I was patiently waiting for the Vortex AMG Holo but its final size and bulk turned me away from it. I was leaning towards a Trijicon MRO but after browsing the Vortex site I discovered the SPARC AR. Many of the reviews are for the other SPARC models so I figured I'd post a table top and some pictures in case anyone was interested in picking one of these up.
First, I'd like to briefly explain my previous red dot/mid-range optic experience. Our work rifles have Aimpoint T2's, I have owned the Aimpoint Comp M2 and Aimpoint PRO for a while now. I have previously owned an Eotech EXPS3 and used the Trijicon ACOG for 8 years in the Marine Corps. I have a lot of rounds through all of those optics, some more than others, but enough to feel comfortable comparing other optics to them. Lastly, I spent about a week with the Trijicon MRO and various RMR's as we T&E'd them for duty on the department's new duty rifles. We put around 10k rounds through 4 rifles wearing these and did so in various weather and lighting conditions.
Now, onto the SPARC...
I had previously mounted, zeroed, and shot a Gen 1 SPARC on a buddies rifle and was pleasantly surprised with it. I was a fan of Vortex's warranty and customer service, as well as the value that the SPARC offered. At the time the blueish tint was pretty obvious and very distracting, other than that, no real complaints. Fast forward a couple of years and I read a very interesting torture test in Recoil Magazine with the SPARC II. They beat the HELL out of this optic and I couldn't believe how well it held up. It continued to function even after fire, microwave, water, etc. (http://www.recoilweb.com/vortex-spar...die-67267.html). I was intrigued with this optic but was hesitant after the blue tint experience on the SPARC I mounted, as well as others I came across since then.
While browsing the Vortex website I was intrigued by the SPARC AR. It uses standard/common AAA batteries which is a positive in my book and Vortex redesigned the body to encapsulate all of the controls, another positive feature. While the SPARC II was plenty durable from what I've read and heard, this new design just enhanced it further. Vortex offers a VERY generous and greatly appreciated Mil/LEO discount so I decided to just purchase the SPARC AR for shits and giggles and see how it compared.
Packaging/Contents:
I was pleased with the Vortex packaging as the SPARC AR is secure as are the extras. Included are very thorough instructions, the SPARC AR, 1/3 co-witness adaptor, screws, alan key, and a premium Duracell AAA battery. The battery was a pleasant surprise and it's nice that they didn't just throw in some junk no name one.
First Impressions:
The first thing that jumped out at me was the inclusion of a cover/lens cap on the SPARC AR. This is very similar to the Tangodown Aimpoint Micro cover, the Vortex cover's caps even snap into each other so they are out of the way. Comparing this to the Tangodown cover, especially after taking it off the SPARC, I didn't notice any differences in terms of quality or material. Not to say none do not exist, but they weren't apparent and it was another nice touch by Vortex.
Body:
Once the cover was removed I was surprised to see a nice etching/engraving of the Vortex logo into the body of the SPARC. It feels like a very solid optic and the once piece body, as opposed to side mounted controls, is a welcomed improvement. The integral mount has the ability to run with an absolute co-witness, or with a supplied adaptor installed at the bottom between the optic and mount with a lower 1/3 co-witness. Another nice feature was the use of a torx head bolt for mounting the base to the receiver. Alan keys are prone to stripping fairly easily, while this use is likely not going to see significant amounts of force, it was another very nice touch that showed they weren't cutting corners. The only gripe I had was with the supplied screws to mount the base to the body. They do not come with torque specs/instructions which may seem superficial, but they are rather snug when installing and I was nervous they would strip the threads on the body. Fortunately, I used a VERY little amount of loctite and tightened them sequentially with a little more pressure each pass. This ensured they mount seated evenly and that one individual screw wasn't bearing the brunt of tightening duty. I went a 1/4 turn past "pretty tight" and the mount is still very secure.
Function:
The controls on the SPARC II are very simple. You press the up arrow to turn the unit on and hold the down arrow to turn it off. Obviously, you press the up/down arrows to cycle through brightness settings. When turned back on the SPARC AR will return to its last setting before being turned off. The best part of the SPARC however was how little blue tint there is. The tint is way less apparent than it was on the SPARC/SPARC II and I feel confident in saying there is less than an Aimpoint T1. The 2moa dot looks great in the picture, but apparently I have an astigmatism as it looks a little deformed to my naked eye. I would say it's no worse than any of the other Aimpoint I have used. I will say the RMR and the MRO had the least distortion of the red dots I have used, but the SPARC II at its highest setting has more even/consistent bloom compared to its competitors. The reason I point that out is 2moa dots are great for accuracy, but in close quarters I like to crank the brightness up and use the bloom to essentially enlarge the dot.
(mounting was simple enough, I applied forward pressure and tightened with the supply alan key)
Range Test:
I zeroed at 50yds and the SPARC held a consistent zero. Adjustments via turret were pretty firm and not mushy at all. Once I target I ran a bunch of different drills and the SPARC did not hinder anything. It was very quick on multiples and transitions and accurate enough on its mid/low setting to hold impressive groups from a bench. Unfortunately, I forgot to snap a pic of the targets so I'm going to speculate as to group size. But at 100yds I was very confident in it's accuracy.
(here are a couple pictures showing it mounted to illustrate its overall size and footprint)
Overall I'm happy with this purchase. Vortex enhanced the already great reliability and durability and significantly reduced the blue tint issue. This optic did what it was supposed to do and I experienced zero issues. I get that Aimpoints are "better", but aside from battery life I really see no real world or applicable difference that would justify me spending several hundred dollars more on one. Of course I'm not planning on swapping an issued T1 with one, but if I'm buying then I'm choosing the SPARC AR.
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