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Posted: 2/3/2014 1:11:56 PM EDT
Pretty sure this question has been asked before. Bear with me people, thanks! What do you all prefer?  |
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I have a red dot, a cheap one. And it's lasted nicely and zeros perfectly each time a remove and reinstall. I'll take some heat for this probably but I like it, especially in it's price range. For what it's worth this has been a great intro to red dots and makes me want a T-1 or H-1 at some point. They're so light and easy on/off - impressive.
Rifle is setup a little different now but here we go - Primary Arms Red Dot with American Defense QD mount. 
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Red dot has a dot inside a tube style sight. Where as the reflex projects a dot or image onto a glass surface. I thought there was a difference? |
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Quoted:
I am also a scope/site noob. I was torn between the two. Been searching for the pros and cons. I think I like the reflex better. seems like you can use it just like the iron sites instead of resting you eye on anything. shouldn't be resting your eye on anything. I have an eotech, primary arms, aim point pro and a trijicon reflex. They all seem the same to me except the red dots have adjustments for brightness. The trijicon uses fiber optics and tritium....it has no adjustment but the brighter the light is outside the brighter the dot gets. They have all been accurate and keep zero after firing multiple rounds and being handled, traveled with. |
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The red dots, specifically the Aimpoint brand models have way higher battery life. It isn't even close, the entry level Aimpoint will last up to 3 years always on, the micros up to 5 and the M4 up to 7-8. This isn't important in terms of battery cost, it is very important if the rifle is to be used for home defense. It means the sight can just be left on so when you grab it at o'dark thirty under stress the dot is already there ready to go.
The technology is different, the red dots are an led, the "reflex" ones use a laser to project the image on the screen I believe. |
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Quoted:
shouldn't be resting your eye on anything. I have an eotech, primary arms, aim point pro and a trijicon reflex. They all seem the same to me except the red dots have adjustments for brightness. The trijicon uses fiber optics and tritium....it has no adjustment but the brighter the light is outside the brighter the dot gets. They have all been accurate and keep zero after firing multiple rounds and being handled, traveled with. Quoted:
Quoted:
I am also a scope/site noob. I was torn between the two. Been searching for the pros and cons. I think I like the reflex better. seems like you can use it just like the iron sites instead of resting you eye on anything. shouldn't be resting your eye on anything. I have an eotech, primary arms, aim point pro and a trijicon reflex. They all seem the same to me except the red dots have adjustments for brightness. The trijicon uses fiber optics and tritium....it has no adjustment but the brighter the light is outside the brighter the dot gets. They have all been accurate and keep zero after firing multiple rounds and being handled, traveled with. Given you have so many different types, what do you prefer? Also, you provide manufacturer's names, what models do you have? Thanks, |
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From Wikipedia: "The mid to late 70s saw the introduction of what are usually referred to as "red dot sights", a type that gives the user a simple bright red dot as an aiming point.[url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reflector_sight#cite_note-34][34][/url] The typical configuration for this sight is a compact curved mirror reflector design with a red Light-emitting diode (LED) at its focus. Using an LED as a reticle is an innovation that greatly improves the reliability and general usefulness of the sight. There is no need for other optical elements to focus light behind a reticle. The mirror can use a dichroic coating to reflect just the red spectrum, passing-through most other light. The LED itself is solid state and consumes very little power, allowing battery powered sights to run for hundreds and even tens of thousands of hours. Reflector sights for military firearms (usually referred to by the abbreviation "reflex sight”) took a long time to be adopted. The US House Committee on Armed Services noted as far back as 1975 on the suitability of the use of reflex sight for the M16[url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reflector_sight#cite_note-35][35][/url] but the US military did not introduce reflector sights until 2000 with the Aimpoint CompM2 red dot sight, designated the "M68 Close Combat Optic”  EOTech Holographic Weapon Sights use a laser to illuminate a holographic plate. A laser uses more battery power than an LED, so there is a corresponding reduction in battery life. Nothing can touch an Aimpoint for battery life, I happen to prefer the reticle on the EOTech. Life is short. Own many optics. Mark H. |
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Quoted:
From Wikipedia: "The mid to late 70s saw the introduction of what are usually referred to as "red dot sights", a type that gives the user a simple bright red dot as an aiming point.[url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reflector_sight#cite_note-34][34][/url] The typical configuration for this sight is a compact curved mirror reflector design with a red Light-emitting diode (LED) at its focus. Using an LED as a reticle is an innovation that greatly improves the reliability and general usefulness of the sight. There is no need for other optical elements to focus light behind a reticle. The mirror can use a dichroic coating to reflect just the red spectrum, passing-through most other light. The LED itself is solid state and consumes very little power, allowing battery powered sights to run for hundreds and even tens of thousands of hours.Reflector sights for military firearms (usually referred to by the abbreviation "reflex sight”) took a long time to be adopted. The US House Committee on Armed Services noted as far back as 1975 on the suitability of the use of reflex sight for the M16[url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reflector_sight#cite_note-35][35][/url] but the US military did not introduce reflector sights until 2000 with the Aimpoint CompM2 red dot sight, designated the "M68 Close Combat Optic” http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6f/Reflector_reflex_sight_diagram_3.png/250px-Reflector_reflex_sight_diagram_3.png http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reflector_sight EOTech Holographic Weapon Sights use a laser to illuminate a holographic plate. A laser uses more battery power than an LED, so there is a corresponding reduction in battery life. Nothing can touch an Aimpoint for battery life, I happen to prefer the reticle on the EOTech. Life is short. Own many optics. Mark H. I agree having just one type of optic would be pretty boring. |
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Quoted:
From Wikipedia: "The mid to late 70s saw the introduction of what are usually referred to as "red dot sights", a type that gives the user a simple bright red dot as an aiming point.[url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reflector_sight#cite_note-34][34][/url] The typical configuration for this sight is a compact curved mirror reflector design with a red Light-emitting diode (LED) at its focus. Using an LED as a reticle is an innovation that greatly improves the reliability and general usefulness of the sight. There is no need for other optical elements to focus light behind a reticle. The mirror can use a dichroic coating to reflect just the red spectrum, passing-through most other light. The LED itself is solid state and consumes very little power, allowing battery powered sights to run for hundreds and even tens of thousands of hours.Reflector sights for military firearms (usually referred to by the abbreviation "reflex sight”) took a long time to be adopted. The US House Committee on Armed Services noted as far back as 1975 on the suitability of the use of reflex sight for the M16[url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reflector_sight#cite_note-35][35][/url] but the US military did not introduce reflector sights until 2000 with the Aimpoint CompM2 red dot sight, designated the "M68 Close Combat Optic” http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6f/Reflector_reflex_sight_diagram_3.png/250px-Reflector_reflex_sight_diagram_3.png http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reflector_sight EOTech Holographic Weapon Sights use a laser to illuminate a holographic plate. A laser uses more battery power than an LED, so there is a corresponding reduction in battery life. Nothing can touch an Aimpoint for battery life, I happen to prefer the reticle on the EOTech. Life is short. Own many optics. On RTZ lever mounts. Mark H. FIFY OP, my advice is to buy used on the EE at a good price, see if you like it, and if you dont sell it for marginal loss (probably just shipping). Optics are like handguns, extremely personal decision and use driven. I have 5 optics on lever mounts b/c i can never make up my mind 
As an earlier poster said, primary arms optics are great for seeing which setup you prefer or if you're fine with the battery life limitations. The only reason I sold my PA micro dot was to replace it with a aimpoint micro. No real change in performance, I just couldn't have extra money sitting around. Could have got lost or something. |
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