what red dot optic is best for $

I would save my money until I had enough to get a quality product, rather than a look-a-like or "budget" scope. Often times, their ability to hold zero is less than dependable, and I have yet to see one that is truly parallax corrected. Set it down on a flat surface and look through it while moving your head around behind it; if the aiming point doesn't stay exactly on target, don't waste your money. Get the tacticool budget models for airsoft or a .22 plinker, but don't get one for a hunting/SD platform.
 
Millet, Lucid, and others come to mind. Depends on what your budget is and how much you shoot that gun.

If you want to reask the question, maybe knowing which ones to avoid would be interesting reading. Basically it would boil down to Primary being the only one under $100 worth the money. They understand that one of their's can fail, but most owners report getting great customer service. Of course, ANY glass optic can fail, even the highly regarded military suppliers. They are NOT bullet proof, literally, nor is the glass impact and shatterproof. They just have highly durable electronics - not an impossible to break reputation. Ask anyone who's actually served in SW Asia.

Within reason, you get what you pay for. Don't forget, a pair of nice roof prism hunting binoculars can be had cheaper than a red dot. And red dot's don't magnify nearly as much, with as many lenses, and the red dot itself isn't that expensive. LED's and lasers are common as dirt these days.

It's about Government contract pricing, lo and behold, the $1100 Colt issue M4's are known to be getting bid out a $600 lately. Hmmm.
 
i just got back from turkey hunting, in 4 hours of heavy rain with my eotech, i tried to keep it covered up as much as possible,but it still got soaked. no problems at all. i didn,t kill a turkey,but i could have killed a jake,oh well maybe monday morning. eastbank. ps i did call up a yote,but he gave me no shot.
 
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Primary Arms M3 multi reticle. Flawless function and perfectly suited for my applications. I've owned EOTech and Aimpoint and unless I ever decided to return to law enforcement, I'll stick with something 1/5th the price. Even in law enforcement I never did anything a PA couldn't handle easily. People say Aimpoint and EOTech are more durable.... I've never seen it, show me a test by a reputable user or company. I've dropped my PA repeatedly with no issuees. I'm not going to pay $400 more for a light that can stay in the on position for 10 years. Batteries are cheap, I regularly check my equipment, and am not so lazy that I can't trun a dial. My opinion only.
 
I have to ask first: what do you plan to do with this gun? it seems the posts are either "don't buy a cheap sight unless you want it to break" or "here are some decent ones for not a ton of money" but I didn't see anyone ask what the application was. (granted I didn't read EVERY post in it's entirety) lots of people just like to let rounds fly and don't beat on their stuff very hard. for them maybe even a $40 wal-mart special would work. others shoot competition, run drills, go to carbine classes, heck for all we know you're on a SWAT team and you'll be kicking in doors with this gun. in that case then you really need to suck it up and spend some coin. people ask all the time what the best whatever is but in order to give any decent advice we need to know what it's for.
 
To be entirely fair:

Military spec red dots have features hunting red dots don't. A military grade red dot doesn't reflect the LED or laser on the front lens, it hides it so it cannot be seen. They are proof to immersion in water, something the little NCStar I owned for one day could never do, as it had no seals at all.

The mil grade red dots have actual windage and elevation adjustments that work, the cheap junkers have bits of metal in them that resemble screws, but operate with a +/- resolution of two to three clicks. There is so much slop they can't possibly be zeroed, the adjustments are too coarse.

Better grade optics will circle the target and return to zero, the cheap junkers don't have the resolution to make it back. If the range test doesn't include that, it's just a advertisement by owner, not a test of actual performance. That's what clogs up the net with a lot of attaboy posts with no substance.

Read up on the range reports of top quality scopes, and apply those standards of testing to red dots. You will get a much better assessment of how it will perform - and it still makes a difference, even though the two major brands mentioned, and half a dozen other competitors have parts made in the same Chinese factory. :eek:

It's when you have to be Berry compliant the price skyrockets - issue red dots must be built on US soil, and the labor rate, overhead, etc all contribute to them being twice the price. The irony is that so many of us are simply too cheap to pay our own labor rate.
 
The irony is that so many of us are simply too cheap to pay our own labor rate.
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That's me... I need the most for my money, not to pay someone elses salary because their company charges too much for their product.:D
 
I’ve tried about 5 different makes of red dot sights. The only one I still have is an 30mm Ultra Dot. They run about $175 or so. It started life on a Ruger MkII. Then got mounted on a M1911 slide mount. It held firm for 20K rounds banging back and forth on the .45 slide. It’s now on an AK47. Still working as good as the day I bought it.
 
The real reason new gun owners want certain guns or accessories is emotional. Very few start up with an idea "I'm going to be a three gun champion in five years." More like, "I'm going to own a gun and actually load live rounds and pull the trigger this next weekend, what gun makes me look good and gets me a nod of respect from other shooters?"

If the post starts out asking "What's the best whatever," then it's not really about the actual products, it's about inferring character qualities the shooter thinks can be purchased. Possess the bad mofo, you are a bad mofo.

You can ask new shooters what they are going to shoot, and the real answer is shoot the bull at the range with their sidekicks standing around in amazement. That's why the specific answer to what range, what target? is never answered. No clue, really.

The next step up is to recommend what works for one application as a blanket answer for everyone. If it's good for CQB or long range precision, it's good for the other. Lots of threads get locked when myopic parties of opposite persuasion attempt to dominate a middle ground.

It should be mandatory to declare what range, what target whenever asking for advice about which product. But, this is America, and we cherish the right to have completely uninformed opinion. :rolleyes:
 
Im cheap and probably will never own an aimpoint but my cheapo red dots seem to hold up for years.

The battery life on a cheapo wont be sufficient for SD(I have irons/scopes) but I think the notion that they break alot is dumb.
 
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