Holo sights

[sprice]

Which holo sight should I get mounted on the front rail of an ak?

http://www.cmore.com/sts.html
http://sightmark.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=3&products_id=8
http://sightmark.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=3&products_id=12
http://www.aimshot.com/holographicSights.php
http://www.ultradotusa.com/ultradot_dist_2010_003.htm
http://www.ultradotusa.com/ultradot_dist_2010_007.htm
http://www.atncorp.com/units/dayoptics/opencollimatingreflexsights/atn-ultra-sight-digital-compact
http://www.atncorp.com/units/dayoptics/opencollimatingreflexsights/atn-ultra-sight-digital
http://www.burrisoptics.com/fastfire.html

I'll be using this gun for everything- Home defense, fun (targets and plinking), hunting, and emergencies (you name it), it will be on the top of a midwest industries handguard rail.
????

 

[DMK]

The Burris Fastfire is a good little sight. I'm not familiar with the others.

 

[sprice]

any other reccomendations?

 

[Juice Boxes]

I can only rate the ones i have experience with but...

I own a Trijicon MRDS and a Dr. Optic MRDS and the doctor optic seems to be a better made sight.

But i don't know if it is worth the extra $$$

 

[sprice]

I would like it waterproof btw (as far as rain goes anyway)

 

[Coronach]

What's the intended use? "Serious" use, or just casual shooting/gun games/plinker type stuff? And which rail? Ultimak, or something else?

Mike

 

[sprice]

Ok I updated it.

 

[Coronach]

None of the above. If you're going to use the gun as a defensive weapon, none of those sights are reliable enough for the job.

Sorry. I'm not a gear snob, but when you're using the gun as a weapon, it MUST work. If you look at another thread that is currently active, you can see that I just had a Burris Fastfire on my AK that I just rotated out due to finding it dead twice. I think that several of those would make great optics for a "fun gun" (that's where my Fastfire/Irondot is now, and I'm perfectly happy with it in that role), but none make the cut for a weapon. The battery life on most (all?) would be low, and none of them seem rugged enough.

Also, one can make the argument that if the dot fails, you still have irons, and that's good...but will the optic block the irons? If so, is it a quick-detach mount? None of them look like it.

The sad truth is that if you want a weapon grade red dot, you'll pay for it. The most economical solution is probably the Larue Irondot, which is a mount/RDS combo for around $300...but that's the one I just took off of my "serious" AK. However, the way the setup works, if the dot failed, you would still have your irons.

Mike

 

[sprice]

Why did you take it off your ''serious'' ak if it is good? What would you recomend?

 

[Coronach]

I took it off of the "Serious" AK because I wanted a dot that would work reliably when it gets pulled out, and I seriously hate the AK's irons. "Works reliably" doesn't describe the IronDot/FastFire in my experience. HOWEVER, the way it mounts allows you to shoot irons through it if it fails. This is why I said it would probably be OK as a minimum, since you can still use the irons. All of those other sights look like they would block the irons on an AK and there's no QD system that allows you to jettison them quickly if they fail.

Also, the first generation FastFire was not waterproof. Supposedly the FastFireII fixes that, and it MAY also fix the battery life issue. Unfortunately, the Irondot combo is not yet out with the FastFireII.

On an AK, the 95/50 solution (95% of the performance, half the cost) is the Irondot. The sight is armored, the new ones should be waterproof, the sight may fail or washout in bright light, but you can shoot irons through it. The best solution is an Aimpoint on the Ultimak rail. That is ultimately what I did (Aimpoint Micro, battery life measured in years with the sight turned on). Bring your wallet.

Mike

PS I have a saga of mounting optics on this gun. I started off with an Ultimak and an Aimpoint CompM2. Worked great, but the optic is heavy. I also wanted to put the Aimpoint on my AR. So, I switched to a Kvant PK-23, and I learned something about russian optics...they're not as good as western ones (tighter FOV, durability issues). When that one failed to turn on one day due to some gremlin in the circuitry (it still works mostly, so I'm holding on to it to put on another plinker), I went to an Irondot. I was happy with that until the battery life became an issue. So...Aimpoint Micro it is. I actually didn't waste any money, as all of my cast-offs have found homes on other guns, but it has been frustrating all the same.

 

[Avenger29]

For the front pointed AK reddot, go Aimpoint or go home. It's that simple. Aimpoint Micro if you can afford it, older/larger type Aimpoint if you can't (or if you don't mind trading the weight for the lower cost).

You're buying a reddot sight that while seemingly expensive (it's not compared to other types/brands of serious grade optics), will last you for a long time and can be used on more than just the AK.

Trust me, saving the money up for quality optics is the way to go.

 

[sprice]

Would c more be good then?

 

[Avenger29]

Would c more be good then?

Not acceptable on a HD gun.

I know and understand the temptation to save as much money as possible. Really, I do. But in this case, it's not worth it.

The battery life of the Aimpoints (10,000 hours to 50,000 hours in the more common models), reliability, and durability puts them much farther ahead of the competition. Yes, you are paying a little more at the outset, but you are getting a better product.

 

[Coronach]

The other problem with the reflex style sights (the ones you linked to, basically a glass window and not a tube) is that they tend to wash out under various light conditions. This means that sometimes you just plain can't see the dot. Not a big deal on a plinker, horrible for a defensive gun. Not all of them do it to the same degree, but AFAIK, they all do it somewhat.

A used Aimpoint CompML2 should not be that much more expensive than some of the sights you're considering, and will be a much better optic. Or, find some way to make a cheaper optic quick-detach, so you can use it as a red dot if it works, and toss it off if it fails. But putting a cheap ATN optic on a defenisve gun is the worst of all worlds. It will eventually fail, and if it fails when you need it, it will be blocking the irons because it doesn't sit low enough. If you're gonna go cheap, have a way to jettison it.

Mike