Best $300 reflex/red dot for AR

Vortex SPARC

Burris Fastfire III is a nice unit for about $215.

http://www.ultradotwest.com/ultradot_2008_009.htm

GUYS YOU REALLY NEED TO LOOK AT THIS. I HAVE USED ULTRADOTS ON MY 1911'S FOR YEARS FOR BULLSEYE. SLIDE MOUNTED . THEY SLAM BACK AND FORTH WITH EACH SHOT. THESE ARE VERY DURABLE. I HAVE ALL THE TOP STUFF FOR THE AR.. AIMPOINT, EOTECH, BURRIS 332, TRIJICON, VORTEX ,ECT. FOR THE MONEY THESE ARE ONE OF THE BEST IF NOT THE BEST. RETAIL FOR ONLY $245 YOU WON'T BE DISAPPOINTED. JIM P

The Lucid HD7 and the new Lucid M7 are getting excellent reports. They both use a single AAA battery and cost just over $200. The single AAA battery is a major selling point with me.

The middle ground is a tough place... I haven't researched all the options, but if a $300 item is made in china, are you really getting much better quality than the $100 version? At the $100 price point, look at Primary Arms red dot scopes.

The Aimpoint PRO Patrol Rifle Optic has been seen on sale in the low 300s.
but do to the panic not available and around 400 now. wait a bit and see if things calm back down. it is a fantastic optic for the price

but if a $300 item is made in china, are you really getting much better quality than

It's not the hands assembling an item or the country it is made in that determines the quality. It's the quality of the components and the quality of the assembly that determine the quality of a product. An item made in China can be just as good quality as an item made in the USA or anywhere else. Quality componets and quality assembly equals a quality product regardless of what country it is made in.

I have a SPARC, and a FastFire II. We are encouraged to borrow the departmental products, and I didn't own a night vision compatible optic to use with the borrowed night vision, so the SPARC was a reasonably priced choice.

Nice optic, I didn't use the 2X "doubler" much (at all, actually) because it really narrowed the field of view. My only complaint was that the control "pod" was mighty wide. For NV compatibility in a 1X optic, I don't think you can beat if for the price.

Even though I have an EOTech 512 and an EXPS2-2, my Burris FastFire II sees a lot of use. I have one "mobile showroom" AR, with stuff all over it (an employee discount is a wonderful thing) and I have KISS AR's with just an optic and a light. The FastFire II on the ARF3 mount is narrow, light and just right for that application. When I play with my Adult Lego Set and reconfigure the AR's, I often put the FastFire II on a 45 degree mount, under a scope.

My single complaint about the FastFire II was that the auto-adjust brightness was not as bright as I would like. I lived with it, because while the auto-adjust on the Leupold Deltapoint was much brighter, it was also twice the price of the FastFire II, and I'm a cheap bastard.

Burris addressed this with the FastFire III, which has selectable brightness settings in addition to the auto-adjust.

SPARC:

http://www.opticsplanet.com/vortex-sparc-red-dot-sight-sprc.html

FastFire II:

http://www.opticsplanet.com/burris-fastfire-w-picatinny-mount-4-moa-dot-mat-fastfire-sight.html

ARF3 Mount (current version fits both II and III):

http://www.opticsplanet.com/burris-ar-f3-ar-tactical-flat-top-fastfire-mount.html

FastFire III:

http://http://www.opticsplanet.com/burris-fastfire-iii-red-dot-reflex-sight-w-optional-picatinny-mount.html

Mark H.

If you can still find one somewhere, Bushnell Holosight. They've been close to $300, rumored to use EOtech optics and seem to last forever. I've used them in rifle caliber full auto applications without a single problem for over a decade.

I'd like to buy one or two more but they're not easy to find nowadays.

FWIW, the Fastfire III seems to be one of the smallest reflex sights out there...Burris lists its dimensions.

I have the FF3, really disappointed with it. Wouldn't hold up to recoil on my 45.

Ultradots have been winners for me.

If you can muster another $100 you can get the Aimpoint PRO which is a top-notch RDS at a great value. If you can't i agree with the posters above - the Vortex Sparc is your next best option.

If it were me, I would check samplelist.com and wait for a used aimpoint to pop up in your price range. I have done business with them before with good results.