So I have seen some discussions on this.  One says that if you see if you can see a star burst from the dot.

On my pa red dot there really isn't a star burst more like a flare.  Do aim points have this issue?  The dot was under a hundred bucks so I do consider that in the issue.


I can lower the brightness and the issue will go away.

You can take a picture through the optic and see the dot as it really is or have others look through it and describe to you what they see.

If a picture reveals a blurry dot then its the scope itself...although you still might have an astigmatism.

i have a minor astigmatism and nearsighted (20-80ish) and yes my aimpointS are flaring little suckers. if i put on my eye glasses it's a nice tight dot. the 4 MOA are worse than the 2 MOA but not by much. its not so bad i couldnt defend myselft, just annoying and anything past 100 yards get rough to see, at least small objects.

thats why i am giving the TA44C acog a go. working out well so far.

Poke a pinhole in a peice of paper, and look through the hole at the red dot.

It should not be flared at all.

If its blurred just looking through the optic alone, then you have astigmatism.

Look at the target, not the dot.  The dot then shrinks to normal.  

I sent two Aimpoints back before I figured that out.

always sound advise there! concentrating on the target is always better. thats how i've been able to ignor the blooming dot.

Mine (AP PRO) is a bit oblong, but not too bad.  The lower you turn it down, the less it is.  But in the daytime I have mine up to like 1 below full out.  Either way mine's not bad enough to worry about.  I have had problems with them before though. Looked more like an octopus and was really annoying.   I think my current prescription plays better than those times in the past.  I have seen some be really crisp though.  Vortex Sparc II was one that I didn't notice any flaring.  Super crisp.  So it may be a little of both.  Optic and eyes.  Not really sure why the differences.  

Some say if you put up your rear sight, if you're running cowitness, it will help clear it up.  I tried it and didn't really notice any difference.   FWIW.  But maybe I'm crazy.  I'm assuming it means you should use the small ap.

I've had my AP PRO for several months and I'm just starting to warm up to it.  But the plain fact is, if I'm shooting past 15 yards, my older eyes could really use magnification.  But for HD distances, yeah, the AP is great.  And yes, it's better than the irons at distance because you're only focusing on the target and one focal plane.  But I'm not sure it really helps me that much at distance.    The other upside to magnification is if it's a bump in the night, and you forget to put your glasses on, or don't have time to, you can actually see with a scope without your glasses.  LOL.  

But to me the biggest strength of an RDS is close range in low light.  Or low light in general, the reticle just becomes so much easier to pick out when there's not a lot of light.  Well another big upside is eye relief is not really a thing with an rds, as opposed to a scope.  Or the irons for that matter.

Moral of the story, don't get old and have your eyes go bad.   And actually the other moral is I don't think there is a perfect optic solution for all situations.  Of course I haven't tried them all, but they all have their upsides and downsides......

Just turn down the dot brightness until you can barely see it then go one step higher or if you require use for HD with a flashlight, point the rifle at a white wall (unloaded of course) illuminate the flashlight and do the same.

Flip up your rear sight, using the smallest aperture. That will often correct the issue.

I get this affect too. I just simply turn down my brightness a bit. If I need to be more precise, I flip up my rear sight and the dot is surprisingly clear.

My eyes don't seem to like red dots all that much even though I don't have astigmatism or anything according to my doctors.  I usually see a little flaring from the dot no matter what the brightness is set on.  

You can try the roll test to see if it is the optic or not.   It's easier to do it if the optic is not mounted on a weapon.  You hold the optic and look through it like you normally would.  Then you turn it, or roll it, as you are looking through it.   If the little flare lines turn with the dot then there might be an issue with the optic.   If they stay in the same spot as you turn the optic it should be your eyes.  

The little starburst lines never move when I do it...  Even though there is nothing wrong with my eyes according to every eye doctor I've ever been to see lol.

My 8moa looks like a starry blob to my eyes

But on the camera it's a circle.  "It's me, not you" little sight.