I have an Aimpoint T2, and the dot appears like a starburst to me. I'm pretty sure I have some mild astigmatism, because as I understand it, the dot should really look like a dot. I really want to jump into the world of MRDS pistol sights, but I don't know how well it would work for me. The Aimpoint is still usable for me, it will probably just never be as accurate. Anyone else in the same boat? Or is there any other options for pistol sights with an etched reticle?

I do not know if I have one but all my pistols have a red dots and I have zero problems, I got an H1 and put a 3xmag behind it and it turned to a long comet and others did not see it so I think the optic has a ton to do with it.

Helps to use smaller rather than bigger dots.

OP,
 I have posted about this a few times in other threads
so search around for more detail, but...

I have 5 of the RM08G's. The triangle does not bloom
for me, but I wanted to try a true red dot for inside
matches. I ran across the Holosun 507c's. At $299,
they are a great buy. I have one on my primary G43,
and my latest is on my primary G17. I use the dot for
sighting in & the circle without the dot for street carry.

The dot blooms a little for me, but I have always just
ignored it on other red dots in the past, but the circle
reticle is not distorted for me like the dot is. If you can
find one on display, you could play with the reticles in
the store.

I like the dual Trijicons for the no battery thing, but
the solar panel on the 507c pretty much takes of that
issue, as well.

I am well pleased with mine & I will buy more.

I just put an RMR on my VP9L, I went with a the adjustable led with the 3.25 MOA dot. I took it to the range for the first time this morning. I have a astigmatism and typically see a messy star when looking at a red dot. With the RMR is see a star indoors, it gets much better if I turn down the brightness. Outdoors is is a very visible perfect dot, this was a nice sunny day. My astigmatism is less of an issue with the RMR then it is with an MRO or Aimpoint, I can never get a perfect dot with either of those.

As far as shooting with it goes I just ignore the bloom and it is a non issue. I was consistently hitting a 1” dot at 10 yards today with the RMR.

I have an astigmatism and run red dots on all my ar's and my notaglock 19. Generally I don't even notice it, look at the target not the dot. On the .22 rifles while target shooting or sighting in the ar's I try to use the same end comet each time. Works well able to shoot groups smaller than the moa of the dot. On the pistol I don't notice any distortion when drawing from the holster and shooting. When I first got the 507c for the pistol thought that I might not be able to use it but looking thru vs looking at the dot seems to make quite a difference.

@2apatriot

I cannot use what I call "red blur" sights. Astigmatism.  Also wear glasses to correct my vision.

Let me say that I hate the recommendation on a handgun. Tried it and it did not work for me. My carry pistols both have Amerglow I-dots.

The sight is the See All Open Sight or the more expensive See All Nite Sight (Tritium). On a sub 100 yard long gun, I think these things are the cat's ass. Just ordered my fifth one.

Giving the gen 1 See All a try will only set you back about $50 on Amazon. I also recommend getting the delta version. It is a unique system and will require some getting used to. Once I got the hang of using them, well, like I said, I own five of them.  If you get one, slap it on something that has a pic rail and take the adjustment allens to snug it down and to zero. I mounted one on my AR and it required  a 1" riser block. The one on my 1022 did not. Nor did the one I mounted on my home defense shotgun.

The main reason I like them is that it  is like a red dot in fast and fast on target, but the reticle is so sharp and clear that I can even aim them without my glasses. Also, no batteries. The not tritium versions have an ambient light trapping material on top. The tritiums are self lit for night use and also have the ambient light traps for day.

I lowered the brightness on my RMR and it’s very usable.  It’s not ideal but it’s still better than irons.

I have a slight astigmatism.  Sometimes the dot is crisper than others, usually if my eyes are rested vs. tired.

You just have to try them out as everyone is different.  For example, 2 guys might have an astigmatism & one sight/brand (Trijicon, Holosun, Leopold, Shield, Aimpoint) may look great to one guy and terrible to the other.  I hear some guys say the Dual Illuminated RMRs work well for worse astigmatisms, but they do have downsides as well.

Brightness is what fucks with my astigmatism, so I just keep the dot brightness down to a minimum and have not had issues on my RMR or any of the Red dots on rifles.  As soon as I turn the brightness up though, its like looking at a star rather than a dot with shards of red coming off a center focal point.  Terrible

I have a pretty hefty astig, have experimented with a good amount of RDS including T1, T2, MRO, Sparc, etc

Personally I’ve found that the Aimpoint Comp M2 and Holosun 530gu work the best for me (I love the Holosun, crispest reticle I’ve ever seen). Eotech EXPS 3 works pretty well too. Only mini I’ve tried is the Docter and it works fine.

FYI this is all while wearing corrective lenses/contacts

Point being it seems it is very different for everyone with astig, just gotta keep trying until you find a good fit

I'm taking my red dot to the optometrist and seeing if we can't get glasses that'll clear up the dot (and not mess with everything else).

I also tend to like the HOLOSUN'S more than most dots...but it's still not great.
Using the 32.5 MOA circle of the 507C means that at 25Y, you're still shooting at the center of an 8" circle (and like 3.5" at 10Y). So that does sound good--I've wondered if that circle-dot would help me find the reticle faster..I bet it would.

I have astigmatism in both eyes and to me red dots typically look like a spider that has been stepped on and it's legs are randomly sprawled out. I prefer iron sights but I keep a red dot on my ar pistol because it's quicker and easier to get on target and this gun is usually used to introduce people to the AR platform. Everyone wants to shoot the little gun with the red dot. I usually opt to shoot my iron sighted, rifle length 18".

Yes... But all of my shooting and sunglasses are prescription and even without them it’s fine for real world use. The dot simply isn’t crisp.

The background brightness will have a huge effect on how smeared your dot looks if you have an astigmatism.

In bright conditions (not necessarily dot brightness, but overall lighting) your pupils get very small. This acts as a spatial filter and minimizes the effects of your astigmatism as well as minimizing the effects of any non corrected focus issues. Unless your vision is really FUBAR, most people will see a pretty clean dot when outside on a bright day.

In dark conditions, where your pupil is more open, you get more light coming in from different places on your lens, and any uncorrected focus, or astigmatism issues will be accentuated. If you have an astigmatism you dot is going to look like a smear in the darker conditions.

The smearing effect can also be exacerbated if your dot is too bright. You get what is known as blooming where a small bright dot looks much larger than it actually is.

98Redline and others nailed it.  Turn down the brightness.

My reddot is kinda like a slice of pizza with the crust to the right.  Not a nice starburst. Use the center of the blob and
it works. Astigmatism plus keratoconus corrected to 20/30.

Anyone have problems with RDS on pistols but not rifles?

I get the "starburst" from all dot sights, and EOTech reticles are just a nightmare. My solution has been triangle and chevron reticles which seem to work well, and my current favorite optics are a Mepro M21 on my rifle and RM08A on my pistol.

I use the Delta point Pro with the Triangle.  This one seems to be the best for me.  It is slightly blurry but usable without my glasses.  WIth my glasses, slicker than snot.  I use Aimpoints on my AR15s, they have a little bit of a starburst, without my glasses, but usable.  In a pinch I can do it.  Really like the DPP, Dont know if I will go to the ACRO.