I did not vote in the poll, because there doesn't seem to be any right answer with the options there...
BUT... I get this dilemma, because it has been my exact dilemma since the day I got into guns. I have never had the money to just fling at this stuff that some people apparently have.
When I got my first "good rifle" shortly after I joined this site, it took me a literal YEAR to save up for it. I saved pennies from the Walmart parking lot, I shit you not...
Then when I got that rifle and some ammo, I had ZERO money left for a light, red dot, etc, etc. I ran the gun irons-only for about 2 years before I could finally afford a well-discounted PRO from the EE here... #poorsclubrepresent
And now anyone that knows me understands my dire hatred of irons, and fellow "poors" who cheap out on their shit because they "gotta have it now"...
It was a forum shoot I attended a long time back that finally convinced me a red dot wasn't just a "want" it was a "need". Actually it convinced me an SR25 with a Leoupld CQBSS was a "NEED" but that's another story...
I would NOT give up a spare upper right now, given the political climate.
Given that, I think you may have answered your own question;
That's roughly $300 current market prices.2). I can afford to consume 500rds rifle and 800-1k pistol a month, while replenishing it, and while saving up for at least couple professional classes a year.
Skip a month, buy your red dot. Unless you're trying to get a T1/MRO/etc a lightly used PRO can be had for $280-325 right now (hell, you just missed mine for sale), or visit our patron saint of "cheap optics that still work reasonably well" Primary Arms.
*Personally*, while the PRO is going to get you into Aimpoint territory for a reasonable expenditure, having run them exclusively for the last 8 years...I don't want another one, and I sure as hell don't want it on a lightweight 10.3 pistol... It's a beast of a red dot, and for the weight, you are getting no capability other than just another zero-mag dot.
If you peruse the EE, Tacswap, and maybe Ebay if you dare, if I wanted another RDS, I would get a simple non-QD T1 mount (like a DD), and stick a PA T1 clone on it.
https://www.primaryarms.com/primary-...-red-dot-sight
With the Fortis mount in the selection options you'd be in a whopping $200, and the dot has a lifetime warranty...
You'd still have $100 to burn in ammo this month, or half the money for a second optic...
Or if you hate it, you send it back and move on...
Or if you WANT to put a 1lb or so optic on your rifle/have astigmatism/hate batteries, etc, you could check out their 1-6x SFP LPVO or one of the prisms like the Cyclops.
I am trying a 1-6 SFP right now, and so far it seems nice. We'll see in time for sure.
BUT anyway, that's just my $.02
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