My two cents after trying just about everything:
Prism sights sort of approximate red dots but have limited eye relief and some fish eyeing still occurs even when you’ve got it dialled in; it will never be as seamless as a red dot just by the very nature of its construction. The etched reticle does work fantastic though at maintaining a crisp focal point for those of us with astigmatism. The options I’ve tried are:
Vortex Spitfire: the gen 1 models are better as they are more versatile and have a low-mount option for shotgun/lever/rim fire, the new ones are designed for AR height.
Primary Arms 1x: the first gen tube style I give the edge over the Vortex, due to better reticle and (separately sold) mounting height options.
Primary Arms 1x Micro-prism: I’m currently using one and so far so good, but only one range trip so far. Way more (included) mounting options, much bigger reticle with actually useable BDC marks and smaller overall size, shake-awake/auto-off and more.
With the inherent distortion that comes with two-eyes open prism sight use, depending on the application I have sometimes opted for a LPVO with decently true 1x. There is still a slight bit of distortion but it’s on par or better than with a prism plus you’ve got the option of magnification if needed. My preferred LPVO choices are:
Vortex Strike Eagle 1-8: best combination of value and true 1x in my experience. The 1-6 options work too but may as well go 1-8 in my mind. I’ve tried a few optics that are 4-5 times the price but didn’t feel they were 4-5 better. I’d rather spend the money on ammo. Several reticle model and plentiful mounting options available.
Millett 1-4: best budget true-ish 1x out there. The donut reticle works great as a red dot and 4x is plenty for many applications. They regularly pop up on the EE for under $200 an again standard and therefore almost unlimited mounting options.
As for actual red dots, as others have said the Holosun reticle is crisper than an Eotech, even for those without astigmatism. I like the circle dot reticle myself as it is more complex and does not as easily confuse your brain and cause the visual smearing, and many Holosun models come with multiple reticle combination options. Try a few until you find one that works. Some people, not me, also report that a green reticle doesn’t smear as bad as a red one. And finally, if you can mount a peep sight behind the red dot and look through the peep, it typically all but eliminates the smearing. Try it, it works.
Another option that no one else has mentioned yet is a Seeall sight. Look them up. They work very well for me and once you get used to them they are just as fast as a true red dot. The only thing that they don’t offer is a hood/tube to look through which sometimes assists in faster target acquisition, but the trade off is they are very low profile, don’t require any batteries or electronics and are pretty bullet proof, (though I have managed to destroy one because I’m special like that). These would be great on a lever I imagine.
So all that to say is there are lots of options out there but you might need to try a few and adjust depending on your application. Good luck and happy and safe shooting.
