Aimpoint Red Dot Scopes

[SnubR]

I recently mounted my new Aimpoint PRO on my rifle and the right side of the red dot looks like paint that spread out from a buddle. The Aimpoint technical agent told me all of the Aimpoint red dot reticles look this way, that you are not to look at the dot, but focus on the target.

I thought the reticle was supposed to be perfectly round.

A lot of you own Aimpoint red dot scopes. Does the dot on your scopes have the paint spread appearance also?

Thx

 

[hso]

Does it look like this on the lowest clearly visible setting?

Do you wear glasses correcting for astigmatism? If so, are you wearing them while looking through the optic?

 

[rcmodel]

What happens if you turn the brightness down?

What happens if you rotate the sight while looking through it?

If the blob rotates with the sight, its the sight.

If it stays in the same place as the sight revolves, its your eyes.
You have Astigmatism.

rc

 

[ForumSurfer]

What happens if you turn the brightness down?

What happens if you rotate the sight while looking through it?

If the blob rotates with the sight, its the sight.

If it stays in the same place as the sight revolves, its your eyes.
You have Astigmatism.

rc

Ditto that. My astigmatism affects the way I see aimpoints or eotechs even with corrective lenses.

It is incredibly infuriating. I can use one just fine, particularly at lower settings but it isn't sharp. Yep, that's a $400+ optic on top of my AR with a slightly fuzzy dot.

Take a piece of paper and poke a hole in it with a pencil/pin tip so that you have a tiny aperture. Look through that and see if your dot now looks clear. If it looks really good to go, it probably would hurt to consult an eye doctor.

 

[SnubR]

hso - It doesn't look anything like your dot. Mine is completely red. Let me give a different mental picture. Take a perfectly round red dot and draw a 1/4' to 1/2' straight line from the outermost right side of the circle. Now take your pencil and starting from the same spot that you began the first line, draw a light color of 4 to 6 of those lines each spreading out a tiny bit from your original line.

remodel - The first thing I tried was changing the brightness, but it didn't get rid of it. I turned the scope as you advised and the spread moves with the circle. It doesn't remain in the same place. Sounds like I got a defective scope.

forumsurfer - I tried your hole-in-the-paper recommendation, but I have an AK47 and I couldn't hold the rifle steady with using just one hand. Later tonight I'm going to rest it on a pillow on a chair to see how it works. But from what remodel said I think my scope needs to be returned. My friends have made a joke out of how nearly everything I buy is defective. And it's true. It's amazing.

 

[Highcaliber]

Try taking a good photo of the dot. The camera might need to be set for close-up focus or "macro mode"

Post the pic for forum members to review. Hopefully you did not get an aimpoint clone / knockoff.

Usually the astigmatism error makes the dot appear as a diagonal dash or comet effect.

 

[CharlieDeltaJuliet]

Also if you are in lower than natural light it can affect the " look" of the dot. I have astigmatisms in both eyes so they look blurred either way.

 

[GarySTL]

I'm sure his dot us completely red. It's just difficult to photograph a dot.

 

[ForumSurfer]

Well I hope the optic is defective because defective eyes are harder and more expensive to rectify.

 

[herrwalther]

I have had two CompM4 sights appear this way. One time it was the sight, the mirrors inside were misaligned and it needed to be replaced. The other time, I had a smudge on my glasses. Sad to say, the smudge took longer for me to figure out. rcmodel is solid advice for figuring out which.

As far as astigmatism goes, the dimmer you have the optic, the less you notice the effect.

 

[SnubR]

I'm at a loss. I spoke with Aimpoint Tech Service again and was told to take a picture of the dot. He told me if the dot has no distortion it's my eyes. I did and the dot looks just like the one in hso's above picture. If I knew how to attach a picture I would do so.

I had my eyes examined for reading glasses in November. Looks like I better go visit my optometrist again. Darn!

 

[OpticsPlanet]

When you take the picture, try to set the focus down range. Like 50 yards or beyond. The above picture is focused on the front sight post. That is much too close to achieve the desired result from the "picture method".

Chase B

 

[SnubR]

Sometimes life sucks. Found out today that I not only have astigmatism, but also cataracts. Pretty much sums up my red dot issue.

 

[CharlieDeltaJuliet]

I hate to hear that SnubR. I need to go back to the optometrist myself. I am seeing "floaties" when I move my eyes. I have just been afraid to.