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

Might have to give one of those a try. Please post a little review on how it works for you after you have time to try it out.

Not sure which one it is but I have had a Bushnell dot on my 12 gauge for about 10 years. It is one that has different reticles

Will do! I read the reviews on several websites, and sounds like it is a really good value via the link provided above! Thanks again to Jeff (Nebraska) for that!!! I look forward to trying them out. Honestly not sure how I'm gonna like that "lever" but looks it could be pretty easily removed if the boys don't like 'em.

The $30 rebate and PSA's price is only good for purchases thru tomorrow - something to think about as elsewhere it is $229+ from what I've found.

I have used the Vortex Strikefire, and I also like the little Bushnell TRS 25.
The Strikefire is on my old Mini 14, and has not lost zero or needed a battery since I installed it back in 2010. The TRS 25 is on one of my M1 .30 Carbines. Seems Bullet proof.

I saw a nice little AR setup with a shorty Vortex red dot in a 1-piece mount at the recent gun show here. Don't remember the model on the Vortex, but I was impressed with the whole setup. Very lightweight.
Had a T6 collapsible stock and floating rail system with a FVG.
Looked like a nice rifle.

Received the scopes yesterday. Here are my initial impressions (* are things I knew going in but felt I should mention here for anyone else looking at these) -

- heavy!*
- clarity is pretty good for the price
- illumination seems to work pretty well, 11 settings but no "off" setting between the brightness settings*, very little "bleed" in daylight (overcast here now so will have to test illumination in daylight on next bright, sunny day)
- 1x is really like 1.25x* - no problem for me when keeping both eyes open (but I have a 2x Aimpoint on my LMT carbine that I can use with both eyes open fine, so...)
- mixed feelings on the throw lever - will leave it up to my sons, but would probably remove it if I were gonna use the scope myself - still would leave a nice sized "bump" to use for power change, lever is a little "sloppy" - has a detent but still not as tight as I would want for it to be for me personally
- clicks are very crisp and audible, but wish it was a little tighter - they're not loose, but would prefer tighter none the less

Let my youngest son look at it, and he really likes it - so good there! I had told him a while back I was looking for a different optic for "our" 15-22 so wanted his thoughts on ones I was looking at (so I could get a good idea of what he would want if he were to pick it out himself, while still keeping it a surprise ).

Side note - their bdays are in late May and late June, not sure I'm gonna be able to hold out that long! haha!!!

There is a seller on eBay that sells the Vortex SPARC II Red Dot for $180 shipped or Best Offer.

I offered $160 and it was immediately accepted. Received the sight today and it is legit.

I'll be glad to share sellers eBay info if you just PM me as he has more and it wouldn't hurt to offer $150 just to see what happens.

Geo

My SparcII is on an airgun right now. It rode on a .357 for a few hundred rounds with no issues. It has nice features an is well made; well worth $200.

I have three of the Primary Arms knock offs of the Aimpoint T1

Not as nice as the real deal but they are great for the $$$

How about a solar option?

bea, I saw one of these at a gun show about a month ago and I was impressed. Seller had it on a very lightweight shorty. The whole package was actually very nice!
I don't see how you could go wrong for that kind of warranty for $200.

Yeah, those Vortex Sparc 2 red dots look very appealing for the money and the warranty they come with. I doubt the Aimpoint PRO I have is any better.

I just put a Bushnell TRS-25 on 7.62x39 upper and am pleasantly surprised. I never thought I'd buy a $100 red dot because I thought they were all were poor quality. I stand corrected.

Now I'm thinking about the primary arms version as I've heard good things about them too.

I have a couple of the TRS-25s on various guns (.22, 9mm, AR). They are pretty far from an Aimpoint, but have worked well for me so far. The latest version with the high riser is pretty sweet for an out of the box AR fit, and I've seen them in the $80 range (Palmetto Arms on sale.)

No experience with the SPARC, but most of what I've heard is pretty good. It seems to be a good jump up from the Bushnell.

The biggest differences between high and low end RDS is battery life and durability. I can't begin to say a Bushnell or Vortex compares with an Aimpoint in those regards, although the new SPARC is better on potential battery life -- just not in Aimpoint territory yet.

Good luck, it's always fun trying to budget for two kids at once! On some purchases, I've let my kids put some skin in the game and "upgrade" if they want to throw in some of their own money. Not as fun though if you want it all set up when you give it to them.