Budget Entry level Red Dot.

[Captain Quack]

This is my first time using a red dot. That's why I was looking for a budget one to try out. I had my annual eye test 3 months ago and no sign of astigmatism and new glasses so that's not it. I have a friend who's a golfer and he says he had issues with some Bushnell products himself. It's really disappointing. They used to be really high quality. I've used Bushnell products for years. Never had a problem. I have a couple of their scopes for rifles and I'm very happy with them. The final straw was them wanting me to pay to return defective hardware. I just don't think that's the way you treat a customer with a defective product.

Captain Quack.

 

[chicharrones]

This is my first time using a red dot. That's why I was looking for a budget one to try out. I had my annual eye test 3 months ago and no sign of astigmatism and new glasses so that's not it. I have a friend who's a golfer and he says he had issues with some Bushnell products himself. It's really disappointing. They used to be really high quality. I've used Bushnell products for years. Never had a problem. I have a couple of their scopes for rifles and I'm very happy with them. The final straw was them wanting me to pay to return defective hardware. I just don't think that's the way you treat a customer with a defective product.

Captain Quack.

If you wear progressive or trifocal lenses, tilt your head back and forth to varying degrees and see if the red dot comes into focus.

The dots are not focused to infinity like some people may think. The dot is probably focused at 30 or so feet, at least in my tests with my eyes and glasses.

 

[Captain Quack]

I do wear trifocals. Now why wasn't that information given to me by customer service? Could have saved some hassle. When I looked through the top lens it was still a bit of a blob but much closer to a dot with artifacts but not nearly as bad as it had been. Enough to be usable.

Captain Quack.

 

[12Bravo20]

True, red dots are not parallax free, the parallax is usually around 30 yards (not feet).

I have a slight astigmatism and find that the green dots work better for me. I will say that the Bushnell TRS25 does bloom a little on me, all of the Swampfox optics do not. Another thing that helps is to use the lowest brightness setting you can while still being able to see the dot.

For a micro reflex sight Swampfox has proven very reliable for me so far and is probably the lowest price point I will go. I also have a Sig Romeo Zero (RMSc footprint) on my Kel-Tec PMR 30 that I caught on sale for a good price.

 

[Captain Quack]

Correction. SWMBO says I did develop astigmatism. That puts a new perspective on the dot and blob. Thank you very much chicharrones. That explained some critical information. Still doesn't say much about their customer service. I was a bit surprised to find out their lifetime warranty was only 5 years on red dots. A decent faq or explanation from customer service instead of auto response could had resolved this in a much more satisfactory manner.

Captain Quack.

 

[wally]

Key factor with red dots is you don't focus on the dot you focus on the target so the distortion from astigmatism doesn't really matter. Look thru the dot and focus on the target. If you are seeing "details" in the dot you are not focusing on the target.

 

[wally]

Forgot to mention some good quality "budget" red dots. Bushnell RXS-100 is available now for ~$100. J-point/DeltaPoint/Shield foot print. Nice small flat-blade screwdriver (included) click adjustments and the battery can be changed without un-mounting it -- a nice "side door" compartment holds the battery. I believe it may be discontinued and its replacement is over $200 (better battery life, more brightness levels). Also comes with a rail mount if you end up not liking it on you pistol.

Another recently reduced in price is the SIG Romeo Zero, currently about $150 if you shop around. Also J-point/Shield/DeltaPoint footprint. It is one of the smallest on the market, which is nice on a carry gun, but the downside is you have to remove the site from the pistol to change the battery, and the adjustments are not easy -- no clicks, and you need an 0.050" hex wrench (supplied) to change them, adjustment range is not a large a my FastFire. It has no off switch, it uses some motion sensing to turn it on and it goes off with a few minutes of activity -- not clear how well this will really work out as you do move when you are wearing a carry gun! I'll know in a year or so as I've just mounted one on my new Hellcat, so far it has always been ON once I've picked the gun up, and is Off if I look before picking up the gun.

Can't comment on the Customer support of Bushnell or SIG for red dot optics. Burris "no weasel words warranty" was honored for me when my first FastFire died, they replaced it with a then new FastFire III without hassle. So in the ~$200 price range they are perhaps the safest bet, They use the "Doctor" footprint with is a bit longer and narrower than the others.

 

[twarr1]

If you get the Sig Romeo you won’t need to upgrade later. My opinion.

 

[Captain Quack]

I ended up taking a chance and spending the money on a Swampfox Sentinel. Good reviews and with Swampfox's military discount it was within my budget. If it works bonus for me long term and if not good resale value. I've had it three weeks and due to 100F+ heat and Forest Fire smoke and weekend crowding at the range I haven't been able to get it sighted in yet. Hopefully today.

Captain Quack.

 

[Nuclear]

I’ve killed two Burris Fastfire IIs, after replacing the second one I was told they wouldn’t replace a third. I did not abuse either one, both were mounted to handgun slides (a 45ACP and 9mm). I’ve got the third sitting in a box, as I’ve moved on to better red dots. Sort of. I still have a Vortex on a PCC until it gives up the ghost again. I’ve gone on to Holosuns.

 

[12Bravo20]

I ended up taking a chance and spending the money on a Swampfox Sentinel. Good reviews and with Swampfox's military discount it was within my budget. If it works bonus for me long term and if not good resale value. I've had it three weeks and due to 100F+ heat and Forest Fire smoke and weekend crowding at the range I haven't been able to get it sighted in yet. Hopefully today.

Captain Quack.

I'm pretty sure that you will like the Sentinel. Mine is holding up just fine on my Glock G43. And Swampfox has excellent customer service if you should ever need it. They also have a 50,000 round guarantee on all of their optics.