I've owned a military M2 Aimpoint for about a year.  I've treated it very well, making sure not to to drop it or allow it to be banged around (I know, I know...I must not be using it right ).

Lately, I've noticed that when using it at the range in full daylight, or using it at night turned down a notch or two, it seems to be flared slightly.  I know that it's not an absolute precision optic, but for some reason I kinda expected it to have a more perfect dot for more precise aiming.

My question is this:  How perfect is your dot?  Is it a nice perfect circle, even when turned down a little?  Is it kinda flared out just the littlest bit?  (Kinda like when you were using a magnifying glass to fry bugs as a kid, when you turned the glass to the side a little)  I'm sure it'd still be great for 50 yards & under, it's just that when I'm shooting 100 yards & beyond it's almost difficult to find the center part of the dot in the flare.  Again, it's not that bad, but it's noticably imperfect.

What say the hivemind?  Should I build a bridge & 'get over it', or is it time to contact Aimpoint?

try it with the killflash on during the day

Quoted: try it with the killflash on during the day

It's still there with or without the killflash.

Look at it through the small aperature of your BUIS...
Is it a perfect dot?

Do you wear corrective lenses?

Even with my glasses, night settings still "flare" a bit.
I think it's from the pupil dilating more in the dim light.
(mine is fine in bright daylight though.)

*ETA: what would a killflash have to do with it??
They are for muzzle-side issues...

killflash always made it easier for me to see the dot during the day, the little grate effect kinda shadows it out a bit.

My ML2 is not a perfect dot. In the sun, in the dark, no matter what setting. When I first got it I was pissed since it cost 350 so I called Grant to complain. He says they are not a perfect dot and if you have older eyes (I'm 43) it may even be more pronounced.

I got used to it and it dosen't bother me now.

I compared an aimpoint cheapy clone in full daylight on high and it had a perfectly round dot. Go figure.

I'm curious, are you trying to focus on the dot or the target when seeing this?  As I understand it, and I have one as well, you need to be focusing on the target for the dot to look right.  If you try to focus onthe dot it's going to be fuzzy.

An astigmatism (or stigmatism) will make the dot flare.  I have a stigmatism and my dot has never been a perfect circle.  It has always been flared.

This is how you know if its your eyes.  Take a picture of the dot with you camera (without the dot brightness turned way up and against a good background).  If the dot in the picture turly looks like a dot, then its your eyes.  

This isnt my Aimpoint, but see how round this dot is?  When I actually look at the dot on my AImpoint, I dont see this, I see a smudge of red.

Mine looks like a kidney stone if you've aver seen one.  Ragged and jagged. Don't seem to notice it during drills though.  Doesn't seem to have an effect on anything for me. YMMV

every one ive ever had flared a little if it was set too high for the light conditions. It didnt effect my shooting. The longest target I ever engaged was at 450m with a M2 on a M16A4 (FN bbl)

Your vision may be degraded a bit. I noticed the same thing as you with my M2, but I also noticed everything I was seeing appeared fuzzy. So after a trip to the eye doc & getting my precription strengthened...the dot became perfectly clear. This evem made the pixalated cluter on Eotech more clear as well. If you already have corrected vision...the dot will appear more clear with your portholes rather than your contacts if you wear them. Also try using the aiming methods the other posters have mentioned.

I've noticed this too. I do wear contacts, so maybe that has something to do with it. When someone else mentioned an Aimpoint clone with a perfect dot, I remembered using my friend's junky truglo ($39.99) and that it too had a perfectly round dot. Weird...

Get out your tools and build your "bridge"

Your focusing way to much on the dot and not enough on the target.

Remember the point of the red dot. it's to achieve greater speed with CQB accruacy.

It's not a taget scope.....

I don't think it's a big deal or anything. I just think it's odd that for $350 it's not a little more clear. I still love it and am planning on buying another for my recently purchased Sig 556.

I would suggest looking in a different Aimpoint or Eotech and checking for a similar flaring, or asking someone you know has perfect eyesight to look and see.  If you see the flare in other red dots, or the perfect vision person doesn't, it's probably your eyes and not the scope.  Hope that's not the case, but there are worse things (astigmatic Eotech user here).

It might be your eyesight. Have someone else with good eye sight to check it out would be a wise idea. My ML2 has a perfect dot with no flare outdoors but when its on in doors you see a little flare. Eotechs have fuzzy dots as the sight picture is made up of many little lights projected on the lens. But once you take the Eotech outdoors in sunlight the fuzz goes away.

Mine has a wobbly dot also. Could be my eyes. I don't care, they still open and close.

C77

At only 23 years old, I hope to God it's not my vision, but I'll try taking a picture of it and we shall see...

I have noticed the odd shape also. but when I turn it down I can see the that it is more my eyes then the dot.

the thing to look for is the dot blinking or fading while shooting. My M2 had to go back for service becuase of this. The M2 Aimpoint has a great civilan warrenty which is 10 years and 2 years for .mil.

It was the switch that failed and they repalced it for 100% no charge.