Vortex or Primary Arms RDS

[thehammer69]

I have a few different hobby grade red dot sights and also have a Comp M4, T2, and MRO...which I consider those three Duty Grade. I will say, if you are dead set on getting a Chinese made hobby grade red dot, the one that impresses me the most is the Holosun 503G, which uses Primary Arms ACSS bullet drop compensating and CQB reticle. It can be had for right at the top of your budget from OP using a discount code.

[dg1]

Thank you all for the comments. I ended up finding a great deal from OP on a holosun. Should have the rifle put together this weekend if all the parts come in. Hope to get to go to the range and test everything out.

[rocketman]

I have a few different hobby grade red dot sights and also have a Comp M4, T2, and MRO...which I consider those three Duty Grade. I will say, if you are dead set on getting a Chinese made hobby grade red dot, the one that impresses me the most is the Holosun 503G, which uses Primary Arms ACSS bullet drop compensating and CQB reticle. It can be had for right at the top of your budget from OP using a discount code.

I currently have several T-1's a T-2, an M4s and a few PA red dots. I also have a Holosun 503G and a 503GU and like them both. Right now the 503G is on my AK but if I decide to use a red dot and magnifier that ACSS reticle will serve me well. I just mounted a new 503GU on my Ruger PC carbine. I really like being able to choose between a circle and dot, and just the dot with a push of a button. The rifle I pick up to defend myself with will have an Aimpoint or ACOG mounted on it. That said Holosun seems to be an innovator and that's good for everyone.

[xzebra]

I love my new PA 1-6x24, however I also own a Vortex Sparc II Red Dot 2 MOA and love it as well. It will be a bit high priced compared to some, but it is awesome as is their suppport.

Great Review of this RDS-
http://www.recoilweb.com/vortex-spar...die-67267.html

[Bodhi]

I have a tru glo 20mm red dot (holosun copy.)

I like it a lot, comes with two risers. I also have a PA Red dot I got recently.

I'd go with the vortex solely for the lifetime warranty.

[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.