Hello Everyone,

I finally acquired my first optic. A Meprolight M21 with triangle reticle.

I'm already disappointed. The reticle seems to have two "mirages" of triangles at 3 to 4-o-clock and 5 to 6-o-clock. It is distracting to me, because I have to spend a tiny fraction of a second to know to pay attention to the brightest and "correct" triangle. I was wondering if I had to adjust something on the sight, but apparently not. I tried with wearing my glasses and there is no difference. I tried in the dark, and no difference.

If anyone else has a Meprolight M21, is this a "normal" thing? Or, should I send this thing back to Optics Planet?

Any help / input is appreciated.

Thanks

Have you had someone else look through it to verify what you're seeing? Any chance you might have a astigmatism in your eyes?

quote:

Originally posted by F12517:
Have you had someone else look through it to verify what you're seeing? Any chance you might have a astigmatism in your eyes?

That was my first thought as well.

A quick check would be to look through the sight with your other eye. If the image changes, then that would be an indication it’s you, not the sight. But if it doesn’t change, I’d still have someone else check it as well.

I have no experience with that sight myself, but no properly-functioning optic like that will present two reticle images for the reasons you mention yourself.

Added: One of the threads here discusses the problem of using the sight when in a dark area and looking into the light which seems to be a common complaint about the M21. One poster there mentions seeing a double dot when using a red dot sight, but no problem with multiple M21s.

Not normal but as stated get a second opinion.

I have astigmatism. I found this out after buying my first red dot sight.
Looking through the troubleshooting on their website, it was suggested that I take a picture of the dot with my phone.
If the picture is still a cluster of grapes, it’s the sight. If the picture is a dot, it’s your Mark I eyeballs.
Could still be something else, I guess, but that’s a good place to start.

Thank you everyone for the responses. I did take a picture with my phone, and it does look to be one solid triangle. I also used an updated eyeglass prescription and the blur is less pronounced. One more indicator of my advancing age!

I have always heard and read about how much a good red dot scope will help the aging shooter to compensate for loss of visual acuity. When it comes to astigmatism is certainly a caveat, and I just learned about it!

Thank you, Everyone

Thanks for the update. It's always good to learn how these problems turn out, even if not the best for you.

You may do better with an optic with a smaller reticle. Most electronic red dots look like a semicolon to me, but with dots in the 1-3.5 MOA size, they're still plenty accurate.

A true holographic sight should be crisp even with astigmatism but at the cost of battery life. Respectfully, sights like the Meprolight linked and similar offerings from Trijicon are old hat and not really popular anymore for a variety of reasons.

You may want to consider returning this sight and either picking up a red dot or holographic sight. In a similar price range, I would consider the Trijicon MRO or Aimpoint PRO. For less money but still high quality, consider Holosun or Primary Arms.

Thanks DaBigBR, I think I might just "accept it" and go with it. It's going on an X95. I think I'm already getting used to it and I bet I can compensate for it.

In all honesty, the reticle image definitly looks pretty primative. The sight is buit like a tank, though. I suppose it's just barely worth what it costs, all things considered.

After 20 years of guns, I'm only now starting to get into scopes. This is like breaking through the sheetrock and walking into a different room.

Will go for an Aimpoint T2 next. Definitely a buy one and cry once optic.

must be the way Mep creates the triangle. I have 2 Trijicon's with triangle AND astigmatism and they are clear and crisp shapes.