Affordable Red Dots for a .223?

K

Kimio

New member
I've looked around, and was wondering what some y'all choose you mount on your rifles and what brands to prefer when paying for military grade optics is out of the question.

So far I've found Burris and several other brands seem to be quite popular and appealing. the Vortex series of red dot optics is another set that seems to be popular for the shooter on a budget.

Anyone else have some brands I may not know about that are of good quality at a reasonable price?
 
I have a BSA http://www.midwayusa.com/product/87...-with-3-moa-dot-with-weaver-style-mount-matte. Very cheap at about $30 on sale. I have tried it on my 10/22 (SR22) and my Mark III were it currently lives. It holds POA but the quality is not great. The knob that turns the unit on and sets the brightness is so loose that it will walk when shooting. Not a big deal except it shuts off the dot in between brightness settings. I will be upgrading it in the near future. I am thinking something in the $100 range. I am not quite ready to blow $500 on an EOATech
 
Tru-Glo makes a 2X with a small dot (2 or 2.5 MOA I think) and a weaver base. I've got two on AR's and have been pretty happy with them; seem to hold zero well and are very visible. Mind you, these aren't Aimpoints; you'll be replacing the batteries after 10-12 hours.

Cost on the Tru-Glo's seem to be quite variable; usually see this one for $99, but occasionally have caught them at Dick's for $79.
 
If this is for a rifle that you plan on blasting away at the range with, I like Primary Arms.

http://www.primaryarms.com/

I also like them for buying other things as well. They are extremely fast on shipping and if they don't have it in stock you know before you order. They are great to work with as well, they really helped me out when I was trying to setup up my M&P 15/22 to match my Colt 6920.

If this is going to be a rifle that you are planning on using to save your life one day, don't rely on one of these red dots. You don't want to find out that your sight stopped working or that it it is no longer zeroed while you are attempting to use it to defend yourself. Not to mention they are no comparison in brightness, battery life, or glass quality to the higher quality sights.

The lower priced sights are very good to use on plinking guns or to try out a concept without plunking down a lot of cash.

If you are going to do this, make sure that you are running fixed iron sights and do the "lollipop" check every time you pick the rifle up.
 
I have a Vortex SPARC and like it...well, used to like it...just sent mine off to warranty because the red dot kept disappearing due to recoil...yes, I tightened the battery cover per their instructions...also, the dot wasn't really a dot...more like a red fuzzy ball...not very crisp...it's probably a fluke and nothing's perfect...if they fix it rather than replace it, I will most likely spend the extra cash and get a higher end red dot
 
I've tried several. The Vortex SPARC @ $200 is the cheapest one that actually works. Every thing else is just flushing your money down the toilet.
 
The Burris red dot is a pretty good buy at Amazon for about $80. My roomate has it on one of his AR's and I'm impressed with the quality. I may have to buy one myself
 
I have 2 TruGlow red dots-one 2x and one 1x. They work OK but not Aimpoints(also not $400). Don't mess with the multi-reticle stuff. The one I have changes zero when the reticle is changed and they seem to use batteries quicker than dot versions.
I currently have the 2x multi-reticle on my AK74 and it is good enough for that useage and holds it's zero as long as you don't fiddle with the reticle switch.
 
Another Primary Arms fan. I really like the Micro with a ADM QD mount.

july12build01.jpg


I have a BSA Holo sight that's been on several rifles over the past five years, it's been very reliable. Battery life is good if I remember to turn it off.
 
I've tried several. The Vortex SPARC @ $200 is the cheapest one that actually works. Every thing else is just flushing your money down the toilet.
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Wrong. Burris Fast-fire is only $200 and it's one of the best.
 
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