What's your favorite Red Dot, and why?

[BillTell]

Most of my hunting handguns have red dots on them. (with the exception of my Eotech Holographic sight on my Ruger) I've got guns with $25 BSA's to the $400+ Eotech. .22's to 7.62X39. They've all seemed to hold up well, but I'm curious what the "Crowd Favorite" is, if there is one. What's your favorite dot-type sight and why? How has it held up? Thanx in advance

 

[Corpral_Agarn]

Trijicon MRO.

Good field of view for target transitions and such, 2 MOA makes it useful at distance.

ETA: Battery life is good.

 

[Jimster]

Bushnell TRS- 25. Cheap and it works.

 

[Jimster]

Bushnell TRS- 25. Cheap and it works.

 

[chicharrones]

I've only had a smattering of red dots and most of them cheapies.

I had an EOTech and a DI Optical, but they're gone now.

What I have left is a cheap 30mm BSA, a cheap Simmons copy of an Ultradot, a cheap Firefield Impact Mini, and a pair of Bushnell TRS-25 red dots.

While I like the size of the RMR type red dots for handguns, the good ones are still a bit pricey for me.

Overall, the Bushnell TRS-25s have seen the most time on my guns whether handguns or rifles.

 

[Zaydok Allen]

I favor the Vortex Spitfire. It has an etched reticle, so even if your battery or electronics go to pot, you still have an aiming point and useable scope.

 

[rbernie]

Aimpoint - mostly CompM series. The battery life is class-leading, and the fact that I can turn them on/off in the dark by tactile feel alone is compelling.

I do use the Primary Arms CompM clone on my range toys.

 

[gunsrfun1]

Bushnell TRS-25. It's cheap and it works, plus you get a 3 MOA dot, which isn't bad for the price.

 

[wally]

I've found the "cheap" tube type Red Dots hold up fine (although you may need a dab of Loc-Tite on the screws that hold the battery compartment), but none of the Reflex types that are less expensive than the Burris Fastfire have help up (I've tried and returned pretty much all of them, return policy is a big factor on where I shop for "new" things).

I agree with the consensus of this thread that the TRS-25 is a fine place to start. Not everyone can use red dots effectively, they take some getting used to as you need to focus on the target and "look through" the dot, which can take some effort after a lifetime of focusing on the front sight. If you have bad astigmatism they may also be very hard to use effectively.

 

[JN01]

For a carry gun, it is hard to beat the Trijicon RMR. I have an Aimpoint PRO for my long gun. I also have a TRS-25 for recreational use, it is a great sight for the price. My only complaint is that the blue tint on the lens is a bit dark.

 

[Old Dog]

Aimpoints or Trijicon by a huge margin. Quality counts in any type of optics, and for the life of me, I can't understand why folks are always trying to find the best "budget" optic. Buy once, cry once, as they say ...

We've been running Aimpoint PROs on our patrol rifles, and they've been superb; my experience with the other Aimpoints (especially the RCO, M68) in the military was good. As far as Trijicon, the MROs and RMRs are superb.

I also like the Leupold DeltaPoint for handguns. Currently T&Eing a SIG Romeo on a 320, and it is also doing well.

Lotsa choices out there.

 

[wally]

can't understand why folks are always trying to find the best "budget" optic. Buy once, cry once, as they say ...

If I only had one gun it wouldn't be an issue, but I like guns, my passion and money for optics goes into my cameras, but these old eyes need help. It don't take state of the art glass to make these old eyes hit the target faster with better placement than shooting with irons.

I have Trijicon RMR on my carry pistols, but the darn things and their mounts cost more than the guns! But for my range toys I'd love to have something half the price or less of the Fastfire III that worked as well. On pistols with a top rail (like the Ruger, Neos, Victory, etc.) the "cheap" tube type (TRS-25, Primary Arms, BSA. etc.) work great, but they are slow to turn and don't have great battery life, especially if you forget to turn them off.

 

[JT-AR-MG42]

For handgun it is only Ultra Dot for me.
Why?, most of my Ultra Dots are more than 20 years old and all are still as repeatable as the day I got them.

JT

 

[Nuclear]

Tube type, I'd also go with the Ultra Dot. For the open mini Red Dot Sights, I don't have a favorite. I have a Burris FF2, and they just aren't durable enough for even a range toy, especially at that price point. I've heard the FF3 is better, but no personal experience. I'm sure the Aimpoints and Trijicons are great RDS, but they are just too expensive, and too large. I'm hearing there is a British manufacturer that is coming out with a smaller RDS for pistols, at a more reasonable price point. I hope so.

 

[Fine Figure of a Man]

The Ultra Dot on my Super Red Hawk 44 has worked perfectly for several years.
I have a Fast Fire 3, currently on a Glock 22. It was on a Ruger 22/45 and worked great. I wanted to see how it would hold up on something bigger, it has for a few hundred rounds.
The EOTech I had on an AR went to the buy back and good riddance. I had intentions of buying an Aimpiont to replace it but all the good reviews convinced me to try a Primary Arms Micro Dot. After a few hundred rounds it has held zero. I replaced the batteries after two years just because it's a home defense gun.

 

[weblance]

I have a couple Primary Arms Advanced Micro red dots, and they are great, but recently I have switched to the Sig Romeo 5, because it has Auto-Wake. You turn on the dot, and after 2 minutes of no motion, it goes to sleep, saving the battery. Just the slightest motion, and it comes back on at the same intensity. I have been using these for several months now, and they operate without fail. They are well built, come with two different height mounts, and are super bright in the sunshine, if need be. Brownells usually has the best price on them, and I am happy with them so far.

 

[GunnyUSMC]

I have a Vortex SPARC AR on my go to gun. I like the fact that it takes a AAA battier.
I have a TSR-25 that has taken a ride on several rifles and has been working fine for almost 3 years now.
I do have a few, below $60, red dots on some 22 rifles that I got from Delta Team Tactical. I haven't had trouble with them yet, but if I do, Delta will replace them for free.

 

[chicharrones]

For a carry gun, it is hard to beat the Trijicon RMR. I have an Aimpoint PRO for my long gun. I also have a TRS-25 for recreational use, it is a great sight for the price. My only complaint is that the blue tint on the lens is a bit dark.

Early TRS25 sights do have a blue lens tint. The later ones are much more clear. I have two. One with the tint and one without. The difference away from range shooting is appreciable with the clear lens version.

 

[Old Dog]

I will admit I'm coming around to appreciating Vortex products. However, the Razor, Viper and Venom MRDs don't fall into the realm of "budget" handgun optics ...

 

[GRIZ22]

Aimpoint PRO. Works fine and is extremely durable. Someone posted a photo of their AR with a PRO that went through a fire. Rifle was destroyed but PRO still worked.

 

[a2x4bbl]

Its kinda hard to pick a favorite. A C-more is big and bulky , but a big sight picture that is quick . A FastFire 3 is smaller overall by far , but the screen is smaller also. I think its more of a personal preference. C-More makes a red dot for slide mounting that has a bigger screen than a Fast Fire 3 but it's not as big as C-More in the picture . I think the mounting plays more of a factor in people's decision in red dots than anything . I think they all work fine and with practice someone could get proficient with any of them . Both of these guns have several thousand rounds through them and have had zero problems with either sight. Degrease your threads when mounting apply some form of thread locker and shoot the hell out of it .