Red dot and astigmatism

[add9mm]

Hey All,

New to the forum here and recently have gotten into the hobby. I have an astigmatism and bought a new green dot Swampfox Sentinel II. Threw it on my 43x and off to the range. It bleeds/stars from my astigmatism so bad that I might as well not have it. I had heard green was better for astigmatism but I guess not for me so I decided to try red.
I bought a CCW defender in red and it seems much better for me personally. I have some questions for y'all:
1. Is the best way to offload the green dot sentinel II here on classifieds? What would be a fair price for it? Basically new, I shot maybe 100 rounds with it but I cannot return it.
2. What do y'all do for sights with astigmatism?

Thanks in advance for helping a newbie!

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[Hardcore_rucke]

Prism sights for Rifle and with pistol dots just put the blob/star on target and you are good to go.

 

[CamoDeafie]

Higher quality red dots may have less starbursting/blooming effect. But as said above, a prism sight or etched glass reticle may be better for you. Holographic reflex sights might also be better but there may be some delaminating issues with Eotech models. Not sure of Holosun

 

[VinnieBoomBah]

2. What do y'all do for sights with astigmatism?

Holosun 507k x2, I look at the thing I want the hole in, put the blob over where I want the hole and press the trigger. Red dots aren't like iron sights, so "front sight, trigger, squeeze" doesn't apply. Also a 2 moa dot works better than a 6 moa dot, not just for astigmatism, for everyone. But ignore the blob, look at the target

 

[CamoDeafie]

Oh also, try with both eyes open, not just one.

 

[ilikegunspdx]

Oh also, try with both eyes open, not just one.

You can also leave a cover over the front of red dot if 5-50 yards or whatever and your brain will put the red dot on target with your other eye. Don't know if that helps with astigmatism or not but worth a try. When I was a kid my friend had one of the early red dots and it was closed on the front.

 

[CamoDeafie]

You can also leave a cover over the front of red dot if 5-50 yards or whatever and your brain will put the red dot on target with your other eye. Don't know if that helps with astigmatism or not but worth a try. When I was a kid my friend had one of the early red dots and it was closed on the front.

Occluded optic , yeah; I think Armson did something like that?

 

[ilikegunspdx]

Occluded optic , yeah; I think Armson did something like that?

Could be, can't recall the name. But covering the front works with any red dot as long as you have good vision on both eyes. Lately I've been going with circle dots only. Vector optics seem to be good just ordered 2 of them price is reasonable. Very very bright for sunlight. No idea if circle dot helps with astigmatism but have choice of circle, dot, or both. Fwiw.

 

[bradsteen]

Hey All,

New to the forum here and recently have gotten into the hobby. I have an astigmatism and bought a new green dot Swampfox Sentinel II. Threw it on my 43x and off to the range. It bleeds/stars from my astigmatism so bad that I might as well not have it. I had heard green was better for astigmatism but I guess not for me so I decided to try red.
I bought a CCW defender in red and it seems much better for me personally. I have some questions for y'all:
1. Is the best way to offload the green dot sentinel II here on classifieds? What would be a fair price for it? Basically new, I shot maybe 100 rounds with it but I cannot return it.
2. What do y'all do for sights with astigmatism?

Thanks in advance for helping a newbie!

1. Post it in the classifieds section. Check for the same item on there, eBay, tacswap, or elsewhere to get an idea of used pricing, and price your item accordingly.
2. On a pistol, options are limited. Higher quality/crisper dots will likely have less blooming effect, but it varies from person to person. You might also try a circle reticle to see if blooming still occurs.

@ilikegunspdx beat me to it!

 

[ilikegunspdx]

1. Post it in the classifieds section. Check for the same item on there, eBay, tacswap, or elsewhere to get an idea of used pricing, and price your item accordingly.
2. On a pistol, options are limited. Higher quality/crisper dots will likely have less blooming effect, but it varies from person to person. You might also try a circle reticle to see if blooming still occurs.

@ilikegunspdx beat me to it!

Fwiw I don't have astigmatism as far as I know but I sure seem to shoot better with circle dots, not sure why. Faster acquisition I guess.

 

[CamoDeafie]

Could be, can't recall the name. But works with any red dot. Lately I've been going with circle dots only. Vector optics seem to be good just ordered 2 of them price is reasonable. Very very bright for sunlight. No idea if circle dot helps with astigmatism but have choice of circle, dot, or both. Fwiw.

<B>Armson Retro OEG Sights

Yep
Armson Occluded Eye Gunsight (OEG). 1970s to now

 

[ilikegunspdx]

Here's a video about shooting with the front of the red dot covered fwiw:

View: https://youtu.be/JC5cv1ZsOjo?si=ewg_eJfsa7kB_lfZ

 

[JDubDub]

I have a fairly bad astigmatism and, to make matters worse, my aging eyes don't let me see iron sights easily. Trying to use red dots with small dot sizes is a no-go. If the brightness is high enough for me to see the dot, the entire thing is a star bursting mess. Same thing with any green dot. I found that running the largest dot possible at lower intensity works perfectly for me. All of my sights are 6 to 8 mil dots. The old, circle only Holosun red dots (407co) also work if you can find them. .

 

[L84Cabo]

Smaller dots are definitely better for me than larger dots. And if I wear my glasses, it solves most of the starbursty-ness. Errr...I'm certain that is a real word. YMMV.

 

[noboundries]

Playing with dot size and reticle type is a good idea. Try to find a gun shop locally and look through all they have. Higher quality glass or emitters can make a difference, but ymmv. Newer Holosun green looks very crisp to me; older Holosun red is a smeary mess. Larger dots bloom less for me, smaller dots are far worse.

I think the best way to get over it is to shoot with a timer, and focus on your target, and the smear matters a whole lot less lol.