What Red Dots do you own that work and are cheap?

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leatherwood-hi-lux-optics-1x30mm-red-dot-tactical-sight

http://youtu.be/iHdkucZ1G1c Scootch00 says 1 MOA dot it is not. It varies between 3 and 5 MOA depending on brightness level

Mine came with flip up lens covers (their newer version). Mounted the scope on an 18' CMMG .22 upper (upper had no iron sights at all) and took one shot at 25 yards. Moved the dot 3 clicks right and fired 3 more for effect. Moved to the 55 yard target and never changed anything. The scope looks good (to me) and again for a rifle with constant cheek weld it is a good red dot for less than $80. I only shot approx 20 rounds total just playing with this red dot. But if it will keep zero on an AR chambered in 5.56/45 or AK I do not anticipate any problems on the .22

I was going to write up the TSR-25 but I was having so many problems with the GSG-5 that it would not be fair to say anything about it at this point. Guilt by association?? Anyway might have fixed the GSG today but will not know until I go back out and shoot it again in the next few days. However a good review by Scootch http://youtu.be/jGLOd1jHz8E
 
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Just returned from the range:

Got the GSG-5 to function after figuring out why it was stove piping. The little TSR-25 is a solid scope on that weapon and has a nice 3 moa dot. Parallax is critical as with many cheap red dots but the GSG-5 has a natural consistent place for your head to rest due to the shape of the butt stock. Did not do any point and shoot for I was still working on the rifle ( hate to call it that ) and making sure the red dot was sighted in. Think this red dot would work better in a scout configuration but that is not an available set up with the GSG I have w/o modification.

The Sparc has bad parallax up close (not as bad as the others tested) but does seem to go away at longer ranges ( 40 to 50 yrds). The 2x magnifier that comes with the Sparc distorted the dot regardless of where I dialed it in. I do have astigmatism; the 2x magnifier also restricts the field of vision and makes the dot look double sometimes or tear drop to me. Without the magnification the dot looks good, sharp, and a crisp 2 moa.

My biggest disappointment was with the Bushnell Trophy red/green dot scope 1x32. I really do like the reticule. Of all the red dots I have ever messed with it is definitely one of my favorite designed reticules (personal preference). However, the parallax on the one I received is the worst out of the bunch. It was mounted on an AR upper and it became evident from the "get go" that without a consistent cheek weld (Talking about exact same place for cheek on the butt stock) the dot would not present itself in a consistent manner and wonder around the reticule. Not a good deal on a red dot because one of their main advantages is a quick point and shoot. Bench shooters would probably be OK with the sight (scope is always better than a red dot IMO for that type shooting) but I really have my doubts for me and my type of hunting the sight will function as needed, If my opinion changes I will come back and post the results and mind change!

That wraps up my feelings on those red dots I have been messing with these last few weeks. I had wanted to keep my Aimpoint off the rifle I had placed the Bushnell Trophy red/green dot scope 1x32 on but one or two more outings with the weapon (practicing, fiddling, seeing if it will work for my mission needs of pig popping) I am afraid the Aimpoint will be going back on. Aimpoint as everyone knows makes a great optic. Just a tad bit over priced for many depending on their purpose and income. However I do believe the Aimpoint (unless your are a government) is better suited for us hunters than many other high dollar red dots.

Hope some of this helps.
 
I've had great success with the SPARC for my modern auto ordnance M1 carbine. Altough others who have shot it tell me the dot is very crisp, it is still partially doubled for me, due to post-LASIK issues frm 10 years ago. Gets worse in dark conditions, in bright sunlight much better. Does not really affect my shooting. I can almost 1/3rd co-witness with mine as well, which was a pleasant surprise. I've not really shot it much at really close ranges, say 20m or less to test the parallax, but I could also use the iron sights, which is also something I need to test. And see if it is still zeroed.

Hurrican Irene just rolled through, so that will have to wait until maybe Labor Day weekend.
 
I placed the Bushnell Trophy red/green dot scope 1x32 on the AK and for some reason they were made for each other. I do have a rail on my AK so the cheek weld thing works really well on that rifle. Again I like the reticule.

I think I can say now that all the cheap red dots I purchased and mated to a particular weapon I do not feel like any of them were a waste of money. I do have an Eotech 512 on an AR 7.62x39 and an Aimpoint which is not even mounted at present ( pulled it off an AR for the night scope and night time pig popping). Both are great optics but they should be at their price point. We all are lucky to be living during this time with all the options that are now available for us IMO.
 
I pick up a new in the box Bushnell 1x32mm Trophy Red/Green dot at a yard sale for 45.00. So far the only firearm i have used it on is my 50 Ca. inline black powder rifle. No problems as of yet, with over 500 rounds fired so far. I like it out to about 150 yards.
 
I bought a Tasco Accudot years ago for a Ruger Mark II 22/45....never had a problem but it is a .22. I gave it to my BIL for his daughters .22 rifle. They still use it.

I purchased my first Aimpoint a year or so ago for my AR. It's the older M2 model. I'm thinking this new Ar I'm putting together will get a compM4 or a Micro.


I have heard nothing but good reviews on the Ultradots but have no first hand experience.

Two different friends have had BSA and Barska go bad after a year of range use.

Buy once and cry once.
 
I have an Aimpoint H1 on my Smith M41.
It's mounted on a Weaver 48062 rail (less than $10).
It has a nice clear 4 moa dot.

M41aimpoint-.jpg

It's nice but while I find the apparent 1 moa@25yds dot is great at 25 yds or less for targets or plinking the dot is kinda big for 50 yard target shooting.
I wouldn't put this on a.22 rifle.
I turn the intensity down as low as it will go and be visable and have fun at 25 yard or closer.
 
BSA

i agree with m2 and the others i have a bsa on my ak its been on four at least 8 yrs never needs to be readjusted just change batteries occasionally and go i love mine
 
The ak rounds doesnt break the BSA red dot? Im looking for a cheap one that wont break when shoot my ak.
 
Primary Arms Red Dot (Green only)

https://www.primaryarms.com/Primary_Arms_Micro_Green_Dot_Reflex_Sight_p/pamrs.htm

Very nice dot for the money. The dot is nice and round with very little bleedout. Very bright when the batteries are new. Good battery life so far. They call it a 5MOA dot. It is not real small, but not overly big. I'll buy another one one of these days. Similar to my J-Point (on my S&W M-41), which also has a nice round dot with little bleedout. Better dots than 90% of the dots out there, and I have tried a number of them. Aimpoints have the best dot, but they are costly. Of course they have other attributes as well that make them worth the money.
 
I've got a 5moa BSA that I use on my Buckmark .22 and a 3moa Millet on my 10/22 rifle. Both have performed well the Millet was around $80. Not much parallax but that's probably because I'm using it on a rifle. There's been no shifting of the sight, they both stay where you set them. The cheaper BSA works well too though it doesn't have as sharp a dot at the brighter settings as the Millet but it's still much more accurate with my aging eyeballs than the iron sights.
 
Primary Arms Red Dot (Green only)

https://www.primaryarms.com/Primary_...ht_p/pamrs.htm
Click to expand...

This is not Primary Arms best offering. Mine didn't stand up to the recoil of a Glock 17L, I returned it and exchanged for a Burris Fastfire, I actually preferred the Green dot to the Red, but the Burris has held its zero.

The owner of Primary Arms told me he gets about 1 in 25 of these back, he's trying to get the supplier to fix the issues, problem is they keep coming back to him "good news we can make it cheaper" but he has to keep telling them "make it better for the same price and I'll be much happier!".

He says less than 1 in 100 of the tube type comes back. I've had zero success with the "reflex" type sights that cost less than the ~$200 of the Burris or J-Point and near universal acceptable results from the tube type.

I'll try his next batch of Green dots and exchange it for another Burris if it don't work out. But I'd love to have a sight of this type work for <$100 as they really rock for old eyeballs.
 
For those of you who have the Vortex Sparc and want Buttler Creek flip open lens caps the size that fits are (#1) 1.0-1.05. The caps are a very tight fit so I just used a little Dawn dish washing soap as a lube which made the job much easier.
 
This one is a POS, didn't work properly, sent it back.
http://www.cdnninvestments.com/taspmitaredd.html

I have a BSA $30 red dot that is a POS and doesn't work properly. I didn't bother sending it back.

I also have a cheap (target sports?) red dot on my boy's M1 Carbine that has worked fine so far. I don't see the exact one on CDNN anymore but here's a pic if it helps.

IMG_4005.jpg
IMG_4008.jpg


But I'm done buying 'bargain' optics. Lessons learned.
 
Of those mentioned so far, we have found several to have uniform, repeatable adjustments and some which do not.

Repeatable, uniform adjustments: Bushnell, Aimpoint, Millet, Trijicon.

Inconsistent adjustments: BSA, Vortex, Eotech, NC Star, Tasco, UTG
 
Inconsistent adjustments: BSA, Vortex, Eotech, NC Star,
Click to expand...


Think that is the first time I have ever heard someone say something bad about the Vortex Sparc or Strikefire. Adjustments?? I do not honestly know....mounted mine, zeroed and have never had to readjust...... NCStar totally sucks for most people I would agree.

My Eotech same same mounted zeroed and gets shot?? But once mounted I tend to leave the optics on the weapon.....Hummmm adjustments??
 
NC star, Amazon 29.95 reduced from $50, NC star. Got the rail, utg covers and the handle all from my new favorite parts store. If you buy now and take their credit card, they give you $40.00 cash just for taking the card, I got everything for $110, -40, $60 bucks, plus a full length riser, I thought I might need for a scope down the road.
I never plan on using the cards after paying off the 60 bucks, but who couldn't use free money, so the dot cost me zero. Turns out it's an electro dot not a nc star. I got them mixed up I had looked at so many. It's been on the rifle for 2 weeks now and I haven't had time to shoot it.
 

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Primary Arms

I prefer Aimpoint for an RDS. I like the PRO as an economical sight by Aimpoint. If that is a bit out of budget then the Primary Arms clones are a great option. I have used them to try out different models of optics before spending the full $$ on the real thing and possible finding out that I dont like it. Two prom Primary Arms that I got some time ago but continue to use on a couple of ARs that I have are the M3 and Micro. I use the actual Aimpoint models on my other rifles but have found the to be good enough to leave on a couple of them.
 
I've got a redhead ( bass pro) red dot on a 10/22 it works quite well I have the one that's bigger than the 30 mm. Maybe its 45 or 60 mm I can't remember
It requires a consistent cheek weld more than an eotech
 
Sky said:
Think that is the first time I have ever heard someone say something bad about the Vortex Sparc or Strikefire. Adjustments?? I do not honestly know....mounted mine, zeroed and have never had to readjust...... NCStar totally sucks for most people I would agree.

My Eotech same same mounted zeroed and gets shot?? But once mounted I tend to leave the optics on the weapon.....Hummmm adjustments??
Click to expand...
When I teach a rifle class, we adjust out to 300 yards in whatever wind we have, then we reverse the # of clicks and see if we are back to 100 yard zero. Everyone has to do it until they get it right. Many students cannot do it with their sights, so they borrow someone else's rifle.
 
Bushnell TRS-25. I was easily hitting paper plates offhand from 25 yards on my first trip to the range.

I haven't had it long or abused it, so I can't speak to it's long term durability or suitability for 'serious' work, but for a range gun it's the cat's pajamas. I'll probably buy another one soon.
 

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