Red dots turning into red worms!

[Cesiumsponge]

Deteriorating eyesight is so gradual that you won't notice it. It's not like you wake up one day and notice everything is 20% more blurry. I went years without glasses and figured what I saw was normal. I was skeptical that I needed cheaters at all until the optometrist stuck them on my face after they came back from the lab and I thought, "holy ****...I can see!"

[blackscot]

You are most definitely not the only one. Every few months (or less) a thread appears on this subject. I am usually among the "me too" respondents.

Any optic with an adjustable diopter (like most if not all scopes) should resolve the issue. Unfortunately, no 1X red dots I am aware of have this feature. Likewise, any scope will add significantly more heft than the many lightweight red dots now available. So -- like the many issues we face both in shooting and in life -- a trade-off is the best that can be achieved.

If going with a red dot, be glad if you can find glasses that at least provide a partial correction. For a long time, glasses only made it worse for me: the so-called "dot" went from being a grape cluster bare-eyed to something resembling roadkill wearing the glasses. My eyes have continued to change though (I turn 54 tomorrow), and 125 glasses now provide a partial improvement. Not perfect, but the bare-eyed grape cluster usually goes to a single dot but now with a "comet tail" or similar distortion (depending on any illness or fatigue that as others have indicated can also influence). At least I can usually tell what part of the image to align with the target, and the lesser weight compared to a scope makes holding and moving around with the gun a bit easier. Again, all about trade-offs.

Good luck sorting it out.

[Cesiumsponge]

This might sound strange, but paying more for higher quality lenses for your glasses help too, and going to a better optometrist who takes more measurements than the bare minimum to fit glasses. Frames sit differently on everyone's face so the center of the lens needs to be ground on-axis with your eyeball for best performance. I noticed a big improvement in optical performance going from genetic Lenscrafters or chain store (the DPMS of the optical world) stuff to better lenses and a good frame from a small business with an optometerist and optician that took the time to fit me. I'm currently using Zeiss digitally profiled single vision lenses with one of Zeiss's AR/scratch coatings. For us wearing cheaters, might as well spend the money on good optics since we look through them every day of our lives.

[blackscot]

.....paying more for higher quality lenses for your glasses help too, and going to a better optometrist who takes more measurements than the bare minimum to fit glasses. Frames sit differently on everyone's face so the center of the lens needs to be ground on-axis with your eyeball for best performance.....

Sage advice which I should consider better, especially the fitting aspects. A nearby optometrist is also a member of my shooting club and has somewhat of a specialty in fitting glasses for shooters. I've heard nothing but good about him and should probably call for a visit.

[ricksterr]

I've been having problems with aimpoints even with corrective lenses. Although with the trijicon RMR and contacts (no astigmatism correction) I get a perfect dot, and with glasses (corrected for astigmatism) I get a blurry dot on the trijicon. When I flip my aimpoint 3x magnifier things get oh-so worse.

[tucsonan]

Strangely, I have noticed that sometimes older aimpoints have a dot that appears much more crisply to me. I don't know the model numbers but the T-1 and M4s have never looked like perfectly round dots when compared side by side with the older units.

[cabbynate]

Have you tried looking at the dot through a peep sight? Since our eyes searches for things in a circular pattern, this supposedly forces the dot to be rounder. If I want to take an accuracy shot I do just this so that I can use a better defined dot.

This works and it works well. It's amazing as it is still fast. Even better if you have a flip up front sight. Just leave it down and out of the way..

[Just a Jarhead]

I've been having problems with aimpoints even with corrective lenses. Although with the trijicon RMR and contacts (no astigmatism correction) I get a perfect dot, and with glasses (corrected for astigmatism) I get a blurry dot on the trijicon. When I flip my aimpoint 3x magnifier things get oh-so worse.

That's odd. You would think if contacts clears up the grapes so would corrective lenses. I have an RMR & I wear contacts. Without them I'm like most of you...cluster of grapes. With contacts or with corrective lenses ( I have multiple pairs) I get a perfect sharp dot. I'd try other lenses if I were you. That just doesn't sound logical that lenses wouldn't clear up the grapes if contacts do. Also I'm thinking any of you who are seeing grapes definitely it's time for an eye exam.

[Heidevolk]

I have a severe astigmatism that corrective lenses don't seem to fix properly. When I had contacts, they had to be heavily weighted on one side and every time I blinked would go blurry... very annoying Maybe eye surgery would fix this issue, but I see how for some people there's not really a way to get around the issue with Red Dots and the need to opt for something like the TR24 instead.

I never really liked the idea of 3X optics like the ACOG, but when I looked through one the first time I thought "holy crap, that's clear!"

[Tomac]

I have astigmatism as well and find Aimpoint/Eotech reticles have varying degrees of distortion (depending upon size of the dot).
The Leupold Prismatic is the closest optic I'm aware of that's 1x and has an adjustable diopter to correct for astigmatism.
It's not perfect (still has the typical magnified optic characteristics of parallax and eye relief) but may be an option for those w/extreme astigmatism that don't want the weight/size of a variable.
Tomac