Red Dots vs. Presbyopia

Presbyopia is a horrible condition. I’ve written before about presbyopia. I had my prescription for shooting glasses customized to allow me to see both the target and the sights of the handgun with almost equal focus. Presbyopia is the loss in your eyes’ ability focus on objects near you. It’s a normal and annoying part of aging. It usually begins in your 40s. Presbyopia is a common problem for shooters. You must wear glasses in order to see clearly, at least from a defense standpoint. You have to respond quickly to a bump in a night. Will you have the time to get your glasses on in time? If you’re out and about, will you always have your glasses with you? Perhaps. Maybe. They are faster than traditional handgun sights and have a rich heritage. Reflex sights are a great alternative to glasses for those who have trouble seeing conventional handgun sights. They can be used to aim handguns without any glasses and I can get quality hits with my reflex sight. Although a reflex scope doesn’t allow me the same vision as when I was 30, it does allow me to shoot more accurately and with less effort than if I were wearing glasses. I am actually hesitant about making the wholesale conversion due to a lot unknowns. These sights are not known for their durability. They were tested at Gunsite Academy recently and the lens was able to fall out of around 20% of them. It is also unclear how they might react to bright reflections or light shining towards them. I have seen them in situations where the light combined with dust or smudges on the lens made them unusable. A reflex sight is a good option for a handgun used for home defense. It can be kept away from dust and inadvertent fingers contact, which can cause lens aberrations. Safe storage prevents the handgun from banging against things during daily wear, which can cause damage that renders the sight unusable. You won’t be able to quickly grab your gun if you wake up from deep sleep. The original slide for the SDS Imports Bantam is the front slide. Fink’s Custom Gunsmithing made the rear slide to fit the Holosun HSM507K X2 sight. I recently created a home-defense handgun that has a reflex sight. Fink’s Custom Gunsmithing, Dave Fink, convinced me to give this idea a shot. He suggested the Holosun HSM507K X2 sight. It comes with a green or red dot, has three reticle options, and has an integrated rear view. Durability is important, but so is the freedom to choose any reticle/dot that you like. The integrated rear sight makes it easy to mount and eliminates the need for a higher conventional sight set up. Fink’s received the extra slide to install the Holosun Holosun HS507KX2 pistol. They did an excellent job milling the slide. Given the unique contour of the slides, they were able to make the Holosun look right at home. I applied a little white paint to the front sight to make the pistol more visible. It shoots just as well with the red dot without corrected vision and is a lot faster than the traditional sights on the original slide. This gives me some comfort in a late-night gunfight. One thing is certain: My eyes and yours are not going to get any worse. Storm Tactical’s impressive target pack includes62 printable targets for rifle and handgun range usage. Target grids and bullseye sizes can be downloaded in MOA. This is a great option for long-range shooting. Enter your email address below.