Vortex or Primary Arms RDS

[dg1]

Ok so I did search this topic in here and most recent post was from 2014. I am looking for a 2moa RDS for my build to co witness. Any suggestions on which one? Years ago I had a strike fire first gen and really liked it and the quality of it. Trying to stay around 100-200$

Thanks
David

[everready73]

I would go with Primary Arms newer rotary dial 50k hour RDS. It has a lifetime warranty now just like Vortex and is compatable with t1 style mounts. The Primary Arms rep on TOS said they made several changes internally for increased durability and the older on was pretty durable to start with. Currently OOS, but replensished regularly http://www.primaryarms.com/primary-a...-base-md-rb-ad . Their is always the option of saving another few months and going with known quality of PRO/MRO

[grizzlyblake]

They're both just hobby grade sights so figure it's disposable anyway and pick whichever one looks cooler to you.

[dg1]

I agree with both of you as they are hobby grade sights. However this being a hobby grade AR I didn’t see the need of a aimpoint etc. thanks for the input.

[Wake27]

I’d get Vortex’s new red dot, I think it’s the Crossfire.


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[SomeOtherGuy]

Do you want an absolute cowitness or lower 1/3? Most of the options include a mount, but height varies.

I haven't had any PA optic but of course they have a good reputation for the price. I have one of these Sig red dots, which I believe is made by Holosun and therefore similar to (but not the same as) the PA:
https://www.opticsplanet.com/opmod-s...dot-sight.html

That comes with an adjustable height mount for both absolute and lower 1/3 cowitness. In limited use I've been happy with all the basics: brightness, dot size, clarity etc.

The Vortex Crossfire mentioned above is not yet for sale but coming soon (I have one on preorder) and looks very promising. FYI though, the included mounts for it are either lower 1/3 cowitness or low, no absolute co-witness, and its battery life is not in the 50k hour range. On the plus side Vortex claims it's more rugged than the SPARC, which already had a good reputation for that, and the selling price is in the $130 range.

Any of these will probably serve fine for your purposes, and the warranties are similar.

[rocketman]

IMHO if you are considering those two you probably should consider Holosun as well. You can stay close to your budget when some models are on sale.

[Kain]

IMHO if you are considering those two you probably should consider Holosun as well. You can stay close to your budget when some models are on sale.

I was thinking this too. Karl over on INRANGETV has beat on one for a while with good results. Almost tempts me to grab one to beat on, but then my inner operator chimes in and I go off looking at aimpoints and LPVOs.

[Doc Safari]

Squeezing your budget just a tad, how about a good price on a Trijicon MRO?

https://www.aimsurplus.com/product.a...t&groupid=9658

I'm not totally familiar with their quality compared to Aimpoint, but I would be willing to bet that for just a little more money this beats a hobby grade optic.

[SomeOtherGuy]

I haven't had any PA optic but of course they have a good reputation for the price. I have one of these Sig red dots, which I believe is made by Holosun and therefore similar to (but not the same as) the PA:
https://www.opticsplanet.com/opmod-s...dot-sight.html

That comes with an adjustable height mount for both absolute and lower 1/3 cowitness. In limited use I've been happy with all the basics: brightness, dot size, clarity etc.

The Vortex Crossfire mentioned above is not yet for sale but coming soon (I have one on preorder) and looks very promising. FYI though, the included mounts for it are either lower 1/3 cowitness or low, no absolute co-witness, and its battery life is not in the 50k hour range. On the plus side Vortex claims it's more rugged than the SPARC, which already had a good reputation for that, and the selling price is in the $130 range.

So I have a Crossfire red dot now, which I had pre-ordered. Link:
http://vortexoptics.com/product/cros...red-dots-2-moa

Some initial comments:

It appears to be identical in dimensions and overall design to the common Holosun compact RDS, so I am going to guess it is made by Holosun and simply marketed by Vortex. The Sig Romeo5 I mentioned above is also made by Holosun, I believe, and is identical in key dimensions.

Comparing the two side by side, I noticed that the Sig seems to have a better anti-reflective coating on the ocular side glass, and its glass appears more clear and color-free than the Vortex. Coatings are crucial and cost money, so I'm guessing that the Romeo5 has better coatings, despite appearing to be the same basic design.

I also noticed that there are minor but possibly important differences with the included mounts. The Crossfire mount's cross-bolt is smaller in diameter than the Romeo5's, which is already pretty small. I've removed and reinstalled the mounts on both (to change height) and discovered that the mounting bolts (holding the included mount to the optic body) on the Crossfire only go in maybe 4-5 threads deep when tight, compared to maybe 8-9 threads deep on the Romeo5. These two differences make me wonder about the strength and durability of the Crossfire mount. There is a little cross-slot key between mount and optic body, but it's shallow and I would imagine the screws matter too.

The red dot itself looks about the same on both. The Crossfire has a simple knob to adjust brightness, which works fine except you have to run it all the way to 0 to turn it off, and the battery life of 7000 hours is short enough you'll probably want to turn it off. It would have been better if they had the off setting halfway through the dial, like on Trijicon's MRO, or an auto-shutoff and motion sensor like on the Romeo5. Both of those claim 50k hour battery life, incidentally, as do some other Holosun models. A motion sensor costs something, but I doubt that having an off position in the middle of the dial vs. just at the end costs more than a few pennies.

This is a tiny point, but the included lens covers on the Crossfire fit loosely and look cheap, while the ones on the Romeo5 fit perfectly. Not a big deal, but just another detail where things seem to be compromised for price.

The level of exterior finish, and the apparent quality of machining of the optic body and mount, is excellent and above my expectations for a Chinese-made optic. Just looking at it (without the lens covers!) you might think it was a much more expensive RDS.

I actually had pre-ordered three Crossfires, and after opening one I returned the other two. My impression is that this is a very price-conscious, budget, recreational-grade RDS. My biggest concern is the mount, and once you replace the mount you're at a price point where you could have bought something nicer to start with, like the Romeo5, or a DI Optical Raven (which is much bigger and heavier, but doesn't cost much more and is very well built). I think the Crossfire would be great on a .22 rimfire or some other purely practice-use rifle, but that's about where it ends. This is just my opinion of course.