Onewolf
Member
I've fired about 3500 rounds in my Stag AR with Vortex StrikeFire in the last year and it has worked flawlessly. It provides absolute co-witness for my LWRC Skirmish BUIS. I think I spent more for the BUIS than for the red dot. 
Help with red dot choice for AR build...
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dusty14u
Member
I like the Bushnell TRS 25. Nothing fancy about it- it just works well.
justice06rr
Member
MistWolf said:
How cheap are you talking about? Do you mean $30-50 Walmart or gun show red dots??
I understand those are quite cheap, but the Bushnell TRS-25 for $70 on Amazon is actually a decent red dot for under $100. Have you tried it? All reviews on that red dot are positive, including my own.
tactikel
Member
Bushnell TRS.
I THOUGHT I really wanted a red dot for my AR, and bought the Primary Arms unit discussed here. It is a suitable optic, but wasn't what I really wanted I realized after having it a bit. I switched to a Redfield Revolution 2x7x33 scope, and couldn't be happier with the results.
Some people do prefer scopes on ARs. For speed, you want 1X to 1.5X tops as a low end power, IMHO of course. Hard to beat the red dot for speed though.
Naturally the Aimpoint is the best. I am sure we all wish we could afford to put one on everything, but that isn't reality.
Naturally the Aimpoint is the best. I am sure we all wish we could afford to put one on everything, but that isn't reality.
When I say cheap, I mean cheap. To me, there is a difference between cheap and inexpensive. Unfortunately, my experience has been that inexpensive optics are often cheap and a poor bargain. Through the years, I've tried Bushnell, Tasco and other "inexpensive" scopes and ended up hating each and every one. They either broke, wouldn't hold zero or had poor optics. The only scopes I've kept for any length of time have been Leupold. I recently obtained a Nightforce and so far, I'm happy with that but only time will tell. My experience with the RDS parallels that.
I'm a batteryphobe. Nothing that needs batteries go on any of my rifles, especially sights. Nothing worse than pulling your rifle out to go shoot only to find out that you can't because the battery that powers the sight is dead or worse, leaked. Or the contacts are corroded or a myriad of other electronic gremlins that can- and will- raise their ugly little heads. Seeing others buy a cheap RDS and struggle with them reinforces my batteryphobia. I've yet to see any RDS for $100 ever last long or have good battery life.
The Aimpoint has a battery life measured in tens of thousands of hours. We're talking years. Even though it's an electronic device, it's lasted longer than some scopes I've tried. It's proven itself enough to satisfy even my batteryphobia.
The bottom line is, it's not worth it to spend $100 on an RDS that will drain the battery in days, if you forget to turn it off. It's not worth $100 for an RDS that can't take a few knocks or will have an electronic failure from constant recoil. It's not worth $100 for an RDS with fuzzy lenses. In comparison to the trouble and aggravation the cheap RDS gives you, spending $400 for an Aimpoint Pro is a bargain. Rather than buy an RDS for $100, I'd spend a little more and buy 10 boxes of ammo and go shoot with my iron sights
wally
Member
Red Dots are not scopes and are much simpler, especially the tube types, frankly I think its absurd that any of them sell for over $200.
I've had more battery aggravation with my EOTechs than with any of the cheap red dots.
There are differences between scopes and RDS but on the whole, I find the cheap RDS to be more fragile than cheap scopes.
I've never tried the EOTech, but have heard first hand reports about problems with their early battery boxes. EOTech has made improvements but I still prefer the battery life of the Aimpoint
JFtheGR8
Member
Primary Arms red dots are good for your budget. Look for the blemish sales to save a little more. You can probably find a Vortex on sale too. Yeah, Aimpoint, Eotech, Trijicon, etc... are battle tested but the cost to get one of those reflects that. I have an Aimpoint 1st gen mounted on my compound bow and a Primary Arms 3rd gen on my AR. I can't see any glaring differences in quality. The Aimpoint is two decades old and works just as it did when it was new while I've only had the Primary Arms about three years.
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Posted from Thehighroad.org App for Android
meanmrmustard
Member
As a proud owner of several, I can attest to this whole heartedly.
I do drop, bang, throw, and even on occasion submerge a gun. The TRS don't care.
justice06rr
Member
While I get your point, not everyone has the bank roll to afford expensive optics.
If money was no object, then I'd always recommend Aimpoints and even Trijicons. But damn, those can be pricey! The cheapest Aimpoint (PRO) is $400+. The OP asked for a basic red dot under $100, thus we recommended the Bushnell and Primary arms.
As a side note, I don't see anything wrong with buying a few extra batteries and keeping them in your rifle bag/case if you have an inexpesive optic. Buying a few $5 batteries is not really that hard, is it?
In regards to this statement, how do you feel about flashlights on your HD weapons? Just curious since they all run on batteries...
4 days and 34 replies...but OP has not returned.
For non-serious use...what was listed in OP...Primary Arms Micro Dot.
For serious use...Aimpoint.
For me, personally, those are the only two choices.
If you pay any kind of attention or try, at all, you can get an Aimpoint PRO for $360-$380 on sale somewhere.
For non-serious use...what was listed in OP...Primary Arms Micro Dot.
For serious use...Aimpoint.
For me, personally, those are the only two choices.
If you pay any kind of attention or try, at all, you can get an Aimpoint PRO for $360-$380 on sale somewhere.
chicharrones
needs more ammo
The Aimpoint may always have longer battery life than the EOTech, thanks to the steel cutting laser mounted in the EOTech.
ShooterGuy
Member
+1 for the Primary Arms, and they're more durable than many of the fanboys for the more expensive models will have you believe because they're rightfully proud of their own big purchases. I currently own 4, I also have several models of the more expensive brands, which are excellent without argument, but no reason to break your budget unless there's a specific reason too.
Keeping extra batteries is a good idea, however some of the other sights will suck a battery dry in a very short time if you forget to turn it off, some as quick as overnight. Since my rifle does HD duty, that's a no go.
"No batteries on my rifle!" is my curmudgeonly, knee jerk reaction newfangled geegaws. In particular, it's my response to using any electronic components that are needed to make the rifles work. When Remington introduced the E-tronic trigger with it's superfast lock time, I had the same reaction. If the battery goes dead, how you gonna fire the rifle? When they first came out with electronic sights, the battery would run down in less than a half a day. My rule is, nothing that is needed to shoot the rifle will be battery operated.
That's why the Aimpoint is a game changer for me. I've had an Aimpoint on my AR carbine for close to two years with the same battery it came with and it's always been on. The dot hasn't dimmed in the slightest. I know the serious guys always replace the batteries every year, but I wanted to see how long it would last. It always works. Not only will the batteries last if you forget to turn the Aimpoint off, the Micro cannot be turned off. They are pricey but I count it a bargain because it's nott gonna break and need to be replaced. It's a bargain because I don't hate it and won't have to get rid of it and get something I do like. I really dislike buying something I'm going to hate.
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Fair question about the flashlight. When I was a kid, if you wanted a flashlight on your firearm, you needed a block of wood and a couple of hose clamps or a roll of medical tape. Flashlights were big, dim affairs with fragile bulbs that would break after only a couple of shots. They made your firearm clumsy and were high maintenance. The flashlight of today is smaller, lighter, brighter and astonishingly rugged. Battery life is still only a few hours but at least the bulb doesn't break after a few shots or burn out. Now, I have a light on my AR and I like it a lot.
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The truth is, the advance in technology has changed my opinion but I won't use an RDS with a short battery life. If something goes bump in the night, I don't want to worry if the battery is flat because I forgot to turn the sight off and I don't want to have to fumble with turning it on.
I love technology, but it's gotta work
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mdauben
Member
I agree, but the Ultradot 6 (thier "assault rifle" red dot) runs almost $250, which is well out of the OP's stated price range.
There's no need to name call.
For the record, the owner of Primary Arms does not recommend using the Primary Arms red dot on a duty or defensive rifle, precisely because it is a budget optic that isn't intended to be reliable and durable enough for bet-your-life use.
I'm more or less with misterwolf. The only electronics or battery powered anythings on my firearms are weaponlights (no way around it there, but they are secondary accessories anyway), and Aimpoints. That's it. Nothing that has to be turned on for basic function (which includes aiming/optics), nothing to remember to turn off, etc.
As for AR optics I have one with an Aimpoint PRO and one with a Trijicon Accupoint TR24G. 24/7/365 reticle illumination for both. I'll get one with an ACOG at some point too, I'm sure.
JFtheGR8
Member
I tend to agree with Shooterguy. The op gave his budget limit of $100. You can't get an Aimpoint for that. He also stated his use for plinking and sporting around and not combat duty. I agree that a combat rifle should have a combat proven system but most of us are merely hobbyists and don't spend a lot on our equipment. We do however want the best we can get within our budget constraints. Guns or golf clubs someone is always going to tell you that you've got to spend big or it's not worth getting into the sport at all. Posted from Thehighroad.org App for Android
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UKWildcatFan
Member
Awwwwwe, I'm sorry. I have a mom on dialysis and my dad just came out of ICU. Sorry I didn't make your timeline expectations.
Thanks for the info, everyone. Good info here. I'm leaning towards the Bushnell TRS-25.
I fell off the empire state building got ran over by a train and still was able to post
Blade First
Member
Simply put, the Bushnell TRS-25 is the best choice if you're spending ~
$100 for a red-dot on a working carbine. I've sold dozens of them and the real-world reports from customers mirror my experiences...it's my default choice these days. It works and it doesn't break, even when used on larger calibers.
And for the users who just can't accept a battery-powered sight, check the specs on turning the sight on and leaving it on by mistake. You'll be surprised...and pleased.
$100 for a red-dot on a working carbine. I've sold dozens of them and the real-world reports from customers mirror my experiences...it's my default choice these days. It works and it doesn't break, even when used on larger calibers.
And for the users who just can't accept a battery-powered sight, check the specs on turning the sight on and leaving it on by mistake. You'll be surprised...and pleased.
meanmrmustard
Member
I'm sorry to hear that. Some folks haven't been raised right, tend to assume too much.
As an aside, the TRS is a damned fine optic, and I've used them on 3" 12 gauges quite alot. It'll do what needs doing.
God bless.
TAKtical
Member
Bushnell TRS. I run them on AK's with no issue.
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