Does astigmatism mean it's irons or bust?

[Hugger-4641]

That may not be astigmatism, that's probably presbyopia. If you already wear progressive lenses, it could be a sign you that you might want to schedule an exam.

I actually have never needed glasses until now. I have a DOT physical every 2 yrs for the last 30 and have always had 20/20 in my right eye and better in my left. But age is catching up with me and I'm starting to have trouble with fine print and dim light, as well as iron sights. Probably gonna have to do something soon, but hoping RK might be an option.

 

[Varminterror]

1) Red dot + astigmatism = whatever shape your eye contorts it to be, BUT it WILL be a consistent shape. I have a bug splatter/starburst in my right eye * and a comet/comma in my left eye , but positioning either on the target in the same sight picture will elicit the same point of impact.

2) Prism sights don’t starburst. Nor do scopes.

3) Iron sights aren’t always a solution for astigmatism folks, any bead front sight distorted for me long before my eyesight started declining. Iron sights aren’t always a suitable solution for all applications where a dot sight would be superior either.

4) Green dots or lower intensity settings on red dots seem to burst less for many folks, but it’s kinda like turning down the music on a bad song on the radio, rather than changing the station. It’s still there, it’s still bad, it’s just less bad. And these aren’t always suitable options either.

 

[Hookeye]

I first noticed my astigmatism w a prism sight.
The reticle had a ghost image at 7 oclock.
More noticeable when not in bright light.
Its hell gettin old.

 

[Hugger-4641]

Its hell gettin old.[/QUOTE]

It beats the alternative....for now anyways.

 

[entropy]

I actually have never needed glasses until now. I have a DOT physical every 2 yrs for the last 30 and have always had 20/20 in my right eye and better in my left. But age is catching up with me and I'm starting to have trouble with fine print and dim light, as well as iron sights. Probably gonna have to do something soon, but hoping RK might be an option.

It sounds a lot like presbyopia. Some people get lucky and don't need reading glasses into their 60's, but usually 40 is about where they start to be needed. RK will not fix presbyopia. ( RK is performed on the cornea, presbyopia develops in the crystalline lens.) It is the increasing inability if the crystalline lens in the eye to be shaped by the ciliary muscles and zonules. The crystalline lens hardens over time, and first becoming hard to focus close, then eventually becoming more and more opaque, which is the onset of cataracts.

 

[JDeere]

The distance portion on my progressive lenses fixed the starburst issue. I can't shoot irons on a rifle any longer and I have tried different combinations of shooting glasses. As mentioned "Its hell getting Old". I used to say "I'm not putting one of those dots on my pistol" I have more than one now but will not put one on my revolvers. I still do ok with those.

 

[TitanicTortilini]

It doesn't matter if the dot is crisp or not, like others have said a good sight picture is a hit no matter what that sight picture "looks" like. If you need more precision that 'hit it', then a red dot isn't the best choice anyways.

Some things that help in general are to lower the brightness, focus on the target instead of the dot, and even using a peep sight (stuck on glasses/frame, behind the red dot, whatever) will help a lot.

 

[illinoisburt]

My vote is for any type of telescopic sight. My astigmatism gives me starburst and double images for pretty much every dot and halo sight I've tried. No issues at all seeing a crisp image with scopes and those come in a huge variety of aiming indicators not limited solely to crosshairs. Dots, circles, chevrons, crosses with full, partial or no illumination in fixed or variable power means there are plenty of choices which can more than suffice for roles which a red dot or halo would otherwise be used.

 

[jmr40]

I find a low powered conventional scope does everything better than dots anyway. I've tried a few and have always gone back to a 1-4X scope. They work better in any condition for me including low light and for the same money you get better quality with a scope. That's on rifles, I've not tried one yet, but one of the small dot sights now available for a handgun might work better.

The optics are so poor on all of the dot sights I've tried I could see the dot, but not what I was shoot at in low light. They even make some conventional scopes that have an illuminated reticle. Those may be the best of both worlds. A

 

[45/30-06OKIE]

I got the Romeo 5 as an entry level option but to me the dot looks more like a grape vine than a pinprick, it's not so crazy that it's basically useless but it's like I have a diagonal line for a reticle that is hard to find the true aim point on. Are there other red dots I can try that would be friendly to my condition or should I just return to A2? I don't know if a holo like an EOtech would be any different.

I have a couple of Leupold RDS red dots and the 1 moa dot is less noticeably distorted than a bigger one.

 

[herrwalther]

My first and only foray into handgun red dots so far is the Holosun 507C in green. On the 2MOA dot setting my astigmatism (right eye) smears the image to the up and right. Thought the same, my optics on handguns adventure is toast. Then I switched to the 32MOA dot in circle reticle. For some reason, I don't see any smear in either the dot or circle. I have other red dots for rifles and shotguns which smear. So finding a green large reticle was quite beneficial for me. Might be for you as well.

 

[JeffG]

My Holosun with the "dot in a doughnut" reticle is a great sight. There is a ring crosshair option, too.

Holosun Micro Red Dot 20mm Dual Reticle Solar Dot w/Ring/Turret Guard - HS503CU

 

[12Bravo20]

A circle dot reticle does work better for some people with astigmatism. I know I get less reticle bloom when using a circle dot reticle.

 

[greyling22]

projected dots are not your friend. prism optics and lpvo's should work fine. that's been my experience anyway. and the right prescription helps a lot with dots.

 

[gotboostvr]

I've got astigmatism pretty bad, but I also dislike LPVO's

I just live with the bloom. At red dot ranges, it's not a problem. Buddies without astigmatism can run magnifiers and stretch the usable range of them some.

I do like prism sights, and the micro prisms from Primary Arms are excellent. I've got a 3x that I like alot.

Living with the bloom isn't perfect, but it's certainly manageable.

 

[Phaedrus/69]

I get a little bloom with the dot but it doesn't affect my ability to place a round accurately. For whatever reason the dot of my Aimpoints seems clearer & crisper than the Chinese dots.

 

[rbernie]

I don't do well with busy reticles, so I have trended towards 2MOA Aimpoints and such - the smaller dot seems to help.

 

[InTheSwamp]

I would talk to your optometrist for solutions.

This should be item# 1 in the SOP.
Go see your Doc. He won't cure it, but his advice will help.

 

[doubleh]

My daughter has astigmatism and does quite well with scopes. I don't have it but began having trouble with red dots as the dot was no longer round but sort of a comma shape. Cataract removal did away with the problem. Corrective glasses can help some with astigmatism.

 

[mdThanatos]

I have an astigmatism and can use red dots and scopes without any issue. I do get a bloom on all of the red dots I have shot with but always hit my targets. Have used a sig red dot and magnifier and can bang around steel without issue. The smaller the dot, the better it looks for me as mentioned by some others. Scopes I have no issue with at all.

 

[old lady new shooter]

It sounds a lot like presbyopia. Some people get lucky and don't need reading glasses into their 60's, but usually 40 is about where they start to be needed. RK will not fix presbyopia. ( RK is performed on the cornea, presbyopia develops in the crystalline lens.) It is the increasing inability if the crystalline lens in the eye to be shaped by the ciliary muscles and zonules. The crystalline lens hardens over time, and first becoming hard to focus close, then eventually becoming more and more opaque, which is the onset of cataracts.

Problems in dim light definitely sounds like cataracts.

 

[old lady new shooter]

I have astigmatism and other eye issues. First red dot was a holosun, had an artifact like a line going upward from the dot. Friend persuaded me to get an aimpoint, zero problems. YMMV.

 

[12Bravo20]

I can't stress enough that each person should try different optics to see what works best for them. Everyone's eyes/vision is different.

I get a bloom with all dot type sights no matter the brand. Yes some will bloom less than others.

I think the following is worth repeating;

• See if red or green works best for you
• try a circle dot versus just a dot to see if that helps
• keep the brightness levels turned down as much as possible **

** I find auto adjusting optics are always too bright and bloom more.

Green reticles works better for some while others do better with red. Some also find that a circle dot reticle helps reduce bloom. I am one that finds green circle dot reticles works best for me.

Don't be afraid to talk to your eye doctor/optician about your vision. Having the person that is fitting your glasses/lenses that also shoots is a bonus.

And if none of the above helps, then look at one of the newer micro prism sights or scopes.

 

[TonyAngel]

My solution was a TA44 ACOG. There are many options in prism based optics these days. My eyes being what they are at 60 years old, I really appreciate the 1.5X magnification of the little ACOG.

 

[scotty]

My eye doc tells me that I have astigmatism. I wouldn't know, I haven't had the opportunity to look through someone elses eyes. I've been nearsighted since I was 10 years old. I am now 64. I started wearing contacts when I was 17. A few years ago, the fine print got a little too fine. My eye doc recommended I wear two different prescriptions, one in each eye. I am now only wearing one contact in one eye. I have only one firearm with a red dot sight, a .22 pistol. I find that sighting with my left eye ( I am left handed) that the dot is rather blurry as is the target but with my right eye it is as sharp as can be. Scopes or iron sights work just fine for me, I shoot long guns right handed. With my spotting scope I find that I can see a bit better with my left (near) eye than with my right (far) eye. All it requires is a focus change.