Vortex Sparc

Had my sparc for about 2 months now on my norinco m4. I am quite satisfied with my purchase. 150 rounds downrange after putting it on and it still is on target. I have no hesitations of buying another one or any Vortex product.
 
Last edited:
KDX said:
There is no recoil to worry about on a 22.
Click to expand...

True there is not much recoil on a .22, however that did not stop my 10/22 from rendering my previous red dot, and NCSTAR D4B completely useless. Some sights cant take any recoil at all, even a .22
 
rugerfan said:
True there is not much recoil on a .22, however that did not stop my 10/22 from rendering my previous red dot, and NCSTAR D4B completely useless. Some sights cant take any recoil at all, even a .22
Click to expand...

lol.. was just about to say the same but with the ncstar laser instead of dot, it didn't last a full mag before getting messed up. ncstar=garbage.

I'll be getting the sparc for my 858, if it holds up, i'll get a few more for my other weaver rails :)


I wonder what the difference is between an aimpoint... lets say, h1, compared to the spark.. aside from the battery life and size, why is the h1 so much more expensive?
 
Well got it out and tested. I suck at sighting it in! Had to get the range officer to help (my issue...not the sparc). I only shoot my sr-22 to 50m usually...and it functioned flawlessly. It held zero fine and the dot never waivered. I think I might try pushing it out to 100m and using the 2x magnifier. I definitely recommend it over the cheapy's...
 
rugerfan said:
True there is not much recoil on a .22, however that did not stop my 10/22 from rendering my previous red dot, and NCSTAR D4B completely useless. Some sights cant take any recoil at all, even a .22
Click to expand...

NCSTAR. The optical device you give your enemy before you go into a gunfight against him.
 
I picked up my Vortex Sparc at the local gun store today so here's my first impressions.

Pros:
- Nicely packaged, including installed battery + a spare, 2 x magnifier, both Allen wrenches needed, lens cloth, 2 sets of each length screws, and Weaver/Pic base and two spacers.

- The optic appears to be well made. The battery and windage/elevation caps are tethered. It's threaded on the objective end for a kill-flash.

- The intensity settings are easy to adjust when you have the rifle shouldered due to them being on the side.

Cons:
- It says it has 10 intensity settings but mine only has 5 or 6 from full intensity to the minimum setting I can adjust it to. It says it has a 2 MOA dot but I can't turn the brightness down low enough to take advantage of the small dot.

- It will not co-witness on a NEA Gen 3 VZ/CZ handguard rail. The Gen 4 is a bit lower but I can't see it being enough to get a decent co-witness.

- The field-of-view through the optic is not great. It's tighter than you'd expect and less than my Bushnell TRS-25 which has the same diameter tube. Also it's wider than the Bushnell due to the intensity setting buttons mounted on the side.

- The 2x magnifier is virtually useless on a forward mounting position and marginally useful when positioned close to your face. It's like trying to look through a dime when it's up front and a nickel when it's to the rear.

Overall, I'm not particularly impressed. I own three compact, medium priced red-dot sights; the Sparc, a Bushnell TRS-25 and a Burris FastFire. Of the three the TRS-25 is my favourite so far.

If it proves to be durable and reliable I think it's still a decent value. Unfortunately it's features are not as useful as they would appear to be.

Range report to follow tomorrow.
 
KDX said:
Stevo...thanks for the initial report. I'm looking forward to the conclusion.
Click to expand...

You're welcome. I'm pretty sure it's a decent optic, it's just doesn't add up to the sum of it's parts, so far. I'm going to try running up the brightness on the NV mode to see if I can get a dimmer dot than with the normal mode. I didn't think of trying that last evening. That and the co-witness issues are what disappoint me the most.

One interesting bit of trivia: it uses exactly the same rubber lens cover that the Bushnell TR-25 does. I wouldn't be surprised if it was made in the same Chinese factory with the same guts, other than the control set-up.
 
It was bright enough outside when I got home from work to check the brightness settings outdoors with natural light. My Sparc does have 10 settings and not the 6 that I originally thought and it does look like the brightness can be dimmed enough to get full use out of the 2 MOA dot outside.

I've been told from someone who owns one that it will co-witness on the NEA Gen 4 handguard.

That takes care of my two major concerns so I'm much happier now than when I initially examined the Sparc.
 
Picked up a SPARC a couple of months ago, couldn't be more happy with it. I was cleaning my ar15 one day, took the sparc off and accidently stripped the screw remounting it. Called vortex and they are sending me a whole new mount, no questions asked. Can't go wrong : D
 
I took my Sparc out to the range this afternoon mounted on my 10/22. I also had my TRS-25 on a VZ so I was able to compare them side by side.

The Sparc dot can be made brighter than the Bushnell's. That's important when it's a really bright day or you're shooting in a snow covered area. I was also able to reduce the intensity enough to get the 2 MOA dot down to it's proper size. I had it mounted near the rear of the factory 10/22 rail, even so it was marginal with the 2x magnifier installed. IMO, the magnifier is more of a novelty than a really useful accessory. I'm still not a fan of the extra bulk of the sight in my field of view, as compared to the Bushnell, but I can live with it. When I get another Gen 4 NEA VZ rail I'll be able to compare the two compact optics on identically configured rifles.

I'm satisfied with the Sparc. I think it will work well for me and I'm glad my initial impressions weren't all correct.
 
I have one on my cz 858. Seems ok other than the mounting hardware, particularly the screws. Main mounting screw stripped using wheeler torque driver, not impressed. Will be calling vortex.
 
The Sparc does not co-witness on the NEA Gen 4 upper unless the rear sight is at least at the 400m mark. IMO, no really usable co-witness til it's at 500m. That's a deal breaker for me with respect to use on my VZs. It'll probably go back on my son's 10/22 or I might give it a try on my AR with the spacers.

IMG_1299aMedium.jpg
 
What's the deal with a Co-witness anyways?
I'd prefer a slightly heads up higher cheek weld specially with the folder.
Why do you want to look through your iron sights and see the red dot right lined up perfectly?
If the red dot's not working or the battery is dead take it off or just look at the sights through the sparc....
Is it to always train with the same cheek weld?
 
Can-down said:
What's the deal with a Co-witness anyways?
I'd prefer a slightly heads up higher cheek weld specially with the folder.
Why do you want to look through your iron sights and see the red dot right lined up perfectly?
If the red dot's not working or the battery is dead take it off or just look at the sights through the sparc....
Is it to always train with the same cheek weld?
Click to expand...

It's not about the cheek weld, at least for me.

You don't need to see it "perfectly lined up". As long as the irons are usable it's good to go. "Looking at the sights through the Sparc" is co-witnessing. When I shoot, I look at the dot, not the sights.

I've started 3 gun stages when I've forgotten to turn my RDS on. If I didn't have co-witness, I'd have lost a bunch of time turning it on. If it fails or the battery goes dead I want to be able to finish shooting a stage with sights rather than guessing or stopping to remove a dead sight. I like having a rifle that's ready to go, regardless of the state of the RDS.
 
I picked up one today and put around 80 rounds or so through the AR I had it on. it worked quite well. the dot's bright too. for the price it looks like a keeper, until Jr. sees it.
 
Stevo said:
It's not about the cheek weld, at least for me.

You don't need to see it "perfectly lined up". As long as the irons are usable it's good to go. "Looking at the sights through the Sparc" is co-witnessing. When I shoot, I look at the dot, not the sights.

I've started 3 gun stages when I've forgotten to turn my RDS on. If I didn't have co-witness, I'd have lost a bunch of time turning it on. If it fails or the battery goes dead I want to be able to finish shooting a stage with sights rather than guessing or stopping to remove a dead sight. I like having a rifle that's ready to go, regardless of the state of the RDS.
Click to expand...

OK, so Co-witness just means you can use the iron's looking through the optic and in your case with the Sparc you can't....

For some reason when I've read "Co-witness" in the past I just thought it meant the dot and the sights were in the same spot.


Thanks for the explanation.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom