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Thread: Prescription Glasses and Dot Bloom

  1. #1
    Site Supporter MGW's Avatar
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    Prescription Glasses and Dot Bloom

    I wear prescription glasses but do not have astigmatism. I have had my current glasses for about 10 months but just recently started working with red dots again. I have noticed that with my glasses I get a little bit of bloom on the dot. I don't get this without my prescription glasses. Is this normal? Is it something I can correct with my prescription?

    It isn't a huge deal until I start stretching out the distance with my issued rifle and CCO. At 200 meters plus it becomes a bit of a problem.
    “If you know the way broadly you will see it in everything." - Miyamoto Musashi

  2. #2
    Depending upon what part of my glasses I am looking through, I may see some bloom. I use Varilux progressives. I try to disregard bloom and look at the target. I can see this being more of an issue with a 5.56 than a pistol.
    Likes pretty much everything in every caliber.

  3. #3
    I'm at the age where I have to wear progressive lenses and depending upon how my glasses are angled when looking at the dot, I can sometimes see a bloom like dot. I have to ensure that I am using either the middle or upper part of my lense to see the dot.

  4. #4
    For progressives, try using the distance portion of the prescription, rather than the intermediate or close in prescription -- for looking at the target. I have trifocals -- I can't use progressives. The top, distance, prescription has a clean dot. If I use intermediate or close, the dot fuzzes.

  5. #5
    What @GJM said.

    Old guy, bad eyes, thick lenses with multiple corrections (me, not GJM). Basically, you'll be looking at the target, bringing the dot into view. I'm sure I'll say this poorly, but here goes: If you "train" your brain to target focus, and consider the dot a secondary "view", you'll not worry as much about whether the dot is sharply focused. Your objective is to bring the dot onto the target, not to focus on the dot.

    And somewhat going counter to the past comments, while I can see some differences in the dot's appearance when I move my (yes, progressive) lens around, when you're shooting you're mostly putting the center of your eye on the target. I'd think it very difficult to think about viewing the dot through a particular area of your eyeglasses when shooting - - - 'cause then you'd be looking at the target through that same particular area of your specs.

    (That said, I regularly prove myself to miss the target, and the point of conversation.)

  6. #6
    Site Supporter MGW's Avatar
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    Good points @GJM @Tod-13 @gtmtnbiker98 and @flyrodr. Hadn’t thought about it but I am paying attention to the dot instead of finding a spot on the target. Thank you all.
    “If you know the way broadly you will see it in everything." - Miyamoto Musashi

  7. #7
    With holosun I have experienced the opposite phenomena.

    Without glasses the circle is kind of fuzzy and dot is slightly bloomed.

    If I put on my prescription glasses (or sunglasses) everything gets razor sharp.

    Scrip is low (-.25) so maybe that’s the reason?

  8. #8
    Site Supporter stomridertx's Avatar
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    I have the worst type of astigmatism for red dots, and they are still my favorite sighting solution. I hear most guys saying the dot blooms, or looks like a comma. What I see varies from a cluster of grapes to the star of Bethlehem. I'm also cross eye dominant, so that's cool...
    The desire to see a perfect dot is a futile endeavor. Very few people are blessed with a perfect cornea shape on both eyeballs. I wear gas permeable hard contact lenses, which are considered the best non-surgical solution for correcting astigmatism, and I still don't see a perfectly round dot. The point of the red dot is not a crisp and perfect reticle. It is to give a small aiming point that is so bright and eye catching that you can focus on the target and still see it floating where you want to shoot. However the dot is distorted, it is still covering 2 MOA of the target. Having it too bright might have it extend out to 3 or 4 MOA. I visualize it this way, I'm painting a tiny red brush stroke where I want to hit. The more light there is in the environment and the more focused on the target you are, the less distorted the dot will be. When taking long distance shots, flipping up and looking through the rear BUIS small aperture will get you as close to a perfect dot as you can get, and will eliminate parallax.

  9. #9
    Site Supporter MGW's Avatar
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    I want to add an update to this. I shot a Guard match last weekend. For the rifle, I used an issued Aimpoint CCO. The pistol was an M17 with issued night sights. I shot the first two days with my regular everyday progressive lens glasses. Morning of the third day one of the range safties "suggested" that I switch to a proper set of safety glasses. The only other set of glasses I had with me were an old set of single vision glasses that look like safety glasses. They were set up for computer use. Good anti-reflective coating and a little bit of blue light blocking. The prescription is too weak to use as readers but they work very well for distance vision. I don't have a strong prescription, to begin with, but my eyes have become accustomed to having the extra help that my progressives provide.

    I started the day with the pistol. It was early and overcast so lighting wasn't that great. To my surprise, I didn't find the single vision glasses a hindrance at all. I was able to see a clear target and my front sight was a little blurry. Speed and accuracy didn't seem to suffer at all. Next was the rifle. The stage was a team against team match to steel set at 200 meters. Again the glasses surprised me. The targets were nice and clear and the red dot was clean and clear. No bloom at all. With both eyes open I had a perfect focus on the target and a nice clean dot.

    It just so happens that I'm due an eye exam this month. I'm going to talk to my doctor about my experiences with the red dot and see if I can come up with a new set of glasses that are specific for shooting. I don't like shooting without a real set of safety glasses and it's time to make that investment.

    A quick follow up question if anyone is still reading. Is anyone using a set of transition lenses in shooting glasses? I really miss being able to shoot with sunglasses but I'm not sure if transitions lenses work well for sights and red dots.
    “If you know the way broadly you will see it in everything." - Miyamoto Musashi

  10. #10
    Another factor to consider is the actual lenses and coatings or a lack thereof. Certain coatings can help prevent or reduce the likelihood of reflections. I'd have to imagine bloom could be affected by that as well. Maybe better lenses could help, where that's an option? For reference, I have an astigmatism and wear glasses as well. I never really get dot bloom. Not sure if that's just me, or the fact I usually max out the options for lens quality and coatings whenever I get new ones. Currently wearing Rudy Vulcan's with the Direct in-frame lenses and full AR coatings on both sides which are the best I've had yet.
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