Reflex blurry, any fixes?

[miles71]

I have been kicking around the idea of a Red dot for my AR but just can't bring myself to spend a bunch of money since I just don't shot it that much no do fine with irons. However today at the show in Timonium I found a used one, I think it's like those 100.00 ones you get at cabelas, for 15 bucks. What the hey, I'll give it a try.

I checked it at the show and the dots seemed fairly clear, got it home and I could swear they look more blurry but I figure for 15 bucks I can deal with it no if I find I use it a lot and like it I'll spring for something nicer.

Course my question is, can blurry reflex sights be cleared up? Any suggestions.

TD

 

[iH8DemLibz]

Are you wearing glasses when you look through it?

 

[outrider58]

Are you wearing glasses when you look through it?

That was my first thought too! Reading glass will really mess with red dots.

 

[Mdeng]

Flare is common on cheaper red dots. Use it on the lowest setting that allows you to see the dot/cross hairs. This will reduce flare and give you the smallest and most precise aiming point available.

 

[rouchna]

Do you have astigmatism? That will cause most red dots to look the way you described.

 

[miles71]

Turned the brightness down, that helped a lot. The dot and crosshairs are clearer. I do wear contacts but think I am just nearsighted.

TD

 

[teratos]

Do you have astigmatism? That will cause most red dots to look the way you described.

This.

 

[j_h_smith]

Miles71 brings up a good point, why does a manufacturer have 10 settings for brightness on some of these red dots? If you turn the dial past 5, the dot gets so large and blurry, it's far from useful. Why would anyone ever use a setting that causes this must blurriness/distortion?

 

[Mdeng]

Miles71 brings up a good point, why does a manufacturer have 10 settings for brightness on some of these red dots? If you turn the dial past 5, the dot gets so large and blurry, it's far from useful. Why would anyone ever use a setting that causes this must blurriness/distortion?

You may need the brighter settings depending on the ambient light. You never know when you will need to use your rifle on the surface of the sun.

Seriously though, most people new to using red dots tend to turn them up to much, I know I did. Take a moment and read through the owners manual if it came with one in English.

 

[outrider58]

I always try to keep them set as low as possible on the range but in real world situations(hunting in my case) I prefer setting higher on the scale just because lighting varies, even out doors.

 

[Winebike]

I've bought both cheap and expensive red dots - and one in between (which had issues right out of the box). With cheap ones, you can expect to have more problems, especially when using on anything other than a 22. I've bought and returned several. I've had them totally fail, lose zero, display red streaks around the edges, only work on certain brightness levels, etc.

If you are using your red dot to shoot recreationally, then trying cheap red dots until you find one that works for you is a good way to go.

I have astigmatism, but my prescription glasses correct it - well, mostly. I still don't see a perfect, round dot, but it's close enough. Typically, red dots are used for quick acquisition of targets at closer ranges. Even with a blurry, bright red dot, for defensive purposes, the accuracy will be good enough, however, for self defense, you really need a reliable red dot which equals expensive.

For shooting at longer distances, like 100 yards, turning the red dot brightness down to the minimum useable level will reduce the apparent size of the dot allowing tighter groups.

 

[Magnumite]

As previously mentioned, intensity and quality. I've used dots with my prescription everyday glasses, shooting prescription and with standard nonprescription safety glasses. If the quality up is not high, nothing helps.

Could be your eyes, I have even seen the 'tail' in Aimpoints. A name mini red dot I have is always a starburst, consistent but there. The clearest dot I've seen has been on old Tasco ProPoints. I have one and as long as I have the intensity adjusted to a reasonable degree, the dot is round and clear. That is a major reason I keep that sight. It now resides on my LR 308.

FWIW, the eye is a light sensor. It is drawn to greatest light intensity. I have noticed too high an intensity draws the eye too much and washes out the target clarity around the dot.

 

[Erno86]

Maybe you're not breathing enough to get oxygen levels in the blood to the retinas of your eyes, which can cause blurry vision.

 

[jrumann59]

A lot of the cheaper ones have brightness settings to compensate for when the battery starts to die. I have couple and when I have to adjust brightness due to battery i know that i will need to replace the battery prior to the next range visit.

 

[Sirex]

Do you have astigmatism? That will cause most red dots to look the way you described.

Well, that would explain my issue with mine.
I had been having issues focusing on my iron sights too.

 

[7A38]

I have been kicking around the idea of a Red dot for my AR but just can't bring myself to spend a bunch of money since I just don't shot it that much no do fine with irons. However today at the show in Timonium I found a used one, I think it's like those 100.00 ones you get at cabelas, for 15 bucks. What the hey, I'll give it a try.

I checked it at the show and the dots seemed fairly clear, got it home and I could swear they look more blurry but I figure for 15 bucks I can deal with it no if I find I use it a lot and like it I'll spring for something nicer.

Course my question is, can blurry reflex sights be cleared up? Any suggestions.

TD

You can set up a rear sight which is an aperture (hole) between your eye and sight. So you look through the rear sight to see the red dot and target. One possibility to to use a fold down rear sight and only raise it for long distance shots or shots where you want a lot of accuracy. This may look silly, but it will probably work for you.

7A38

 

[Magnumite]

^^^^ called co-witnessing. Typically the BUS is flipped up when the dot is not used. I do This is when shooting long range, dot is fast to use up close.

When using the same sight plane, typically the irons are a third of the way upnthrough the optic sight. I've tried center but it doesn't work out very well. I also don't co-witness in the true sense since I sight in at 100 (three front sight clicks down from military BSZ) with the irons and 50 with the dot.