’ve noticed a growing backlash against them as of late and that makes me happy. I saw one sticker today that said “Your stick figure family will be exterminated” and had a bunch of Daleks attacking. It made me laugh. While I doubt reality supports it, I’d like to think that one of my early articles had a bit to do with the anti-stick figure trend. Better living through delusions, I always say.
You know what’s way more awesome than stick figure families? People who send in questions for Free for All Friday! We had two questions this week:
“Whenever I go to the range, I find that by the end of the trip my vision is really blurry and it’s hard to see for a while afterwards. I stop being able to shoot because I have trouble seeing the sights after a while. Is this normal? What can I do to stop it?” -Lydia K.
You’re not alone. In fact, I have the same freaking problem and it really stinks to have to cut a range day short as a result. It happens to me at both indoor and outdoor ranges but it seems to be a lot worse outdoors. The bright side (get it? “bright”?) is that there’s probably nothing wrong with your eyes….although regular checkups to an eye doctor are important. What’s happening is a textbook case of asthenopia or in less scary sounding terms: “eye strain”.
For whatever reason, we’re squeezing our eyes too hard. Did you ever do that thing as a kid where you stood in a door jam and pushed your arms against it really hard for a minute (it was in a Mr. Wizard episode)? Remember what happened when you stepped out and relaxed your arms? Your arms continue to try and lift of their own accord. Your arm muscles went wonky because you were straining them. The muscles in your eyes are acting in a similar fashion. They get so used to being squeezed in the strained way that, not only do they just get fatigued but they want to keep squeezing themselves in that way.
Fortunately, there’s 3 good ways to prevent it. First off, try not to strain so much. Gently close your non-dominant eye as opposed to squeezing it shut. Also, take a few moments to relax between reloads. Let your eyes rest.
Another option to prevent eye strain is what a lot of professional marksmen do: get an occluder. This is an opaque patch that snaps on to your shooting glasses and blocks your non-dominant eye. This allows you to keep both eyes open but still have the sight picture of closing one eye. It’s better to use a light colored or semi-opaque patch as opposed to a dark/black patch. First off, it cuts down on the pirate jokes. Secondly, it allows enough light through to prevent your eye from adjusting to the dark. We have some occluders in our store or you can find some here. Make sure you get the correct one to cover the eye you’re closing.
Or you can also take this as an opportunity to learn to shoot with both eyes open. This has the super great benefit of eliminating eye strain AND allowing for faster target acquisition and better situational awareness. There’s two methods for this and they would certainly require a full article (or two) to cover. The short of it is Method A: learn to determine which of the two gun images you see is the “real” gun and just aim normally using that image. This takes A LOT of practice, mind you, and it’s almost like relearning to shoot.
The other “both eyes open” method is to get good at point shooting. This is where you don’t even use the sights. A lot of people will say that you can’t get accurate like this but I disagree. Even with my own “fiddling around” with point shooting, I’m able to get surprisingly good groups. With enough practice, I know I could do even better. It really boils down to having a gun that matches your natural point and, of course, lots and lots of practice.
“We have gone back and forth with some small items (trigger group pins, trigger suggestions, etc) that have been very helpful in our AR builds. Can you compile a list of often overlooked parts or items that might be helpful in maintenance, repair and learning more about firearms in general?” -Chris H.
A trigger alone does not an AR make. There’s so much focus on AR parts like the bolt, grip, rails, trigger and such that people tend to forget that it’s sometimes the little parts that can wreck a rifle. Some of my favorite additions to my AR have absolutely nothing to do with the functionality of it. That doesn’t make them any less important, mind you. Here are the biggest ones that immediately come to mind:
Often overlooked are the pins that actually hold the trigger group in place. Over time, they can wear down and are more likely to “walk” out as you’re firing. I’ve witnessed this happen at the range and, well, I don’t know about you but I had a hard enough time putting my trigger together on my workbench. I sure as heck wouldn’t want to try and piece it back together at the range or, even worse, under fire. A good set of “non-rotating” trigger pins locks them in place. I’ve used the set from Slide Fire as well as the KNS pins and both are great additions to any AR build.
Another thing I don’t hear many talk about is a good sling. If you’re going to be carrying your AR for more than a few feet (and not in its case), a sling is a wonderful thing. When talking about a sling, they are generally referred to as a # point sling. The # represents the number of spots that it actually attaches to the gun. A two point sling is great for walking out to hunting grounds and can even be used to stabilize your rifle when shooting unsupported. A one point sling, on the other hand, is more of a tactical sling and allows for rapid transition between the rifle and a sidearm. It also allows you to drop the gun and use both hands for something then rapidly bring the gun back to firing position. Personally, I like Magpul’s Multi Mission Sling. It can rapidly switch between a 1-point and 2-point sling. This makes it a very versatile option. You’re essentially getting 2 slings for the price of one!
Like I said, those are the first two that come to mind and I can personally vouch for them as I use them myself. As such, I’ve included them in the “Used By The Noob” section of our store, for convenience. #ShamelessSelfPromotion
Thanks to everyone that sent in their questions!
So do you have a question burning in your mind? We answer them every Friday so send them in! It doesn’t matter what it is, as long as it’s arguably gun related we want to hear it! Head over to our Facebook or Twitter or Contact Page and send them in. See you next Friday!
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