Red Dot

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cmil84

New member
I know this question should probably be in the optics thread but since it is for an AR I wanted to see if any of you guys use them to hunt with. I have been thinking about putting a red dot on my AR for faster shots. I have heard that a Vortex Striker fire is a good red dot sight. I didn't know if any of you guys have experience with one on your ARs? If so how good/bad is it? If not a vortex striker fire what about any other red dots. I find myself most the time hunting where I have 200 yards or less shots. Coyotes come in pretty fast and don't hang around very long So I was thinking about getting something that I could get on target with fast squeeze and drop it. I used an Aimpoint in the Army and it was great out to three hundred yards. I just don't know how it would be for a coyote. Any thoughts or suggestions
 
I have a couple different red dots, all are great for fast, both eyes open acquisition. The Burris Fastfire II are great lightweight low profile sites, but the dot isn't real bright in full daylight and the Fastfire III has the battery access on top. I don't know how bright that dot is. The Bushnell TRS-25 has been a very nice surprise for the price point. Strong dot and not too bulky. I also tried a Sightmark that works real well that isn't expensive. I feel that the smaller ones don't block your field of view like the Vortex's seem to when shooting both eyes open. I also have a EoTech XPS 2-2 that I really like, the only drawback on that one is battery life. You can't go wrong with the Aimpoint either, rediculous battery life, tough as a tank. A little bulky IMO.

If you haven't considered a 1-4 scope like the Vortex PST or SuperSniper, you may want to take a look at something like that. I have a 1-4 PST on my SBR and it's really nice to have the illuminated retical and extra magnification if you want it.
 
I have a Vortex Strikefire red/green dot that I can shoot about a 3" group at 100 yards. This same AR is sub MOA with a scope. With the dot sight it would be a tough shot on a yote at 200 yards. Also, is hard to see the dot on a bright day with the sun out. It is fine at dawn or dusk or on a cloudy day.
 
Originally Posted By: eraserI have a Vortex Strikefire red/green dot that I can shoot about a 3" group at 100 yards. This same AR is sub MOA with a scope. With the dot sight it would be a tough shot on a yote at 200 yards. Also, is hard to see the dot on a bright day with the sun out. It is fine at dawn or dusk or on a cloudy day.

I agree completely. I used to run a red dot on mine but after the sun was above the horizon the dot seemed to wash out and or cover too much of the target for a precise shot. Besides, if you run something like a 1.5-5 or a 2-7 power you will still be able to pick up your target for a close quick shot and dial up the magnification for a longer more precise shot. Just my .02.
 
Just a bit of info for ya. The vortex strikefire has a 4 moa dot (very inaccurate outside of 100 yrds). The vortex Sparc (I own one)has a 2 moa dot (covers 4 inches at 200yrds). Now, if you can afford it, I would go with an EO Tech. They have a 1 moa dot with a 65 moa circle around it. All of which are night vision compatible. I find that I am shooting faster with my Sparc than with a scope. Much faster. But the draw back is no magnification.
 
Bushnell trs-25, put one on my ar and pleasantly surprised for the price..But I still like a scope for longer distance..
 
I run a duel setup a 3-9 Leupold and I purchased a 45 degree mount to place a FastFire III on. So far its worked out great, I would encourage yea to check it out. Really fast and easy to switch from one to the other. Mount only ran me $15, the FastFire was around $220 shipped off eBay.
 
RAMP with any quality scope for as far as you want to see with a FastFire II or a DeltaPoint for the secondary red dot optic.

Watch the embedded video. I test the RAMP, the YHM 45 degree mount, and the LaRue LT-137 top mount. They all work. The RAMP is easiest to use.

Also have used the Eotech set up with the swing to side 3x. When my eyes were better that was good to 250, and of course excellent in close.

Sendit
 
Had an Eotech on another home defense AR but put it on my R-15 hunting rifle because I was getting alot of close shots lately, maybe doing a better job at hiding myself, anyway I can shoot a 1.5" group consistently at 100yds with it off a bag and it has 22 light settings which works well in all types of light, high or low conditions. Now it wasn't cheap, and the only reason I own one is because my boss bought 2 of them and gave one to me for a project bonus. Mine is the 552 I believe. the cheaper red dots do have a high MOA of 3 to 4 inches at 100 yds
 
I second the vote for the EOTECH system. I've got the EXPS3-4 with the G33 fts 3x magnifier. I got it as the HSS1 system for right at under 1000 dollars. You can adjust the light intensity on the red dots that make up the 65 moa circle and the four little vertical dots. The EXPS3 system is Night Vision Compatible too. All the buttons are on the side where you can press them even with the NV scope pressed up against the back of the sight.

I found that in a night hunting situation that the Nikon Rifle Scope that I was using would not let me see very well at night. It was like trying to find a firefly using a soda straw compared to the Holographic Weapon Sights.

If a coyote gets in close and is moving you would have a hard time acquiring the animal in the scope. IMHO.

I just didn't feel comfortable using the scope at night for up close shots. And it's a 4x16x42 so it gathers light well. I turned the magnification down to 4x at night.

The HWS is parallax free which to me makes a huge difference. I think a lot of coyotes are missed due to parallax errors with the scopes. Unless you can adjust the scope for parallax differences at different ranges you may be missing some shots that you should have connected on. IMHO. This is why I made the decision to buy the HWS and the M-223 scope with the parallax adjustment knob on it.

I'll still use the Nikon Scope for long range shooting during the day light hours but I'll switch it out to the HHS1 EOTECH system for night ops.

Plus if I were to use the AR15 for home protection the EOTECH would be better to use than the scope. IMHO.

Originally Posted By: MotoHunterHad an Eotech on another home defense AR but put it on my R-15 hunting rifle because I was getting alot of close shots lately, maybe doing a better job at hiding myself, anyway I can shoot a 1.5" group consistently at 100yds with it off a bag and it has 22 light settings which works well in all types of light, high or low conditions. Now it wasn't cheap, and the only reason I own one is because my boss bought 2 of them and gave one to me for a project bonus. Mine is the 552 I believe. the cheaper red dots do have a high MOA of 3 to 4 inches at 100 yds
 
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