Red Dot Sights - Quality expectations

[matt]

Ok, I know ultradot is the defacto standard for Bullseye, but I have a question about what to expect from the lesser brands.

I happen to have an inexpensive ($30) SIMMONS. It is, I think, the same as the BSA and Tasco, just a different lable.

There is alot of flare around the dot. Is this typical of cheap red dots, or is there something wrong with this one? The flare is ~3x the diameter of the dot. Kind of like looking at solar flares!

Adjusting the dot intensity doesn't change size of the flare, but the brightness of it scales with the dot.

Matt

 

[Thunderbolt]

Matt, I pretty much went that route at first to... the more you pay the better quality dot you get...

I currently have 3 red dots. The ultra-dot is the way to go. I have the Millet red dot 1" tube and that doesn't give a perfect round dot either, when side by side with the ultra dot, the ultra dot is the clear winner.

My 3rd red dot would probably look out of place on a .22 pistol. Its an aimpoint on my AR and that has the best dot of them all but its well over $400..

 

[LoginName]

Some flare is normal. How much or how intense probably will depend on the quality of the sight. It also depends a lot on your eyesight how intense the effect is.

I read something years ago about the physics involved (I forget the exact details), but IIRC, the flare effect is unavoidable (at least it was when I read the article).

It's present on my EoTech and Ultradot. I'd say it's more noticeable on the EoTech, but that could be because of dot configuration (65 MOA ring with 1MOA dot in the middle).

One thing that made a noticeable difference for me was wearing prescription eyeglasses. FWIW, I never wear glasses during other activities. The pair I use
is solely for shooting and even then, I only wear them occasionally.

 

[JackO]

Read this article
http://www.bullseyepistol.com/dotsight.htm
It will help you understand different dot sights.
If you are interested in bulls eye shooting, use Ultradot, period (IMHO).

 

[matt]

I've had this sight for a while and this is the first time I've used it. I mounted it on my Browning Buckmark (see the gallery) and sighted it in tonight. It was way off center and once I had everything lined up almost all of the flare went away.

There is still discernable halo around the dot, but it is much less intense and much smaller. I think it was just so far mis-adjusted from the factory that it caused a problem. Much better now!

Thanks for the input guys.

 

[NEtracker]

I used a BSA for a while, but went to an Ultradot. No regrets.
The BSA worked fine though, just not that uniform and sharp.