Home Forums Hunting & Shooting AR and Tactical Rifles Lower priced red dot sights, which ones are "ok"?

Had the opportunity to pick up a couple of Bushmaster AR's at a crazy good deal, and plan on giving one to each of my sons (23 and 13). I love giving 'em guns for gifts, but wife hasn't liked giving the younger one something he can't "have" and use more frequently (she doesn't understand boys being a girly girl herself). But after seeing my 13yo "fondle" my new 1911 and the look on his face, she finally agreed with me that they would both sheit their pants when I give 'em an AR for their bdays!

They both have good bolt action rifles with good optics, so this is more for a fun rifle for the range, plinking, etc. I think they both would like red dot sights, making the rifles more tacticool.

I have an Aimpoint on my LMT carbine, and really like it but not looking to spend that kinda dough honestly. So have looked at the lower priced Vortex sights and some others.

Anyone used any of the Vortex or other sub-$200 sights?

Thanks!
Clint

The Vortex Sparc 2 is about as good as it gets in a 200.00 red dot sight , plus Vortex has the best warranty in the business. Not many will warranty a red dot past two years .

For budget red dot sights I have heard lots of good things about Primary Arms and Vortex. I would look there first.

I purchased the Vortex because it had a five star rating on every site i looked at and i didn't want to fork out 700.00 for the Aimpoint Micro i knew i wouldn't use all that much.

Primary Arms has been mentioned to me by others, but at their price I have been struggling to "accept" the comments I've heard honestly.

Bea - that Sparc II is the one I'm leaning towards due to reviews, warranty, etc.

Vortex has a Lifetime transferable Warranty no questions ask and no warranty card to fill out

What is the battery life on the SPARC? Does it come with the mount for $200.00? I am thinking to put one on lower cost AR to keep in my truck and I just ran across a deal yesterday and also don't want something that will kill me on price.

That little Razor red dot does not look bad either.

SPARC 2 comes with two Picatinny mounts a high and low with a spacer to elevate whichever one you decide to use. I used the low and mounted it on a QD Picatinny. The high mount is for 100% co witness i believe but you may need the spacer for 100%. Battery Life is 300 hours on its highest level more that double at standard setting , the hightest level i seriously doubt you will ever need, because it is very bright at this level. The sight has a auto shut off at 12 hours. Two batteries are included with the sight.

Bea, have you tried that sight for hunting? I want to get an optic for my AR but am not sure which one I want to get. I'd like one that can pull double duty for HD/SHTF use and hunting.

I went out calling a couple of days back, but only got a bunch of crows to respond and the above rifle with the Vortex was what i was carrying . If i had got a coyote to respond i have no doubt i would have killed him using the Vortex scope. I was hunting in the woods and not open fields . I really like the two min dot for this type of calling.

ive got a Vortex Strikefire....like the sight, its been tossed in and out of vehicles and such and held up fine....gonna take it off my AR cause i have decided i want a scope instead but the reddot is gonna get moved to my Marlin Guide Gun in a shorter mount cause i do like the sight.....think i paid $150 and like being able to switch from red to green dots at the push of a button, green seems to stand out better to my eyes most the time....

I also like the Green Dot , but my favorite is Amber

for that you might look at the SWFA 1-4 IR for $400 or wait til they have another sale. I got one for $299, well worth that kind of money.

Another vote for the vortex strikefire. Holds zero perfectly and takes a bit of abuse wo/issue.

Hi Clint - how's that Benelli SBE treatin' ya? Just one of the many I shoulda hung on to!!

As for the red dot, I have a Vortex SPARC but it's mounted on a 10/22. For the $$, they're a very good site but I would also 2nd the recommendation for a SWFA 1-4 if at all possible. I've had one of those as well and that would be a much more useful site for all-around use IME.....

Hey Jeff, it's treated me just fine! I've used it for 80+% of my bird hunting since I bought it from you (still use my Ruger Red Label every now and then for quail or dove) - has served me well and has held up awesome!

Hmmm, SWFA is out of those scopes 'til April according to their website. That and being in Texas (sales tax) are 2 marks against them. Their birthdays are in May & June, but since the younger one is May will probably give them both their rifles then.

Decisions, decisions...

Another member pointed out this deal.....looks very hard to beat IMO!!

Bushnell 1-4x30 - $149 after rebate.

I have a couple of the Leupold Prismatics. So far mine have been working fine, though I have not abused them. They also have etched reticles, so it's visible even if the battery dies.

I have purchased two Bushnell TR-25s (still have one) and the Primary Arms.

I like them a lot. THe Primary Arms is a little brighter, the dot is more clear, and I like the power knob positioning better.

It has been on my AR for two years now. Not only does it hold zero, I have it on a Brownells .5 riser with the thumb knob. I take it off to put a scope on, and when I re-attach it (using a torque driver) it returns right back to zero.

IIRC it was $80 plus shipping for the sight and $25 for the riser. I saw a newer one on their site for $160 with five year battery life, but with the batteries being so cheap on Amazon, I think I'd just stay with the $80 dot.

My two boys love shooting with the dot.

Ended up ordering a couple of these! Thanks for the link!