Let’s talk AR optics!

Blue Force and Sig Sauer Romeo5 got it on sale for $99 I like it.

 

Aimpoint Micro T-2 / Savy Sniper sling, my 2¢.

 

So does seekins and seekins is awesome

 

I"ve put the Sig Romeo5's on the last two AR's I've put togther, really like them so far

 

sweet rifle, I have a couple of them.
OP, i have mostly aimpoint T1,T2, and a trijicon,on my truck gun i have the vortex and they are nice imho.

 

Not sure if it would fit your needs, but I got a budget Burris Tac30 1-4x variable on a SWFA mount and backup irons. I knew it would get scratched, abused and banged up, so I didn’t want to spend too much on an optic I’m likely to break. Despite mud smeared lenses, it still let me hit targets from 50 to 600 yards out during the WTF 10K biathlon.

As for a sling, I have ching-sling, a VTAC and a Blue Force Gear. Out of the three, I prefer the VTAC. The ching sling is ok, but I can’t think of a use for it for my needs. I prefer quick adjustable slings, like the VTAC and Blue Force Gear for the kind of running, obstacle course-type events I like to do.

Both the VTAC and Blue Force Gear allow for quick adjustability, allowing me to quickly cinch the rifle down for hands-free use, like tree, fence and ladder climbing and descents. Someone else commented about the VTAC’s strap length being too long when cinched down tight. That’s true, and it does dangle awkwardly in that condition. But so far, I’ve never gotten it hung up on anything, even during low crawls. The Blue Force Gear doesn’t have that problem, though.

But my main criticism of the Blue Force Gear is that when its thick, cotton webbing gets wet or muddy, it’s almost impossible to use the quick adjust tab to tighten or loosen the sling. Cotton absorbs water, and when it gets really wet it expands. So when the Blue Force Gear’s cotton webbed sling gets real wet, it the adjustment tab becomes difficult to move along the cotton webbing. Getting it muddy makes the problem worse. Half-way through my 10K course I was already sopping wet and covered in mud, rendering the sling’s adjustable capabilities almost useless, and I still had other obstacles that required hands-free climbing throughout the course. By contrast, the VTAC sling is of a nylon webbing and isn’t affected as much when wet. Of course, if you don’t intend to get wet and muddy with your gear, then none of that matters.

Both my VTAC and Blue Force Gear are padded. It may be my body type, and I’m sure others have different experiences, but I didn’t find the padding to be of much benefit to me, no matter how I adjusted the slings’ length on either of them. When worn with the rifle across the front or back, the padding never rested on my shoulders or trapezoids, the area of the body bearing the brunt of the rifle’s weight. Also, I found it more difficult to swing the rifle front to back and vice versa when also wearing a backpack or camelbak. Not sure if the thicker padding played a factor in getting caught on the shoulder harness, but I suspect it might have. No problem when not wearing a shoulder harness, though. If I had to do it over again I’d go with the cheaper non-padded version, but that’s just me.

Anyway, here’s a pic of my muddy rifle, optic and sling about an hour after the event to give you an idea of what I put it through.

 

I agree seekins rings are my go to on bolt rifles.

 

I like my Vortex

 

Trijicon ACOG.

 

Those are nice Lancers mag, color is sweet, I actually like it better than FDE.

 

Sling. Ferro Concepts Slingster. If you want super low profile go with the Proctor Sling. Most people in the US aren’t humping their rifle miles and miles and don’t require a Vickers pillow or Blue Force Gear padded sling. But we aren’t you and don’t what you require. But the Slingster is the best of all worlds out there currently followed by ESD.
https://www.edgarshermandesign.com/product/esd-sling/

Optic. Eotech or Aimpoint are your top shelf military grade products used by professionals for holographic or red dot sights. Both work well.

Mid shelf is Vortex (lifetime warranty), Sig Sauer, Primary Arms and Holo Sun.

Bottom shelf is any other company.

For the average American AR owner putting less than 3-5k rounds a year through their rifle, the Vortex line of optics is all you will ever need. If it breaks, send it back and get a new one. It will perform at the level of the top shelf products and the average user can’t see the differences in the glass or dots anyways so go ahead and take that monetary savings and use it for ammo or a training course. Or buy top shelf once and be done with it until early next year when they drop a new one and everyone wants it instead. See for example new Vortex 1-10 or Vortex UH-1 update coming in a few weeks.

Optics are the same argument as truck tires here. BF goodrich, Cooper, Nitto, Falken, Yokohama etc. Everyone will have an input and they are all tires
and they all get you from A to B.

As far as mounts for your red dot.
Scalarworks. Geissele. Kinetic Development Group. All top shelf winners. Unity Tactical has some nice ones also but for specific applications that may not pertain to your use. Larue has been around for a bit which is good and bad. Don’t change if it isn’t broken, but yet the Scalarworks and others are half the weight and better but Mark Larue is still selling people Dillo dust so they keep buying his antiquated stuff I guess.

 

I have an older Eotech on my .223 and I have a Aimpoint Patrol on my .458 Socom. The Eotech is heavier and the sight is busier. It’s heavier because I chose the double AA battery option for ease of use and the reticle is more complex than the simple dot the Aimpoint has. Both have been great sights with zero issues but I got say I lean more towards the Aimpoint. I like the less busier sight slightly for that range .

 

I love my Eotech. From the day I put it on 10 years ago - it’s dead nuts on - easy to sight quickly and acquire your target. I have 2-AA battery style. I’ve never had to re-sight it.

 

After tons of research I’ve decided to give the EotechExps2-0 a try.

For those in similar situations as me, here is what my decision boiled down to:

1. For fast target acquisition at a variety of distances I decided I wanted the “circle of death” or the 65-68 moa circle that only the eotech and Holosun have. If I wasn’t set on that option I may have leaned towards Aimpoint PRO or Trijicon MRO. I also prefer the open box style design rather than looking through a tube.

2. The eotech has a 1 moa dot vs 2 moa dot on the Holosun. I know this is minimal difference but I want this gun to be a nail driver.

3. My eyes aren’t as good as they used to be and reading up it sounds like the holographic sight is easier on the eyes than a reflex.

4. And this is what my biggest factor was, mounting options. The Holosun 512c doesn’t appear to come with an option for a lower 1/3 cowitness. With my irons being fixed a lower 1/3 option is a must for me.

5. Made in USA. When possible, I prefer to buy US made goods rather than China. With that said, I believe the Holosun to be of very good quality, this is just personal preference.

I’m not concerned with the lower battery life and less “features” of the eotech compared to the Holosun. For what I’ll be doing with this rifle, 600 hours of battery life is more than enough, especially with backup batteries not far away and fixed irons incase of optic failure. If it’s good enough for our service members and special operations units it’s damn sure good enough for me. Maybe this will help someone in the same boat as I am.

 

I would take a look at the LPVO. Vortex Strike Eagle 1x6 or 1x8, or Primary Arms makes them also. At 1x its like looking thru a red dot, but you have the ability to crank it up if you want to stretch it out. I actually own 4 of these types and love them.

 

Budget friendlier red dots... Vortex crossfire or Sparc?

 

The new redesigned Crossfire is as close to an aimpoint that is out there right now at half the price. The Sparc isn’t bad either, but the smaller Crossfire out of the box is all anyone would really “need” for their rifle. Make sure you are getting the newest version with upgrades circuitry and internals. They just did an update. Additionally, they are redoing the UH-1 now which will be an eotech competitor.

 

Nice

 

My vote would have been a Vortex PST II, 1-6 x 24. You have a solid MOA gun. Has lines and a dot option, so don't need to worry about running out of battery, thus cowitness iron sights. For close/moving you can shoot with both eyes open.

 

Prairie dog practice in my cow pasture. Trijicon Acog 3.5x35 basically cheating

 

BCM 18 SS410 w Rifle Gas
Primary Arms Platinum 1-8x Raptor M2

 

I prefer the Aimpoint CompM4s and Comp M5s. As for slings I’ve been using Blue Force Gear for a while now and prefer them. I also have a couple Viking Tactics and Magpul, but BFG with sewn in QD swivels are my favorite.

 

What website do you guys order your optics from? Trying to figure out where I want to order my eotech from. Optics planet seems legit but heard they take forever to ship. Any other reputable sites?

 

Contact Roy at Weapon Outfitters out of Washington. Tell him Zero One sent you. Muhahaha.

 

I usually try to buy them locally or at least buy in person since I hate to wait for shipping. I found out Cabelas will price match Optics Planet. I ended up getting my last scope there. After price matching and using a gift card I saved like $600.

 

Brownells
Midwayusa
Primary arms
Eurooptic


I'd go with who doesnt charge sales tax.

 

Ended up going Eotech EXPS2-0 and BFG Vickers 221. Looking forward to playing in the woods this weekend getting it sighted in

 

While I have used Eotech and Trijicon RMR's and MRO's I generally default to Aimpoint when it comes to rifle red dots.

They are the most rugged option I have found and the battery life means i can leave it on 24/7 so it is always ready and I just change the battery on New Years.

As far as mounts, Daniel Defense if I don't need a QD, and Larue or ADM if I do.

I have not played around with the 1.93 or higher mounts yet but I want to do so.

 

How do you like your LWRCI? I was eye balling it for a while until I saw it went on sale for $900. I was inbetween the Daniel Defense and LWRCI brand but I really liked the unique look of it. I got a vortex strike eagle on mine and added a geissele trigger.