advice on red dot sight

[spyshot]

i'm wanting to put an inexpensice optic of somekind on my flat top. i'm just a backyard shooter and i dont have a lot to spend. i'm thinking something with no magnification.

here are a few i've been looking at. i just wanted to bounce this around and see what kind of suggestions some more of you more experienced people may have.

http://www.amazon.com/Barska-Electro-Sight-Riflescope-Ac10632/dp/B003P0384W/ref=sr_1_3?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1325548917&sr=1-3

http://www.amazon.com/UTG-lden-Image-Green-Sight/dp/B001BQZSZ4/ref=pd_sim_sg_2

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/678529/barska-ar-15-red-dot-sight-1x-30mm-illuminated-tactical-reticle-with-picatinny-style-rifle-scope-base-matte

thanks!

[Trajan]

Do a search.

Save your money for a quality red dot. Until then, stick with irons.

[Smash]

Stay with irons. Spend the money you would have spent on these bargain basement sights on more ammo.

[ucrt]

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Just curious, what is the make gun of your gun?

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[YWHIC]

Try looking at Primary Arms M3 or M4 clone. great quality for the price and great service.

[spyshot]

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Just curious, what is the make gun of your gun?

.

cmmg 16" 1:7

wanted to give it a visual makeover. new stock, forend, grip, etc. thought a red dot would be cool but i didn't want a peice of junk that would break after a few hundred rounds.
adam

[hec912]

A year ago I bought a primary arms reddot it broke got a exchange it was not working got another exchange the screen sucked returned it got my money back

5 months ago I bought a Sight mark didn't sight in at all returned it got my money back

Last month I got a vortex looked pretty good till the button started to stick and the rubber started to come apart returned it got my money back
All made in china save your time and money

[Grizzly16]

cmmg 16" 1:7

wanted to give it a visual makeover. new stock, forend, grip, etc. thought a red dot would be cool but i didn't want a peice of junk that would break after a few hundred rounds.
adam

I'm not sure this motivation for a red dot will get much love here.

I'd put the cheap red dot money into a better upper/bcg for the rifle and put that through its paces in a good class. Not as sexy as looking all ninja like at the range. But at the end of they day you'll have a better rifle and better skills with it.

[The_War_Wagon]

Do a search.

Save your money for a quality red dot. Until then, stick with irons.


Stay with irons. Spend the money you would have spent on these bargain basement sights on more ammo.

THIS. EACH time, EVERY time. Do a search on "CMMG" as well. We'll help steer you towards a better AR while we're at it.

[YWHIC]

A year ago I bought a primary arms reddot it broke got a exchange it was not working got another exchange the screen sucked returned it got my money back

Really.. mine from 8/11 worked great sold it to go back to irons though. I shoot about the same out to 200 yards so I figured why bother having one at all.

I guess an Aimpoint Comp C3 with 2MOA dot would be a better selection if I had the $$.. there only like $400 if you hunt around.

Most folks are gammering after the Aimpoint Patrol.

Alot of folks use CMMG without issues.. I rock a BCM BFH 'upper' but I had at the time $500 to get it. some people dont have that $$ to do it.. I started with a DPMS :jester: which I am sure gets low reviews on here also. (some of which is founded and some not).

[Backroad]

Spyshot -

For just backyard shooting and not carrying the gun around alot, take a peek at the Lucid HD7. I bought one about a year ago and really like it. It would just be a little heavy for duty use.

Al

[Amicus]

I will agree with most others around here: buying a cheap sight is like throwing your money down the proverbial rathole -- limited lifespan, average to poor performance, and no resale value.

That being said, I did buy a Primary Arms sight -- one of the early ones after the initial problems -- and it is still chugging along. Marshall is a good guy.

If you absolutely must buy anything other than an Aimpoint or other good sight, at least get one with a lifetime guaranty.

[SomeOtherGuy]

This forum doesn't really contemplate, much less focus on, backyard plinking on a budget. As such you aren't likely to get responses providing real comparisons of budget optics. With google you can find such info elsewhere.

The cheapest red dots I've used and found OK for non-serious use are the Vortex Strikefire and the Lucid HD7. Both are Chinese, both are some of the better Chinese red dots, and neither one is a "serious use" optic as talked about here. The Lucid is very heavy but optically excellent. It's nipping at the heels of a serious optic, but not quite there in current form. The Strikefire is lighter, more conventional, a little less money and probably a better budget choice.

After having tried several cheaper red dots and finally trying an Aimpoint, there really is a difference. (You would hope so for how much more they cost.) You might consider a used Aimpoint, especially a prior generation model that is going for less money, and/or look at the CompC3 which is current and costs about $400 with a ring (not a ring useful for a typical AR though).


Spyshot -

For just backyard shooting and not carrying the gun around alot, take a peek at the Lucid HD7. I bought one about a year ago and really like it. It would just be a little heavy for duty use.

Al

[spyshot]

This forum doesn't really contemplate, much less focus on, backyard plinking on a budget. As such you aren't likely to get responses providing real comparisons of budget optics. With google you can find such info elsewhere.

The cheapest red dots I've used and found OK for non-serious use are the Vortex Strikefire and the Lucid HD7. Both are Chinese, both are some of the better Chinese red dots, and neither one is a "serious use" optic as talked about here. The Lucid is very heavy but optically excellent. It's nipping at the heels of a serious optic, but not quite there in current form. The Strikefire is lighter, more conventional, a little less money and probably a better budget choice.

After wasting lots of money on cheap optics (and on some quality optics that just didn't suit me) I'm gradually converting to Aimpoints.

thanks!

[SomeOtherGuy]

One more relatively inexpensive RDS you may want to consider is the Ultradot:

http://www.ultradotusa.com/

These are made in Japan and are basically the original Aimpoint clone. They get no attention in tactical circles but are the favorite in bullseye shooting. Note that you will need ultra-high rings for these to work at a normal AR sight height and that may add $60+ to the cost.