Red dot sight for my AR-15

High Plains

High Plains

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Since Biden can’t get his old, cold hands on my new AR-15 I would like some help picking a red dot sight for it. In 2007 I carried a M-4 carbine in Afghanistan. That rifle had an Aimpoint red dot sight. In the optics world 2007 is a long time ago so what do you all use that you like?
This rifle will mostly be an anti-varmint piece so pin point accuracy on the first shot is not a requirement. I have a plethora of 5.56 NATO ammo and I’m not afraid to blow some to help keep the coyotes away.
 
There are a lot of choices and it will depend on your budget on what others will recommend.
 
Aimpoints and Eotechs are still the gold standard. There are also platinum options. Trying to save some money? Sig Romeo5/Holosun/Primary Arms. Wanna be REALLY cheap but not regret it? Bushnell TRS-25. That being said, I switched to a Leupold VX-Freedom 1.5-4X, due to the simplicity, weight, and clarity for $300 couldn't be beat. My eyes pick up a crosshair easier than a dot. YMMV.
 
badkarmamib said:
Trying to save some money? Sig Romeo5/Holosun/Primary Arms. Wanna be REALLY cheap but not regret it? Bushnell TRS-25.
Click to expand...

+1

I have 3 Bushnell TRS-25's on various firearms, including my SD AR, for the price it works very well.

I just bought a Romeo5 on sale ($99) and I like it a lot more than the TRS... push button controls, a very solid adaptable mount. I actually had it on an AR for a while, but I needed a sight for a Marlin .30-30 piggy poker I was building, and swapped the included low-profile mount... it's a keeper!

If you want something similar to what you had back in the day... you'll need to bump the budget up a little.
 
Eurooptic.com has the Vortex Sparc AR in FDE on sale for 99 bucks. Only real knock I have on it is the low refresh rate of the dot. If you shake the rifle or move it fast the dot will become segmented during the movement. Didn't bother me, but it does to some people.
 
Aimpoint is the gold standard for red dots and that's what I'd choose if budget wasn't an issue. I've used them for years and they hold up well and battery life is outstanding.

Sig Romeo's are far cheaper but so far mine has performed well with no issues and also has good battery life.

I've been hearing great things about Holosun by some professionals but have no personal experience yet.
 
I have several inexpensive red dots to include the following:
  • Bushnell TRS-25 (older version)
  • Original PA MD Classic
  • Sig Romeo MSR
  • Sig Romeo 5
  • Swampfox Liberator
  • Swampfox Liberator II
All are pretty much on par with each other as far as quality and glass clarity. All can be bought for $169 or less. And one won't go wrong with any of the above listed red dots if on a tight budget.

My personal preference is for the Swampfox Liberators simply due to their push button controls. I prefer the push buttons over a dial.

Now if your budget allows for more to be spent then the Aim Points and Eotechs are still at the top of the list.
 
I've never used an Aimpoint or other high end dot sight. But everything I've tried up to $200 has left me disappointed. I have 3 AR's One set up for target shooting or hunting with a full size 3-9X40 scope on it. The other 2 have 1-4X scopes on them. I find that when set on 1X they are faster on target than dots or iron sights. No issues at all shooting with both eyes open to maintain peripheral vision on 1X or 2X. On 4X you have enough precision to be shooting out to at least 300 yards.

In low light all of the dot sights I've tried were so bad optically that I couldn't see what I was shooting at. Seeing the dot does no good if you can't see where to put it. A conventional scope does much better in low light even with the small front objective as long as you don't go over 3X or 4X magnification.

If having a dot is important to you, they make some with a red illuminated reticle. You get the best of both worlds.

I'm not up to speed on exactly what I'd recommend at the moment. But that is the direction I'd be looking.
 
Im one in the "buy once, cry once" crowd. Get the best you cant afford, and in the long run, it will be cheaper.

Im still using the half dozen or so Aimpoint M2/ML2's I bought around 20 years ago. A couple of those have been on a couple of rifles I shoot constantly, and have been "on" constantly that entire time too. The only time they were off, was for the couple of minutes each fall, when the batteries were changed. The newer models have a 5+ year battery life.

So far, they are the only red dots Ive used long and hard, that have held up to constant use. If I had back the money I wasted on "cheap" (they weren't) red dots early on, Id have a couple more Aimpoints. Like I said earlier, "buy once, cry once".

I do have a couple of Romeo 5's I put on a couple of M&P15-22's. They seem to work OK, but I'm not sure how well they would hold up to constant shooting and use though.

The shake awake feature is nice for when you forget to turn them off when you put them in the safe. Just bear in mind, if youre going to use it on something like a truck gun, it will be more or less always on and burning batteries, as long as there is vibration.
 
I had an Aimpoint Micro red dot and liked it very much. I sold it with an AR I was tired of. Not sure why I left the red dot on there. Anyway, I have purchased / used several Sig Sauer Romeo 5 red dots snd I like them very much. I like them as much if not more that the Aimpoint I had.

There are 2 packages for the Romeo 5. One has just the high AR sight cowitness mount - 1.41”? I believe.
The other has the high mount and well as a low profile mount for non-AR type long guns or lower mounting on an AR
Here are the Sig item numbers:

SOR50000 Hi rise mount only

SOR52001 low-profile mount and 1.41" riser mount
 
jmr40 said:
In low light all of the dot sights I've tried were so bad optically that I couldn't see what I was shooting at. Seeing the dot does no good if you can't see where to put it. A conventional scope does much better in low light even with the small front objective as long as you don't go over 3X or 4X magnification.
Click to expand...

Interestingly enough, when I've pulled off a low end red dot and replaced it with a low end scope, I still had a hard time making out small low contrast targets in dim light. Sure the image was larger, but still a strain on my eyes to use.

The highest priced red dot I had was an EOtech and it was like looking through open air. No tint, no reflections, no distortions, just like using my naked eye but with a reticle embedded into that eye. I might as well have been a cyborg using that particular red dot.
 
jmr40 said:
In low light all of the dot sights I've tried were so bad optically that I couldn't see what I was shooting at. Seeing the dot does no good if you can't see where to put it. A conventional scope does much better in low light even with the small front objective as long as you don't go over 3X or 4X magnification.

If having a dot is important to you, they make some with a red illuminated reticle. You get the best of both worlds.

I'm not up to speed on exactly what I'd recommend at the moment. But that is the direction I'd be looking.
Click to expand...
You dont have to "see thru" the red dots to shoot them. The first dot sights I had were OEG's and you couldnt see through the sight and had to shoot with both eyes open. Your strong eye sees the dot, your weak eye sees the target and your brain does the rest.

The OEG's used a FO "day" sight with a tritium night sight. Problem with them was, the transition really sucked, and your eyes needed to be fully adjusted to the dark to see the tritium dots. Going back and forth from light to dark didnt work well either.

To this day, I still use that method with the guns I have handy, and have the front covers closed on the Aimpoints. The dot is set at a comfortable "darkness" level, and I dont have to mess with the brightness when going from dark to light and back. Its also quick and natural to shoot with as well.

If you want a bit more precision, you can open the front cover and dial the dot to the brightness you want, but generally, the lower the power, the smaller the dot. Its just harder in bright light to see it, especially quickly.

I have a couple of Vortex 1x8 Strike Eagles now, and they have lit reticles, and work just like a red dot in some respects, including closing the front covers. Ive never really been a scope person, but with my eyes starting to go, they are starting to grow on me. I still prefer the red dots over them though.
 
I'm running an Aimpoint Pro which was the cheapest one but still a bit pricey----also have a Leupold red dot which was like $300 at the time--not sure what they are now-----still running carry handle irons on another. Have yet to get another upper for the latest one, but will probably go low cost as the rifle is intended to be a low cost PSA build.
 
I have both the aim point pro and trijicon mro. The pro is robust but heavy, I've thought many times of looking for a lighter mount.

I like the mro.

Primary arms has a couple mirco prism scopes that get very good reviews. Am inclined to try out the 2x prism.
 
If you're going to be shooting at varmints at more than 100 yards, an LPVO, preferably with an illuminable dot might be a good choice. I have a Strike Eagle 1-8 on my 'outdoors' AR, I can still use both eyes up to 4x for quick shots, and still have up to 8 for distance. For the pistol, I have a Crimson Trace.
 
I haven't been able to shoot much, but I've kind of standardized my multiple sights with the Sig Romeo 5.
Expensive enough to be solid, cheap enough it doesn't hurt with my rare range trips.
Plus it's small, lightweight and I like the shake-awake and timeout functions for something I want available JIC but isn't first at hand or I might forget to turn off.
And I appreciate that it's an absolute cowitness on my ARs with the riser, and still manages a bottom-third on my AK with the riser off. And the specialized Midwest mount, but that's still far better than any other option I've tried.
 
I have a Vortex 3x Prism with an etched reticle and is either green or red illumination. Love the reticle because this is my home defense rifle. The reticle has the semi-circle where in close quarters aiming is not required, wherever the circle is is what you hit at very close range. On the plus side since the reticle is etched and your battery dies , you still see the reticle. I understand there is a Gen II I have the first one. I've shot it at 500 yards which is ridiculous with 3X. Adjustment click elevation is 1 moa for a total of 250 moa.
image.png image.jpeg
 
A Sig Sauer Romeo 5 popped up at $50 off. I bought it knowing if I need more there are options. I’ll call this a decent starting point. The Comp M4 from Aimpoint is much like what I carried in Afghanistan but I didn’t want to fork over six times the amount of money for a plinker / anti-coyote rifle.
 
FL-NC said:
Vortex strike eagle, 1-8 is the best of both worlds and a lifetime warranty. About $500.
Click to expand...
Dang, they're that much now? When I bought mine, it was around $329 (but another $99 for the Burris PEPR mount). I would however agree, that if one is gonna go the LPVO route, the Strike Eagle is a really, really good choice. Love the good glass, etched reticle and the true 1X,

But for a general purpose AR sight, for defensive purposes mainly, I'd probably go with an EOTech, But then the OP says varmints, so some magnification might be necessary. EOTech with a G33 magnifier? ACOG TA-01 or TA-31 4x? Or the LPVO.

I'd just say, don't go cheap. Even for a plinker. BTW, the SIG optics are worthy.
 
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