Airsoft Canada - RS Red dots on a budget

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RS Red dots on a budget

Those of us that run GBBRs and do so on a budget, always find it hard to shell out more then what our rifles are worth on a red dot that holds its zero.

Here's an article I found on the web.

“Budget” Red Dot Sight Comparison

One additional thing for Primary Arms(of which I have 2), it works with the same mounts for the real Aimpoint Micro(important for me since I need to install it on a top cover for a Midwest Industries AK rail for the Micro) A lot of the Micro clone comes with integral mount thats not removable. Things to note also is that the earlier version has the emitter at the 6 O'clock, which will affect its ability to co-witness with Irons at lower 1/3. The later model moved that to 4 O'clock like the real Micro(though the emitter is a bit bigger).

I wrote this up almost a year ago:
http://arniesairsoft.co.uk/forums/in...-clone-review/

I have since gotten a 2nd Primary Arm to replace the AMP one, just to get the cowitness sight picture back.

Feels like an echo in here, i've been beating the dead horse of Primary arms as best budget micro red dot for years.

Of the list from the sight I would only give a thumbs up rating to the Primary arms, Vortex and bushnell, all those others optics are either really shoddy or break quite easily.

Hmm I have my eyes set on the Vortex Sparc II. Only thing is Primary Arms one is difficult to obtain in Canada.

I shall try our a Primary Arms one for myself...

I have been using the Bushnell on my WE M4 after it shook an ACM T1 to death. Works great.

Easy to obtain in canada
Bushnell Trophy TRS-25 1xRed Dot Sight Riflescope, Black: Amazon.ca: Sports & Outdoors
With this mount UTG High Profile Riser Mount with 3 Slots: Amazon.ca: Sports & Outdoors

+ An FCC T1 lens protector. Cheap and cheerful.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BioRage (Post 1869164)

Hmm I have my eyes set on the Vortex Sparc II. Only thing is Primary Arms one is difficult to obtain in Canada.

The price difference isn't worth it imo . And the spare feels a lot to less rugged than the PA. IMO bushnell is a better product unless the nvg setting is that important

I have had great success with the Sightmark QD Ultra Reflex Sight. Can be found on Amazon.ca with free shipping for about $120.

Its rated by the manufacturer to .50 and was designed for use on the AR-15 platform. Holds a solid zero, super crisp reticles (4 different reticles you can use) and is in between an EOTech and T-1 in size.

It creates a very unique look:

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/02/21/ajynuber.jpg

It also co-witnesses perfectly with Daniel Defense BUIS as well as many others including standard AR iron sights:

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/02/21/3y2urupy.jpg

Quote:

Originally Posted by Azathoth (Post 1869584)

The price difference isn't worth it imo . And the spare feels a lot to less rugged than the PA. IMO bushnell is a better product unless the nvg setting is that important

Only reason SPARC II looks viable is lifetime warranty. So if the lens get shot out I can replace it asap as they have a Canadian head office too.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zack The Ripper (Post 1869653)

Post this here.. Nice review.

Quote:

By Zachary - Dec 30 2013
Amazon Verified Purchase
**I purchased this for a WE Tech M4 gas blowback airsoft rifle.** The sight reticle is fairly crisp and the different brightness levels are great. Can be seen in hight lighting conditions. The dot seems the clearest so that is what I have been using. The external quality is very nice, though I have noticed the protective hood as actually ever-so-slightly crooked, but did not notice this until very recently so cosmetically it is sound.

Gripe #1: When you switch from one reticle to another you lose zero. Let me explain further; I have sighted in the sight using the dot as it is small and allows for a better sight picture. When switching to the cross-hairs, dot-circle, and the combo reticle I can visibly notice that they do not line up at the same point as the dot in my sight picture. I have the dot co-witnessed with my front sight post and when switching reticles this is lost. However, when I switch back to the dot zero is maintained. So, pick your favourite reticle that you will use most often and stick to it or you will spend a lot of time sighting it in and it will have to be redone each time you change to a new reticle.

Grip #2: The battery life sucks a fat one with this. Other sights like EOTech's, T-1's, SRS', etc. have phenomenal battery life and seem to last forever. I would say the battery life on this sight is all of a total of maybe 10 hours. After about 10 hours of being on the sight goes into auto-shut-off after 5 minutes. So, it's been used for ten hours, you will notice that the sight is off, you'll turn it on, and five minutes later it shuts off again. At first I thought it was shutting off from the recoil which would be a giant shortfall if that were true (though that potentially could be an issue in future with more use). To test, I changed the batteries to fresh ones and dumped three mags through the rifle over the course of about 10 minutes to space it out between each dump, left the sight on for another 10-15 min, came back, checked, and it was still on.

Overall for a budget/beginner shooter this is a good start. For airsoft it is a good option for use on GBBRs or an AEG if you just like the look of the sight, however for advanced shooters doing long shooting sessions and airsofters doing long events I would not recommend this simply for the battery life problem.

Offer is closed.

Thanks to those who have contacted me. PA Red-dots are en-route.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stealth (Post 1869699)

Anybody who wants a PA red-dot, PM me.

Will this be a one-time opportunity?

Quote:

Originally Posted by slntdth93 (Post 1869725)

Will this be a one-time opportunity?

Yes.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Azathoth (Post 1869154)

Feels like an echo in here, i've been beating the dead horse of Primary arms as best budget micro red dot for years.
.

I love my PA Micro Red Dot. It wasn't that much more expensive than an airsoft T1 clone, but is vastly superior. Also it mounts to RS mounts, which is awesome.

For my KWA MP7 I have a Browning Buck Mark Reflex Sight. It is made for 22LRs and hasn't given me any problems. You can buy it at Al Flaherty's (in Toronto) for $52. The Browning logo came off right away though, but for me that was a good thing since I just wanted to be all black with no markings.

I don't have that much experience with various red dots, but for my real steel 9mm carbine I use a Vortex Strikefire. It's okay but I'm not that impressed with it.