Anyone have any luck with garbage tier optics? - Page 1

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Anyone have any luck with garbage tier optics?

Posted: 5/6/2020 11:44:23 AM EDT

Thinking of getting a cheap red dot or something to slap on my mkIII 22/45. I wouldn't put a $20 eBay special on any serious use gun, but maybe some of them are decent enough for rimfire plinking? Anyone had any luck? Any worth recommending?

Posted: 5/6/2020 12:16:58 PM EDT

[#1]

Bushnells TRS-25 has worked fine on a bunch of 10/22s for me.

There are plenty of fans of Primary Arms red dots too.

Being that the 22/45 does not have a reciprocating slide and the optic mount is fixed, the gun won't abuse the optic.

Posted: 5/6/2020 12:24:32 PM EDT

[#2]

The Bushnell TRS-25s are great if a tubed site will work for you, They are taking a bit of reputation hit now because there are fake ones on the market. There aren't similar priced entry level holographic sights though.

Posted: 5/6/2020 1:04:38 PM EDT

[#3]

I have a Tasco red dot that I put on my 10/22 in 1994. Still holds zero.

Posted: 5/6/2020 2:28:14 PM EDT

[#4]

I have a primary arms' red dot I've had for years that has floated around from gun to gun as a place holder until I decide what nicer one I want. I've had it on 22's, AR's of various calibers, a shotgun, and now it's on my cz scorpion until I decide what I really want to put on it. It's always done the job of going out to the range and hitting the target so I can try out my new {insert gun model here}. I'd have no issue leaving it on a plinker indefinitely though.

Posted: 5/7/2020 7:55:36 AM EDT

[#5]

https://www.ar15.com/forums/Handguns/Ruger-Mk-IV-22-45-Lite-Under-An-ADE-Green-Micro-Dot-a-UTG-Tandemkross-Williams-Fire-Sights-Update/50-186291/

What you read work(ed) fine as intended.

Not fond of red dot concept as way too much time with high quality fiber optics.

The red dot is coming off the black 22/45Lite when a set of fiber optics makes it through shipping.

Posted: 5/7/2020 7:58:59 AM EDT

[#6]

I put a $15 Amazon red dot on my mark4. Over 1000 rounds and it’s still holding zero. I even won two 22 plate matches with this setup.

Posted: 5/7/2020 9:39:04 AM EDT

[#7]

The Ultra Dot brand are very good. They last years on slide mounted 1911's used in bullseye competition. They typically can be found used for $100-130 online.

Posted: 5/8/2020 4:24:04 PM EDT

[#8]

As a practical matter garbage tier optics is a (BS?) concept, lacking a better term.

Having had a $15 Daisy BB gun red dots hold a zero on a real pellet gun AND having had several of the small cheap pistol red dots work fine AND having had a SeeMore Railway be a piece of unzeroable junk on an M4 AND having had TWO (2) EOTech HoloGraphic sights eat batteries and change zeros every time the temperature changed (full refund recalls on POS electronics.),

I hesitate to go by price.

The UTG in my post is a nice sight. The TRS-25 on an AR is a nice sight.

The AimPoint Patrol Optic is by far the best and most dependable “red dot.” For on an AR.

Four UltraDots have worked for 20+ years and were never that expensive. On rifles.

Whatever works, works.

Posted: 5/8/2020 9:21:49 PM EDT

[#9]

Tasco is one of the better "cheap" models in red dots, IMO. BSA isn't bad either.

Posted: 5/9/2020 9:13:54 AM EDT

[#10]

I've had good luck with 2, ADE RDS. One on a MKII using a Burris fast fire mount that replaces the rear sight. The other on a Taurus TX22 using lakelines mount. Each has survived many bricks of ammo and have held zero. When they do take a shit, I'll probably replace with fast fire 3's...
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B071JHZXFS/ref=ox_sc_saved_title_3?smid=A2KU5BPCTRSW5I&psc=1 Looks like they went up a bit, I paid around $40. mounts were another $40 or so....

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Posted: 6/3/2020 7:57:47 PM EDT

[#11]

I have a simple red dot on my mossberg 590, ruined the first one, it fell apart inside where the circuit board is, so I took the replacement apart and filled it with clear rtv, flexible enough for small adjustment, but helps absorb any shock.

Posted: 6/4/2020 2:08:15 PM EDT

[#12]

Not for serious business of course, but when I picked up a 15/22 decided to get a red dot Chinese made browning branded reflex around 50 bucks. Set it up about 2&1/2 years ago hasn’t given any problems. When I shoot steel challenge I turn it on and leave it on for the whole match ( 4-5 hours)
Shooting 3 matches a month year round makes about 300 hours of on time at least, still on original battery. Unlike other red dots like aimpoints I do not have as much blooming of the dot with the reflex, which is a consequence of my astigmatism

Posted: 6/7/2020 1:48:21 PM EDT

[#13]

I bought this thing on a whim many years ago (paid $169

). I've never put it on any gun, mostly because none had the Weaver rail machined into the receiver. Now that I think about it I'd love to be able to mount it on my old Ruger Standard Model.

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Posted: 6/10/2020 12:16:03 PM EDT

[#14]

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This is an old generation Primary Arms cheapo. I think it’s comparable to the one PA sells these days for around $80. It has seen many thousands of .22LR without issue, plus it spent some time on a 12 gauge and I’ve used it on various centerfire bolt action rifles (.30-06, .270, .308) for brief times.

Posted: 6/10/2020 1:01:26 PM EDT

[#15]

Quote History

Quoted:
Bushnells TRS-25 has worked fine on a bunch of 10/22s for me.

There are plenty of fans of Primary Arms red dots too.

Being that the 22/45 does not have a reciprocating slide and the optic mount is fixed, the gun won't abuse the optic.

View Quote

I have several. Mounted on a AR5.56, Ruger 10-22, AR45, AR9mm. No issues at all. They get really cheap on Amazon.

I have a compact Sig Romeo and a compact Holosun on a couple glocks and they work great. (RDS)

Posted: 6/10/2020 1:14:09 PM EDT

[#16]

Years ago, I bought a $40 red dot sight (BSA maybe?), at Wal-Mart and put it on my pellet gun. Worked great, had a lot of fun with it.

Katrina came, and flooded my property under 23 feet of water. Six weeks later, cleaning up, I found the pellet gun covered in oilly, greasy mucky mud. I hosed it off, and then just for the hell of it, turned the cheap red dot on. Son of a gun came right on! Not hurt at all.

Posted: 6/10/2020 1:19:42 PM EDT

[#17]

Browning Buckmark reflex sights have worked pretty well for me on 22LR.

There's a bit of a hinky setup with a spring loading the elevation, so I don't think it'd do so great on a larger caliber, but I was surprised. I expected it to be a total POS given the price, ended up buying several after using it.

Posted: 6/10/2020 1:23:41 PM EDT

[#18]

Bought something like this for my kids Savage Rascal .22 rifle. Seems to work great. But it isn't bashed around or anything.

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https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000268823429.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.0.0.5c965973j1vxkC

Posted: 6/10/2020 1:26:59 PM EDT

[#19]

Quoted:
Thinking of getting a cheap red dot or something to slap on my mkIII 22/45. I wouldn't put a $20 eBay special on any serious use gun, but maybe some of them are decent enough for rimfire plinking? Anyone had any luck? Any worth recommending?

View Quote

The cheapest I've found that actually works is a TRS-25. I've had cheaper optics literally fall apart on my rifles. I learned my lesson a long time ago...spend good money on optics. Because the one time you really need them, cheap ones will fail on you.

Posted: 6/10/2020 1:28:48 PM EDT

[#20]

Eotechs might be garbage tier but they seem like good range gun optics.

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Anyone have any luck with garbage tier optics?

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