I have an astigmatism. I’m trying to decide if it’s worth getting an RDS to put on my Glock 19 Gen 5 MOS. Looking at getting either an RMR Type 2 Adjustable or a Holosun 507c. I’ve been able to look at them both and the 507c seemed to bother me less. If you have an astigmatism with a red dot how do you manage it? I would assume a smaller MOA dot would help?
Sidearms & Scatterguns Is it worth getting a RDS for a handgun if I have an astigmatism?
- Thread starter richthe1
- Start date
I guess its better for some and worse for others. I have a astigmatism but its never bothered me to much on a red dot sight to prevent me from using it effectively. I currently have a RMR mounted on a CZ p 10c with no issues. But I also don't have issues with any other red dot sight. Some are better than others but again none are bad enough to effect me. My RMR with a 3.25moa dot causes me zero issues.
I have an astigmatism and have no issues using an RDS. YMMV.
RDS and glasses here. Had my glasses made w/safety glass.
I shoot not quite as good without the glasses, but not enough to matter at normal handgun distance.
I shoot not quite as good without the glasses, but not enough to matter at normal handgun distance.
DP has a smaller dot and rugged, sro is not for duty use and has more dot sizes and bigger window.
+1
Instead of finding a sighting system that isn't affected by astigmatism (which doesn't exist BTW), FIX your astigmatism.
I had an oblong dot on my reflex sights (Aimpoint, SIG) so back to the optometrist I went. New lenses later, problem solved.
Also, personally I see a much crisper, better defined edge on a larger dot (4 MOA) than I do with a 2 MOA dot. YMMV
So, a follow-up question. Im shooting a lot where transition from pistol to scoped rifle is required. Do you also shoot prone behind a rifle with glasses on? Ive not been successful shooting scoped with glasses.
Thanks for your insight.
Yes. I've been successful shooting all sorts of scoped rifles with the same prescripton glasses that I use to shoot handguns with irons, rifles with reflex sights, clay birds with shotguns, look through binos, read, drive cars, sail boats, and everything else in life.
I'm functionally blind without correction
I had laser eye surgery but it didn't change astigmatism at all. Dots always have some star burst for me. I typically avoid them for rifle where I need a more crisp image. That being said, I love my RM06 on a CZP09. It allows me to shoot pretty accurately to 100 yards or so. The star burst isn't a huge deal, it's still way more precise than irons on a handgun.
Thanks ddavis. I'm gonna give one of those a try!
I had it milled. Every time I think I want to go with a CZ75 series gun I realize I'm not willing to give up my red dot and the slide on the 75 series is really too narrow. It's doable but it looks like garbage. The P series is just wide enough for an RMR
I bought a Q5 match specifically to put on an RDS it being the new rage, got a Vortex Venom it fit great, but I just could not warm up to it. @50 plus your vision requires glasses if you are most persons ie; you can't focus on the sights and the target at the same time, the red dot for me while visible is hard to keep still and therefore was distracting to me. While the red dot was great for steel at most distances I shoot so much better target wise with irons, and supressor sights are even better. I put my Venom on a .44 lever gun and sold the Walther. To each his own on pistol RDS but that was my experience, ymmv but over the years ALL red dots flare more with astigmatism no matter what.
I don't have RDS, but I do have an astigmatism so I'm curious what it does to your sight picture. Driving at night has become a huge pain for me as I'm easily blinded these days and see lights a haze. Maybe it's the same thing with the RDS?
As an aside, I've always had difficulty shooting both eyes open and it's getting progressively worse. Had new glasses made a year ago with new prescription (hadn't changed for probably fifteen years not matter how many pairs of glasses I had made and then a new doc said, 'well, you need this that and the other'. It's all gone to shit since then..
Daylight, shooting with iron sights both eyes open I see two targets close together and have to guess which one to shoot. Darkness with night sights, I'll see two dots for the front post. Same sort of thing happens shooting shotgun, but the sight picture is typically two front beads.
I've gotten around it by acquiring the target with both eyes open and then closing left eye to confirm and send a round. It slows me down though and as things get worse, so does my speed on movers and transition drills.
I'm confirmed right hand/right eye dominant.
Is this the astigmatism doing it? Are those who have astigmatism experiencing the same thing? Had never really thought of it being the possible culprit.
Sorry, that turned into a really long aside!
As an aside, I've always had difficulty shooting both eyes open and it's getting progressively worse. Had new glasses made a year ago with new prescription (hadn't changed for probably fifteen years not matter how many pairs of glasses I had made and then a new doc said, 'well, you need this that and the other'. It's all gone to shit since then..
Daylight, shooting with iron sights both eyes open I see two targets close together and have to guess which one to shoot. Darkness with night sights, I'll see two dots for the front post. Same sort of thing happens shooting shotgun, but the sight picture is typically two front beads.
I've gotten around it by acquiring the target with both eyes open and then closing left eye to confirm and send a round. It slows me down though and as things get worse, so does my speed on movers and transition drills.
I'm confirmed right hand/right eye dominant.
Is this the astigmatism doing it? Are those who have astigmatism experiencing the same thing? Had never really thought of it being the possible culprit.
Sorry, that turned into a really long aside!
I shoot both eyes open with readers at the indoor range, focus on the front sight with a blurry orange/green 3" dot very successfully.
Since indoor shooting is worse for me, outdoor is fine without glasses as it's the light that makes all the difference. The RDS is clear as a bell with a light tint depending on brand of the lens. I would recommend you at least try it out to see if it will work for you. I lost a little on the pistol but you can always find something to put the RDS on if you can't stand it. Hope this helps........
Since indoor shooting is worse for me, outdoor is fine without glasses as it's the light that makes all the difference. The RDS is clear as a bell with a light tint depending on brand of the lens. I would recommend you at least try it out to see if it will work for you. I lost a little on the pistol but you can always find something to put the RDS on if you can't stand it. Hope this helps........
from my experience take some time and look through several red dot's before you make any decisions as some red dots the 3 moa dot ends up being a 20+moa star and others remain fairly sharp.
i was passing through Iowa and stopped in to the Brownells retail store and tried what seemed like 100 red dots. I found that the Holosun reflex sights worked well and holographic sights (with vortex amg > Eotec) worked well for me.
i was passing through Iowa and stopped in to the Brownells retail store and tried what seemed like 100 red dots. I found that the Holosun reflex sights worked well and holographic sights (with vortex amg > Eotec) worked well for me.
I get starburst with lights at night and also using RDS's. It's not terrible though. I use a 6.5MOA RMR and it blooms just a bit but it's still infinitely more precise than iron sights. You'll find that a RDS is also a great training tool. You see EXACTLY where the dot was when the trigger broke and call call hit/miss. Much harder to do with irons because they are just sort of vague.
A coworker of mine has bad astigmatism. Can’t totally correct for it. Even an EO Tech reticle blooms for him.
He started playing with a Leupold DP Pro. He said despite the blooming of the red dot, it made it much easier to now down a plate rack compared to irons. He estimated shaving up to 1 second off his 6 plate run at 10 yards with the red dot.
He chalked it up to the dot being a simpler sight picture. And at 10 yards even with a bloomed dot, it’s more than enough reference to hit an 8” plate.
He started playing with a Leupold DP Pro. He said despite the blooming of the red dot, it made it much easier to now down a plate rack compared to irons. He estimated shaving up to 1 second off his 6 plate run at 10 yards with the red dot.
He chalked it up to the dot being a simpler sight picture. And at 10 yards even with a bloomed dot, it’s more than enough reference to hit an 8” plate.
I wear corrective lenses these days too. I can wear contact lenses w/ no issues other than dirt, debris, etc.
I generally wear RecSpecs w/ transition & hardened lenses. This allows me to use them as sunglasses during the day & safety glasses at all times. They may not be the coolest looking glasses but they work really well. Several companies such as Liberty Optics & Wiley-X also make these types of glasses. All are great quality so choose a frame & get to shooting.
I shoot w/ both eyes open whether it be pistol, carbine or long gun. It doesn’t slow me down & it hasn’t changed a thing. Take care of your eyes (new prescription) & you’ll be back to seeing well again.
I had an optometrist try to give me a line of bullshit about no contacts & I absolutely had to have his new lenses (some type of bifocal) which was “your only option” in his words. I passed, went to another optometrist & guess what? My prescription was unchanged & I bought more contacts. I’m still rocking the RecSpecs at work, the range & the ballpark. I don’t shoot any worse than I did as a young guy either. The point of this paragraph is to beware of the shyster.
I generally wear RecSpecs w/ transition & hardened lenses. This allows me to use them as sunglasses during the day & safety glasses at all times. They may not be the coolest looking glasses but they work really well. Several companies such as Liberty Optics & Wiley-X also make these types of glasses. All are great quality so choose a frame & get to shooting.
I shoot w/ both eyes open whether it be pistol, carbine or long gun. It doesn’t slow me down & it hasn’t changed a thing. Take care of your eyes (new prescription) & you’ll be back to seeing well again.
I had an optometrist try to give me a line of bullshit about no contacts & I absolutely had to have his new lenses (some type of bifocal) which was “your only option” in his words. I passed, went to another optometrist & guess what? My prescription was unchanged & I bought more contacts. I’m still rocking the RecSpecs at work, the range & the ballpark. I don’t shoot any worse than I did as a young guy either. The point of this paragraph is to beware of the shyster.
Last edited:
- Mar 15, 2018
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Astigmatism here as well. Using 5.0 MOA Trijicon SRO on all my pistols; it does bloom at brighter intensities but they are defensive handguns not target pistols. All I'm shooting for (pun intended) is 1 Minute Of Man; I personally found the smaller dots to be too hard to pick up in a stress situation. 5.0 MOA allows me to find the dot easily, it is not a "perfect" circle but I can put it on the target.
Same here with the astigmatism. Doesn't bother me much with an RDS. The astigmatism makes the dot look like a comet. I can still see the dot and know where it will hit. It's just a bit distracting.
Have astigmatism and could not pick up Sig Romeo 1 at all on my Q5, looked like a murky mess. Trying a 3.25moa rmr type 2 and have had no issues so far.
If you are in Los Angeles, I can let you shoot one to see if you like it or not....
I think I have astigmatism and I know I have issues with my left eye (need to see an optometrist soon). The dot on my Aimpoints (Ml3, T1 and H1 with 2 MOA dots) do not give me any issues unless I transition to my weak side. Then it's just a blurry mess and my POA to POI is way off. I have learned to adjust but it sucks. I shoot everything both eyes open and don't really have any problems with magnified optics or iron sights.
With the RMR 3 MOA dot on the Glock I see a comma shape. I can still shoot fine and it's a minor inconvenience. It does seem worse shooting indoors vs. outdoors. The comma shape seems to be worse, where I see more of a true dot outside, just a fuzzy one.
With the RMR 3 MOA dot on the Glock I see a comma shape. I can still shoot fine and it's a minor inconvenience. It does seem worse shooting indoors vs. outdoors. The comma shape seems to be worse, where I see more of a true dot outside, just a fuzzy one.
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