Red dot, ammo or...?

Damn_Yankee

"Now go away, or I shall taunt you a second time"
2A Bourbon Hound 2024
Supporting Member
Joined
Dec 16, 2016
Messages
2,279
Location
Lincolnton, NC
Rating - 100%
80   0   0
I have a limited budget for gun related stuff. I just don’t make enough money. I have one AR and that’s not likely to change. Just a simple PSA midlength with Magpul furniture. I have around $300 to spend on either an optic or ammo. I usually buy ammo on a weekly basis anyway so there’s that. As for optics, I’ve had my eye on the Holosun HS510C, Vortex Sparc AR, Vortex Spitfire AR, and of course, the Aimpoint PRO. Help me spend my $300.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Yep, ammo ammo ammo
I like having an optic on one of my rifles, but both shoot just the same in the end. Id rather have no optic and lots of ammo than an optic and no ammo.
 
Another option in a low cost red dots (but good for the price) are the Primary Arms. I have a couple of the Aimpoint micro versions. They have been very solid.

Buy ammo...no boolits = Bam Bam's club! Ammo prices are pretty decent right now to boot!
 
If you have a decent ammo stash and you're currently buying at a rate that outpaces or equals consumption then get yourself an optic.

I have no experience with Holosun, and some but it's been a while with the larger Vortex red dots. The Vortex has a great warranty, but I prefer my sight on my rifle to in the mail. Mine and others experience was that you'll use it often, this was isolated to the red dots, and may have changed. I let a low price lure me back with a Viper RDS, it's having some quirks.

Primary Arms red dots are a pretty well known entity you might also consider, I'm leaning toward one of them for my M92.

I assume you have used a dot and found it to your liking? They're great up close and decent at distance on largish targets, but if you want to shoot small stuff or groups save up and get a variable. Low power variables are nearly as fast and allow far more precision.
 
I assume you have used a dot and found it to your liking? They're great up close and decent at distance on largish targets, but if you want to shoot small stuff or groups save up and get a variable. Low power variables are nearly as fast and allow far more precision.
I don’t have a whole lot of rifle ammo stashed yet. So I’m leaning towards that.
As for the rds, I have not used them a lot but like what I saw. I am not interested in tight groups at distance. The purpose of this rifle is HD.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I don’t have a whole lot of rifle ammo stashed yet. So I’m leaning towards that.
As for the rds, I have not used them a lot but like what I saw. I am not interested in tight groups at distance. The purpose of this rifle is HD.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Pretty decent PSA deals here too...mentioned above by NCFubar.

IMG_0046.jpg
 
Last edited:
Answer has to be ammo right now with Natchez doing low prices and free shipping on the different brands that are still allowing rebates. I see PSA is as well. Hard to turn down decent brass .223 for under $0.25 a round.
 
PSA daily deal...I have an original Sparc too and has been very good. Use the remaining 100 on ammo.

View attachment 26108
Agreed. I have the original SPARC on about a dozen builds.

A red dot and 10 mags, plus whatever ammo you can snag.

Or...if you have plenty of mags, you can buy the SPARC AR for <$170 and have some more cash for ammo.
 
A Primary Arms Microdot or Bushnell TRS-25 (both solid red dots for under $100) and spend the rest on ammo to train with.

Don’t mean to hijack but can someone explain to me the advantages of any of these larger higher dollar unmagnified red dots like the Vortex Strikefire for example? I just don't get it.
 
A Primary Arms Microdot or Bushnell TRS-25 (both solid red dots for under $100) and spend the rest on ammo to train with.

Don’t mean to hijack but can someone explain to me the advantages of any of these larger higher dollar unmagnified red dots like the Vortex Strikefire for example? I just don't get it.

No that’s not a hijack. I’m curious of that myself. Good question.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Don’t mean to hijack but can someone explain to me the advantages of any of these larger higher dollar unmagnified red dots like the Vortex Strikefire for example? I just don't get it.
No that’s not a hijack. I’m curious of that myself. Good question.

Well, I have 1 Aimpoint T2 and PA Micros. The T2 stays on my HD carbine and is on all the time because of the extended battery life Aimpoint has ... PA and Holosun just recently upgraded their electronics the give the extra long battery life so they closed that gap on newer. My very 1st PA Micro is going a 6 years old I think and aside from the finish being worn it works as good as the day I got it. It’s been on a MP15-22 for my kid, a couple AR classes with me and my kid, just general range fun and so on. The only thing wrong with 3 of the 4 PAs is the battery life is short @ 1,000 hours compared to the T2’s 50,000 hours which is one reason the T2 sits on my HD carbine ... it’s on all the time since 50,000 hours is over 5 1/2 years. The other reason is the pure torture tests Aimpoints have been put thru from dropping from some heights of 100 feet to being sunk in water for hours at a time and still working. I think of the Aimpoints as up there near ACOG reliability. If I had the money to burn I might put Aimpoints on everything but in a budget the stuff from PA and Holosun do the same job but for a carbine I might need to rely on for HD ... the Aimpoint money makes me feel warm and fuzzy about having it if ever called on.
 
I know you said the primary purpose was home defense and if that is the case then a dot sight would probably be what you want but..................

If - IF - you were to consider a scope of some sort you might like what I have on 1 of my rifles. It's a Bushnell Banner (yeah, I know, cheap) but this one has held up very well on the AR because of the light recoil.

The model number is 611432 and it is called the Circle-X, 1-4x 32mm. The reticle is heavy cross hairs with a circle in the center and then finer cross hairs within the circle. I tried to copy a photo here but it didn't work for me. My Google-foo is NFG.

Anyhow, I have shot a lot of red dot sights over the years and throwing that scope up in front of my eye at 1x power and putting that circle in the center of an IPSC target is as fast as any red dot. Then, if you want more precise aiming just crank it up to 4x and use the finer center cross hairs.

Just a thought. Look it up. I think I paid about $90 for it on Optics Planet or somewhere.
 
Remember that our fellow member HLPRESSLEY is a Holosun dealer and gives us great prices if we get a group buy going. The newest unit from Holosun is their HS515GM which has some tough features to beat. The unit price is likely to be more than their other models but will include:
- comes with a QD picatinny mount
- circle-dot or dot only aiming
- up to 50,000 hour battery life
- stronger CNC 7071 aluminum housing
- 100 foot water resistance
- shoot thru clear flip up lense covers

Just waiting for Harold to say they are available and how much ... this one I’d bet I could trust on my HD carbine.
 
A Primary Arms Microdot or Bushnell TRS-25 (both solid red dots for under $100) and spend the rest on ammo to train with.

Don’t mean to hijack but can someone explain to me the advantages of any of these larger higher dollar unmagnified red dots like the Vortex Strikefire for example? I just don't get it.
I'll add the little bit of info that caused me to go with something other than the TRS-25 or PA. Now, I went with SPARCs and not some of the more expensive RDS options. Bought all of them in the $149-$199 range.

1. I like the smaller 2 MOA dot.
2. It's hard to beat the Vortex warranty. I've used it a couple times for various reasons:

Our VIP warranty is about you, not us. It's about taking care of you after the sale.

VIP stands for a Very Important Promise to you, our customer. We will repair or replace your Vortex product in the event it becomes damaged or defective—at no charge to you. If we cannot repair your product, we will replace it with a product in perfect working order of equal or better physical condition.

You see, it doesn't matter how it happened, whose fault it was, or where you purchased it. You can count on the VIP Warranty for all Vortex Optics riflescopes, prism scopes, red dots, rangefinders, binoculars, spotting scopes, tripods, and monoculars.
  • Unlimited Lifetime Warranty
  • Fully transferable
  • No warranty card to fill out
  • No receipt needed to hang on to
If you ever have a problem, no matter the cause, we promise to take care of you.

icon_note.gif

The VIP Warranty does not cover loss, theft, deliberate damage or cosmetic damage that does not hinder the performance of the product.
 
Back
Top Bottom