Old eyes, Cataracts and Revolver Red Dot sights

[shottist]

I am finding it increasingly difficult to shoot well with open sights and am considering a Red Dot sight for my 29-5. I would prefer a small compact sight with a small compact mount, but which ones? There seems to be little information available on the efficacy of small red dots and their mounts and the costs vary wildly. I am only interested in a quality set up and am prepared to pay for that but would like to keep the cost as reasonable as I can. Can the brotherhood please help out with their thoughts and opinions All help will be very much appreciated

 

[qballwill]

By no means would I consider this compact, but this is my vortex sparc on a 6" 686. I have a screw on Warn base with an American Defense quick release mount so I can use iron sight or red dot with the flip of a lever. I used this set up on 50 yard plates.


Here is the same sight on my current plate gun, its a 686 Competitor. Its still on the American Defense quick release, but the rail is milled into the barrel. Can still use iron sights.


There are more compact sight like the reflex style sights. I Highly recommend Vortex brand.

 

[davetnitro]

I find the red dot sights to be excellent, i have a vortex razor, and a sparc II.
can shoot with both eyes open.. very accurate. here is a pic of my .357 and .44M

 

[keithherrington]

Two things

I've shot red dot sights in Bullseye since 2006. After shooting irons for almost 50 years the transition was not easy. However, it became easier once I attended a seminar give by Brian Zins, the most successful Bullseye shooter in the history of the sport. Once you strip away all the layers of detail, his approach is to focus on the target, and "steer" the dot into the middle of the target. Sounds simple, but it is not an easy thing to master. Much simpler is to focus on the dot and just put it where you want the shot to go, but when shooting multiple shots in a compressed time frame, his method comes into its own.

Second, I quickly came to the conclusion that the Trijicon RMR (RM01 or RM02) were the best miniature red dot sights available. Robust all-aluminum construction, click adjustments in elevation and windage, long battery life (5 years +), superb auto adjust on dot intensity, auto shut off, etc. Currently experimenting with one on a carry gun. So far so good.



Keith

 

[drummer007]

My sincere advice is that you should make an appointment with an Ophthalmologist (not an optometrist). An Ophthalmologist is a real medical doctor that specializes in the eyes.

I am 66 years old. At the beginning of this year, my uncorrected vision was 20/200 in my left eye and 20/100 in my right. I too was looking at red dots and holographic sights, etc. because I couldn't see the iron sights any more. In desperation, I made an appointment with an Ophthalmologist this past January. Two operations later (one in each eye) my vision tests 20/20 in both eyes and I can see iron sights as good as I did in my mid 30s. I have sold all my scout scopes and now shoot all my military rifles and handguns with iron sights. I will start competing again next year.

You should make an appointment with an Ophthalmologist.

 

[retired2006]

I have several revolvers set up with a Burris Fastfire 3 using an AllChin mount. This is a very compact package that has proven reliable on my guns.
Is your revolver factory drilled and tapped ?

 

[growr]

My sincere advice is that you should make an appointment with an Ophthalmologist (not an optometrist). An Ophthalmologist is a real medical doctor that specializes in the eyes.

I am 66 years old. At the beginning of this year, my uncorrected vision was 20/200 in my left eye and 20/100 in my right. I too was looking at red dots and holographic sights, etc. because I couldn't see the iron sights any more. In desperation, I made an appointment with an Ophthalmologist this past January. Two operations later (one in each eye) my vision tests 20/20 in both eyes and I can see iron sights as good as I did in my mid 30s. I have sold all my scout scopes and now shoot all my military rifles and handguns with iron sights. I will start competing again next year.

You should make an appointment with an Ophthalmologist.

Same story for me...after a detached retina and cataract surgery in both eyes.....I have better vision than EVER!! Do as soon as possible, you will NOT regret it!!

Randy

 

[elvisimprsntr]

Same story for me...after a detached retina and cataract surgery in both eyes.....I have better vision than EVER!! Do as soon as possible, you will NOT regret it!!



Randy

I was tested at over 20/400 in one eye with a cataract. After corrective lens implants I am now 20/25 in same eye. It wasn't cheap, but well worth it.

 

[Watchdog]

You should make an appointment with an Ophthalmologist.

I'll add my recommendation to this.

If you have cataracts, get them fixed. It's truly miracle surgery, totally painless, and relatively trouble free.

I had cataracts that had progressed so rapidly, it was dangerous for me to drive, especially at night and/or in the rain. Every oncoming car looked like the Batmobile or something with six or more headlights. Shooting? Forget it.

Had both eyes done in 2012, a month apart. The results were so amazing, it was almost scary. It was like going from regular ol' television to High Definition or 4K.

Here's a quick funny story. After getting the first eye done and first taking the bandage off, I walked into my kitchen, turned on the light, and just stopped dead. "What," I thought, "is this stuff all over my kitchen floor?!?" (No, I didn't really use the word "stuff") It was spots and smudges and dirt...stuff that I couldn't even see before getting my eye fixed. And I thought, gosh, and here I've had people in my house seeing this stuff? They must've thought I was the biggest slob on the planet.

I laugh about it now.

Get your eyes fixed.

 

[elvisimprsntr]

Here's a quick funny story. After getting the first eye done and first taking the bandage off, I walked into my kitchen, turned on the light, and just stopped dead. "What," I thought, "is this stuff all over my kitchen floor?!?" (No, I didn't really use the word "stuff") It was spots and smudges and dirt...stuff that I couldn't even see before getting my eye fixed. And I thought, gosh, and here I've had people in my house seeing this stuff? They must've thought I was the biggest slob on the planet.

I laugh about it now.

I thought my bathroom was clean before I had cataract surgery. Boy was I wrong.

I now see all the lint balls on my hardwood floors.

I also noticed at lot of marks on the walls which need touch up.

With the lens implants I can pee standing up without first putting my glasses on.

I also could shave for the first time in decades without glasses.

 

[bowzette]

Well I must have done something wrong. I had cataract surgery last February and now have 20/20 distance vision, or close to it but I need glasses for reading and computer which means I can't see my sights. My eye doctor who is a shooter is working me up a pair of shooting glasses but if that doesn't work I've bought a Merit stick on the glasses peep disk. My experiments with it is very positive. After the surgery I can shoot rifles with peeps and believe they will work with pistol shooting as well.

 

[BAM-BAM]

Like my Dad and Grandfather...... had mine done 10 years ago...wore glasses for about 40 years .......now I'm.. 20/15 and 20/25.......


Not good for action shooting but check out Hansen Eagle Eye Bifocal Shooting Glasses.

 

[H Richard]

Welcome to the Sr. class of shooters. We have all been there. Since my cataract surgery I can see sights much better than have been able to for quite a few years, however the Red Dot has kept me in competitive shooting for the past 15 years. For a revolver and keeping it as small and close to the bore as possible, I recommend the smaller heads up sights such as the Burris Fastfire III, Delta Point and Leupold also have similar sights. Here's a picture if my 617 with a Burris and an Allchin mount (the lowest you will ever find.

 

[AveragEd]

I think I mention this on this Forum almost weekly - which speaks volumes about the age of our members - but an eye doctor (not a glasses dispenser) can make glasses that will allow you to see both your sights and the target with clarity. Dr. Harold Morgan of Morgan Sports Optical in Olean, New York made mine via email - all he wanted was my distance prescription and the distance at which I usually shot with iron sights.

And they work! Before getting them, I had a choice of not seeing my sights and seeing the target clearly or using reading glasses to make the sights clear but the target's black bull looked like a blurry football standing on end. Now I see both with at least 95% clarity.

Dr. Morgan's phone number is 800-594-0175. It's worth a call to fix what's really broken (your eyes) instead of what isn't (your gun).

Ed

 

[Watchdog]

Well I must have done something wrong. I had cataract surgery last February and now have 20/20 distance vision, or close to it but I need glasses for reading and computer which means I can't see my sights.

No, you didn't do anything wrong. I'm sure your surgeon/doctor gave you options.

Mine asked me if I wanted both eyes set for distance, or did I want one set for distance, and the other set for close in. I chose distance. Just didn't want that half-and-half. I'd had friends who chose that and really weren't happy.

I'd worn bifocals for years, so it was no big deal for me to continue to wear them after the surgery. For shooting, I can leave my glasses on or take them off (I just leave 'em on). At arms length, the sights are enough in focus for me to align them on target.

 

[HarrishMasher]

I have incredibly bad vision and a severe astigmatism in both eyes. I am having lasik surgery this saturday! I am so excited! The idea of opening my eye in the morning and being able to see unaided sounds good to me.

As far as a red dot on a pistol, the best way to go is a Trijicon RMR. This is what all the pro shooters use and all the tactical guys. Just find a good mount and buy an RMR. You will be very happy. I like it so much, I am going to have one installed on my Glock 19 carry piece. A few of my buddies have done it and I love the results.

I have a custom Ruger MKII that has a Burris FastFire II on it. I have been shooting this for about 8 years. Never had a problem. But I wouldn't recommend the Burris for a hard shooting gun, definitely not as durable as the Trijicon. It is 25% of the price of the Trijicon RMR, but it is better suited for a range toy (plastic, short battery life). Funny, the Ruger does not have a single Ruger part left in it. All Volquartsen (entire lower) and Tactical Solutions parts (Whole upper).


20 Rounds offhand out to 10 yards. They all go in one hole when benched:

 

[AveragEd]

I'm working with my wife who recently at age 68 wanted to start shooting with me. That was a nice surprise so I started her with a 22LR bolt-action rifle and scope - she does well with it and enjoys shooting it.

Then I moved her to my S&W 22A-1 and she struggled with the whole sight alignment-to-target thing. She had cataract surgery a year ago and since she had used contacts that made one eye her distance eye and the other her reading eye, the surgeon implanted new lenses that work the same way. I suspect that causes some problems but I don't know. I don't think I would ever go that route.

So I bought a TRUGLO Tru-Brite Reflex Red Dot Sight with red and green four-pattern reticle (2.5 MOA Dot, 5 MOA Dot, 2.5 MOA Circle Dot, 5 MOA Circle Dot) for the gun. It is shaped just like the one on the photo in the post above this one.

She hasn't shot it with that gizmo on it but I shot the gun with it on once to get it sighted in. After getting it zeroed, I shot a 10-round group with it from a stable rest. The group seemed inferior to what that gun has done in the past. It was shot at 50 feet at an NRA 50-foot bullseye target and all the holes were in the bull but the group wasn't one ragged hole like I am used to seeing from that gun at that distance from a rest. So I removed the dot sight and shot another group with the gun's sights. That group was half the size of the first one and resembled what I am accustomed to seeing! I truly expected better groups with the dot sight.

The sight attaches to the gun's rail firmly and I don't think its setting is shifting because I could bump it while holding the dot steady on the center of a target's bull and nothing changed. I guess she is going to have to learn to shoot a handgun with iron sights.

Ed

 

[Willyboy]

Eye Issues

I have had cornea transplants in both eyes and a cataract removed in one, the non-dominant eye. I suggest you try a red dot out before purchase to see if the red dot focuses sharply. I had a Bushnell Holosight and the red dot never focused sharply for me; it was always fuzzy. I have no problems with scope crosshairs or iron sights, but I do not use a red dot anymore.
Willyboy