• If you enjoy the forum please consider supporting it by signing up for a NES Membership  The benefits pay for the membership many times over.

Optic question

MattG23

MattG23

Joined
Mar 24, 2020
Messages
39
Likes
50
Location
Southcoast MA
Feedback: 4 / 0 / 0
Hey guys looking to throw a Eotech or maybe another brand on my AR-15. Was wondering if I could get feedback on the sights people like and prefer, and if you guys prefer Eotech. Or even if there’s a cheaper alternative let me know!

Thanks, Matt.
 
I’ve run EO Tech, Aimpoint, variables, etc etc and I vastly prefer the simple red dot. I’m just able to pick it up faster. But that aspect is personal.

Recently I picked up a Vortex Crossfire 2 Red Dot to put on my lightweight AR. It’s a great optic. They can be had for about $150, come with a low mount and a lower 1/3 cowitness mount. The Gen 2 have a 50k hour battery life. I do wish the brightness knob would spin through the highest setting back to zero, and that it overall was a bit brighter. The lower 1/3 mount seems like it could be a little more robust. But they do fit any Aimpoint T1/2 aftermarket mount so that’s easily fixed.

Do you want an EO Tech or RDS, just cause, or do you want a faster easier way to make accurate shots? Is it going on a Self/Home defense or competition gun or are you just gonna put holes in paper on the static range? Truthfully none of that matters. It’s your money and you can do whatever you want
 
Bodhisattva said:
I’ve run EO Tech, Aimpoint, variables, etc etc and I vastly prefer the simple red dot. I’m just able to pick it up faster. But that aspect is personal.

Recently I picked up a Vortex Crossfire 2 Red Dot to put on my lightweight AR. It’s a great optic. They can be had for about $150, come with a low mount and a lower 1/3 cowitness mount. The Gen 2 have a 50k hour battery life. I do wish the brightness knob would spin through the highest setting back to zero, and that it overall was a bit brighter. The lower 1/3 mount seems like it could be a little more robust. But they do fit any Aimpoint T1/2 aftermarket mount so that’s easily fixed.

Do you want an EO Tech or RDS, just cause, or do you want a faster easier way to make accurate shots? Is it going on a Self/Home defense or competition gun or are you just gonna put holes in paper on the static range? Truthfully none of that matters. It’s your money and you can do whatever you want
Click to expand...
The biggest thing for me is reliability, I’ve heard nothing but good things from them. I was looking into the Vortex as well and as well as Holosun paralow RDS I would also be using this for home defense as well as potential training.
 
Bodhisattva said:
www.bhphotovideo.com

Vortex Crossfire Red Dot Sight (2 MOA Red Dot)

Buy Vortex Crossfire Red Dot Sight (2 MOA Red Dot) featuring 2 MOA Red Dot Reticle, 1.0x Magnification; Parallax-Free, Fully Multi-Coated Optics, Absolute & Lower 1/3 Co-Witness Mounts, 1 MOA Windage & Elevation per Click, 100 MOA Elevation & Windage Adjustment, Eleven Brightness Settings...
www.bhphotovideo.com www.bhphotovideo.com
Click to expand...
What about the Strike fire 2? I’ve heard good things about it
 
I have the EXPS-3 with the G33 magnifier on an AR and like it. I also have the Vortex Strikefire II with their magnifier and a Vortex Spitfire 3x prism scope on other ARs. While the EOTech makes target shooting very easy, the 3x is great for the money.
 
Eotechs are great for there true 0-parallax, so it really doesn’t matter where you have your head behind the optic as long as the dot is on target. Other red dots have varying degrees of parallax from “eh, doesn’t matter at this distance” to “holy crap, that’s like 4 MOA shift”

If you like the circle around the dot like Eotech, but want to spend a little less money and get more features, look at Holosun. They have longer battery life than eotech, seem durable according to reviews, have shake-awake, and can come with solar backup to illuminate the dot even without a battery. You can get the circle dot reticle with Aimpoint T1/2 form factors with their 503 or 515 optics. Or holographic in their 512.
 
PappyM3 said:
Eotechs are great for there true 0-parallax, so it really doesn’t matter where you have your head behind the optic as long as the dot is on target. Other red dots have varying degrees of parallax from “eh, doesn’t matter at this distance” to “holy crap, that’s like 4 MOA shift”

If you like the circle around the dot like Eotech, but want to spend a little less money and get more features, look at Holosun. They have longer battery life than eotech, seem durable according to reviews, have shake-awake, and can come with solar backup to illuminate the dot even without a battery. You can get the circle dot reticle with Aimpoint T1/2 form factors with their 503 or 515 optics. Or holographic in their 512.
Click to expand...

This is helpful. I’ve been all over youtube and Opticsplanet comparing Holosun and Eotech. There’s a lot to digest.
 
Tinkermatic said:
This is helpful. I’ve been all over youtube and Opticsplanet comparing Holosun and Eotech. There’s a lot to digest.
Click to expand...

I don’t think you can go wrong with either. If you don’t think you’ll ever be without spare/replacement batteries? The Eotech is combat proven and a fantastic option if you don’t mind spending a little more. If you want to save some money or plan to take the rifle out on long hikes without resupply or are planning for a disaster where supplies will be hard to get, look at Holosun with a solar backup. Also, Holosuns are showing themselves to generally be very durable, but they’re not as combat proven in austere conditions as Eotech. Not that they couldn’t last in combat, but they just don’t have the history and subsequent proof.
 
Big fan of RMRs on pistols. Tried MRO (2-MOA dot) on my rifle but found I vastly prefer Eotech’s 68-MOA ring and 1-MOA dot for faster acquisition and lack of parallax. Once they release the 5x Eotech magnifier, supposedly later this summer, I’ll throw one on as well. I never bothered with Holosun because “made in China.”
 
PappyM3 said:
I don’t think you can go wrong with either. If you don’t think you’ll ever be without spare/replacement batteries? The Eotech is combat proven and a fantastic option if you don’t mind spending a little more. If you want to save some money or plan to take the rifle out on long hikes without resupply or are planning for a disaster where supplies will be hard to get, look at Holosun with a solar backup. Also, Holosuns are showing themselves to generally be very durable, but they’re not as combat proven in austere conditions as Eotech. Not that they couldn’t last in combat, but they just don’t have the history and subsequent proof.
Click to expand...

The battery life thing isn’t a big concern for me for some reason. It feels odd that people seem to put it at the top of the list. The rifle this optic would be going on has nice BUIS so a 1/3 co-witness is perfect. Additionally, an extra battery in the grip is no big deal and I have plenty of CR123’s around.

I don’t know if a magnifier is in the long term plans, but having a 1moa dot stay 1 moa at 3X instead of a 2 moa dot turn into a 6 moa dot, sounds like it shouldn’t be disregarded?
I have zero experience with any RDS.

I wish there was a store to handle and play with these. Youtube videos are great, but as someone with astigmatism, nothing beats in person. And no, a prism isn’t in the cards(right now) I’m looking for infinite eye relief.
 
Tinkermatic said:
The battery life thing isn’t a big concern for me for some reason. It feels odd that people seem to put it at the top of the list. The rifle this optic would be going on has nice BUIS so a 1/3 co-witness is perfect. Additionally, an extra battery in the grip is no big deal and I have plenty of CR123’s around.

I don’t know if a magnifier is in the long term plans, but having a 1moa dot stay 1 moa at 3X instead of a 2 moa dot turn into a 6 moa dot, sounds like it shouldn’t be disregarded?
I have zero experience with any RDS.

I wish there was a store to handle and play with these. Youtube videos are great, but as someone with astigmatism, nothing beats in person. And no, a prism isn’t in the cards(right now) I’m looking for infinite eye relief.
Click to expand...

For civilian consumers buying optics, where we pay for our own stuff, battery life comes into play in two very critical ways:

(1) Battery life mandates how frequent the battery maintenance schedule should be. For example, with a RMR, most owners change the battery once a year. If you buy something with a battery life of one week, then you have to remember to change the battery every week. Battery costs depend on the maintenance schedule: one battery per year is likely going to be much less expensive than one battery per week.

(2) For a defensive weapon, or for a weapon that's going to see some serious use where if the battery dies, things won't go very well, a longer battery life reduces the risk of the battery dying at an inopportune moment.
 
Picked up a Holosun HE510C recently, very happy with it. Dual dot and circle, dual power batt and solar, timer to shut it off and motion sensor to bring it back, are all nice features but I like the auto intensity and green color most. Easy to pick out the target in any light. Goes without saying the glass is crystal clear.
 
Not trying to shame anyone, but isn’t Holosun a Chinese company? I get the price point to feature of these sights, but for those who are willingly buying a product manufactured in China and helping a Chinese company profit, did you consider a US manufacturer or at least a non-Chinese product? If not, why not?

And yes, I get that Sig red dots are likely sourced from Holosun. An American subsidiary of a German company outsourcing manufacture to a Chinese company... it’s one of many reasons I stick to Trijicon and Eotech, American companies that make American products.
 
Last edited:
mav said:
Not trying to shame anyone, but isn’t Holosun a Chinese company? I get the price point to feature of these sights, but for those who are willingly buying a product manufactured in China and helping a Chinese company profit, did you consider a US manufacturer or at least a non-Chinese product? If not, why not. If you knew it was Chinese, why did you still buy it?

And yes, I get that Sig red dots are likely sourced from Holosun. An American subsidiary of a German company outsourcing manufacture to a Chinese company... it’s one of many reasons I stick to Trijicon and Eotech, American companies that make American products.
Click to expand...
I think you'll find that even those "manufactured" in the US are really just assembled here from primarily foreign components.
And this isn't just optics, you are using a computer, how much of that do you think was actually manufactured in the US, if any of it was. Same for your car and everything else that has any electronics in it, or frankly anything that is mass produced.
The "I'm only going to buy American" ship sailed a long time ago.

I do support the local gun shops. I don't use them as a place to look and then pull the looser move of ordering it online for the cheapest price.

And if it was all about the money I could have bought a lot cheaper. It's about a quality product that does what I want it to. With virtually everyone's components being made outside the US, where it's assembled isn't as important as it used to be. And in this case I looked at what was being sold locally, not what was manufactured where.
 
I have 2 aimpoint PRO’s. Very happy. Not a fan of busy reticals. Just give me a dot and don’t drain the battery and I’m happy.
 

Similar threads

a .22 lr question
Replies
8
Views
253
Asaltweapon
Asaltweapon
just what we need, another hypothetical question...
2
Replies
47
Views
917
commodon
commodon
LTC question
2 3 4
Replies
105
Views
3K
Coda
Coda
Magazine adapter question
Replies
3
Views
224
joejoe717
joejoe717
Any 6.5 Grendel shooters around? Optic thoughts needed.
Replies
5
Views
265
Mountain
Mountain
Back
Top Bottom