AR-15 A 3 shorty Bushmaster
- Thread starter Thad
- Start date
What ranges are you planning on using it? Are you going to compete with it? Type of competition? For stuff under 200M, I generally prefer the EoTech. The Aimpoint CompM family is also good but the problem is, neither sight offers any internal magnification, so they're not so great at longer ranges. You can buy extra, external magnifiers, but you're adding additional weight and bulk to your rifle. If you plan on shooting at longer ranges, an ACOG or Elcan might better suit your needs. However, the former isn't the best for CQB distances and the latter is relatively heavy and early versions had problems with their mounting system.
For general fun, plinking and paper-punching out to 100M and sometimes out to 200M I prefer the EoTech, although the Aimpoint is a close second!
For those in the know and have the scratch, the S&B ShortDot seems to be the cat's ass, but for most of us, just a little hard to justify unless we're deploying to Afghanistan and our arse may be on the line!
If you're just looking for something to use for occasional plinking and/or the look cool factor, there are several Chinese knock-offs around for a fraction of the price and actually stand up to a suprising amount of abuse. Nowhere near the quality of brand names, but not bad considering the price. Bushnell is also offering an ACOG lookalike in their Trophy line that seems to be okay, especially since it costs about $1000+ less than an actual ACOG.
For general fun, plinking and paper-punching out to 100M and sometimes out to 200M I prefer the EoTech, although the Aimpoint is a close second!
For those in the know and have the scratch, the S&B ShortDot seems to be the cat's ass, but for most of us, just a little hard to justify unless we're deploying to Afghanistan and our arse may be on the line!
If you're just looking for something to use for occasional plinking and/or the look cool factor, there are several Chinese knock-offs around for a fraction of the price and actually stand up to a suprising amount of abuse. Nowhere near the quality of brand names, but not bad considering the price. Bushnell is also offering an ACOG lookalike in their Trophy line that seems to be okay, especially since it costs about $1000+ less than an actual ACOG.
The Bushnell Holosights are identical in function to EOTech sights. EOTech has cool 'armour' and better buttons. The 'Bushnell Acog' is just a 1x red (or green) dot, it has no magnification.
I can easily hit the 200 yd gong (12" x 12" plate) at our range with my short AR using the Bushnell Holosight, I'd expect similar results with any 1x red dot.
For smaller targets or longer ranges some magnification will help a lot. I recently used an Elcan 1-4x Spectre DR and was very impressed, also the Leupold VX III 1.5-5x series are a good compromise but both are much more money than a basic 1x red dot.
I can easily hit the 200 yd gong (12" x 12" plate) at our range with my short AR using the Bushnell Holosight, I'd expect similar results with any 1x red dot.
For smaller targets or longer ranges some magnification will help a lot. I recently used an Elcan 1-4x Spectre DR and was very impressed, also the Leupold VX III 1.5-5x series are a good compromise but both are much more money than a basic 1x red dot.
if you bought a "shorty" bushmaster then i would assume you didnt want to get it for long distance shooting. A full sized scope is probably unnecessary. On a shorty a aimpoint or an eotech would be most appropriate...definitely good out to about 200 as x-man said. If you want a cheaper red-dot bushnell also makes some eotech types that are a bit cheaper.
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The prices on the Eotechs are coming down lately...what with the loonie being worth something now. I'd suggest checking out the price on one before buying cheap glass. I know that TSE has Eotechs starting at $399, and Aimpoints at $429. Pretty reasonable for a "real deal" sight.
Plus you'd be supporting a sponsoring dealer
Plus you'd be supporting a sponsoring dealer
Thad:
Welcome to the AR club (I forgot to mention that earlier). I'm sure that you're going to have a pile of fun with yours, just like the rest of us.
Regarding ten round mags: You can indeed have them, but they have to be pistol mags in order to be legal at ten rounds. I know, it doesn't make much sense. You need to make sure that your ten round mags are indeed marked as pistol mags for the RRA 5.56mm AR pistols. IIRC, Marstar, Questar, and TSE all sell these (and probably a couple of other sponsors too). Enjoy.
Bushnell holosight with 4 reticles: I own one. It lives on my 10/22. I like it. I wouldn't choose that particular sight for an AR. It may work just fine for you, but for my tastes that scope sits too low to the top of the reciever. Remember that the AR's ergonomics are designed to have your eye level with the location of the old carry handle type iron sights...and that any scope putting your eye line lower than that will also have you attempting to look through the base of the front sight (assuming you do not have a folding front sight).
While proper use of a red dot sight entails having both eyes open and the front sight base will not really obscure your vision all that much, I personally find it rather annoying. Most people with red dot sights on AR's aim to have a co-witness with their iron sights and their red dot sight. This means that when they look through their sights, they also see that red dot pointing to the same place.
Welcome to the AR club (I forgot to mention that earlier). I'm sure that you're going to have a pile of fun with yours, just like the rest of us.
Regarding ten round mags: You can indeed have them, but they have to be pistol mags in order to be legal at ten rounds. I know, it doesn't make much sense. You need to make sure that your ten round mags are indeed marked as pistol mags for the RRA 5.56mm AR pistols. IIRC, Marstar, Questar, and TSE all sell these (and probably a couple of other sponsors too). Enjoy.
Bushnell holosight with 4 reticles: I own one. It lives on my 10/22. I like it. I wouldn't choose that particular sight for an AR. It may work just fine for you, but for my tastes that scope sits too low to the top of the reciever. Remember that the AR's ergonomics are designed to have your eye level with the location of the old carry handle type iron sights...and that any scope putting your eye line lower than that will also have you attempting to look through the base of the front sight (assuming you do not have a folding front sight).
While proper use of a red dot sight entails having both eyes open and the front sight base will not really obscure your vision all that much, I personally find it rather annoying. Most people with red dot sights on AR's aim to have a co-witness with their iron sights and their red dot sight. This means that when they look through their sights, they also see that red dot pointing to the same place.
+1 Eotech...
I have the 512 with the GG&G throw lever and I love it. The new Eos comes with integrated throw levers. The Eo is fast, big circle for "instinctive" shooting and a small dot for more precision.
No magnification though. For me it means the precision stops at 50m. You can get the new Eo magnification device, but that means more looneys.
Some like the Aimpoints, but they only have a "dot" as reticle.
My motto is don't go for cheap (go for Eos or Aimpoints)... you'll be better off in the long run.
For the mags, go for the 10 rounders RRA LAR15 pistol mags (Questar, Marstar).
I have the 512 with the GG&G throw lever and I love it. The new Eos comes with integrated throw levers. The Eo is fast, big circle for "instinctive" shooting and a small dot for more precision.
No magnification though. For me it means the precision stops at 50m. You can get the new Eo magnification device, but that means more looneys.
Some like the Aimpoints, but they only have a "dot" as reticle.
My motto is don't go for cheap (go for Eos or Aimpoints)... you'll be better off in the long run.
For the mags, go for the 10 rounders RRA LAR15 pistol mags (Questar, Marstar).
