eye sight at altitude

[lucky]

i live in denver co 5200 ft above sea level no problem with vision,i shot at otc sat.and vision went blurrey after 5 or 10 seconds.the otc is at 6000ft above could this diff in altitude cause such a difference in vision.i can at home hold 40 to 50 seconds with no problem in vision.has anyone had this problem.i still shot a 555 not bad would prefer seeing target .

[Richard H]

Seeing as you live at 5200 ft I assume you're aclimated so I doubt an 800 ft increase in alt. would make that much difference but I guess it could. Do you where glasses (or contacts), any allergies?

[Guest]

I agree with Richard - your body has already acclimated if you live at that altitude.

Blurry vision after holding for 5-10 seconds while concentrating on the front sight is normal. The problem is not your eyesight - you are holding waaaaay toooooo long.

The only adjustment I'm aware of that people need to make at altitude is to stay very well hydrated.

[Tim Conrad]

No matter what altitude, you have about 7 seconds of good eyesight after you stop breathing. After that it slowly degrades. Hydration is very important, the air at altitude can hold about half the moisture as it can at sea level. 40% humidity is more like 20%.

Be ready to shoot the shot as you come down on the target. The hold begins well above said target, not when you get there. Come down, settle, shoot. If it doesn't settle in 7 seconds, put it down and start over.

p.s.: almost every shooter holds far too long.

[orionshooter]

Well said Tim

[crosshairs]

800ft.....that's about 1.8 deg celsius drop in temperature on the average. I don't have a chart that compares temperature with humidity, but where I stay (in the tropics) a 2 degree C drop can very much be appreciated!

[Fred Mannis]

i live in denver co 5200 ft above sea level no problem with vision,i shot at otc sat.and vision went blurrey after 5 or 10 seconds.the otc is at 6000ft above could this diff in altitude cause such a difference in vision.i can at home hold 40 to 50 seconds with no problem in vision.has anyone had this problem.i still shot a 555 not bad would prefer seeing target .

Perhaps due to differences in lighting between your home range and the otc?