Red dot sights for AR’s

Best BUDGET red dot sight for RANGE USE ONLY

  • Primary Arms Micro Dot Sight with 2 MOA MD-RBGII 1K battery $89

    Votes: 1 1.8%
  • Primary Arms Advanced Micro Dot 2 MOA MD-RB-AD 50K battery $150

    Votes: 8 14.5%
  • Primary Arms Advanced 30mm 2 MOA Red Dot PA30MMRD-AD 14K battery $130

    Votes: 2 3.6%
  • Bushnell Trophy 1X25 Trs-25 3 MOA 3K battery $45

    Votes: 12 21.8%
  • Vortex SPARC AR 2 MOA 4K battery $199

    Votes: 5 9.1%
  • Vortex SPARC II 2 MOA 4K battery $169

    Votes: 4 7.3%
  • Sig Sauer SOR52101 Romeo5X 2 MOA 50K battery $160

    Votes: 15 27.3%
  • Holosun HS403B 2 MOA 50K battery $170

    Votes: 3 5.5%
  • Holosun HS503GU 2 MOA Dot 65 MOA Circle 50K battery $180

    Votes: 4 7.3%
  • Vortex Crossfire 2 MOA 7K battery $130

    Votes: 1 1.8%

  • Total voters
    55
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WC15

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Aug 20, 2017
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Looking for the best budget red dot sight to put on my budget AR just for light range use no HD use. 100% of my shooting will be outside with no shade cover over my head so shooting will be in sunlight or cloud cover if that makes a difference in your vote as I want something with decent clarity and a dot that will get bright enough to see without getting washed or fuzzy. Looking to stay below $200. Don’t wanna spend a lot as this is a budget AR anyway and I only put like 1,000 rounds per year through it so not interested in the higher dollar stuff as I wouldn’t use it enough to warrant it.
 
I had a PA 30mm reddot. It was 3 moa though and on top of my AR.......was too big.
Moved it to a Contender handgun, .35 rem..........and thought it about perfect.
Would go with 2 moa though (the new one)

Had a Bushnell TRS 25 on a couple of pistols. Hated the small tube, seeing all the stuff around it.

On a handgun, I prefer bigger.

However, placing the TRS (or similar) on a rifle, closer to the eye, I like.
And there the Sig Romeo 5 is pretty darn cool.

My buddy has a couple of them.

I like my AR pretty streamlined. Maybe I could clock a micro.
But no way I'd run a bigger optic.
Just don't like em, want my gun pretty much like my women.........neked ;)
 
The Sig turns off automatically when not moved for a while.
And when you move it, comes back on.......IIRC at your last setting.

I hate clicking a red dot all the way to off, and if wanting it on, having to click it dang near all the way up (the NV settings are just 2 clicks more I have to go past). Guess with the long battery life some now have, just leave it on all the time.
 
The only one I have on that poll list is a pair of Bushnell TRS-25s.

Just by my own past experience with any red dot, I prefer red dots that aren't AR specific in mounting height, but come with an AR height riser. That's because if you get bored with a red dot on your only AR, you can mount it to another gun.

Other than that, I like AA or AAA batteries over coin batteries because I always have dozens of those batteries on hand. However, I don't happen to own any AA or AAA red dots anymore. All of them are the coin battery type. I'm perplexing myself as I type this. :)
 
I have 2 holosuns and 2 MRO's.

I really like holosun as a budget optic and have put one of mine through the ringer. Still running strong.

I have handled the primary and red Dot and think it is a winner.
 
After a few years of playing with optics and ARs I've found that while the TRS25 is a great sight for the money and the Sparc AR is better and worth the extra cost, and will work fine on an AR, they're best suited to 22s that aren't shot much past 25 yards.
For short to mid-range combat type shooting I much prefer a 3x prism or a 1-4X scope and many of these are budget oriented
 
Yes, the Romeo 5 at $119.99 is a great deal. It comes with the appropriate height riser for an exact cowitness with iron sights on an AR and has a crisp 2 MOA dot.
 
I had a Sparc AR for a few months. It was a solid sight. Quality level a notch or two above the TRS-25 that I have mounted on a 22 pistol.

I ended up selling it for a prism sight though because I could not see the dot clearly. My eyes are at fault, not the optic.
 
I have several of the PSA Micro Dot sights along with several of the Bushnell TR25 sights. Both are great red dots for the price (especially when on sale). From personal reviews that I have read on different forums, you can’t go wrong with all the choices listed. It’s up to you and what features you want and price.
 
I am a luddite. Despite their relative age, I prefer the Aimpoint CompM / PRO series for my 'social-uses' AR's. For my training rifles, I use the PA Advanced 30mm red dot because it provides exactly the same form factor and manual of operation as the Aimpoint, to a much lower price point.
 
The way things look to me So far with what’s in the poll options the three PA dots come either with no mounts or absolute only. I prefer lower 1/3 so I’d need to buy mounts for them which two of them PA recommended a $30 mount so that would push those two from $89 and $150 up to $120 and $180 total cost. The other one they recommended a $25 cantilever mount so that would push it from $130 to $155 total. Basically it would put the PA sights up to vortex / sig / Holosun prices. The bushnell comes best I can tell with no mounts at all. It’s $45 as is so ya know $10-$30 for a mount would push it up to say $60ish. To my understanding the vortex sights, sig, and Holosun all come including a lower 1/3 cowitness mount.

For warranty info the cheaper PA is 1 year, other two is lifetime. Bushnell is 1 year. Vortex are all VIP lifetime. The sig says it’s 5 year electronic components but lifetime for electro-optics’s so kinda vague. Holosun’s are 3 year illumination system, 5 year on the optical glass, and lifetime for the rest of it.
 
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I'd go with the Sig Romeo 5. I would spend a little more for combat purposes, but I have a feeling the Sig could hold it's own quite well.
 
I'll make an observation-I recently picked up a Romeo5, and it was great; small, light, really bright and the shake-awake feature really works.

All of which only made me more disappointed when I realized my astigmatism made a red dot unworkable for me; I saw a shotgun pattern instead of a dot. (My wife, confirming it was my eyes and not the Romeo, saw a perfectly round dot.) It must have subtended 10+ MOA.

So before committing to a red dot, I'd just suggest you be sure to look through a few. I'm now using prism sights or LPVO's, and wish I'd known this before buying the Romeo.

Larry
 
This one is at the tip top of my budget but looks fairly feature rich. Can also swap colors of the reticle. Don’t know much more about it. Kinda makes the vortex sparc AR model not look as appealing for the same price.

https://www.amazon.com/Vortex-Optics-Spitfire-Prism-Scopes/dp/B07KQDCD17

This is a Prism sight, not a traditional red dot sight. Each have their pros and cons.

I personally like the prism type sights because I can see them more clearly, and most (maybe all) of them can still function under most conditions with no battery power. But they tend to be heavier and bulkier than red dots and have a narrow eye relief window.
 
I'll make an observation-I recently picked up a Romeo5, and it was great; small, light, really bright and the shake-awake feature really works.

All of which only made me more disappointed when I realized my astigmatism made a red dot unworkable for me; I saw a shotgun pattern instead of a dot. (My wife, confirming it was my eyes and not the Romeo, saw a perfectly round dot.) It must have subtended 10+ MOA.

So before committing to a red dot, I'd just suggest you be sure to look through a few. I'm now using prism sights or LPVO's, and wish I'd known this before buying the Romeo.

Larry
I have the same problem (but not quite as bad). If you're using an AR, look at the dot through the rear sight (I usually find the small aperture works best). It really cuts down on the starburst effect. You can still leave the front sight down and use both eyes and the rear sight will mostly fade away, meaning you don't loose as much of the utility of having a red dot.



I have a TRS-25 which has been doing well on a range gun, but for a pure defensive gun I do have reservations about battery life (having to replace batteries often or worry about turning it on) and durability. I have an Aimpoint Pro on my defensive rifle, but that's not one of the options.

I hadn't really looked into the Sig offerings recently, but the Romeo 5 looks to have done well in reviews and seems like a good sight for the money. If I were looking for a new budget sight, that's the route I would take.
 
I'll make an observation-I recently picked up a Romeo5, and it was great; small, light, really bright and the shake-awake feature really works.

All of which only made me more disappointed when I realized my astigmatism made a red dot unworkable for me; I saw a shotgun pattern instead of a dot. (My wife, confirming it was my eyes and not the Romeo, saw a perfectly round dot.) It must have subtended 10+ MOA.

So before committing to a red dot, I'd just suggest you be sure to look through a few. I'm now using prism sights or LPVO's, and wish I'd known this before buying the Romeo.

Larry
As far as I know I don’t have astigmatism, I’m blind as a bat and wear eye glasses for distance seeing, but I’ve been going to an eye doctor once a year for 20 years and have never had astigmatism mentioned.
 
What’s the opinion on warranties for these things? Important or not important?
 
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