advice on red dot sight

[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.