Red Dot Sights

[RustyJr]

I am interested in picking up a Red Dot Sight. I have been looking at the Meprolight M21 or an Aimpoint. I like the Mepro due to not needing batteries but I have heard of the issue of what they call wash out (standing in a dim lit area and shooting into a lighted area the dot is harder to see). I plan to mount it on a 16" S&W M&P15. Any experience or opinions would be appreciated.


Thanks,
RustyJr

[AJMD429]

I've used:

• a Bushnell Holosight (same as EoTech) - too bulky and heavy but great low-light ability.
  
  Several 'open' ones (work fine just too fragile and snag-prone for my taste).
  
  Several generic 'cylindrical' ones - great for 22's and so on but I got cheap ones so unsure about high recoil.
  
  Several Burris Fastfire-II's - NOTHING I've found to not like about them - bright sunlight or near-dusk - OR even total darkness when used with a flashlight - they have worked well in all situations. Very compact, and rated for severe recoil (i.e. Casull handguns, etc.).

Hope that helps some.

The three 'Night Scout' rifles we keep on the homestead all wear the Burris, and it IS compact:



Here it is on a quick-detach mount with an under-barrel pistol laser:



I still use the Bushnell - on my Ruger 10/22 that is also set up for night use:



Here's a bit I posted on holographic sights I compared:

http://www.levergunscommunity.com/viewt ... =1&t=28788

[3leggedturtle]

I stressed and obsessed 9 months over what choice in rd's. I bought am Aimpoint 9000L. Its on a Henry 22mag right now. Great sight. You wont regret it.

[MrMurphy]

For your intended purposes, get the Aimpoint Pro.


The Meprolight/Trijicon Reflex/Reflex II (all work on the same design) do work well and are rugged, but the washout under bright conditions (light coming your way or just very bright conditions such as snowfields or desert) make it hard to work with.

The PRO runs about 5,000 hours constant-on and not much can destroy one. I used to sell optics for a living, used them professionally before that, and the only red dot i'll use for serious use (duty/defense) is an Aimpoint by preference.

The Trijicon RMR will work but it's a mini-dot and doesn't work as well on AR's, it's not intended to.

I use an Aimpoint H-1 Micro on my personal rifle, I'll probably use a PRO on my duty gun when it becomes an option in a few months down the road.

[OldWin]

I have never used the Meprolight but I have two Aimpoint micro's. These things are the bees knees. They are very light, keep the line of sight low, and have incredible battery life. A very robust sight for it's small size and weight. I wish I had a few more of them. I have found over the years that you get what you pay for with red dot sights. That's the only downside with the Aimpoint products. Not cheap.

[jhrosier]

I'm a big fan of the Burris Speeddot 135.



I have 2 of them with 3moa dots mounted on rifles and a 5moa on a pistol.
I have several vision problems that make some of the red dot sights show distortion or flaring. This does not happen with the Speeddot 135. The aiming point is sharp and clear at every setting.

I think that they are rated for 200 hours battery life. I seldom need to replace the battery.
I've used the sight outdoors during the winter with good results.
The sight comes with rings and a detachable sun shade, and sells for about $190 .

BTW, Burris has very good customer service.

Jack

[7.62 Precision]

I have a lot of experience with the Mepro M21 and the Mepro MOR.

I have used and deliberately tested Mepro sights in desert, urban, and arctic conditions. I have never once, ever, found a situation in which I could not use a Mepro M21.

Now, The first Meprolight sight I tried was one of the very old Mepro Reflex sights. The reticle was yellow, and it was an old sight even then. I tried it in Iraq , and I did not like it. With the architecture there and the bright sunlight, I could often not find the reticle. This is what washout is.

The M21 is a totally different sight. What I see with the M21 is a lot of people who have never used one repeating the "fact" that it has a problem with washout, based on what they have heard about old Meprolight Reflexes and various Trijicon models.

Meprolight was the first company to build a reflex sight for CQB use on small arms. They have had some time to perfect their designs. The M21 is updated as new technologies are developed by Meprolight. This means that about every 3 years or so, the M21 becomes a new sight, so an M21 from today is a much more advanced sight than an M21 from 10 years ago. Unlike other companies, Meprolight keeps the same model name for simplicity, instead of marketing a new model every time manufacturing methods and technologies improve.

Many people think a dim reticle = washout. This is due to most people running reflex (red dot) sights way brighter than they should. The reticle should be as dim as possible for the light conditions while still being readily visible.

Since the M21 adjusts to ambient light, there are conditions in which the reticle may appear more dim than usual. The hardest test I have put it to is from a dark room, well back in the room, looking out a window into bright sunlit snow or desert. In both cases, the reticle was dim, but easily visible. In that type of shooting, you are shooting for precision over speed at more distant targets, so there are actually advantages to a dimmer reticle. Against a target in the room, the reticle is nice and bright, of course.

So in any situation in which you need speed over all else, the reticle is very bright. The only conditions in which I have found the reticle quite dim were conditions in which it was not a disadvantage, and I have never had any condition in which I could not use the sight.

The 30mm size of the aperture was chosen after a lot of research proved that it was the ideal size for combat use on a rifle. Larger than 30mm gave no advantage at all with a tradeoff in weight and size (except for on machine guns, where a larger sight can be an advantage). Smaller than 30mm quickly brings disadvantages in requiring more precise head placement and being slower to use, partially negating the advantages of a reflex sight (except for on small weapons, like pistols or small SMGs that don't have real estate for a standard size sight). Also, a micro-sized reflex sight usually requires a high mount in order for correct positioning, making it really not much more compact and often more easily damaged.

The M21 is the sight I use, along with an MOR. I have used all of the reticles (you can see them here:http://www.7-62precision.com/mepro-m21- ... lex-sight/) and I prefer the triangle or open X for a combination of speed and precision. Bullseye is great for CQB and the dots, most people are familiar with, with the larger being more visible and the smaller more precise.

[7.62 Precision]

By the way, be sure to buy optics from a reputable dealer. With most optics, prices will be pretty consistent. That $50 dollars you might save from the Ebay or Amazon seller could be quite expensive in the end.