View Full Version : Help with carbine optic with dominant eye astigmatism.
Ok, so I have a new carbine coming, and I sold my Acog TA11. Now I am in the market for a new optic for my carbine. 500 meters would be the furthest shots with it, mostly 300 and in. That said, I recently found out I have an astigmatism in my right (dominant) eye. Don't have a problem on my long range rifles because of the adjustments I can make with those. But lately, I still have a Comp M2, I've noticed sometimes I see two dots, a comet tail, or just a burst and not a dot at all. Anyone running something, without corrective lenses, that they have been happy with? Looking for suggestions, options, optic I can look through, whatever. Just would prefer to not have a corrective lens or contact in while shooting. Thanks.
Delfuego
12-24-2012, 15:03
I went to magnified optics on all, and got rid of dots for this very reason. Now I can adjust the focus on the scope and dont have a giant red snowflake to look at. I still run both eyes open. Irons are an option as well....
That was my thought, variable 1x4 or something with an adj. ocular. haven't looked yet but my feeling is gonna be hurt if its the same way with on night vision considering the the piece I just picked up! Don't think it will be as fast as the guys running RDS, but until I can get my ass to comps anyway it doesn't matter to much.
I'm running a USO 1.5-6 without problem. Dominant eye needs correction for both near and far, plus a mild astigmatism. Works well enough out to 750y.
ChadAmberg
12-25-2012, 12:21
With my red dot and target practice, I keep the brightness as low as possible and it tends not to distort much at all. My assumption is that in a defense situation I can crank up the brightness and I shouldn't really be doing 100 yard shots much.
Chad, tried that still seems to burst quite a bit, only time not as noticeable is in NV setting. But I had two other people look through it and they both thought it was far from clear also, may be my optic sucks. Tim, are the 1.5-6 FFP?
Chad, tried that still seems to burst quite a bit, only time not as noticeable is in NV setting. But I had two other people look through it and they both thought it was far from clear also, may be my optic sucks. Tim, are the 1.5-6 FFP?
I can never remember which is which. The reticle grows with increasing magnification. I think that's FFP.
Yep, thats FFP. A mil is a mil is a mil no matter what power setting. What do you have it set up on? Throw a pic up if you have time and one available, or feel like sharing at all!
All red dots are going to give you the distorted dot with an astigmatism. You just have to practice and learn where the real POA is when things go wacky. I'm generally fine with my contacts until they start drying out. That's when I start seeing comet tails or star bursts. Quickly blinking a few times to wet the contacts generally makes it go away for a bit. I've noticed with glasses I don't get any distortion but I don't like wearing glasses when I shoot. You're going to need a 1x optic with an etched reticle to prevent these visual issues. I also noticed Eotechs don't seem to have as much distortion. I'm guessing it has to do with the nature of a laser generated hologram vs LED diode.
Mutt, I was doing that for a while. But sometimes no matter how much I blink it wouldn't clear up. I would actually blink my contact out. I don't like shooting with glasses either but at this point I think it's time to suck it up and try and make it a habit. First I have to get glasses though, I don't even have any!
I get the same problem at times. No amount of blinking will fix it. Maybe it's a combination of contacts and eye fatigue. I dunno. I've just learned to ignore the comet tail. Luckily for me, the position of the actual dot doesn't change so it's more of a visual annoyance than a real problem. Just something those of us with shitty eyesight have to deal with I guess. Another thing I've noticed is looking at the dot through the iron sights makes the visual distortions go away, but that kind of defeats the purpose of the red dot. Good luck with finding a solution that works for you.
Yep, thats FFP. A mil is a mil is a mil no matter what power setting. What do you have it set up on? Throw a pic up if you have time and one available, or feel like sharing at all!
As you wish.
http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c173/tkulin/cba96ecd95b68124d0fde921ff2a66ae.jpg
ChadAmberg
12-27-2012, 21:12
Chad, tried that still seems to burst quite a bit, only time not as noticeable is in NV setting. But I had two other people look through it and they both thought it was far from clear also, may be my optic sucks. Tim, are the 1.5-6 FFP?
So if you wear glasses that fix your astigmatism, is it still blurry? I'll have to try mine out once I remember where my glasses are.
So if you wear glasses that fix your astigmatism, is it still blurry? I'll have to try mine out once I remember where my glasses are.
I'm not sure on glasses because I have never gotten any, it will clear up with contacts, but contacts get dry. Mutt is right, when I run it with my buis, there is no distortion but running lower 1/3 through buis feels like I should just have a magnified optic like Tim K has on his, then I at least have an adjustable ocular. My biggest problem is sometimes its not just comet tail I see, its the dot and another dot that is at the 1 o'clock position of the true dot.
Tim K that looks great, kind of wish I had not gotten rid of my target AR that had a Nightforce on it, but hindsight and all. I'm actually wanting to build a bolt .223 for 69-80 gr bullets for coyotes and fun.
At 1.5X, it's surprisingly fast to acquire targets. In addition, a friend just turned me on to the totally screwy idea of closing the cap on the objective, turning on the reticle, and using the Bindon Aiming Concept to shoot with both eyes open. I didn't believe it would work...till I tried it. Who knew you could shoot a scope with a lens cap on? Crazy.
I've heard of that, but never really tried it. Have to give that a shot, should be able to keep the illumination way down on it to and still see it.
At 1.5X, it's surprisingly fast to acquire targets. In addition, a friend just turned me on to the totally screwy idea of closing the cap on the objective, turning on the reticle, and using the Bindon Aiming Concept to shoot with both eyes open. I didn't believe it would work...till I tried it. Who knew you could shoot a scope with a lens cap on? Crazy.
tell me more about this concept. I'm left eye dominate, so have always shot pistols left eye'd but never long guns. I just suck it up and use my right eye. I'd be interested in hearing your tips on this Bindon concept, and will definitely try it out during my next range day.
I just tried it myself, so I know little. Start at Trijicons website, then search. You'll fing lots of information.
It's supposed to be done with a magnified optic with a brightly illuminated reticle like an AGOG. Since my illuminated reticle is not visible in daylight, I closed the cap on the objective. It works for close targets, but would obviously be useless for more precise shots since you can't actually see through the scope. With a proper optic, I understand its quite effective.
I just tried it myself, so I know little. Start at Trijicons website, then search. You'll fing lots of information.
It's supposed to be done with a magnified optic with a brightly illuminated reticle like an AGOG. Since my illuminated reticle is not visible in daylight, I closed the cap on the objective. It works for close targets, but would obviously be useless for more precise shots since you can't actually see through the scope. With a proper optic, I understand its quite effective.
I'll give it a shot with my Ar-332 and see what I can figure out. If nothing else, it's a good skill to have in your bag of tricks.
Delfuego
12-29-2012, 10:59
My biggest problem is sometimes its not just comet tail I see, its the dot and another dot that is at the 1 o'clock position of the true dot.If this happens, its time to fix bayonettes!
Try a 1x or 1.5x variable scope and really try to shoot both eyes open. You brain will help to process and correct the 2 different images it receives. You can get a Burris TAC30 1x-4x for $300+/- just to see if it works for you. If it does, then it maybe worth the dough to buy a Vortex/NF/USO. I know you have expensive tastes!
Thanks Delfuego, I've been shooting both eyes open with rds, and magnified scopes for a little while and am getting pretty comfortable with it now. I've been thinking about a NF 1-4 for. Kinda wish I wouldn't have sold the 2.5-10x24 I had, they are hard to find now! But really looking for that 1x
JohnnyEgo
01-06-2013, 00:49
I have severe astigmatism. I loved my CompML2 back in the day, but as my vision got worse, the dot appeared paramecium-shaped and looked like it was rotating about an axis. I was hesitant to go with the EOTech at first, but I find the bright outer ring doesn't allow me to focus as much attention to the center dot, which keeps it from appearing to rotate.
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