I have an ar pistol 10.5 inch barrel and considering adding a new optic. I had a sightmark holographic sight that was crap always went out when I shot a few rounds. I have been considering the vortex sparc ar or wondering if I should just go up to an eotech. It's mostly a range toy but could very well be used for home defense. Any suggestions on optics would be appreciated

I run the vortex prism scope. Works pretty good. 3000 rounds and so far no issues.
Also look into Bushnell trs25. Pretty good bang for the buck.
Ymmv

This is an excellent option. Pick up a mount with it for $22 bucks and you will be set.

Holosun HS515BU.  Has all the features, quick detach mount, extra long battery life, instant auto on and 10 minute auto off, killflash, flip open covers, etc.  I use mine for the range and home defense.  Has worked outstanding, holds zero and is a great sight.  I found mine for a bit over $200 on Ebay.

http://www.holosun.com/store/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=103

What about non-red dot sights?  Because my eyes are incompatible.  I have an Ar Sparc, but the dot is blurry.  I'm looking at AR spitfire, also a vortex product.  How do you keep the weight down, since reduced weight and size is a key advantage of pistols?

How does the warranty compare to vortex warranty?

I have a Vortex Strikefire II on my 10.5 LAR-9 pistol, but it's a bit larger and higher profile that I'd like.  It's capable of decent accuracy but it does have some parallax so you have to be very consistent with head/eye position.  

Unfortunately, that's a bit of an oxymoron with an AR pistol where a cheek rest is as good as it gets.  However, I've co-witnessed it with my BUIS, and I've found if I flip up the rear sight and center the dot in the aperture, it takes care of consistent eye placement and eliminates parallax as an issue.  It's not ideal for short range shooting, but at short range on tactical targets, parallax isn't a factor, and it only takes a second to flip the rear sight up to keep the eye centered for long range shots.

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That all said, I've ordered a Burris ARF-3 mount for the Fast Fire III that I'll take off my Uzi.  It's a lot lighter weight and lower profile, and should help make the LAR-9 a bit more maneuverable.  Plus I've never found parallax to be an issue with the FF III.

If you have astigmatism, a prism dot like the spitfire will definitely help.

If you want a fairly light weight prism, check out the DI Optical FC1

I have both a Vortex SPARC II (on my 16" 9mm PCC) and a Spitfire on my 10.5" 9mm SBR... I too have a pretty bad astigmatism, and the ability to focus the Spitfire and the always on etched reticle on the prism would be my choice for a home defense carbine... the Spitfire has a little too busy reticle for me, but quite serviceable ....I've tried other dot scopes with my astigmatism with no joy, and the SPARC provides a nice round dot with the distance vision part of my bifocal, but a little fuzzy with the near portion

I buy QUALITY optics that are gently used, forum well rated sellers. I have not bought a new optic in about ten years.
My last was a AimPoint T2....,love it and got it for almost half off new price.

I've never been let down by a quality brand optic, I have rattled many cheaper brands in the past.

IIRC the power button cut out is not in the same position as the FF II so if thats a concern a different mounting option may be needed.

OP: the Primary Arms micros have also worked well for me and the Holosun has some great reviews/torture test done to them, but IMHO on a HD/Duty rig I wouldn't go with anything below an Aimpoint or Eotech.

That was true with the earlier ARF-3 mount. However the recent/current production mounts have an enlarged hole to allow you to access the power button on the FF III.

I agree not to cheap out on when use is on a hd/shtf rifle, but those aren't the only two that measure up.

The FC1 I mentioned earlier is tested to military standards and is used by several militaries including the US.
The Trijicon MRO is another "Duty ready" optic that comes to mind.

Leupold Prismatic on mine.


Great field of view and very crisp, with a fine center dot.

Due to being a 1.5x co-witnessing is not possible.

I will second this suggestion. I bought their first gen model when they first launched it. It has been on 4 different rifles and currently sits on my new 8.5" pistol build. Still on the original battery. Zeroed it this past Sunday on the pistol and it worked like a champ. I got the American Defense riser qd mount, which is a little bit more $$$, but totally worth it.

I'll also suggest the Ultradot red dots.  They are mid priced but quality is excellent and they last for ever.  They also have no parallax issues.

I never heard/seen a FC1, which branch of our military uses it? Funny how I didn't mention the MRO especially since I'm in the market for one right now.

Have you gone outside during the day with it? My issues with red dots go away in the sunlight.

same

I've got a few TRS-25, A few Primary Arms RDS (not the ADS), and one Primary Arms ADS and a Holosun 403G (basically the same sights) They have all been awesome.  One of my fixed base Primary Arms mico dots is pushing a decade old now and has not been treated nicely.  

TRS-25, The "lowest" tier red dot I would go with for anything that may get used for more than plinking.  Solid little RDS.  Ran it ontop of a Mossberg Patrol in .308 for a while then switched it over to my Mech Tech CCU and stuck a Weaver V3 ontop of the Patrol.  So far it's been great.  But you do have to remember to shut it off because it's only got about a 38 day constant on battery life.  Another has spent it's life ontop of my Hi-Point 995 and has held it's zero and been a good little optic for a beat around gun.   They did have a batch of them where they moved the position of the emitter and caused the dot to disappear at certain angles if you didn't have a cheek weld.  Neither of mine have that problem.  

Primary Arms Fixed Base Micro,  These things have far surpassed my expectations of them.  I've got a couple of them and the oldest one is pushing a decade old I'd guess.  It's taken a beating and keeps working.  Again have to remember to shut them off.  I'd imagine they're built in the same factory as the TRS-25.   It's been submerged, based against trees and concrete decks/pipes ect.  If you're on a tight budget and can't afford the HOlosun or PA-ADS this is a great option.

Primary Arms ADS, HOLOSUN 403g, Basically the same sights but re-badged.  Identical features as far as I know.  Biggest advantage over the previous mentioned sights is the 50,000 hour battery life.  Change the batteries when you vote for President and call it good.  Seem just as tough as any other micro dot I've handled.  I haven't babied either of mine.  Push button activation instead of a knob.  The auto off/on feature has worked flawlessly for me.  If you have a little more budget and can afford them I'd buy these over the TRS-25 or the other Primary Arms unit.  While those get the job done the ability to simply leave the sight on and not have to jack with knobs when I pick it up and only changing the battery every 4 years make it well worth the added cost in my mind.

I had the same experience as the OP with several Sightmark Ultrashots. Bought my first one on the recommendation of a friend, mounted it to a 7.62x39 AR and it's worked fine and never shut off when it's not supposed to. Crystal clear optics too.

Bought two more for pistol builds and BOTH would shut off under recoil randomly. Tried bending & cleaning the battery contacts which helped but eventually each one shut off, and got moved to a rimfire rifle. Still like the clarity and they seem to handle the rimfires fine. later I asked my friend how his was holding up on his 5.56 AR and surprise, it's shutting off occasionally.

Also have four TRS-25s on various rifles, including two AKs mounted over the gas tubes. They see a lot of heat and recoil, no issues. They're tuff little red dots and for $70 are the best bargain in red dots IMHO. No frills, just a simple dial on switch with 10 light levels. if you have more money to spend then Primary Arms or Vortex are the next step up in budget optics.

There are two possible options:

1. Astigmatism in the shooter's dominant eye

Shooters with a significant amount of astigmatism in their dominant eye will find the dot becomes comma shaped, which many describe as "blurry".

I've got some slight astigmatism in my left eye - fortunately my non dominant eye - and I can still see this effect when I look through a red dot with my left eye.

2. A cheaply made red dot

I've noted that lower quality red dots tend to have improper alignment that results in a dot that is blurry and or comma shaped, particularly at higher brightness levels, where the cheap lens coatings create more internal reflection, directing the glare back to the shooter.

Red dot sights are really one of the areas where you really don't want to sink below the "mid level" as you really do get what you pay for in terms of sharpness of the dot, ability to hold a zero, presence of excessive parallax, etc.

If it's less than $100-$150, it's probably going to have some issues.  And if you've got some astigmatism, you're going to have more issues with a cheap red dot sight than the average shooter.

I worked in a gunstore for a few months after getting out of the Marine Corps.  We carried Sightmarks and we had constant returns on them.   I tried to steer customers away from them into a PA or something similar but the price was too attractive to many of them.

I did notice that Tru-Glo has their 20mm micro dot out as well3g.  Again probably made in the same factory.  I was able to find them for a few dollars cheaper than the other sights by shopping around a bit.

I've got a vortex sparc, like it so far.  I also have an aimpoint pro that i like more.  I've owned several eotech 512's, I've always wound up selling them.  They don't tend to group well for me compared to what the rifles they have been mounted on are capable of.  Just my experience.  Personally, wouldn't drop below vortex from a price/quality standpoint.

Kinda wish I hadn't posted that.

While I'm fairly certain they are used by some militaries around the world, such as S. Korea, I now question the source saying the US is one of them.

You're kinda correct, we do use some DI Optical machine gun sights.

I've seen a couple reviews on the DI red dots and I'm not that impressed with the optic especially for the price of 400. For that price an Aimpoint Pro would be a better choice. The way the DI's dims/brightens you have to hold the button to cycle up to the brightest before being able to go to the lowest is not a desirable option also the battery compartment on the micro with all the screws that hold parts and pieces together is not something I would want on a fighting rig but YMMV.

I tend to agree about the screws, but it may be a nice option for those of us with astigmatism.

Would own a Pro right now if the dot didn't look like paint splattered on a wall to my eyes.

My son has an Aimpoint Pro on his AR carbine, cost well over $400 couple years ago.  We were shooting last weekend and the dot looked like the Nike swoosh sometimes unless I squinted some.  My Holosun circle and dot worked perfect and very clear in the same sunlight with no squinting or whatever to do on my part.

No idea why Holosun doesn't get more positive reviews because they are outstanding sights.

With my astigmatism I've been converting the pistols I have to 1-3X Weaver Classic scopes. Still fairly light weight, can shoot both eyes open on 1X and has 3X for longer distances.

I got the cheaper version of this red dot and love it, and I think a Seekins mount.
Primary Arms Micro Dot

I've got a Weaver V3 1-3 on my .308 bolt gun.  Great optic and half the weight of other 1-4 or 1-6 variables out there.  To me shaving weight where possible is a big deal.

That sucks, The older I get the more I realize you have to learn how to shoot with disabilities. For me shooting a pistol at full extension greatly reduces my grip strength and leads to very poor shot groups. Shooting with my elbows slightly bent and using more upper body strength keeps my groups more than combat effective during rapid fire. All in all use what ever works for your situation and know there are work arounds for almost every situation.

I really enjoy vortex's offerings, but in that price range i like the holosun's. They have the nice 65moa circle and 2 moa dot.