Problem picking out clays

[Fuzrat]

Guys, I have noticed a problem picking out certain targets. Last week at 4C's it was the simo pair of blaze low away "woodcock" in the trees (not the first time on that particular stand either) and today it was the pair of pink aways at Weston in the woods.

At 4 C's I had the persimmon light orange lenses in my oakleys and today I had the G26 green lenses. While Mrs Fuz was shooting I tried watching with a yellow lens and even with no glasses I still struggled to pick them out. She picked them up fine with yellow lenses.

David B suggested afterwards to try closing an eye as this helps with focusing on the target and blocking out the background, but I cant help thinking something more sinister may be afoot.

I'm definitely not colour blind and normally have no problems usually, it just seems to be a lowish light going away birds into the woods.

Especially annoying is today I got 4 ex 8 on what was a real gimme stand that had they been thrown out into an open field I would expect to straight and 4 ex 8 last week on a stand I should have got 6 or 7 at least. These cost me outright 1st last week and pushed me into 2nd by 2 targets today.

Thoughts? Eye issue, lens issue or technique issue (ie 1 eye or 2)

 

[psych4shooting]

Guys, I have noticed a problem picking out certain targets. Last week at 4C's it was the simo pair of blaze low away "woodcock" in the trees (not the first time on that particular stand either) and today it was the pair of pink aways at Weston in the woods.

At 4 C's I had the persimmon light orange lenses in my oakleys and today I had the G26 green lenses. While Mrs Fuz was shooting I tried watching with a yellow lens and even with no glasses I still struggled to pick them out. She picked them up fine with yellow lenses.

David B suggested afterwards to try closing an eye as this helps with focusing on the target and blocking out the background, but I cant help thinking something more sinister may be afoot.

I'm definitely not colour blind and normally have no problems usually, it just seems to be a lowish light going away birds into the woods.

Especially annoying is today I got 4 ex 8 on what was a real gimme stand that had they been thrown out into an open field I would expect to straight and 4 ex 8 last week on a stand I should have got 6 or 7 at least. These cost me outright 1st last week and pushed me into 2nd by 2 targets today.

Thoughts? Eye issue, lens issue or technique issue (ie 1 eye or 2)

Ed Lyons...

 

[Fuzrat]

That is my thinking atm Phil. Strange its only certain targets/stand settings though

 

[Hawkeye]

i can sympathise Fuz , I've been having trouble seeing bright yellow with the naked eye lately

 

[Salopian]

Fuz,

No doubt about it Ed Lyons is exceptionally good, but being as you use your eyes for driving service I would encourage you to get to an optician at the very earliest opportunity. Good luck, I hope all turns out well for you.

 

[shortlegs]

Hi Fuz sorry to hear of your dilema but as we spoke about when we were at westfield I had problems with getting a clear picture of blaze targets and went to see Ed Lyons as you know.Have my new glasses with a sunset yellowish/orange like tint that Ed selected and tried them today for the first time in anger got very clear pictures of the targets quite a bit earlier than I'm used to this threw me quite a bit as I tended to rush the shot for some reason, just need to adjust and get used to them now i suppose when we're at westfield your welcome to try them to see if it makes a difference before you invest time and money trying to get sorted if its any help

 

[Westward]

We are all partly colour blind in the sense that we tend to be more sensitive to some colurs and less sensitive to some others. Quite frankly the idea of closing one eye in order to see better is just plain silly and I also can't imagine in what way an optometrist could help because this is not an error of refraction and that's all they can deal with; which is not to say you don't have any problems with refraction, only that it's quite separate from colour sensitivity.

Coloured lenses work by filtering out the other colours, therefore to see coloured clays with the highest contrast it's necessary to use a lens colour as close as poss to the largest constituent colour of the clay. An orange blaze is made up from yellow & red with yellow being the dominant colour and with pink clays the dominant colour is vermillion/red.

The most likely explanation IMO is lens colour, but there is also the possibility that you might be low on one or more of the essential nutrients needed for good vision. The true story of the RAF feeding carrots to crews to improve night vision is based on measurable results and tons of up to date information is available on nutrients for vision.

Gurgle (or Boing) is your friend.

 

[Fuzrat]

I was thinking lens colour to start with Westward but the more I think on it little things make me wonder wether my eyes have changed, I am after all getting towards that time of life Salop makes a valid point, as I drive for a living it is probably worth getting tested anyway just for peace of mind and I haven't had them tested for a couple of years now so am probably due.

Interesting point on the nutrients etc. Fortnum & Mason strawberry jam may not be a good substitute for pig in my pre shoot breakfast! Joking aside, I shall take a look around one of the many, all equally good search facilities

I have got an email in to Mr Lyons so I await his reply with interest and who knows, I might even get my tightwad company to pay for at least part of any eye test required

 

[Hamster]

I'm a bit older than you Fuzrat and as a general rule don't do glasses but often when I come up against a hard to see/pick out target regardless of colour, one of the things that helps me is letting my eyes grab hold and focus of the target a tiny bit later. Often I find this turns a blur into a very visible/shootable clay.

 

[Fuzrat]

I'm a bit older than you Fuzrat and as a general rule don't do glasses but often when I come up against a hard to see/pick out target regardless of colour, one of the things that helps me is letting my eyes grab hold and focus of the target a tiny bit later. Often I find this turns a blur into a very visible/shootable clay.

The problem with these particular stands is you couldnt let them run, at 4C's the second bird (simo) would have been in the deck and the ones at Weston would have been in the trees

Now you mention it though, when I have a bigger window I do tend to have my visual pick up point farther out than say Mrs Fuz (younger eyes possibly) Shall see what Mr Lyons has to say for me, If nothing else it will allow me to banish all thoughts of it if there is nothing wrong

 

[Westward]

Vision is very complex and takes place mostly in the brain. The eyes themselves are nothing more optical transducers having 3 principal functions: Image resolution, colour definition and movement detection. Each of these has a role with each of the others and clay shooting, like most sports, tests all of these functions. Modern life OTOH, places little or no demand on such things as movement detection, yet the function would have been vital to primitive humans in both hunting and avoiding predators. Whilst it is possible to follow simple training to improve (restore?) certain aspects of vision - including movement detection, it's very unlikely that the average optometrist would have any backround from their training and experience to be of much help with anything other than vision problems for which they can prescribe corrective lenses.

 

[squimp]

I went to see Ed Lyons earlier this year to get tested for some proper shooting glasses.

Not only was he excellent in doing that job; he also picked up a small problem that I have with some of the muscles that control one of my eyes. He then sent me a whole raft of exercises to do and some mechanical aids (beads on bits of string, graduated charts etc etc) to help mitigate the problem.

Subsequent to his input I am now under treatment at the local hospital and am being tested far beyond the scope of a normal optician. I suggest you investigate your vision issues seriously - either via Ed Lyons or through a referral to your local hospital (via your doctor or normal optician). The latter option will be cheaper !

As an aside; I am a serious fisherman and spend time in hot places looking for almost invisible fish! The guys I fish with all wear slightly differently tinted sunglasses - which implies to us (none of us are vision experts) that different lens tints suit different eyes - even in the same light/object environment.

Hope this helps.

 

[Westward]

I'm a bit older than you Fuzrat and as a general rule don't do glasses but often when I come up against a hard to see/pick out target regardless of colour, one of the things that helps me is letting my eyes grab hold and focus of the target a tiny bit later. Often I find this turns a blur into a very visible/shootable clay.

This is a bit like the vision equivalent of maintained lead. But it makes sense because of the way the retina works by having 2 types of receptor cells. Briefly, one type is tightly concentrated in the very centre of the retina and they enable acuity and colour recognition. Crucially, what these central receptors don't do is detect movement. That's done by the other type which are less densely packed and distributed across the rest of the retina.
Therefore what might help with your problem Andy is to shift concentration away from the earliest possible place to see the clay to a spot a few degrees further along the flight path.

Just thinkin...

 

[Fuzrat]

As I suspected my tightwad company won't pay for Ed's services however as it has been over 2 years since my last test they will pay for a specsavers. I shall get this done and if there is no prescription needed it will save time and therefore cost with Ed, as we wont have to do another test. If I do need a prescription Ed can then tinker it from a reasonable base line

 

[ips]

Very dull day on sat whilst "attempting" to shoot OT sky was grey and there was a misty haze generally in the air. Couldnt see the targets very well at all, tried 3 different lens's none of em worked.

 

[jake.keeling]

Very dull day on sat whilst "attempting" to shoot OT sky was grey and there was a misty haze generally in the air. Couldnt see the targets very well at all, tried 3 different lens's none of em worked. <img src='http://www.shootclayforum.com/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/sad.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=' ' />

I find when the lights bad and the clays looks small, there's not much you do to change it, I've tried lots of magic lenses and some make the day look pretty but the bloody clay still looks tricky! Confidence, More focus and sound technique seem the only weapons.

 

[ips]

Good point Jake

As you say not much you can do apart from try to focus on the job at hand.

 

[Les53]

Very dull day on sat whilst "attempting" to shoot OT sky was grey and there was a misty haze generally in the air. Couldnt see the targets very well at all, tried 3 different lens's none of em worked.

Well failing to properly fucus on the target due to poor light and/or bad weather is bound to have an effect mate! Don't be too hard on yourself. As you know, I hate shooting in bad weather these days so I no longer do it, try a bit of DTL (down the local) instead, you know it makes sense!

 

[ips]

Down the local .. Ha i like that one mate.