I've got a EOtech 557.  The bullet drop recticle doesn't do alot of good unless you've got a magnifier, at least not as far as my eyes are concerned.



Would love to have this magnifier, unfortunately I just can't bring myself to pay $550 for such a device.

Lurking on PA's website I did come across this:



It's about 1/6th the cost of the EOtech and does the same thing.  I wouldn't expect it to be as good as the EOTech quality wise, but is the EOtech magnifier 6 times better to warrant it's price?

I just went trough this myself.... long story short.. I got a first gen "real" eotech mag for 300 bucks..( local shop) and its the one that I use... Came with eotechs cantilever mount. The biggest difference I can tell is the glass quality.. it just seems more clear than the cheaper ones... I have a few from ebay... utg, etc.   and to tell you the truth, they are better than expected, but basically I just couldn't leave a 50$ mag behind a 450$ sight ya know. I also got a rip off eotech flip mount.. well, a "real" eotech is bigger diameter than the fake ones I guess.. It dont work with the real magnifier.  It did fit the Leapers 3x one but moves like crazy... holograph wont stay in center of glass..
all the money I spent trying to save money, I could have got the bad ass new one you want..

The one I did look at but never got to try was one made by Vortex... looks nice

sorry to turn my so called short story into a long one, just dont wanna see someone make the same mistake as I did..
I learned it from here, and its true..... Buy once.....Cry once

hope you can make out my bad grammar too.. sorry ––––––––-   ( see state im from) jk
good luck

I just got the 2nd gen. magnifier that your looking at and wouldn't trade it for anything! Tho it did cost allot more than the others its well worth it.

Previous thread:
http://www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=3&f=18&t=519189&light=

6 times better? No, never. Lets be realistic. Its a fixed mag, no reticle optic. Hell I can get a variable power optic for less than one of those 3x magnifiers. Something like the Nikon M223 or one of the many others.

Thats my opinion. The only way I would drop that kind of coin is if it was my go to rifle and I was a fighting man. And even then I'd go with a variable 1-4 before I went with an EOTech and a 3x mag.

Thats just my opinion. I use some cheap arsed Ebay 3x mag behind my EOtech.

You know what, I'm leaning further to this side of the argument.  Reality is while I do own ARs partially for SHTF, which is in and of itself a highly unlikely scenario, what would be even MORE highly unlikely is that I'd actually need a 3x magnifier in said scenario.  Even the LEO and Military folks don't seem to often be singing the praises of a flip-to-side reflex/magnifier combo due to the increased weight.  I do think it's cool for bench shooting but not $550 cool.  The Eotech Gen2 won't do anymore for me than the PA delux and frankly, it LOOKS just  as cool .  The ONLY think I wish the PA had was a QD mount for it.

All that I can really add is that the Eotech will hold it's resale value better and that it will be more desirable or IOW more likely to sell when and if you decide to sell it.

I went through this decision as well. I went back and forth for many months deciding and ultimately ended up purchasing the Eotech yesterday.

If you decide to go the economic route I would suggest going with a Primary Arms unit. I've heard many good things about their economical optics. I have also dealt first hand with them when I purchased my Eotech XPS. My personal experience was very good. Great price and prompt shipping.

One last thing to consider. The Eotech 3x is adjustable so that you can fine tune the "picture" of the RDS. IOW you can center the RDS in the 3x.

One other thing I'd like to mention. The XPS is a bit "fuzzy". When you view it through the 3x it really sharpens up.

I considered this also and I think if I was going to do it I would try the vortex. The glass on their red dots isn't bad so imagine the magnifier is no different. I would opt for a good mount. If I had a cantilever mount on my AR I probably would have done this already.

Just took advantage of the PA offer and got the Eotech 512 with the free magnifier and couldn't be happier.  Great deal and fantastic service!

I'd like to thank you for your responses to my question.  Now, since I'm going the cheap route with magnifiers I'm wondering what the difference is between the PA Delux 3x Magnifier, and the VMX3 besides $30.  Gotta say the delux looks cooler (some might think this is lame I know), but if the VMX3 is funcionally better being clearer or tougher I'll spend the extra dough on that.

i just got a vmx3 and it is pretty solid i like it.

I have a PA 3x behind my EOtech. It works fine for the few times I use the 3x. I installed mine in a LaRue mount so I can remove it when I want.

This is the exact set-up I want to go for, the mount will cost more than the magnifier but what the hey...which LaRue mount is the one that works with the PA 3x?