Optics & Bad Eyes

Equipment and Accessories Optics
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I’m a big fan of peep sights, my issue is, I see two front posts, so I pick the post on the left and pull the trigger, seems to work ok for me as I enjoy shooting peep sights and usually hit what I’m assuming I am aiming at.

Red dots, big ole star burst, so I pick a point on the star and pull the trigger, again, seems to be ok, I’m fairly accurate and enjoy shooting them, long sessions though will cause a bit of eye strain and headache, so the red dot is a quick range toy to me.

On the old forum, High Exposure joined a conversation about LPVO scopes, talking about astigmatism and shooting, some good conversation came out of that conversation and I got to thinking, hmm, I need an LPVO. Bought a Vortex Strike Eagle on sale and was very happy, I could dial in the diopter to my prescription and poof, no more points on stars and no double vision, life was good.

Well, almost good, I’m not a competition shooter so I bought a relatively low cost LPVO and with that comes weight, not ideal but better than blurred vision. Also, now you have a scope on the rifle when you really want a red dot.

A year or two back, Primary Arms came out with their Microprism scopes (I have nothing to do with PA other than I buy their product), fixed magnification, the size of a red dot and weighing much like a red dot. Dialing in the diopter clears up the blurry star, no eye strain, I find I very much like a chevron. So far I have no issue with any of my Microprism scopes, enjoy shooting them, weight is a non-issue now and it is as compact as a red dot.

Finally, life is good in my world, except for the peep sights that I really enjoy, that though I can live with, as long as I pick the correct post to use when aiming.

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Prism optics use etched glass and it eliminates the red dot star burst.
I went from all red dots to prisms and then to scopes. The prisms were nice but lacked enough magnification for me. I do have red dots on my shotguns sooner or later I will be changing them out.

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Have you tried green dots?

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No

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Try to give one a whirl. For me the green dot looks as sharp as it does in the picture without any starburst:

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Wish I could see this red dot as sharp with or without glasses doesn’t matter just changes the pattern of the burst:
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Green dots clear up for me also, just not as much as a prism scope with a diopter. Have several on pistols, they work fine, my eye to dot is a farther distance than a dot on a rifle so it is clearer to me.

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Have you tried an acog? I know they might be old hat, but I find that the fixed power and glass clarity are really nice. I get the eye box hate, but they make multiple models some with better relief than others. If it’s on a rifle you could also benefit from the BDC models. Just more food/money for thought. I would think they minimize the stigmatism stuff. But maybe not.

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The star burst effect is due to astigmatism. This is quite common. It is where the lens on the front of your eyeball is not perfectly spherical like a tennis ball, but has a different radius on one axis vs. the other. It is kinda like a football.

There are ways to correct for this that a good optician can dial in for you. I use Dr. Greenspan at Greenspan Eye Care in Parsippany. He knows how to do it right.

Another thing to consider, is the intensity of the dot. I have most trouble with small dots because to get them bright enough to see, the intensity of the light over the small area causes the starburst to be worse.

On my handguns, I like at least a 6moa dot. My favorite is a 10moa C-More. Because the dot is so big, the light is spread over a larger area so the intensity at any point is less. I can see it fine in bright sunlight with very crisp edges on the dot.

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I picked up a RMR style optic for my shotgun, its a green dot with a circle its better than the red dot

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Green is much better for me also, went green a few years ago, and will not even consider red anymore, my HD shotgun opted for a 6 moa green dot with the circle. All my pistols are 2 moa, with the longer distance from eye to optic on a pistol, I have no star burst going on, seems to be when on a rifle.