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Posted: 10/15/2016 10:32:39 PM EDT
I saw one of These on youtube and thought why not let's give it a try. Man this thing keeps going. I took it to a smallish class today to see how much I can abuse it. (400 rounds) I had my Aimpoint pro waiting to take its place when it died. But it made it though the whole class and did not even lose zero. I smacked it pretty good on a plywood stand while running. Still strong on my $9.99 utg riser. even says its waterproof but I have yet to test that out. Anyone have one of these field sport red dots?
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Sweet jebus! $20... even if it doesn't work it's a cheap paper weight!
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Maybe it came from the same factory as the TRS-25 before Bushnell decided to cut corners and screw it up.
Sorta want one for the heck of it. |
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Sweet jebus! $20... even if it doesn't work it's a cheap paper weight! View Quote I bought one for like $25 on Amazon to put on my wife's carbine to see if she'd like a red dot before I bought a good one. I mean, it's exactly as crappy as you'd expect... but it keeps working and holds zero. I put it on a .22 AR and it's fine for plinking. |
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always up for a cheapie adventure, just ordered 2 for us to beat around on
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Isn't a entry level microdot from Primary Arms the MINIMAL suggested investment for an optic?
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Some things are just for fun bro, not everything has to be for a SHTF rifle that your life will heavily depend on. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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Isn't a entry level microdot from Primary Arms the MINIMAL suggested investment for an optic? Some things are just for fun bro, not everything has to be for a SHTF rifle that your life will heavily depend on. I agree that just for fun trying cheap stuff can be interesting. But, most of those experiments (usually on .22LR rifles for plinking) usually end with the red dot dying fairly soon for a variety of reasons. They just haven't lasted very long, even when babied. About the cheapest red dot I've had that kept working was the Bushnell TRS-25 at about $90-$100. Actually a pretty decent little dot, all things considered. OK for a plinker. The worst one was a Sightmark Sure Shot reflex. It would not hold zero no matter what I tried, even on a .22LR. It ate batteries like crazy, was not bright enough to use in daylight, the reticles (Iit had a four reticle rotary dial), all shot to different points. I was hoping to use it to teach fundamentals to kids. Failed miserably. It eventually stopped working altogether after only a couple frustrating months. New battery did not help. It just died. |
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As technology and manufacturing processes get better these "cheap" sights are only going to get more robust. The same as an Aimpoint? No. but range toy/plinker? For $20! All day long!
I might get one and stick it on an Ultimak to see if I can fry it. |
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I agree that just for fun trying cheap stuff can be interesting. But, most of those experiments (usually on .22LR rifles for plinking) usually end with the red dot dying fairly soon for a variety of reasons. They just haven't lasted very long, even when babied. About the cheapest red dot I've had that kept working was the Bushnell TRS-25 at about $90-$100. Actually a pretty decent little dot, all things considered. OK for a plinker. The worst one was a Sightmark Sure Shot reflex. It would not hold zero no matter what I tried, even on a .22LR. It ate batteries like crazy, was not bright enough to use in daylight, the reticles (Iit had a four reticle rotary dial), all shot to different points. I was hoping to use it to teach fundamentals to kids. Failed miserably. It eventually stopped working altogether after only a couple frustrating months. New battery did not help. It just died. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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Isn't a entry level microdot from Primary Arms the MINIMAL suggested investment for an optic? Some things are just for fun bro, not everything has to be for a SHTF rifle that your life will heavily depend on. I agree that just for fun trying cheap stuff can be interesting. But, most of those experiments (usually on .22LR rifles for plinking) usually end with the red dot dying fairly soon for a variety of reasons. They just haven't lasted very long, even when babied. About the cheapest red dot I've had that kept working was the Bushnell TRS-25 at about $90-$100. Actually a pretty decent little dot, all things considered. OK for a plinker. The worst one was a Sightmark Sure Shot reflex. It would not hold zero no matter what I tried, even on a .22LR. It ate batteries like crazy, was not bright enough to use in daylight, the reticles (Iit had a four reticle rotary dial), all shot to different points. I was hoping to use it to teach fundamentals to kids. Failed miserably. It eventually stopped working altogether after only a couple frustrating months. New battery did not help. It just died. Well I just took that guy out again today. This time on a 300 blackout. 100 rounds of 300blackout today and it's still going strong! Plus all those other rounds from that class. |
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As technology and manufacturing processes get better these "cheap" sights are only going to get more robust. The same as an Aimpoint? No. but range toy/plinker? For $20! All day long! I might get one and stick it on an Ultimak to see if I can fry it. View Quote I went 556 Then 300blk today Next will be a 50bmg |
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I went 556 Then 300blk today Next will be a 50bmg View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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As technology and manufacturing processes get better these "cheap" sights are only going to get more robust. The same as an Aimpoint? No. but range toy/plinker? For $20! All day long! I might get one and stick it on an Ultimak to see if I can fry it. I went 556 Then 300blk today Next will be a 50bmg I realize we are talking about "disposable" optics, here, but there is more to the analysis than how it handles recoil, even heavy recoil. It's the reality that the cheap Chinese electronics have substandard circuit boards, connections and switching contacts, are not sealed against humidity and are not shock protected. They simply randomly decide to take a dump, entirely giving up the ghost, even when sitting in the gun safe with fresh batteries. You go to use it and it won't even turn on. Stuff like that. I've had that happen with several of the Chinese optics from several different well-known companies that are priced in the $150-$200 range. They seem to work great until they suddenly go completely dead. I'd also be curious as to how many times you can move the optic before the cheaply threaded mounts and non-hardened cross-bolts stretch and strip out. The ones I've played with work a little better at least for a while, if you install them on one firearm and then leave it there. Those UTG rtisers are particularly notorious about stripping out the threads if you even look at them the wrong way. I have a couple of them that have not yet stripped out, and am nursing them along by not moving them anymore. You can see the bolts stretching and the threads getting very "loose." The riser with the Bushnell TRS-25 has already stripped out, too. I don't expect these to last any longer, even with the pampering. |
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I realize we are talking about "disposable" optics, here, but there is more to the analysis than how it handles recoil, even heavy recoil. It's the reality that the cheap Chinese electronics have substandard circuit boards, connections and switching contacts. They simply randomly decide to take a dump, entirely giving up the ghost, even when sitting in the gun safe with fresh batteries. You go to use it and it won't even turn turn on. Stuff like that. I've had that happen with several of the Chinese optics from several different well-known companies that are priced in the $150-$200 range. They seem to work great until they suddenly go completely dead. I'd also be curious as to how many times you can move the optic before the cheaply threaded mounts and non-hardened cross-bolts stretch and strip out. The ones I've played with work a little better at least for a while, if you install them on one firearm and then leave it there. Those UTG rtisers are particularly notorious about stripping out the threads if you even look at them the wrong way. I have a couple of them that have not yet stripped out, and am nursing them along by not moving them anymore. You can see the bolts stretching and the threads getting very "loose." The riser with the Bushnell TRS-25 has already stripped out, too. I don't expect these to last any longer, even with the pampering. I'm not being an elitist. I have a lot of optics in all price ranges from budget to pretty high end. But, when you get down below $100, especially below $50, this is airsoft stuff made of pot metal and very soft steel. You shouldn't expect much and you don't get much. If you think it is good, you haven't used it very long.. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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As technology and manufacturing processes get better these "cheap" sights are only going to get more robust. The same as an Aimpoint? No. but range toy/plinker? For $20! All day long! I might get one and stick it on an Ultimak to see if I can fry it. I went 556 Then 300blk today Next will be a 50bmg I realize we are talking about "disposable" optics, here, but there is more to the analysis than how it handles recoil, even heavy recoil. It's the reality that the cheap Chinese electronics have substandard circuit boards, connections and switching contacts. They simply randomly decide to take a dump, entirely giving up the ghost, even when sitting in the gun safe with fresh batteries. You go to use it and it won't even turn turn on. Stuff like that. I've had that happen with several of the Chinese optics from several different well-known companies that are priced in the $150-$200 range. They seem to work great until they suddenly go completely dead. I'd also be curious as to how many times you can move the optic before the cheaply threaded mounts and non-hardened cross-bolts stretch and strip out. The ones I've played with work a little better at least for a while, if you install them on one firearm and then leave it there. Those UTG rtisers are particularly notorious about stripping out the threads if you even look at them the wrong way. I have a couple of them that have not yet stripped out, and am nursing them along by not moving them anymore. You can see the bolts stretching and the threads getting very "loose." The riser with the Bushnell TRS-25 has already stripped out, too. I don't expect these to last any longer, even with the pampering. I'm not being an elitist. I have a lot of optics in all price ranges from budget to pretty high end. But, when you get down below $100, especially below $50, this is airsoft stuff made of pot metal and very soft steel. You shouldn't expect much and you don't get much. If you think it is good, you haven't used it very long.. I never said if was good. It just surprised me with only $20. It has been mounted on three different uppers so far and it seems to still stay tight. I do have aimpoints and eotechs and an acog. So I do know what quality is. |
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I never said if was good. It just surprised me with only $20. It has been mounted on three different uppers so far and it seems to still stay tight. I do have aimpoints and eotechs and an acog. So I do know what quality is. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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As technology and manufacturing processes get better these "cheap" sights are only going to get more robust. The same as an Aimpoint? No. but range toy/plinker? For $20! All day long! I might get one and stick it on an Ultimak to see if I can fry it. I went 556 Then 300blk today Next will be a 50bmg I realize we are talking about "disposable" optics, here, but there is more to the analysis than how it handles recoil, even heavy recoil. It's the reality that the cheap Chinese electronics have substandard circuit boards, connections and switching contacts. They simply randomly decide to take a dump, entirely giving up the ghost, even when sitting in the gun safe with fresh batteries. You go to use it and it won't even turn turn on. Stuff like that. I've had that happen with several of the Chinese optics from several different well-known companies that are priced in the $150-$200 range. They seem to work great until they suddenly go completely dead. I'd also be curious as to how many times you can move the optic before the cheaply threaded mounts and non-hardened cross-bolts stretch and strip out. The ones I've played with work a little better at least for a while, if you install them on one firearm and then leave it there. Those UTG rtisers are particularly notorious about stripping out the threads if you even look at them the wrong way. I have a couple of them that have not yet stripped out, and am nursing them along by not moving them anymore. You can see the bolts stretching and the threads getting very "loose." The riser with the Bushnell TRS-25 has already stripped out, too. I don't expect these to last any longer, even with the pampering. I'm not being an elitist. I have a lot of optics in all price ranges from budget to pretty high end. But, when you get down below $100, especially below $50, this is airsoft stuff made of pot metal and very soft steel. You shouldn't expect much and you don't get much. If you think it is good, you haven't used it very long.. I never said if was good. It just surprised me with only $20. It has been mounted on three different uppers so far and it seems to still stay tight. I do have aimpoints and eotechs and an acog. So I do know what quality is. I understand. We both know the difference. I appreciate that you "took one for the team" and it's working out so far. I would love to be mistaken, but I would ask you to keep using it and tell us how many weeks or months you get by before the failure occurs. |
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I bought it with the intentions of it failing. I just wanted to see how far it goes. Beating on it and such.
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Debating on trying one on a Glock 22 (with strike Industries rear sight mount)
Torture testing it on a pistol slide would be a nice way to find out how well it holds up. |
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If you cant kill it, keep it to yourself. ( I just spent 3 weeks explaining to my wife WHY my newest Aimpoint was so much BETTER.
Seriously tho, in for results. I'll buy a few for my nephew. |
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So here is what you do. You get like, 5 of these, still just 100 bucks. And then you mount them all in succession, so you can see thru them all. Zero them all, and then just use 1 until it fails, rip that bitch of and start using the next one.
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Debating on trying one on a Glock 22 (with strike Industries rear sight mount) Torture testing it on a pistol slide would be a nice way to find out how well it holds up. View Quote I had thought about doing the same thing on my G22, but I would assume the recoil from a .40 would smash this little sight pretty quickly. Ill mount mine on an AR first just to see how it holds up, but will most likely live on my 10/22 for fun at the range. Also have a Mossberg 500 I can torture test with if need be. |
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I had thought about doing the same thing on my G22, but I would assume the recoil from a .40 would smash this little sight pretty quickly. Ill mount mine on an AR first just to see how it holds up, but will most likely live on my 10/22 for fun at the range. Also have a Mossberg 500 I can torture test with if need be. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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Debating on trying one on a Glock 22 (with strike Industries rear sight mount) Torture testing it on a pistol slide would be a nice way to find out how well it holds up. I had thought about doing the same thing on my G22, but I would assume the recoil from a .40 would smash this little sight pretty quickly. Ill mount mine on an AR first just to see how it holds up, but will most likely live on my 10/22 for fun at the range. Also have a Mossberg 500 I can torture test with if need be. Not a bad idea. I might have to try this |
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I'll be getting a KSG for my birthday in 2 weeks and I'm going to mount one of these on it to see how it holds up
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Update three. Another 100 rounds of 300blackouy and the $9.99 utg mount keeps coming lose every 20 rounds or so. But the Allen screw on the optic is still going strong
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I was given a "4th shift" holosun/pa dot... it's obviously from the same factory - but it's undbranded - the box it comes in with the foam packaging looks EXACTLY the same as the branded ones, etc. Everything appears identical except for the writing...
But yeah, someone gave it to me about 4 years ago and its been beat to heck and probably has a couple thousand rounds thru it and it has never failed, lol. Agree with the above that the screws on the mount are very soft. |
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Update: picked up one for my father-in-law and myself, and we both tested them. Mine was dead on out of the box for my 10/22, his took 2 slight adjustments to dial in. After about 200rds of .22 we moved mine to an MPX and his to an AR.
I put almost 300rds through the MPX and he put 200rds through his AR with no issues. His was on a cheap UTG riser absolute witness, mine was on the same mount 1/3 cowitness. Optic dialed in for Zeroing easily on the 2 different platforms, and held zero the entire time. The screw on the sight held up well, but the thumb screw on my riser came loose a few times. His is still on the AR for now so that he could let it take a light beating riding around in the trunk before the next range day to see if it will hold zero. I took mine back off and put it on the .22 until I can find something else to throw it on. I have a 7" pistol I think ill put it on, has a little more recoil than father-in-laws full length rifle. |
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With the utg mount, do you get an absolute cowitness? View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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Update three. Another 100 rounds of 300blackouy and the $9.99 utg mount keeps coming lose every 20 rounds or so. But the Allen screw on the optic is still going strong With the utg mount, do you get an absolute cowitness? Yep perfect co witness |
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Just got mine in the mail today.
Didn't have it for more than a half hour before it fell off my work bench, bounced off my thigh and when I went to catch it I pretty much hand slammed onto the concrete floor. It landed right on the edge of the bezel but came out of it ok. Slight ding, but it still works. Color me impressed. |
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Just got mine in the mail today. Didn't have it for more than a half hour before it fell off my work bench, bounced off my thigh and when I went to catch it I pretty much hand slammed onto the concrete floor. It landed right on the edge of the bezel but came out of it ok. Slight ding, but it still works. Color me impressed. View Quote Nice. I hit mine on a plywood shooting stand pretty hard moving from positions and it still going strong. |
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Could someone tell me the position where the diode is locate on this unit. Just picked up a new TRS-25 and the diode obscures too much of the FOV with a 1/3 cowitness mount.
TIA |
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... I realize we are talking about "disposable" optics, here, but there is more to the analysis than how it handles recoil, even heavy recoil. It's the reality that the cheap Chinese electronics have substandard circuit boards, connections and switching contacts. They simply randomly decide to take a dump, entirely giving up the ghost, even when sitting in the gun safe with fresh batteries. You go to use it and it won't even turn turn on. Stuff like that. I've had that happen with several of the Chinese optics from several different well-known companies that are priced in the $150-$200 range. They seem to work great until they suddenly go completely dead. I'd also be curious as to how many times you can move the optic before the cheaply threaded mounts and non-hardened cross-bolts stretch and strip out. The ones I've played with work a little better at least for a while, if you install them on one firearm and then leave it there. Those UTG rtisers are particularly notorious about stripping out the threads if you even look at them the wrong way. I have a couple of them that have not yet stripped out, and am nursing them along by not moving them anymore. You can see the bolts stretching and the threads getting very "loose." The riser with the Bushnell TRS-25 has already stripped out, too. I don't expect these to last any longer, even with the pampering. I'm not being an elitist. I have a lot of optics in all price ranges from budget to pretty high end. But, when you get down below $100, especially below $50, this is airsoft stuff made of pot metal and very soft steel. You shouldn't expect much and you don't get much. If you think it is good, you haven't used it very long.. View Quote Reminds me of the "Liberator" 45. A 'good optic' to get a better optic with. |
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Update three. Another 100 rounds of 300blackouy and the $9.99 utg mount keeps coming lose every 20 rounds or so. But the Allen screw on the optic is still going strong View Quote If the mounting screw of these cheap mounts strips out, could a tangless heli-coil be installed to repair? |
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I agree that just for fun trying cheap stuff can be interesting. But, most of those experiments (usually on .22LR rifles for plinking) usually end with the red dot dying fairly soon for a variety of reasons. They just haven't lasted very long, even when babied. About the cheapest red dot I've had that kept working was the Bushnell TRS-25 at about $90-$100. Actually a pretty decent little dot, all things considered. OK for a plinker. The worst one was a Sightmark Sure Shot reflex. It would not hold zero no matter what I tried, even on a .22LR. It ate batteries like crazy, was not bright enough to use in daylight, the reticles (Iit had a four reticle rotary dial), all shot to different points. I was hoping to use it to teach fundamentals to kids. Failed miserably. It eventually stopped working altogether after only a couple frustrating months. New battery did not help. It just died. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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Isn't a entry level microdot from Primary Arms the MINIMAL suggested investment for an optic? Some things are just for fun bro, not everything has to be for a SHTF rifle that your life will heavily depend on. I agree that just for fun trying cheap stuff can be interesting. But, most of those experiments (usually on .22LR rifles for plinking) usually end with the red dot dying fairly soon for a variety of reasons. They just haven't lasted very long, even when babied. About the cheapest red dot I've had that kept working was the Bushnell TRS-25 at about $90-$100. Actually a pretty decent little dot, all things considered. OK for a plinker. The worst one was a Sightmark Sure Shot reflex. It would not hold zero no matter what I tried, even on a .22LR. It ate batteries like crazy, was not bright enough to use in daylight, the reticles (Iit had a four reticle rotary dial), all shot to different points. I was hoping to use it to teach fundamentals to kids. Failed miserably. It eventually stopped working altogether after only a couple frustrating months. New battery did not help. It just died. I have heard this story for years from you and I agree. But it irks me that you keep claiming the 4 reticles shot to 4 different points. Of course they did. They were supposed to. There is no hard stop or zero moa shift mitigating feature on the knob used to select the reticles. PA sells a similar dot with the same 4 reticles. Says right in the instructions not to expect them to stay zeroed on different reticles. And naturally if you flipped reticles, then flipped back to the one you zeroed with, it wouldn't be zeroed any longer due to what I described above. I think a lot of your problems were operator error and self-induced. |
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I've got a couple of the mid height UTG risers. One is 8 years old or so and been on and off the rifle who knows how many times. Keeps on ticking.
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Just ordered one of these for the heck of it. Honestly if a $20 red dot does the same thing as a trs25 I'm happy.
Truthfully I had a bad experience with the bushnell. (dot would dissapear in upper half of optic and the company said nothing was wrong with it.) |
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If the mounting screw of these cheap mounts strips out, could a tangless heli-coil be installed to repair? View Quote The first thing I do with the ultra cheap mounts is reverse the thumbscrew. I don't have any pics handy, but you just put it in a vise with a socket and push the knurled head out and reverse it. You then use a washer under the head, (or if using a steel cheapie, tack weld it). I started doing this because I did not want anything on the left side of the gun sticking out in the way of getting to the CH, but I discovered that simple mod mostly eliminates the random loosening that is otherwise normal... |
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Can someone post a pic of the inside of the packaging materials?
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I have heard this story for years from you and I agree. But it irks me that you keep claiming the 4 reticles shot to 4 different points. Of course they did. They were supposed to. There is no hard stop or zero moa shift mitigating feature on the knob used to select the reticles. PA sells a similar dot with the same 4 reticles. Says right in the instructions not to expect them to stay zeroed on different reticles. And naturally if you flipped reticles, then flipped back to the one you zeroed with, it wouldn't be zeroed any longer due to what I described above. I think a lot of your problems were operator error and self-induced. View Quote I really do respect MS556's Knowledge of optics here but it is my observation that he is taking this thread way way too seriously. He needs to relax it's just a cheap ass red dot that the OP is going to play with until it breaks, and if it doesn't break? Oh well. Nobody is going to be hurt in any way shape or form because of it. Hell, they aren't even going to be out of a lot of money because of it, so I don't see what the big deal is? Anyway came here just to see how long this thing last. Have fun OP |
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i bought one of these to try out but just noticed they now have one with a red or green dot available for $22.99
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00D4AYBR6/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=78CHLTJKUB1D&coliid=I3G7TM7543K2MX&tag=vglnk-c102-20 and the one i got with the red dot is a comma with my astigmatism but for 20 bucks who cares i expected as much. |
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Looks like an exact copy of either the TRS25 or PA Microdot. Wouldn't be surprised if all of the above are made in the same factory...
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That's the perfect "loaner" red dot to have on hand so whenever you get a new gun you can immediately have an optic to put on it while choosing and acquiring a better long term optic.
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I have one of these:
http://ncstar.com/product/product-detail.aspx?GroupNo=0&ModelNo=D4B For $20 it has been much better than expected - this thing rattled around on my CX 9mm for years and years, held zero, ran at short range 3 gun matches, dropped, and generally abused. Still works. Zero does drift when you take any of the optional reticles that aren't on either end of the flippy lever thing though. You have to remember the little set screws, and not get ham-fisted when setting it though. A friend ("that friend") who can't leave well enough alone seems to want to torque those down to 50 ft-lbs. |
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