View Full Version : Looking for a "Budget" optic not made in China that uses Aimpoint Micro mounts
titsonritz
04-29-20, 04:27
Does such a critter exist? It does not have to be "duty grade" like an Aimpoint but not wanting to piss cash away on complete shit either.
Furbyballer
04-29-20, 06:54
I don't think this currently exists. The mro is as close to this as I can think of but its a different mount interface. I don't know of any of the aimpoint t series clones that are made in japan or the Philippines.
titsonritz
04-29-20, 13:06
I don't think this currently exists. The mro is as close to this as I can think of but its a different mount interface. I don't know of any of the aimpoint t series clones that are made in japan or the Philippines.
I was afraid that was the case. Oh well maybe have to ditch the idea of Aimpoint mount compatibility I just have several I can use. I do have an MRO also was hoping for something a little cheaper. Thanks
mebiuspower
04-29-20, 13:46
Keep saving up. You can do it.
https://i.imgur.com/aZJkFGG.jpg
Keep saving up. You can do it.
https://i.imgur.com/aZJkFGG.jpg
Where is that sign from?
titsonritz
04-29-20, 15:24
Keep saving up. You can do it.
https://i.imgur.com/aZJkFGG.jpg
I already have multiple Aimpoints, an MRO and high dollar LPVO, this is for spare/loaner weapons that I don't want spend top dollar on. So again, it does not need to be "duty grade", but I'll be damned if the commie whores are getting any of my nickles.
Bushnell "Mini Cannon" is made in South Korea and is supposed to be compatible with Micro Mounts.
At Natchez (may be cheaper thru Amazon):
https://www.natchezss.com/bushnell-tac-optics-mini-cannon-red-dot-sight-1x23mm-multi-4-reticle-hi-rise-box-5l.html
titsonritz
04-29-20, 18:31
Bushnell "Mini Cannon" is made in South Korea and is supposed to be compatible with Micro Mounts.
At Natchez (may be cheaper thru Amazon):
https://www.natchezss.com/bushnell-tac-optics-mini-cannon-red-dot-sight-1x23mm-multi-4-reticle-hi-rise-box-5l.html
Thanks for that, I'll look into them.
This is stolen from TOS and I have no way to verify, but here is a list of Sig models and country of origin:
ROMEOZero- USA
ROMEO1Pro- Philippines
ROMEO1- Philippines
ROMEO3- Japan
ROMEO3MAX- Japan
ROMEO3XL- Japan
ROMEO4- USA
ROMEO5- China
ROMEO7- China
ROMEOMsr- China
ROMEO8- USA
Furbyballer
04-29-20, 19:15
This is stolen from TOS and I have no way to verify, but here is a list of Sig models and country of origin:
ROMEOZero- USA
ROMEO1Pro- Philippines
ROMEO1- Philippines
ROMEO3- Japan
ROMEO3MAX- Japan
ROMEO3XL- Japan
ROMEO4- USA
ROMEO5- China
ROMEO7- China
ROMEOMsr- China
ROMEO8- USA
My romeo 4 I purchased said maid in china on the box...
Apparently the Bushnell "Mini Cannon" is made by DI Optical in Korea, which may be meaningful to someone.
A poster on TOS claims the base has the same screw spacing as a micro mount.
The battery is mounted in a slide out tray secured by screws - I guess that is one way of doing it but it seems a little inconvenient. It also reminds me of the battery mounting in my Granddaughter's toys. Assuming battery life is decent it's probably not a big deal and it keeps the sight pretty small.
It is unfortunate that Nikon did not use the Micro mount pattern on their Phillipines built Superdot, but they are leaving the scope/red dot market anyway.
Andy
maid in china
Where can I order one of those?? ;) (Sorry can't resist.)
On a more serious note, it is not an uncommon tactic for large corporations to develop new products "close-to-home" (better QC, quicker feedback, etc) and once the product is proven, outsource it. If you are buying enough, there is no shortage of factories willing to take your money.
My romeo 4 I purchased said maid in china on the box...
Do the different models of Romeo 4 have different origins? From the little I’ve read the 4t and 4m are OK, and the others are a soft maybe.
It frustrates me the way that Sig has made their product line. Its difficult to research and figure out which models are garbage and which are acceptable. Then you find out that there are models within models that have different quality levels, also. Aimpoint is easy. PRO<Comp M4.... H/T1<H/T2<Comp M5.
Edit: I bought one. It says “assembled in US”
I have a Romeo4T that appears to be pretty robust, but I haven't had it long so can't comment on how it will take a beating. I don't know if it falls into the category of "budget" but it doesn't cost as much as an Aimpoint. I got mine for around $400 and it isn't made in China.
The specs looks good: 7075, instead of 6061, 50K+ battery life, ipx8 water resistance, lifetime warranty and I just discovered that they use thread inserts in the mounting screw holes. It seems to be a pretty tough optic. The Romeo4T is a grade or two above all of the other Romeos.
turnburglar
05-08-20, 12:04
It frustrates me the way that Sig has made their product line. Its difficult to research and figure out which models are garbage and which are acceptable. Then you find out that there are models within models that have different quality levels, also.
I think it's funny how this board has such hard brand distinction. Sig and vortex have poor product origin representation in their line up and everyone is ok with it. PSA has excellent transparency as to what the product is and where it comes from and they "can't be trusted".
Also I understand how and why the OP has issues purchasing a chinese optic. The truth of the matter is: even if you find a budget optic NOT made in china, it will probably cost more and be less than a chinese optic. These Holosun's (2017+) are an incredible optic for the $120 I paid. Also my Primary Arms ($400- made in china) is a higher build quality than my Steiner (+$600- assembled in America from German Parts). Sure the Steiner has better glass, but the build quality is noticeably better on the chinese optic. My point of all this: sure the chinese gov is evil. But they are making some hot kit at the best price right now. In my opinion to get noticeably better than chinese optics you need to spend like 4x the costs.
mebiuspower
05-08-20, 12:41
I think it's funny how this board has such hard brand distinction. Sig and vortex have poor product origin representation in their line up and everyone is ok with it. PSA has excellent transparency as to what the product is and where it comes from and they "can't be trusted".
Because marketing.
Sig spends an enormous amount of money in marketing compare to any other manufacturer out there.
Vortex is the same. No optic company out there have a marketing budget that can touch them.
Romeo 4A-M were made in China.
New Romeo 4 are "Assembled in the USA", whatever that means...
Because marketing.
Which is not necessary a bad thing.
On each Romeo sold, only a small fraction of those money goes to the Chinese (or wherever) factory that makes it. The rest are kept by SIG and their distributors and dealers as profit margin, which is what pays for those marketing activities.
And many of those activities are performed by SIG employees, who lives and earn their living in America. They are creating better pay, safer, and more rewarding jobs domestically, and outsource the cheap, mundane manual labors overseas.
I still maintain I see nothing wrong with it. In fact it should be encouraged. An evil government doesn't make every citizen a demon (otherwise I would've considered half the Americans demons because they voted for Democrats). But the more we make them rely on our manufacturing contacts, the better we can keep them under control.
Stop caring WHERE it's made. Start caring WHO makes it and if the company is American owned. Start caring if that company is creating high-pay American jobs, like engineering. And finally, start caring for quality.
The day we blindly submit to "American Made" is the day our country stop innovating. And once we settled for subpar products because of ideology, our country as a whole will fall behind the rest of the world and cease to be the world leader.
VT
Sent from my J9210 using Tapatalk
Just budget for a quality optic. Then purchase it on sale. Done.
mebiuspower
05-09-20, 05:56
Stop caring WHERE it's made. Start caring WHO makes it and if the company is American owned. Start caring if that company is creating high-pay American jobs, like engineering. And finally, start caring for quality.
The day we blindly submit to "American Made" is the day our country stop innovating. And once we settled for subpar products because of ideology, our country as a whole will fall behind the rest of the world and cease to be the world leader.
VT
Your signature:
"Official Account for ValhallaTactical.com. Type-7 FFL/SOT-2, 100% original design, 100% manufactured in-house, 100% performance-guaranteed!"
How ironic.
Your signature:
"Official Account for ValhallaTactical.com. Type-7 FFL/SOT-2, 100% original design, 100% manufactured in-house, 100% performance-guaranteed!"
How ironic.
I am not tracking.
I am not tracking.
You really don't see the irony of posting "Stop caring WHERE it's made" when your signature touts the fact that your products are manufactured in house?
Andy
You really don't see the irony of posting "Stop caring WHERE it's made" when your signature touts the fact that your products are manufactured in house?
Andy
LOLOL
Is that really what you guys are hung up on? I was expecting something more...
To be honest, no I really don't see any irony. The benefit of making products in-house has nothing to do with location; it has to do with control. It really wouldn't matter if we move our facility from Ohio to Iowa or to Pakistan, it would still be "in-house". Instead, "in-house" are more commonly translated to better quality products. For example, our light body's "blade" thickness is spec'ed at 3.85mm +/-0.05mm. Most job-shops (especially American job-shops) would happily ship us finished products all the way up to 3.90mm because that's still within spec. But we would usually start at exactly 3.85mm and change out our finish end-mill once it crept up to 3.87/3.88mm due to tool wear. When you do things in-house, you are less likely to nickle-and-dime yourself. Replacing a $80 end-mill is a small cost to pay in exchange for quality, but most job-shops don't think that way. That's why we like to keep productions in-house.
Of course that's not iron-clad rules; PA and Apple both makes really good products and they are heavily outsourced. In contrast, Aero Precision and Holosun are great examples of in-house productions done right, by delivering top-notch products while still be able to price them competitively.
I hope that's been educational... But since it bothered you, I went ahead and "fixed" our signature for'ya. Happy? :D
VT
LOLOL
Is that really what you guys are hung up on? I was expecting something more...
I hope that's been educational... But since it bothered you, I went ahead and "fixed" our signature for'ya. Happy? :D
VT
I honestly think we were both just busting your chops, nothing wrong with your profile or the point you were making, even if we don't all agree with you.
If we all agreed on every point, the board would be pretty boring.
Andy
I honestly think we were both just busting your chops, nothing wrong with your profile or the point you were making, even if we don't all agree with you.
If we all agreed on every point, the board would be pretty boring.
Andy
Noted and I apologize if the explanation was unnecessary!! In a perfect world we would want to make everything we needed right here in America, and still be able to make them better AND cheaper than China (or Taiwan or India or wherever). But that day isn't here yet... and until then, honest discussion of different approaches, backed with logic and reasoning, is why we come to forums. (Oh and to sell stuff too, although I've been failing miserably at it. lol)
Cheers!
VT
titsonritz
05-09-20, 23:54
The day we blindly submit to "American Made" is the day our country stop innovating. And once we settled for subpar products because of ideology, our country as a whole will fall behind the rest of the world and cease to be the world leader.
The criteria is not "American Made", the criteria is "Not Chinese Made".
The criteria is not "American Made", the criteria is "Not Chinese Made".
That was said in conjunction of "American companies' marketing budgets", but I do apologize for going off topic.
The box of my Vortex Venom says Philippines, however it's not T-1 footprint and doesn't have the ruggedness of T-1 style enclosed optics. I will see if I can find more old boxes of all the random optics we have in the office.
VT
Vortex Viper PST Gen 2 1-6x24 is a solid "Not Made In China" budget optic, made in the Vortex Factory in the PI. It has survived thus far on a couple of AR15s and is now going to get tested on the SCAR17 SBR. Only 50 or so rounds on the SCAR but seems to be fine. It's 85% of the Razor Gen II-E at 50% of the price, IMO.
Japanese Weavers were also very nice for Rimfire or even AR15s. I have two of their 4x28 Rimfires, a 2-7x28 Rimfire, and a Classic-V Series 1-3x20. For the <$200 they cost before being discontinued, they punch well above their price point. Sadly it looks like Weaver moved all production to China.
PI made Burris optics are also very clear and nice. Not as Tactical as some of the Vortex offerings, but the glass is very nice for the price. I have a Droptine and Timberline on CZ rimfire bolt actions - had some debris in the Droptine after a drop out of the safe (OUCH) - Burris took it back, cleaned, purged, and checked it at no cost. Works fine.
ETA - Of course none of these are RDS or Aimpoint compatible. But there are solid optical choices outside of Chinesium Made. Honestly if you want a 'budget' RDS, I suggest going back to a new build Eotech 512/518 or a Trijicon MRO.
everready73
05-21-20, 13:05
If anyone is looking for at least an American assembled red dot. PA had the Romeo 6 for $299 with a $40 gift certificate. Assuming some uses sourced from China but so least US assembled. 30mm site looks similar in size to Aimpoint pro
https://www.primaryarms.com/sig-sauer-romeo6h-red-dot-sight-2-moa-ballistic-circle-dot-graphite?trk_msg=L8CQJ2GKF47KPD4SQ2BDU9IIM8&trk_contact=8J4KQ0VSVUTL3I6ED44H814BM8&trk_sid=1NDBR9B41GJV6TEPMLG1SE9JEC&utm_source=listrak&utm_medium=email&utm_term=SLOT_1&utm_campaign=20_05_AD15_MemorialPT2
Am I the only one that finds it funny SIG, PA, and others copy Aimpoint / Eotech shamelessly?
Romeo 4/5 = Aimpoint Micro
Romeo 6 = Aimpoint Pro
Romeo 7 = Aimpoint Comp M4
Romeo 8 = Eotech
Not a bad deal on the Romeo 6, but I think they discontinued them - likely because many people preferred to buy the real thing at the initial price point of $400 ish.
titsonritz
05-21-20, 14:04
Honestly if you want a 'budget' RDS, I suggest going back to a new build Eotech 512/518 or a Trijicon MRO.
I was hoping to spend less but that's probably just what's going to happen.
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