Page 1 of 7 123 ... LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 65

Thread: Best Inexpensive Red Dots?

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Apr 2008
    Posts
    2,144
    Feedback Score
    2 (100%)

    Best Inexpensive Red Dots?

    Every few years I go through my guns and update optics. Right now I am looking to upgrade the red dots on some non hard use guns- three S&W MP15 .22s', a Browning Buckmark .22 pistol, a 10/22 SBR etc.......These guns have either Bushnell Trs 25's- most of them, or a few I think have original Vortex Sparc's. The TRS25's were great little optics 10 years ago, inexpensive and mine have never really given me any issues BUT they are not very bright in full sunlight and have some age on them- You can only expect so much of inexpensive optics and I want to cycle them out before I start having issues with them. Also, I would like to standardize on one design as much as possible.....

    Looking to spend about $150 apiece or so on replacements. Thinking Primary Arms, Holosun or Sig Romeo's...... What's the best of the 3? Honestly, they appear pretty much identical and I suspect some if not all of them are made in the same Chinese factory.......
    The truth can only offend those who live a lie.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Dec 2011
    Location
    Eastern NC
    Posts
    8,713
    Feedback Score
    88 (100%)
    Vortex Crossfire is another option. I have two and like them, but neither has seen much use yet. I’ve heard great things about PA, but I’d absolutely choose Vortex over SOF and Holosun based on the company alone.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    Sic semper tyrannis.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Apr 2008
    Posts
    2,144
    Feedback Score
    2 (100%)
    Quote Originally Posted by Wake27 View Post
    Vortex Crossfire is another option. I have two and like them, but neither has seen much use yet. I’ve heard great things about PA, but I’d absolutely choose Vortex over SOF and Holosun based on the company alone.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    I'm betting it's made in the same factory as at least one if not two of the others! Interesting......Just a question of which one I can get the best deal on I guess....
    The truth can only offend those who live a lie.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Dec 2013
    Posts
    872
    Feedback Score
    18 (100%)
    I believe all three of those are Holosun products, as are the TruGlo "TruTec" line of red dots.

    I have several of these Aimpoint Micro clones (by PA, TruGlo, & Holosun) on range toys and they've held up well for general range use. I think I've had the oldest for 7 or 8 years now.


    ETA: I agree with Wake27. If I were to buy another today it would be the new Vortex Crossfire, mostly because of the company's warranty.
    Last edited by Tx_Aggie; 09-24-19 at 08:57.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Dec 2011
    Location
    Eastern NC
    Posts
    8,713
    Feedback Score
    88 (100%)

    Best Inexpensive Red Dots?

    Quote Originally Posted by Esq. View Post
    I'm betting it's made in the same factory as at least one if not two of the others! Interesting......Just a question of which one I can get the best deal on I guess....
    PSA often has the Sig for like $110 or $120 I think. The Crossfires go for $130-150 but you can usually find them used on TOS for $110. I don’t know what comes with the other brands, but I like that the Crossfire comes with the high and low mounts. One was on my 870 until I got the Aridus CROM for it. My second one was bought used and showed up dead, despite having a new battery. Vortex had it back to me in less than two weeks IIRC, including shipping times.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    Sic semper tyrannis.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Apr 2008
    Posts
    2,144
    Feedback Score
    2 (100%)
    Quote Originally Posted by Tx_Aggie View Post
    I believe all three of those are Holosun products, as are the TruGlo "TruTec" line of red dots.

    I have several of these Aimpoint Micro clones (by PA, TruGlo, & Holosun) on range toys and they've held up well for general range use. I think I've had the oldest for 7 or 8 years now.


    ETA: I agree with Wake27. If I were to buy another today it would be the new Vortex Crossfire, mostly because of the company's warranty.
    That's a good point. Through no fault of the company, I have had to use the Vortex warranty and they back their products 100%.
    The truth can only offend those who live a lie.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Apr 2017
    Posts
    1,348
    Feedback Score
    0
    Quote Originally Posted by Esq. View Post
    That's a good point. Through no fault of the company, I have had to use the Vortex warranty and they back their products 100%.
    The Primary Arms push button 50k model is Holosun and has a 3 year warranty. The rotary knob model is their own and it has upgraded steel internals instead of brass (supposed to be more durable) and has a lifetime warranty. I have heard good things on the rotary knob model.

    Holosun has been getting some good press from the guys on Primary and Secondary which are usually higher grade gear guys. More so with their pistol rds, but the other ones get good feedback too.

    i know Aaron Cowan has a 507c with over 10k rounds on it through his testing with multiple shoulder height drops that is still running. He ranks the RMR and ACRO higher, but the holosun was 3rd on his list and rated better than the DPP. Chambers custom also has a 507c for their test guns with over 10k on it. That speaks well to the brand overall IMO

    Primary Arms Cyclops would be worth a look too. It is a prism 1x, but Akoperators had one in swamp water for a few days on an AK and it worked fine when pulled out. Mrgunsandgear did a similar test and his was good too

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Apr 2008
    Posts
    2,144
    Feedback Score
    2 (100%)
    Quote Originally Posted by everready73 View Post
    The Primary Arms push button 50k model is Holosun and has a 3 year warranty. The rotary knob model is their own and it has upgraded steel internals instead of brass (supposed to be more durable) and has a lifetime warranty. I have heard good things on the rotary knob model.

    Holosun has been getting some good press from the guys on Primary and Secondary which are usually higher grade gear guys. More so with their pistol rds, but the other ones get good feedback too.

    i know Aaron Cowan has a 507c with over 10k rounds on it through his testing with multiple shoulder height drops that is still running. He ranks the RMR and ACRO higher, but the holosun was 3rd on his list and rated better than the DPP. Chambers custom also has a 507c for their test guns with over 10k on it. That speaks well to the brand overall IMO

    Primary Arms Cyclops would be worth a look too. It is a prism 1x, but Akoperators had one in swamp water for a few days on an AK and it worked fine when pulled out. Mrgunsandgear did a similar test and his was good too
    That's one of the reasons I originally threw out Holosun as a brand, they have had many very positive reviews lately from reliable sources. But the Vortex warranty can't be beat.

    As an example- several years ago I bought a Sparc II with the intention of putting it on a Ruger 10/22. Took it out of the box and got distracted, when I came back my new puppy had chewed the crap out of it, destroying the rubber button cover! It would not turn on etc...I printed out the warranty sheet and sent it it with a note about my mistake etc....Back in 2 weeks and 100% new condition, no questions asked on a deal where it was CLEARLY my fault.
    The truth can only offend those who live a lie.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Oct 2014
    Location
    Central Texas
    Posts
    2,976
    Feedback Score
    94 (100%)
    Quote Originally Posted by Wake27 View Post
    Vortex Crossfire is another option. I have two and like them, but neither has seen much use yet. I’ve heard great things about PA, but I’d absolutely choose Vortex over SOF and Holosun based on the company alone.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    I still have my RDS Crossfire that I received as part of MoY I was voted for last year. I haven’t beat the hell out of it but I have ran it hard on my AR’s. It’s currently on my 10.3 and I’m not kidding when I say the dot is as crisp as my CompM4s was and I’ve had zero issues whatsoever. I did put it in a LaRue Mount and I’m very happy with it.




    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    "Texas has yet to learn submission to any oppression, come from what source it may."
    ~ Sam Houston

    “The liberties of our country, the freedom of our civil constitution, are worth defending against all hazards: And it is our duty to defend them against all attacks.”
    ~ Sam Adams

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Oct 2014
    Location
    Central Texas
    Posts
    2,976
    Feedback Score
    94 (100%)
    Quote Originally Posted by everready73 View Post
    The Primary Arms push button 50k model is Holosun and has a 3 year warranty. The rotary knob model is their own and it has upgraded steel internals instead of brass (supposed to be more durable) and has a lifetime warranty. I have heard good things on the rotary knob model.

    Holosun has been getting some good press from the guys on Primary and Secondary which are usually higher grade gear guys. More so with their pistol rds, but the other ones get good feedback too.

    i know Aaron Cowan has a 507c with over 10k rounds on it through his testing with multiple shoulder height drops that is still running. He ranks the RMR and ACRO higher, but the holosun was 3rd on his list and rated better than the DPP. Chambers custom also has a 507c for their test guns with over 10k on it. That speaks well to the brand overall IMO

    Primary Arms Cyclops would be worth a look too. It is a prism 1x, but Akoperators had one in swamp water for a few days on an AK and it worked fine when pulled out. Mrgunsandgear did a similar test and his was good too
    You provided some great info for the OP bud, good job on that post!
    I’ve seen similar torture tests on the Sig Romeo 6 and it came away with a shining review. My only issue with some of those tests are that they put it in a pan of water for like a minute or two and call that “waterproof”. Leave it in the pond for a week, sink it down just below it’s max IPSX rated depth and see what happens. Want to shoot it with some bird shot? Shoot it with some 12 ga. 4 or 5 shot and then throw it in the pond for a week the freeze it and bake it. Those types of torture tests are more entertainment than providing me usable intel and usually when I watch one and see that kind of testing, I’m done. Oh here’s a good one: freeze it overnight and gradually thaw it out. Big whoop. Freeze it and then apply heat to it and use it as soon as you can mount it. Then do it all over again every day for a week. So I would prefer to see those tests ran over a longer period of time. My live oaks out in the yard still aren’t producing greenbacks so until then I won’t be buying any optics and doing any of those tests, personally I think I could give an optic a much better test and evaluation it to find it’s breaking point. I did that with multi-million dollar military intelligence collection equipment, by nature of where we deployed and did our OT&E, I think I could do justice to some optics testing.

    Another optic I plan on picking up is the Holosun with the green 65 MOA ring and dot. I’d really like to get my hands on that one. EOTech-like reticle for a couple hundred cheaper.

    As far as the PA RDS, I picked up the rotary dial version off our E&E from Wigbones for a super great deal. It’s been abused more than my other red dots, and hasn’t given me a single problem. It got knocked around on my sons air soft HK416, and it’s been on my beater AR for a couple of years. That said for whatever reason I would still buy a Vortex before a PA.

    Oh ref: PA. They just came out with a new scope model “Gold” where they’ve replaced the brass internals for a treated steel I believe. It’s got a nice price - like in the $400-500ish range, but I just don’t see how you can buy good glass without paying for good glass. (Good not even great.)


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    "Texas has yet to learn submission to any oppression, come from what source it may."
    ~ Sam Houston

    “The liberties of our country, the freedom of our civil constitution, are worth defending against all hazards: And it is our duty to defend them against all attacks.”
    ~ Sam Adams

Page 1 of 7 123 ... LastLast

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •