Need Advice/Direction On AR Red Dot

[Magneto]

My AR has a crap optic on it. It's one of those "I will upgrade it one of these days" but it's never gotten done. I have looked at a few options and have decided on a Vortex Strikefire II if I purchase one. I do have a Romeo 5 that I can move to it and purchase a magnifier for it. I have also thought about getting a pistol red dot and mounting on my AR with a riser. If anyone has any advice or experience I would appreciate input on what direction to go. I will say that my defensive use would be no more than 25 yards at my home due to terrain and obstacles.

 

[VERT]

AimPoint or Trijicon. Otherwise invest in a set of back up iron sights and mount the Romeo 5

You don’t need a magnifier for 25 yards

The Vortex Sparc AR is a rugged little self contained optic on a budget. But not any better than your Romeo. Probably roll out of the same Chinese red dot factory. Truth is I doubt you will have any issues with any of them.

 

[derrickgoins]

Trijicon MRO and agree with @VERT, a magnifier isn’t really a need for 25 yards.

No hate on Romeo 5, I have a couple and they work great but I’m partial to Trijicon MRO.

 

[krvincen]

If you can swing it in your budget or save for it as Vert mentioned Aimpoint makes some great options. I own several PRO’s and couldn’t be happier with them.

 

[Gabriel]

Aimpoint is the way.

 

[Goodcat]

Anything by trijicon or aimpoint is the way, can be found 400-450 used on a lot of them. T2 if you can afford it.

Everything else is hot water garbage with the exception of Holosun, which I would run if I could not get an aimpoint or trijicon. I’d run irons only before getting anything less.

 

[Hop]

For that close of a range, I'd just stick with irons and a flashlight. Spend the $ on a carbine class.

I did a CQB competition once & my RDS died half way through. I removed the dead battery Eotech and flipped up the BUIS. I was surprised at how much lighter the gun felt. Transition times, target to target decreased too. I crushed every stage inside about 150 yds.

 

[tcecil88]

I currently have a few of the Vortex Strikefire II sights and they have been solid. That said, the Sig Romeo 5 is made by Holosun if memory serves and in my experience it is a solid red dot as well. I prefer red dots with on/off buttons instead of the dials that turn it on. As said above, a magnifier is not really necessary at most home defense ranges, especially 25 yards. The cheapest option is to use the red dot you already have and learn to use it, see what you like and don't like about it, then replace it as needed. Back up irons are also recommended in case the batteries die. Hope for the best, but plan for the worst.

 

[92FSTech]

The Aimpoint PRO is a good optic, as is the Trijicon MRO. I'm also intrigued by the Aimpoint duty optic, but haven't been able to lay hands on one yet. If you want something truly robust and high-quality, get something from one of those two companies.

For a budget option, I've had both the Vortex Strikefire II and the Romeo 5.

The Vortex is big and heavy, but feels pretty robust. It's about the same size and shape as my Aimpoint PRO. I did have one of them die (although Vortex did replace it under warranty no questions asked). Battery life isn't great, so you do need to turn it off...which isn't a great thing for an optic on a defensive gun that might be pressed into duty at a moment's notice. This problem is exacerbated by the poor buttonology which requires you to hold a button in to turn it on. IMO for that reason alone it's not suited to a defensive firearm, and I got rid of both of mine. I'd be perfectly happy with one for a range toy, though.

The Sig Romeo 5 feels kind of cheap, but it has surprised me by holding up well, and has endured quite a lot of abuse. I've had zero problems with it. It's lightweight and has good battery life, which is aided by MOTAC...it goes to sleep when the optic doesn't sense motion, then turns back on at the slightest bump. The buttons are well situated and easy to use without being prone to accidental actuation. The only thing I don't like about it is it's hard to find lens caps that will stay on due to the shape and depth of the bezels.

As others said, you don't need or want a magnifier for 25 yards or in. It's cumbersome, heavy, and will just make you slower. If you decided you need one for longer range stuff, don't waste your time on a cheap one...I've looked through some of those and the optical clarity is so bad it's worse than just not having one.

 

[VERT]

Regarding magnifiers. If you need magnification just mount a 1-6 or 1-8 LPVO and call it a day. Otherwise stick with a red dot and set of backup sights.

 

[DadSmith]

Anything by trijicon or aimpoint is the way, can be found 400-450 used on a lot of them. T2 if you can afford it.

Everything else is hot water garbage with the exception of Holosun, which I would run if I could not get an aimpoint or trijicon. I’d run irons only before getting anything less.

Is EOtech junk nowadays?

 

[foszoe]

Is EOtech junk nowadays?

Does EOt3ch make a red dot? I always think of them as a holographic. I remember when the conversation centered around Aimpoint bs EOtech

 

[DadSmith]

Does EOt3ch make a red dot? I always think of them as a holographic.

Your right I was thinking it was red dot.

 

[gregkl]

Another MRO fan here. I haven't owned Aimpoints or EO Techs, so I don't have a good way to rank them but I know I like the MRO and wouldn't hesitate to have another if I needed one.

I do have a Romeo 5 on my M&P 15-22. I like it fine for that but prefer the MRO for a .223 caliber AR.

 

[VERT]

Another MRO fan here. I haven't owned Aimpoints or EO Techs, so I don't have a good way to rank them but I know I like the MRO and wouldn't hesitate to have another if I needed one.

I have Aimpoint Pros and Trijicon MRO. No problems with either. With my astigmatism the AimPoints flare out badly and instead of a dot I get a funky looking two dot figure eight. The MRO is crisper but the parallax is bad at 100 yards. I do think the aimpoint is brighter and clearer.

If I were to chose between the Pro and MRO, it would be the MRO. But I don’t have any direct experience with AimPoints smaller options.

 

[el_barto3]

My AR has a crap optic on it. It's one of those "I will upgrade it one of these days" but it's never gotten done. I have looked at a few options and have decided on a Vortex Strikefire II if I purchase one. I do have a Romeo 5 that I can move to it and purchase a magnifier for it. I have also thought about getting a pistol red dot and mounting on my AR with a riser. If anyone has any advice or experience I would appreciate input on what direction to go. I will say that my defensive use would be no more than 25 yards at my home due to terrain and obstacles.

You realistically don't need to mount much for an optic at 25yrds, I'd say buy a flashlight and do your best to zero the Romeo 5, I wouldn't be too concerned about the accuracy as that 5.56 odds are if your guns pointing center mass it will probably hit center mass. If it concerns you that much I'd say buy a .300blk upper or a 7.62x39 and put a nice lazer on it, 25yrds isn't that far and a larger caliber will hopefully stop your threat faster, especially if you're only concerning yourself with shouldering the rifle over precise aiming.

 

[Kirk Freeman]

Talk about drinking from a firehose, lol.

Have had good luck with the SIG Romeo 7 and the PA MD-25 and I am hard on stuff (dude, I broke a Ruger Bisley without shooting it).

But, if just one: Aimpoint hands down. IMHO, I am fond of the Aimpoint Comp5

 

[Expat]

After trying out some other options. I settled on an Eotech. I just like the sight picture better.

 

[Kirk Freeman]

See if this helps:

 

[mark40sw]

You can never go wrong with an Eotech

Unless you shoot outside during winter when eotech had issues

"Beginning around 32 degrees Fahrenheit, the sights' aiming dot became significantly distorted, affecting the accuracy of the sight and worsening as the temperature approached -40 degrees, court documents say. At sub-zero temperatures, the distortion of the aiming dot affected the accuracy of the sights by more than 20 inches for every 100 yards, court documents state."

EOTech Breaks Silence over Defective Sights

LAS VEGAS -- EOTech, the maker of a once popular tactical optic, is trying to rebuild customer confidence that was damaged in the wake of a crippling, civil fraud lawsuit over defective rifle sights.

www.military.com