48 Rounds today......

[ENCORE50A]

I decided today to send a few rounds down at a target. Its only the second time this entire year that I've shot and its been driving me nuts. This is an unusual year, as I'm used to sending around a thousand rounds by now but, with four surgeries this year, two on my shoot'n eye, things had just about came to a halt.
A torn and detached retina in my shoot'n eye, then a rapidly growing cataract in the eye that made me totally blind in that eye had me worried. Then in July I was finally released by the retinal surgeon to have the cataract removed. Oh ya, now the left eye is now either going to tear or detach...... :cry:

Ol' "Bad Medicine" came out of the safe and all the supplies on the bench, then I started shoot'n. I wish I could say that I had a great day and shot up to my expectations but, that didn't happen. After shooting at multiple targets 48 times, I could get no better than just slightly less than 2" groups. Now.... nothing's changed with the rifle, scope or load and it should be shooting less than 1" groups, however I just couldn't get them to fall today. I'd get 3 shots you could cover with a quarter, then one off to the right, one off high, maybe one at 7:00 and then put 3 shots under a quarter again. Being bullheaded in most cases, I did try a number of different things that I normally don't have to do. They didn't work either. Then I even took the bench up and added another 2" to the legs, making it slightly more comfortable to shoot. It really didn't matter what I did, it just wouldn't give me consistent groupings. I shoot at a 2" Caldwell shoot-n-see, stuck to a larger target. I noticed that there were times I could see the red dot in the center, then other times the 2" dot was all I could see. I'm wondering if all the trauma to this eye has permanently caused this problem or, if it still hasn't healed completely....... This getting older stuff, the "Golden Years" is turning out to be "Fool's Gold".......

I'm hoping to get some answers this Thursday, as I have an appointment with the retinal surgeon about this left eye. I'll have to discuss with him my current problems and see what the "professional" thinks. This is something that I'm far from being ready for if its going to be a permanent thing. I've shot all my life and I (we) always knew there'd be a time when things would start slipping. It still doesn't make me (us) ready for it.......

 

[cayuga]

I know the pain you were feeling. Glad to hear your back shooting.

I have scheduled cataract surgery on my shooting eye in November. Its drove me crazy not being able to shoot. Although at the measuring the other day, he asked me if I want to see clearly far away or be able to read without glasses. I picked seeing far away. So now I wait for the blur to end. From all I have talked to and read on cataract surgery, its very common now and not too risky.

 

[JStanley]

Praying all my ml buddies' eyes are back to seeing sharp soon!

 

[ronlaughlin]

Well, i know nothing about detached retina, but i did have cataract surgery years ago now, and my vision isn't too bad at all.

 

[ENCORE50A]

I know the pain you were feeling. Glad to hear your back shooting.

I have scheduled cataract surgery on my shooting eye in November. Its drove me crazy not being able to shoot. Although at the measuring the other day, he asked me if I want to see clearly far away or be able to read without glasses. I picked seeing far away. So now I wait for the blur to end. From all I have talked to and read on cataract surgery, its very common now and not too risky.

Cataract surgery is about a 10 minute procedure, it takes longer to prepare than the surgery itself. Other than using all the drops, its a piece of cake. What I can tell you is, prepare to see color differently. What you now think is the color white, is going to change. The detached and torn retina caused me some major issues, not uncorrectable but, recovery isn't that hot. They put a gas bubble in my eye and I had to set with my head down, staring at the floor for four (4) hours a day for a week. I was told by the surgeon that I would have a "rapidly forming cataract" and boy was he right. Two weeks after the surgery my vision in my shoot'n eye went to 400/20 and then completely blind. That surgery took place March 12th and I remained blind until the cataract was removed on July 29th. Its quite obvious that its not completely back to normal, which I hope it does. Now...... the left eye is going to do something and I have weekly doctor's appointments to check that. The surgeon told me that if I'm lucky, it'll just tear which he can laser in the clinic and repair. If it detaches, well then its back to the operating room and another gas bubble.

Tomorrow I have the appointment with this left eye and I'll ask him about my right. It appears that while looking through the scope, that my eye is having at least some issue with remaining focused on a small spot. I can adjust the focus on the scope to see clearly but, once I try to remain focused on a spot, it appears that there's some issues there. Its certainly NOT the rifle or load.

Your up coming cataract surgery will open up a world that you haven't seen in some time. Color was the biggest change that I immediately noticed. The cataracts come on so slowly that you never realize the change. Things are going to be brighter also and you'll appreciate a good pair of sunglasses. I also chose to see distance, which means wearing reading glasses. So what, I've been wearing them for 15 years anyway. If you have the money...... they do have a replacement lens that does both but, that lens is not covered by ANY insurance if you have it. Good luck with the surgery, its a piece of cake.

 

[ENCORE50A]

Back from the retinal surgeon's office, after one heck of a ride over in the fog. Was dodging deer at times, then two MI elk were in the road and we certainly didn't want to hit one of them.

If the left eye isn't better in 5 weeks, looks like surgery. I may end up missing most of if not all of our muzz season, which is a real bummer. I love hunting when its colder than heck, snow clear up to your ask and a good northwest wind.

Now for my shoot'n eye...... I explained my concern with shooting the other day and asked him what, if anything may be wrong. He looked over the photos they had just taken and found that I have two (2) different spots of inflammation directly in the center of my shoot'n eye, which he said was remaining from the cataract surgery. He stated that it was treatable with drops and it should take care of the problem. He said that there was no way that I could concentrate on a small target, without sub-consciously trying to correct for the inflammation spots.

Ah... the "Golden Years", they just don't tell you its fool's gold. Now if the drops get rid of the inflammation spots, I'll be running out of excuses...