A few Vortex red dot questions

K

ks_wayward_son

New member
Please bear with me as I ask a few questions regarding a red dot I recently acquired. After reading about the mostly favorable reviews regarding the Vortex Strikefire, I went ahead and purchased one...a bit more in my budget and should still work for my applications.

A. For use in general hunting and/or range work with my M&P 15, would a battlesight zero(actually the Improved Battlesight Zero) work best with the red dot, like I utilized with my iron sights, or would it best be suited with a stereotypical 100 yard firing procedure?

B. I have heard in reviews that one of the downfalls of the Vortex set up is the lack of quality in the objective covers. What has been your experience with the stock covers, and if you chose replacements what were they? After research I have found that Butler Creek covers use a size 4 and size 5 for the ocular and end objective pieces. Regarding the Butlers themselves, there are the "Blizzard" see-through covers and the standard variety. Common sense would tell me the Blizzards would work better because of the nature of quick acquisition with the red dot, but just how sensitive are the springs on them...is the "lock-up" as tight with them as the standard, or do they slip pretty easily?

C. Are the stock mounts adequate or would you recommend a specific loc-tite (red/blue)? If the stock mounts are inadequate, what replacement is solid/yet reasonably priced? It would be good to co-witness, but not an absolute necessity.

Thanks for the information. Plus, if anyone has been wondering about these scopes...Gander Mountain's website has them for 149.99...but you can use a code for free shipping plus another 20.00 off...freeship20 in the promo code box. Still had to pay sales tax, but got it for around 140.00. Also, slickguns.com is a very good resource where I found out about this deal. Individuals send in information about deals they come across and it is readily available. Didn't mean for this to be a second-part marketing ad, but I think it really is a viable site of retailing info.
 
I bought the red green one first and it just wasnt bright enough. They took it back and replaced it with the red only one and it works fine. the covers are a pain in the @@@. They dont like staying closed. I put aimpoint covers on mine and it works much better. the mount is a cheap mount but ive yet to have it come loose. As a matter of fact when i returned the red green one i forgot to send them the mount and when i called they said to keep it. Its now on one of my 223 ars and its held up fine on there too. Battery life doesnt compare to an aimpoint but its not bad. I just wouldnt leave it turned on all the time like i do with my aimpoints. But for less then a 1/4 the price of an aimpoint there sure a good bang for your buck.
 
A. I have mine zeroed at 50 yards. With my reload, it's .5" high at 100 yds, back on at 150yds and 2" low at 200.

B. The covers are cheap. It required a lot of work of getting them to cover the lens when new. It's a bit easier now and they do what they are suppose to. I don't plan on replacing them.

C. I am still using the stock rings as well. Never has loosened up. I've taken it on and off and it dit not return to exact zero each time but would only take about 3 shots to rezero.

I agree with LLoyd about the red/green model not being the brightest. I also don't think the dots are as sharp as higher end models. The battery does not last as long as an aimpoint . There are other things that I think could have been improved like the power switch is easy to bump and accidentally turn on and off. However with that said, I think for $150, they work as intended.
 
a) I would zero them however you zero your irons.

b) The stock lens covers are iffy. I found the cap doesn't like to stay shut on the rubber ring. I use a bikini cover now.

c) The stock rings are probably fine. I use an American Defense ring, but that is because I wanted it to be QD.

As far as brightness - I've had no issues with my red/green Strikefire. I find this to be a good RDS for the money. Is it as nice as my Aimpoint Comp M4? No, but it doesn't cost nearly as much either.
 
I used to ahve a Vortex. Lloyd's and Marquezj16 replies pretty much mirror my opinion of the optic. I replaced mine with a Primary Arms M3 clone. The only issue I had with my Vortex was the dot brightness. I traded it to a buddy, and he mounted it on his .22 AR upper and he really likes it. It has stood up to the abuse of run n gun courses just as well as any others that our group uses.

Sure, It's not an Aimpoint, but it seems to be a pretty good inexpensive optic.
 
A. A 50yd zero/high at 100yds is fine.
It's not a precision optic, it's an optic for shooting quickly. The 1" of drop difference at 50yds and perhaps 2-3" of drop difference at 100yds between the two zeroing options will barely be noticeable vs the general size of groups from a 4MOA dot optic.

B. Mine are extremely tight to snap on, but have gotten better. They stay on fine, it's just reattaching them that's a PITA. I only do that when I put it away, so it's an immaterial problem for me.

C. The rings on mine are fine. They're basically a slightly inferior, but similar design to Burris XTRs, which are a fine ring. If you're a Badger/Seekins ring type person, then they might seem bad, but to me they work just fine when properly torqued down.
 
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