Red dot recommendations

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Burnsblue

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I got my RPAL just under a year ago and now have a couple of guns.

I was looking to get an optic for my M&P 15 and GSG-16. My budget is around $400 total and I was wondering what people on here would recommend.

I'm just a beginner and have been using iron sights the whole time, getting the urge for an upgrade now that it's tax refund time!

Any help is appreciated.
 
Burnsblue said:
I got my RPAL just under a year ago and now have a couple of guns.

I was looking to get an optic for my M&P 15 and GSG-16. My budget is around $400 total and I was wondering what people on here would recommend.

I'm just a beginner and have been using iron sights the whole time, getting the urge for an upgrade now that it's tax refund time!
and extremely rugged construction.
Any help is appreciated.
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Holosun is a high-end Chinese company that makes an entire product line of red-dot sights for pistols and carbines. Their sighsts won't break the bank, yet the optics themselves are well-built, reliable and (depending on the model) even duty-grade ready for serious social encounters. For a carbine I would highly recommend their latest, fully-enclosed optic with the solar-assist power management system, the HS 512C (https://holosun.ca/products/open-reflex/hs512c-enclosed.html). This sight is current state-of-the-art, with a variety of advanced features including a selection of 3 different reticles (2 MOA dot, 65 MOA Circle, or 65 MOA Circle with 2 MOA Dot), the aforementioned solar operation with battery back-up for low-light conditions which gives years-long battery life, and is fully-enclosed against the ingress of dirt and dust. The only down-side to the HS 512C is the price, at $508 CAD. If you must limit your budget to $400, then I would recommend the HS 515 Tube sight which also features advanced options such as multi-reticle, solar-assist and full-enclosure, just with a smaller, circular viewing window instead of the512's huge viewing area. The HS 515 still receives rave reviews and is more or less a mid-grade "current-tech" design on par with any other name-brand tube-style offering. The HS 515 lists for $391, which is right in your budget. This sight is Holosun's best tube-style sight, offering flip-up protective scope caps as well as the other features mentioned (https://holosun.ca/products/micro-sights/hs515cu-circle-dot.html). Your other option is to go with an open Micro-Sight, which ihas the benefit of a very small picatinny rail footprint but with all of the other features (multi-reticle, solar power with battery back-up, "shake-awake" power conservation feature, etc), and is suitable for Carbines or Handguns. In this case, I would highly recommend the Holosun 507C, which receives rave reviews South of the border and is fully duty-ready - a sight that you can stake your life on if necessary. The 507C retails for $424 and directly compares to the Trijicon RMR costing almost exactly twice the price. You can find excellent reviews and torture tests at the following Youtube channels - start here:

HS 512: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqjPDqGkJ7U

HS 515: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wI7g5CfvNo&t=167s

HS 507C: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JuOyq90oa-Q
 
Dante has a sale on right now with 2 Burris red dot sights for a little under $500, check out their thread. 1 for each gun
 
Whatever you get , make sure it has a battery save option.
As in , it shuts off on its own, when not in use.

Nothing worst than a dead battery, when you don’t have one on hand.. lol
 
I have a couple SIG romeo 4 optics I use. Very reliable, and the motion activated system is very convenient.

The romeo 5 is smaller and well reviewed as well.

Also as others have said, the holosun optics are decent, and well priced.
 
Burnsblue said:
I got my RPAL just under a year ago and now have a couple of guns.

I was looking to get an optic for my M&P 15 and GSG-16. My budget is around $400 total and I was wondering what people on here would recommend.

I'm just a beginner and have been using iron sights the whole time, getting the urge for an upgrade now that it's tax refund time!

Any help is appreciated.
Click to expand...

A single optic to swap back and forth, or a single optic for each? A couple of TRS-25’s if you want to equip both for $400, and then upgrade later on.
 
For the money the Vortex Strikefire does a pretty good job. After trying a few low cost optics the dot on the strikefire works best with my eyes. I’d advise trying a few and seeing how clear the dot shows up, if it’s blurry or flared out maybe consider a prism etc. I’ve had a few dots that didn’t agree with my eyes at all. Strangely one of the cheapest ones I own gives me a nice clear dot. If you can find a sub $400 Aimpoint on go for it.
 
Uisge said:
If you can find a sub $400 Aimpoint on go for it.
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I would suspect you would probably be waiting a while for an aimpoint below $400.
Maybe CSC will throw another model on crazy cheap, like they did with the comp m4 in December.

Vortex Vipers and Venom are also decent for under $400. Have a few buddies who run them on their shotguns/muzzle/BP for deer season.
 
verminaard said:
I would suspect you would probably be waiting a while for an aimpoint below $400.
Maybe CSC will throw another model on crazy cheap, like they did with the comp m4 in December.

Vortex Vipers and Venom are also decent for under $400. Have a few buddies who run them on their shotguns/muzzle/BP for deer season.
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Since this was brought up, I’ll ask it here.
I bought the compM4 on sale at CSC. It does not have a “Made In Sweden” marking under the CompM4 and serial number marking. Is that normal?
 
verminaard said:
A single optic to swap back and forth, or a single optic for each? A couple of TRS-25’s if you want to equip both for $400, and then upgrade later on.
Click to expand...

I was going with single optic for each.

Thanks for the suggestion, I was looking in to Bushnell for the price point.

I was concerned that they weren't very good. In your experience are they reliable/ get the job done?
 
Burnsblue said:
I was going with single optic for each.

Thanks for the suggestion, I was looking in to Bushnell for the price point.

I was concerned that they weren't very good. In your experience are they reliable/ get the job done?
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The TRS-25 will get the job done. 22LR doesn't exactly have a lot of recoil so unless you are running and gunning or just really rough on your gear the TRS-25 should hold up just fine. Having said that I too would vote for the Aimpoint PRO, it is a much better optic.
 
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