Obviously if you purchase an optic like the Aimpoint Comp M3 that has been adopted by the US Army, the EOTech EXPS that has been recently adopted by SOCOM, the Trijicon ACOG that has been adopted by the USMC you're going to have an optic that performs to a very high level of quality and durability. Due to those companies having very large DOD contracts they've had great success with Law Enforcement and the money they raise allows them to do production here in the USA or Europe where quality is typically much higher. So you can expect a great deal in terms of consistent quality from those manufacturers.



I don't think Vortex attempts to compete directly with those companies for government contracts. They concentrate on the civilian market that is more geared toward recreational use and sporting use of firearms. They provide a lower cost alternative to the high-end mil contractors and I'm glad that Vortex and other companies have provided weapons for tactical or defensive use like the SPARC. They could have just stuck to making scopes for hunting and then there would be no alternative to the high cost optics, which frankly would just eliminate many civilians from being able to purchase a defensive optic. Would people be better with just iron sights if they are civilians who cannot afford high cost red dots and HWS? I don't think so. The advantage of a red dot is it allows you to concentrate on our target and acquire it faster, which is advantageous for HD work. I think folks who purchase the lower cost optics need to incorporate Irons with a cowitness to their red dot. That way the lower cost optic gives them the speed on target and if it goes down no big deal your irons are up.



As far as mounts go the American Defense mount for the Vortex SPARC seems pretty high quality to me.