Help me decide on a decent red dot for under $500

I would definitely throw my hat in with the Sig Romeo 5s as the most budget but great value option. I run this on multiple carbines and is reliable. Shake awake is amazing feature. Agree with others regarding Holosuns. I also have 503R and 515GM/515CMs on other guns. I have found the Holosuns very decent and much better than the mushy-button Vortexes, for which I have gotten rid of all of them. The 515 series will be pushing your budget at 450.00 + tax, but both are great (CM has the solar backup, GM has see through glass flip covers which I never need to flip). I am running the 515CM on my semi-auto 12ga. All the Holosuns I listed are also shake awake so you never really need to turn them on or off (10 minute interval before auto shut off I believe - the Romeo 5 is only 2 minute interval).
 
I put a Romeo 5 on my new 22LR and have been really happy with it. I have the version with the 2 MOA dot and I can't say a bad thing about it. The shake awake feature works as advertised, dot is fine enough for 12'' plates @100m while not being too small. Adjustments have a nice tactile click to them and the caps double as an adjustment tool. It comes with two mounting options (low and what I assume to be an AR height riser). Picked it up for mid $300's IIRC.

Also seen a you tube torture test where the sight was dropped, submerged, frozen and shot with a 12 gauge while still maintaining function, so durability seems to be decent as well
 
Are the minox sights made in Germany?

I found holosun aimpoint micro style sights great for the price. Lots of cool features which may or may not be useful and now a variety of cool reticules available.

Another option I’ve used is shield micro sights, low on features but apparently indestructible. I don’t like dealing with any of their Canadian distributors very much though. They are available on euro optic who are great to deal with in my experience.
 
conor_90 said:
Are the minox sights made in Germany?

I found holosun aimpoint micro style sights great for the price. Lots of cool features which may or may not be useful and now a variety of cool reticules available.

Another option I’ve used is shield micro sights, low on features but apparently indestructible. I don’t like dealing with any of their Canadian distributors very much though. They are available on euro optic who are great to deal with in my experience.
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No, not made in Germany at that price point. They still carry a 10 yr warranty. No issues with mine in 3 years of use.
 
alpining said:
Personally, I think this is a critical feature for serious hunting in transition forest. I can't be fooling with the brightness settings every time I walk through a clearing. Any other options with this feature?
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Then it’s simply a matter of turning the feature off. Or you can leave it because you will still see the dot, just slightly dimmer.
 
barrett50cal said:
Then it’s simply a matter of turning the feature off. Or you can leave it because you will still see the dot, just slightly dimmer.
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I wasn't clear - I think autoadjust is an excellent feature, if it works well. Are there other models / manufacturers doing a good job with this feature?
 
alpining said:
I wasn't clear - I think autoadjust is an excellent feature, if it works well. Are there other models / manufacturers doing a good job with this feature?
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Of what I own: besides the Holosuns, the Burris Fastfire on my Papoose and the Trijicon RMR on my pistol also have the autoadjust/ autobrightness feature. In general, it seems to work well across all those lines.

The exception that I pointed out earlier is not easily overcome by any manufacturer. The photocell that reads the ambient light and adjusts the dot brightness cannot know that you’re looking into a bright field from shadow, since it is only reading the light falling on the optic. If the lighting difference is extreme, I find it’s better to disable the feature (easy to do) and manually increase brightness.

If it’s too bright you may lose an MOA from “bloom” — where the dot appears larger due to flare artefacts — but it’s not the end of the world. In general, a bigger dot (or an overly bright dot that seems bigger) gives up a small amount of accuracy for slightly faster acquisition.
 
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doctor_meltdown said:
No, not made in Germany at that price point. They still carry a 10 yr warranty. No issues with mine in 3 years of use.
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I think they're designed in Germany and assembled in the US, but I could be wrong. It certainly feels and looks to be a quality unit. Simple design. I will probably order another if it stands up to 8x57 full house loads and 12 ga.

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safehunter said:
I'm a fan of the burris Fastfire. Have a few, including one on a nasty kicking slug gun, and they have not failed.
Add a American Defence quick release mount and you can quickly and easily swap it between guns.
Then you'll get into scope ring adapters and start adding it as a backup on other guns. The fastfire is small enough for that.
Red dots. What a rabbit hole.
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Bingo. I can only add try to avoid the very first series. Only because to change the battery one had to dismount the optic, then change battery, remount/rezero.
Get series 2 or 3 to avoid this dance.
 
Just an update... The Minox is absolutely rock solid. Not too fancy, but the brightness knob is firm and positive and the lens quality is crystal clear. I will be buying another for my Canuck 12 gauge and keeping this one for my CZ 8x57.
 
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