reticle question for Vortex Razor AMG UH-1 Gen II Holographic Sight

outobie · Sep 9, 2021

Hello I just received my new Vortex Razor AMG UH-1 Gen II Holographic Sight and I was wondering if the reticle was supposed to be this fuzzy. I"ve read that Holographic sites have some but this seems like a lot.
this is the best setting I could get and actually doesn't look quite as bad in the pic as it does in person...(i wear reading glasses but have perfect distance vision if that matters)
is this the way it's supposed to be? thoughts?

E.Shell · Sep 9, 2021

Not familiar with your optic, but I know other holographic sights are designed for your eye focus to remain on the target. My EOTech is grainy and blurry if I try to focus on the reticle itself, but is sharp when I maintain focus on the target, which you should be looking at anyway.

Try focusing on the target and bringing the sight up into your field of view without trying to look at the sight. Keep your focus on the target and see if that helps your reticle look better. Both eyes open may also help if you're not already doing that.

camo556 · Sep 9, 2021

^ this and lowering the brightness

SkiPatrolDude · Sep 9, 2021

It is a bit pixilated because it’s a holographic sight. A reflex or red dot will typically be much more crisp.

Yours looks normal when compared to mine.

You also might have slight astigmatism.

outobie · Sep 9, 2021

thanks, I have read that (found it posted in a few forums) and am focusing on the target...when I lower brightness the lines of the reticle begin to vanish and become partially see through in blotchy places. It looks like the reticle is composed of hundreds of tiny dots like a dot matrix printer...the brighter the setting, the less you can see the spaces between the dots. in the pic I attached, I turned up the brightness to the point that it was bright enough to fill in the spaces between the dots (if that makes sense) which seems to be the most crisp I can get it. I've never used a holographic site before and maybe this is just how it is. that's on setting 10 out of 15 (15 is brightest) in a relatively low light environment. when I go lower on brightness the reticle starts to become more and more translucent. it's totally unlike any reticle i've ever seen before.

outobie · Sep 9, 2021

SkiPatrolDude said:
It is a bit pixilated because it’s a holographic sight. A reflex or red dot will typically be much more crisp.

Yours looks normal when compared to mine.

You also might have slight astigmatism.

thanks skipartroldude. that's what I was hoping to hear...a comparison to someone else's

could you by chance post a pic of yours?

outrider58 · Sep 9, 2021

Just one question, you aren't using your reading glasses when you look through the sight, right?

woodline · Sep 9, 2021

Do you have any red dots? How do they look to you? How familiar are you with “heads up” style shooting where you let the reticle appear on target as opposed to acquiring the reticle by looking at it? You mentioned this is your first holographic sight. So for whatever reason, I have noticed that eotechs have sharper reticles than the vortex uh1. I’m not sure if there is anyone nearby who has one you could look through to see if that looks better to you, but you might try that.

Long winded post ahead. Please understand OP I don’t know your level of tactical style shooting experience so please don’t be offended if you have a lot. No intent on my part to be condescending or patronizing, just want to cover the bases.

This question comes up fairly regularly on the internet. The reticle brightness is turned up pretty high for one, and for two the longer you spend staring it at it on its own the madder you are going to get at it. Three, you may have astigmatism. Holographic sights often look better to people with astigmatism than red dots, but there still may be some distortion.

I can’t tell if it’s mounted to a weapon or not in that photo, but if it is, then the best way to tell if it will work for you or not is to practice visually acquiring a “target” with your eyes (can be a practice target or anything inanimate as long as the firearm is unloaded and safe and you are pointing in a safe direction) then bringing the firearm up to your shoulder in preparation to stop the “threat” while maintaining both eyes on the “threat.” Do not look for your reticle or at it. Let the reticle settle on the target without looking at it. If several rounds of that doesn’t work and you’ve tried all the other suggestions in the thread, it may not be the optic for you.

I have found from experience that there is a certain percentage of the population that, for whatever reason, just can’t tolerate holographic sights. After purchasing them, they sit and stare at the reticle for hours on end and just get madder and madder about the reticle’s apparent fuzziness. As someone with astigmatism I can sympathize with spending good money on optics that look good to other people but not to me. I think in a lot of cases if they were to try a quick “action shooting” type course of fire with them, they would find that the reticle is quite good, but ammo these days is precious and most ranges don’t allow it. And so these poor folks just keep staring at that reticle and getting madder and madder about how bad it looks compared to a red dot or LPVO. I don’t want to make assumptions about if the problem is biological or not, so I’m just stating what happens. Maybe there is some kind of visual processing difference in the brain or something that people in lab coats with fancy degrees haven’t figure out yet. Anyway, most of the time they end up selling or returning the holographic sight and getting something that works better for them. Bottom line: don’t pay good money for an optic that infuriates you. If you can’t get it sorted out in short order, return it and try something else.

StantonCree · Sep 9, 2021

Up close my Eotech is fuzzy at A target more than 15 yards away it is crisp.

outobie · Sep 9, 2021

outrider58 said:
Just one question, you aren't using your reading glasses when you look through the sight, right?

correct I never use any prescription lenses when I shoot...just reading.
although I did try just to see...it was much worse with them on!

outobie · Sep 9, 2021

fbi_surveillance_van said:
Do you have any red dots? How do they look to you? How familiar are you with “heads up” style shooting where you let the reticle appear on target as opposed to acquiring the reticle by looking at it? You mentioned this is your first holographic sight. So for whatever reason, I have noticed that eotechs have sharper reticles than the vortex uh1. I’m not sure if there is anyone nearby who has one you could look through to see if that looks better to you, but you might try that.

Long winded post ahead. Please understand OP I don’t know your level of tactical style shooting experience so please don’t be offended if you have a lot. No intent on my part to be condescending or patronizing, just want to cover the bases.

This question comes up fairly regularly on the internet. The reticle brightness is turned up pretty high for one, and for two the longer you spend staring it at it on its own the madder you are going to get at it. Three, you may have astigmatism. Holographic sights often look better to people with astigmatism than red dots, but there still may be some distortion.

I can’t tell if it’s mounted to a weapon or not in that photo, but if it is, then the best way to tell if it will work for you or not is to practice visually acquiring a “target” with your eyes (can be a practice target or anything inanimate as long as the firearm is unloaded and safe and you are pointing in a safe direction) then bringing the firearm up to your shoulder in preparation to stop the “threat” while maintaining both eyes on the “threat.” Do not look for your reticle or at it. Let the reticle settle on the target without looking at it. If several rounds of that doesn’t work and you’ve tried all the other suggestions in the thread, it may not be the optic for you.

I have found from experience that there is a certain percentage of the population that, for whatever reason, just can’t tolerate holographic sights. After purchasing them, they sit and stare at the reticle for hours on end and just get madder and madder about the reticle’s apparent fuzziness. As someone with astigmatism I can sympathize with spending good money on optics that look good to other people but not to me. I think in a lot of cases if they were to try a quick “action shooting” type course of fire with them, they would find that the reticle is quite good, but ammo these days is precious and most ranges don’t allow it. And so these poor folks just keep staring at that reticle and getting madder and madder about how bad it looks compared to a red dot or LPVO. I don’t want to make assumptions about if the problem is biological or not, so I’m just stating what happens. Maybe there is some kind of visual processing difference in the brain or something that people in lab coats with fancy degrees haven’t figure out yet. Anyway, most of the time they end up selling or returning the holographic sight and getting something that works better for them. Bottom line: don’t pay good money for an optic that infuriates you. If you can’t get it sorted out in short order, return it and try something else.

thank you this is helpful. I don't have years of experience but I'm not a complete noob. I'm not upset with the sight, I'm just trying to figure out if what i have is normal and functioning properly. If it is functioning the way it is meant to then i need to see if I like it. If there is an issue, then I need to get it fixed. I"ve not taken it to the range yet, I just had it out in the back yard to see how it worked.

I called vortex tech support and described my experience and the tech sent me some pics of reticles he took with his phone of a AMG UH1 he had there. his pics look better than mine but maybe he's just better at taking pictures! at the end of the day he couldn't tell if I had a defective unit or not and said I could send it to him if i wanted to have it looked at. I'm not ready to send it back yet.

I'd really like to find someone who has this same scope and look at it to compare. I bought this for my suppressed 300 black AR pistol I just built.

I'm used to my 4X ACOC or my vortex LPVO 1x10 on my AR rifles and use Trijicon SRO or RMR on my Glocks/Sigs which all have very crisp reticles.

I live in the Severna park area and belong to AAFG. if anyone around me has either the Vortex or an EOTech I'd appreciate the chance to compare.

camo556 · Sep 9, 2021

I do have that sight, and I run it on my supressed SD pistol. The reticle looks fine to me.

Yours ("fuzziness") is a common complaint, ppl are used to focusing on the sight rather than what's beyond.

focus with both eyes open on what's beyond. turn down the brightness.

Its a good sight... I can hit a man size plate at 100yds all day with this sight.

holo sights are not for everyone tho.

camo556 · Sep 9, 2021

The object is not to get the reticle crisp. It wont be.

The reticle should be more or less in background as you shoot with both eyes open. So the brightness should be low enough so it does not distract you from aiming.

woodline · Sep 9, 2021

outobie said:
thank you this is helpful. I don't have years of experience but I'm not a complete noob. I'm not upset with the sight, I'm just trying to figure out if what i have is normal and functioning properly. If it is functioning the way it is meant to then i need to see if I like it. If there is an issue, then I need to get it fixed. I"ve not taken it to the range yet, I just had it out in the back yard to see how it worked.

I called vortex tech support and described my experience and the tech sent me some pics of reticles he took with his phone of a AMG UH1 he had there. his pics look better than mine but maybe he's just better at taking pictures! at the end of the day he couldn't tell if I had a defective unit or not and said I could send it to him if i wanted to have it looked at. I'm not ready to send it back yet.

I'd really like to find someone who has this same scope and look at it to compare. I bought this for my suppressed 300 black AR pistol I just built.

I'm used to my 4X ACOC or my vortex LPVO 1x10 on my AR rifles and use Trijicon SRO or RMR on my Glocks/Sigs which all have very crisp reticles.

I live in the Severna park area and belong to AAFG. if anyone around me has either the Vortex or an EOTech I'd appreciate the chance to compare.

That is really helpful information, thank you for slogging through my post. If SRO and RMR reticles look nice and crisp to you, you are most likely not dealing with an astigmatism issue. I’d suggest giving it a try at the range and really focusing on looking through the sight, not at the reticle, both eyes open. If that doesn’t do it for you, maybe try to find one to compare yours to, or send it back to vortex to take a look at. You paid for the great warranty, don’t be afraid to use it!

outrider58 · Sep 9, 2021

outobie said:
correct I never use any prescription lenses when I shoot...just reading.
although I did try just to see...it was much worse with them on!

Yes. That was my point. I just had to make sure.

First principles and all...

Is the reticle fuzzy or is it glarey? Have to tried backing off the power? When the brightness is too high, it can be very glarey. You have to cater to ambient light. I usually run my dots a click or two low. It makes it much easier to see the target without the glare of the dot distracting me. The dot will automatically appear on target.

outobie · Sep 11, 2021

I can make it glare by turning up the intensity, but that’s not my issue. The reticle is made up of lots of small dots with lots of space between. Fir example the bottom of the outer circle is supposed to have a triangle. Mine doesn’t look like a triangle at any brightness level… just a blob.

Like mentioned above, I’m going to reserve judgment till I’ve had it out to the range and see how I do with it.

I’ll report back once I do. Will try to get out next Saturday

outobie · Sep 11, 2021

camo556 said:
I do have that sight, and I run it on my supressed SD pistol. The reticle looks fine to me.

Yours ("fuzziness") is a common complaint, ppl are used to focusing on the sight rather than what's beyond.

focus with both eyes open on what's beyond. turn down the brightness.

Its a good sight... I can hit a man size plate at 100yds all day with this sight.

holo sights are not for everyone tho.

Thanks I will do just that. I’m still waiting on my suppressor… should get paperwork back and have it in October

ToolAA · Sep 12, 2021

Just weighing in. I have the same optic on a 300BO pistol. It looks just like yours. At first I though it was a little fizzy too, but i’ve gotten used to it. It’s really a great optic for the price. I routinely bank a 3/4 sized torso steel at 100yds. It’s built pretty tough too.

Go put some rounds down range abd report back.

outobie · Sep 12, 2021

ToolAA said:
Just weighing in. I have the same optic on a 300BO pistol. It looks just like yours. At first I though it was a little fizzy too, but i’ve gotten used to it. It’s really a great optic for the price. I routinely bank a 3/4 sized torso steel at 100yds. It’s built pretty tough too.

Go put some rounds down range abd report back.

Rodger that!

ToolAA · Sep 12, 2021

gentooguy said:
Isn’t Vortex made in China?

I know the Viper and Diamondback series are made in the Philippines. The Razor series uses Japanese glass and I believe is also assembled in Japan. The Crossfire series is made in China I believe but I’m nit sure.

reticle question for Vortex Razor AMG UH-1 Gen II Holographic Sight

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