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Posted: 3/20/2026 8:41:42 AM EDT
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Hi All, I've had a number of cheaper red dot sights, but wondering, what are the best options in the $300-$400 range? Coming from Romeo 5 and 7s for reference. Thanks for any leads! |
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These are the best options in my opinion. Sig Romeo 4T Solar Sig Romeo 4T Pro Sig Romeo 4XT Pro If you go with the Sig Romeo 4T Pro or 4XT Pro go to Heart of Texas Armory and use code ROMEO80 for $80 off or ROMEO60 For $60 off. The next options in your price range are as follows. Holosun AMES Pro Holosun HS515GM I have used all of the optics above and my favorite of them are the Sig Romeo 4T Pro and 4XT Pro series. Next would be the Holosun HS515GM. The Aimpoint Duty could be within your price range new. Check GunDeals.com for prices on all of these optics. Talk to Heart of Texas Armory and see if they have coupons too. At the $400 range upping it just by $80-$90 gets into really good optics for the price. The Romeo 4T Pro series of optics hit above their price and I feel like it’s a better option than the Aimpoint Duty or T2. |
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| If you can get a used Sig Romeo 4XT or 4T Pro those are t2 quality with more features. Killer optics. AEMs is probably the best you’ll find new right now in that price range. Do not but an aimpoint duty, they are horrific, they have an obnoxious notch filter that makes holosuns look fancy in comparison. Aimpoint Pros can be found used for that much but its a huge optic thats really old with poor NV performance. If you’re upgrading from a Romeo5/7, get a dot that will still be useful when/if you get NV because the romeo5 and romeo7 are already as durable as you probably need them to be. You’re not gonna get that much more performance during the day time with a more expensive dot, you’ll get marginally better magnifier performance probably and NV performance. And the only good NV performers in that range are the AEMS or a used Sig4T PRO and 4XT. Old 4T has bad notch filter and is a similar case to the aimpoint duty, not worth unless you get a screaming deal (<250 and only if you want a drop dot reticle thats not all that useful) |
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Meprolight Tru-Vision SR (dot or circle/dot selectable reticle) gets my vote. Military pedigree, large Eotech-style HUD, integral QD mount, CR123 battery, low battery warning, shake-awake, auto-brightness mode. Attached File |
Eternity is coming for us all. It cannot be denied, debated or avoided.
We would do well to ponder how we're going to spend that eternity, because eternity is a long time to be wrong.
We would do well to ponder how we're going to spend that eternity, because eternity is a long time to be wrong.
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Originally Posted By CatholicKit: If you can get a used Sig Romeo 4XT or 4T Pro those are t2 quality with more features. Killer optics. AEMs is probably the best you’ll find new right now in that price range. Do not but an aimpoint duty, they are horrific, they have an obnoxious notch filter that makes holosuns look fancy in comparison. Aimpoint Pros can be found used for that much but its a huge optic thats really old with poor NV performance. If you’re upgrading from a Romeo5/7, get a dot that will still be useful when/if you get NV because the romeo5 and romeo7 are already as durable as you probably need them to be. You’re not gonna get that much more performance during the day time with a more expensive dot, you’ll get marginally better magnifier performance probably and NV performance. And the only good NV performers in that range are the AEMS or a used Sig4T PRO and 4XT. Old 4T has bad notch filter and is a similar case to the aimpoint duty, not worth unless you get a screaming deal (<250 and only if you want a drop dot reticle thats not all that useful) Originally Posted By CatholicKit: If you can get a used Sig Romeo 4XT or 4T Pro those are t2 quality with more features. Killer optics. AEMs is probably the best you’ll find new right now in that price range. Do not but an aimpoint duty, they are horrific, they have an obnoxious notch filter that makes holosuns look fancy in comparison. Aimpoint Pros can be found used for that much but its a huge optic thats really old with poor NV performance. If you’re upgrading from a Romeo5/7, get a dot that will still be useful when/if you get NV because the romeo5 and romeo7 are already as durable as you probably need them to be. You’re not gonna get that much more performance during the day time with a more expensive dot, you’ll get marginally better magnifier performance probably and NV performance. And the only good NV performers in that range are the AEMS or a used Sig4T PRO and 4XT. Old 4T has bad notch filter and is a similar case to the aimpoint duty, not worth unless you get a screaming deal (<250 and only if you want a drop dot reticle thats not all that useful) I saw something a while back that the coating on the 4T Pro and 4XT Pro is now being used on the 4T Solar. I thought Sig stated it but I can’t remember where I read it so I can’t confirm it now. I also think the solar model may be discontinued. I had one I bought open box that had a broken helicoil and Sig replaced it with the 4XT Pro due to no solar models in stock. The difference between the 4T Pro and 4XT Pro is the battery. Originally Posted By Tomac: Meprolight Tru-Vision SR (dot or circle/dot selectable reticle) gets my vote. Military pedigree, large Eotech-style HUD, integral QD mount, CR123 battery, low battery warning, shake-awake, auto-brightness mode. https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/1593/Final_IDF_PG_Streamlight_Optimus_VFG_jpg-3733002.JPG I really want to try this optic. I’m tempted to sell my 4T Pro that’s on my x95 and give one of these a try. I also like the multi reticle version. The only downside is battery life. I wish Meprolight would gives us 50k hours like other dots. I know it all depends on factors for battery life but my Holosun HS515GM is running on an 8 year old battery. My sigs are now two years old |
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Originally Posted By OlympicArmsFan: I really want to try this optic. I’m tempted to sell my 4T Pro that’s on my x95 and give one of these a try. I also like the multi reticle version. The only downside is battery life. I wish Meprolight would gives us 50k hours like other dots. I know it all depends on factors for battery life but my Holosun HS515GM is running on an 8 year old battery. My sigs are now two years old I, too, would prefer longer battery life. But in light of its other features (like the low battery warning; the reticle flashes slowly when you hit 50hrs remaining and flashes rapidly with 5hrs remaining) and the relatively low cost of CR123's it's not an issue for me (ymmv). |
Eternity is coming for us all. It cannot be denied, debated or avoided.
We would do well to ponder how we're going to spend that eternity, because eternity is a long time to be wrong.
We would do well to ponder how we're going to spend that eternity, because eternity is a long time to be wrong.
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Originally Posted By Tomac: I, too, would prefer longer battery life. But in light of its other features (like the low battery warning; the reticle flashes slowly when you hit 50hrs remaining and flashes rapidly with 5hrs remaining) and the relatively low cost of CR123's it's not an issue for me (ymmv). I feel like this is an optic that is truly underrated. When Lucas Bodkin was still with T-Rex Arms they had an optic video and this was as on the channel to to test it and see how they liked it and if they wanted to carry it on their website. They tossed in the corner due to its polymer hood. It blew my mind and right then I knew they were just a puppet on a string. We can trust a polymer gun but not a polymer good protector for the body of the optic? It was dumb and I said so in the comments. I may end up selling one of my optics to try this one out. Maybe my LPVO since I’m not that round of LPVO’s. I also wish the multi reticle version was cheaper but I also find myself not using the circle dot combo on my sig optics. Just the dot. I knew I shouldn’t have opened this thread. It’s going to make me spend money haha |
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I would grab something from the Romeo 4 series. I think theyre on XT now but I have a 4T thats awesome and has a built in BDC reticle for stretching beyond 300. Its really only good with a magnifier though. Can switch between 2 moa dot, Eotech reticle, 2 moa and 3 bullet drop dots or circle dot with BDC dots which is admittedly quite busy. |
What it boils down to is that they fear an effective resistance to their power: So, Left in power=Guns bad, mmmmkay...?, Right in power=Guns good!-thskirk
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Originally Posted By OlympicArmsFan: I feel like this is an optic that is truly underrated. When Lucas Bodkin was still with T-Rex Arms they had an optic video and this was as on the channel to to test it and see how they liked it and if they wanted to carry it on their website. They tossed in the corner due to its polymer hood. It blew my mind and right then I knew they were just a puppet on a string. We can trust a polymer gun but not a polymer good protector for the body of the optic? It was dumb and I said so in the comments. I may end up selling one of my optics to try this one out. Maybe my LPVO since I’m not that round of LPVO’s. I also wish the multi reticle version was cheaper but I also find myself not using the circle dot combo on my sig optics. Just the dot. I knew I shouldn’t have opened this thread. It’s going to make me spend money haha The original Tru Vision is cheaper & dot-only, the only other difference between it and the SR version is the inability to disable the auto-off feature so you can't leave it always in shake-awake mode. |
Eternity is coming for us all. It cannot be denied, debated or avoided.
We would do well to ponder how we're going to spend that eternity, because eternity is a long time to be wrong.
We would do well to ponder how we're going to spend that eternity, because eternity is a long time to be wrong.
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Originally Posted By Tomac: The original Tru Vision is cheaper & dot-only, the only other difference between it and the SR version is the inability to disable the auto-off feature so you can't leave it always in shake-awake mode. Wonder why Meprolight would roll that change with the older version. I found it for $403 and ten dollars off at Battle Hawk Armory if you sign up. So that’s under $400. I think the single dot would be just fine but I do like the options the SR gives with multi reticles. |
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Used Aimpoint Duty RDS if you can find one. Better overall optic than the PRO. If you can swing it, the Duty RDS MR is a pretty big improvement over the original. Glass and light transmission is on par with the T2. The original Duty RDS 2 MOA was a good replacement for the PRO; the MR does that while being on the same level as the T2. Euro Optic has them for $569.99. If you qualify for Aimpoint's MIL/LE discount, they are $533 over there. |
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Originally Posted By OlympicArmsFan: Wonder why Meprolight would roll that change with the older version. I found it for $403 and ten dollars off at Battle Hawk Armory if you sign up. So that’s under $400. I think the single dot would be just fine but I do like the options the SR gives with multi reticles. Originally Posted By OlympicArmsFan: Originally Posted By Tomac: The original Tru Vision is cheaper & dot-only, the only other difference between it and the SR version is the inability to disable the auto-off feature so you can't leave it always in shake-awake mode. Wonder why Meprolight would roll that change with the older version. I found it for $403 and ten dollars off at Battle Hawk Armory if you sign up. So that’s under $400. I think the single dot would be just fine but I do like the options the SR gives with multi reticles. Don't know. IMHO Meprolight should have built the option to disable auto-off into the original Tru Vision instead of the current timed auto-off. With the SR I can leave the X95 sitting for months knowing it will shake-awake when I grab it. |
Eternity is coming for us all. It cannot be denied, debated or avoided.
We would do well to ponder how we're going to spend that eternity, because eternity is a long time to be wrong.
We would do well to ponder how we're going to spend that eternity, because eternity is a long time to be wrong.
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Originally Posted By Tomac: Don't know. IMHO Meprolight should have built the option to disable auto-off into the original Tru Vision instead of the current timed auto-off. With the SR I can leave the X95 sitting for months knowing it will shake-awake when I grab it. Originally Posted By Tomac: Originally Posted By OlympicArmsFan: Originally Posted By Tomac: The original Tru Vision is cheaper & dot-only, the only other difference between it and the SR version is the inability to disable the auto-off feature so you can't leave it always in shake-awake mode. Wonder why Meprolight would roll that change with the older version. I found it for $403 and ten dollars off at Battle Hawk Armory if you sign up. So that’s under $400. I think the single dot would be just fine but I do like the options the SR gives with multi reticles. Don't know. IMHO Meprolight should have built the option to disable auto-off into the original Tru Vision instead of the current timed auto-off. With the SR I can leave the X95 sitting for months knowing it will shake-awake when I grab it. I agree. It’s such a great optic and if they did just a couples of things it would be an even better optic. What’s u guy our battery mileage? I can’t find any real world reports of it online or in videos. |
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Originally Posted By OlympicArmsFan: I agree. It’s such a great optic and if they did just a couples of things it would be an even better optic. What’s u guy our battery mileage? I can’t find any real world reports of it online or in videos. Unknown. Logically, the circle-dot reticle should have a shorter battery life than just the dot which on the original Tru Vision is claimed 'thousands of hours.' Regardless, I'm too old to be playing 'Batman in the boondocks' & having to scavenge batteries for my optic & WML so I have std CR123's put back along w/some Surefire rechargeables (only 30% of the runtime, but can be recharged 2,000 times). As long as battery life isn't absurdly short (like a few hundred hours) then I'm not going to sweat it. |
Eternity is coming for us all. It cannot be denied, debated or avoided.
We would do well to ponder how we're going to spend that eternity, because eternity is a long time to be wrong.
We would do well to ponder how we're going to spend that eternity, because eternity is a long time to be wrong.
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I'd look for a SIG 4XT/Pro on sale. Someone mentioned the place out of Texas, I think they have a decent deal with a coupon code. $300 - $400 is a very interesting price point. I went through the same exercise a few years ago. Wanted to upgrade from Romeo 5's, but didn't want to jump to $900 basic dots. But I found some deals on a bunch of Romeo 4's (An H, an S and a T). Maybe 2 years ago Obi Wan Nairobi really put the 4T's on the map.   Plus the H, S and T's (the newer T's) are all "assembled in America", if that means anything to you. Edit - PSA, not Optics Planet |
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You can get an Aimpoint ACO on Amazon direct from Aimpoint for $350 last I checked. A used Pro or Duty is also good. I know a lot of people like the Sig dots but I just can’t bring myself to buy a Chinese optic for that much, even if they glue the lenses in stateside. |
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Originally Posted By panthermark: I'd look for a SIG 4XT/Pro on sale. Someone mentioned the place out of Texas, I think they have a decent deal with a coupon code. $300 - $400 is a very interesting price point. I went through the same exercise a few years ago. Wanted to upgrade from Romeo 5's, but didn't want to jump to $900 basic dots. But I found some deals on a bunch of Romeo 4's (An H, an S and a T). Maybe 2 years ago Optics Planet was blowing out their Romeo 4S's for $200, so I picked up two more. That was a steal! Obi Wan Nairobi really put the 4T's on the map. https://preview.redd.it/former-22-sas-operator-pathfinder-christian-craighead-obi-v0-uywcsef3a9891.png?auto=webp&s=1e629914d0e7c1a7c100374b652965827aa45422 https://thereptilehouseblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/hirez2.jpg?w=541 Plus the H, S and T's (the newer T's) are all "assembled in America", if that means anything to you. What is Obi Wan Nairobi using on his stock for his sling? I’m looking for something for my MagPul MOE stock and having a hard time finding something. I’ve seen an MLock adaptor for them and the Blue Force Gear ULopp. Now back to the optics. The Sig 4s there have been some good deals and I got one with the Plex reticle to try and see if I would even like the 4 series of optics. It lead me into the 4T Pro’s. He uses a 4T solar model which at the time would have been the Pro model. I wish he was allowed to talk about that day in detail. |
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Originally Posted By Tomac: I, too, would prefer longer battery life. But in light of its other features (like the low battery warning; the reticle flashes slowly when you hit 50hrs remaining and flashes rapidly with 5hrs remaining) and the relatively low cost of CR123's it's not an issue for me (ymmv). AI search results say 5K-10K hours, but is there any hard data on its actual battery life for either reticle mode? Mepro is annoyingly, intentionally vague about it. |
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Originally Posted By OlympicArmsFan: What is Obi Wan Nairobi using on his stock for his sling? I’m looking for something for my MagPul MOE stock and having a hard time finding something. I’ve seen an MLock adaptor for them and the Blue Force Gear ULopp. Now back to the optics. The Sig 4s there have been some good deals and I got one with the Plex reticle to try and see if I would even like the 4 series of optics. It lead me into the 4T Pro’s. He uses a 4T solar model which at the time would have been the Pro model. I wish he was allowed to talk about that day in detail. Looks like a Magpul CTR Stock, a LaRue Riser and Frank Proctor Sling. https://www.thegearbunker.com/christian-craighead-rifle-setup/ |
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Originally Posted By -OdieGreen-: You can get an Aimpoint ACO on Amazon direct from Aimpoint for $350 last I checked. A used Pro or Duty is also good. I know a lot of people like the Sig dots but I just can’t bring myself to buy a Chinese optic for that much, even if they glue the lenses in stateside. Very interesting recent video on "Made In America" optics.  Made in America Want to point out a couple of things in the video. Around 7:45 he gets into American parts and eventually gets to Leopold. They have to use "Assembled in USA" since they are in Oregon, which has stricter origin laws than many other states. He gets to SIG around 11:05, stating the same thing. There are pics of DevGru rocking 4T's, so they are "American enough" to get those contracts (probably a package deal with SIG firearms being used). Parts come from "allied" countries (at least for the 4T series). ------ I'd call my SIG Romeo 5's Chinese optics for sure. I would not call my Romeo 4T a Chinese optic at all (same for the XT/XTPRO). FBI approved. Used by Devgru. My 4H and 4S's are probably somewhere in between. They are designed and assembled in the USA, but I don't know how much is truly sourced from China vs allied countries, and if they were in another state would they qualify for "made in the USA" tagging. The older Romeo 4 series (A, B, C and M) were designed in Oregon but assembled in China. The M became the T, and the entire 4 series was moved to the US for assembly and became the H, S, and T/XT/XTPRO. |
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Originally Posted By panthermark: Very interesting recent video on "Made In America" optics.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLLgJBXj2aQWant to point out a couple of things in the video. Around 7:45 he gets into American parts and eventually gets to Leopold. They have to use "Assembled in USA" since they are in Oregon, which has stricter origin laws than many other states. He gets to SIG around 11:05, stating the same thing. There are pics of DevGru rocking 4T's, so they are "American enough" to get those contracts (probably a package deal with SIG firearms being used). Parts come from "allied" countries (at least for the 4T series). ------ I'd call my SIG Romeo 5's Chinese optics for sure. I would not call my Romeo 4T a Chinese optic at all (same for the XT/XTPRO). FBI approved. Used by Devgru. My 4H and 4S's are probably somewhere in between. They are designed and assembled in the USA, but I don't know how much is truly sourced from China vs allied countries, and if they were in another state would they qualify for "made in the USA" tagging. The older Romeo 4 series (A, B, C and M) were designed in Oregon but assembled in China. The M became the T, and the entire 4 series was moved to the US for assembly and became the H, S, and T/XT/XTPRO. This is actually really good information and don’t forget the FBI HRT teams used them for a while before going back to Aimpoint T2’s a not sure why that is. GBRS Group one of their guys uses a 4XT Pro I believe in some of their videos. I think one part of the optic is not made in the US and I can’t remember where it comes from. It’s really an outstanding optic that people kind of sleep on due to Aimpoint being the go to. They have a reputation for a reason but in this day and age those reasons are not as far apart as people think for other brand of optics. We have come a long ways. |
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Originally Posted By panthermark: Very interesting recent video on "Made In America" optics. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLLgJBXj2aQWant to point out a couple of things in the video. Around 7:45 he gets into American parts and eventually gets to Leopold. They have to use "Assembled in USA" since they are in Oregon, which has stricter origin laws than many other states. He gets to SIG around 11:05, stating the same thing. There are pics of DevGru rocking 4T's, so they are "American enough" to get those contracts (probably a package deal with SIG firearms being used). Parts come from "allied" countries (at least for the 4T series). ------ I'd call my SIG Romeo 5's Chinese optics for sure. I would not call my Romeo 4T a Chinese optic at all (same for the XT/XTPRO). FBI approved. Used by Devgru. My 4H and 4S's are probably somewhere in between. They are designed and assembled in the USA, but I don't know how much is truly sourced from China vs allied countries, and if they were in another state would they qualify for "made in the USA" tagging. The older Romeo 4 series (A, B, C and M) were designed in Oregon but assembled in China. The M became the T, and the entire 4 series was moved to the US for assembly and became the H, S, and T/XT/XTPRO. I digress. I wasn’t aware they had moved production to Japan. I still trust Sig’s word about as much as Tijuana gas station sushi, but $400 for a Japanese red dot is a lot more plausible than when they were made in China. |
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Attached File Reviewing the Zentinel Nyx right now. It’s another holographic similar to the DOT, made in China. We’ll see how it holds up! |
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Originally Posted By bluedog82: https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/499242/IMG_0916_jpeg-3737533.JPG Reviewing the Zentinel Nyx right now. It’s another holographic similar to the DOT, made in China. We’ll see how it holds up! I think I’ve seen a couple postings on YouTube of this one. Maybe it was another one. Can’t wait for the review! |
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Originally Posted By cowboyarcher: I actually found a Holosun ARO for like $85 and went that way to swap out the Romeo 7S that had the bad halo effect. . . If I upgrade form there, it will be the AEMS Pro or The Romeo 4T. I don’t know much about that one but I think it gets good reviews. Enjoy it Op and when you decide to step up into a different optic, I can’t recommend the 4T Pro or 4XT Pro enough. It’s awesome. |
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The ROMEO 4T-PRO can be had for around $485 and is, IMHO, the premier 20mm size red dot sight. That said, I have a Holosun HS503R that 100% holds its own side by side with the Sig and Aimpoint Micros. Works great for passive aiming under nods and is just an excellent 20mm sized RDS. |
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I've had great luck with both Sig Romeo 4T's and some various Holosuns. The OG 4T solar is hard to beat, built like a tank and feature laden. I've actually got an FDE 4T up in the EE because I've paired my guns down to what I really need. Still keeping the other 4T as a backup just in case. Romeo 4T's are nice.. no first hand experience with Aimpoint T2's, I'm sure they're great too albeit pricey. |
Lord help us all
| I got two Romeo 4XT Pro's from Heart of Texas Armory a while back, and I've got to say, they are excellent so far. You'll probably be a hundred bucks out of budget on a new one but search the Exchange and Ebay long enough and you'll find one in the $400 range. Well worth the money, IMHO. Good enough to be on the weapon of the Brit SAS operator that everyone calls Obi-Wan Nairobi that cleared that mall in Nairobi single-handedly a few years back. So, you know they've been put through the paces. |
RIP TSgt Jason Norton and SSgt Brian McElroy. KIA 22 Jan 06, near Taji, Iraq.
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LaRue Armorer, Colt 1911 Armorer, Colt M16/AR15 Armorer, Glock Armorer
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Originally Posted By cowboyarcher:
I actually found a Holosun ARO for like $85 and went that way to swap out the Romeo 7S that had the bad halo effect. . . If I upgrade form there, it will be the AEMS Pro or The Romeo 4T. |
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