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I am looking to equip my ar with a economically feasable red dot sight. I have pretty much narrowed it down to these two and was hoping for some other's input. I am leaning toward the Primary Arms M3 Clone red dots over the Vortex Strikeforce due to their affordable pricing and good reviews. I do however prefer the lifetime warrantee on the Vortex... Any help would be appreciated.
www.primaryarms.com
www.vortexoptics.com
Just stay away from optics made in China is what I hear.
Primary Arms seems to have a very good product. People think highly of them on ar15.com. I've bought other products from Primary Arms and I've been very pleased with the service and the fast shipping. Their optics are firearm rated and carry a one year warranty, so I think you'll be satisfied with what you get.
Don't know anything vortexoptics so I can comment on them.
I have a Vortex 6-24x50 and I have absolutely no complaints about it. It was affordable and well built, here in the USA.
I've also heard great things about the PA Aimpoint replicas and their magnifiers for red dot sights.
I would recommend either company, but if you want a RDS, go with Primary Arms. If you want a scope, go with Vortex.
I've not got a Primary Arms so can't comment on them. I do have a Vortex StrikeFire that I like very well. The thing is tuff as hell, I dropped the gun from a shooting bench to the dirt and it didn't bother the sight one little bit. I've heard complaints about the dot not being very bright in full daylight, but I've got REALLY old eyes and have no problem picking up the dot.
The only complaint I've got about the StrikeFire is the button setup. The power button is on the side and it's really pretty easy to turn the thing on/off when you don't want to. I've had the sight on, leaned the gun against something and had it turn off when the button was accidently pressed by what ever I was leaning it up against. Also that the SF turns itself off after two hours. Can be a pain if you're shooting one of these RDS' in a competition and forget to check the dot before a stage.
I LOVE the mount that comes with the StrikeFire, it's solid as hell and just doesn't want to bend no matter what you do to it. You've got the option of either a low mount or a high mount with the SF. The high mount does an absolute co-withness with your BUIS or if you call Vortex, they've got a taller mount that they will do a straight trade for your SF mount that allows a lower 1/3 cowitness with your BUIS.
The SF is a good solid setup that you can get on the web used for $125 or sometimes less, or if you can't wait, I've seen them at Sportsman's Warehouse for $149. Also be aware that the SF uses CR-2 batteries, not AA or AAA batteries.
I've got the Primary Arms red dot on my SWMP15-22-so far no complaints-good feedback on ARFCOM- $79 with high mount for co-witness.[Beer]
I almost bought the Primary Arms M3 clone or M4 clone (if they had one in stock) and still might down the road. Then I started looking at the Bushnell Trophy 1x32 MP Red Dot Sight and ordered one tonight.
What sold me on it was reading about the scope passing this "torture test":
http://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php?t=18751
I found it for $148 with free shipping at Binoculars.com. It looks like it only has a 1 year warranty though (note: actually has a lifetime warranty). Hopefully will have it before the weekend so I can take it shooting.
Vortex Optics has a good reputation and following on snipershide and many other forums I'm sure. I hear they're customer service is also excellent as well as their product.
i have a vortex viper scope. can't comment on RDS but i love the scope. very clear and sharp, nice finish and tight knobs. i don't know about the other optics but for the viper they have an unconditional lifetime warranty. no receipt needed, no proof of anything, even if it was sold to someone else the lifetime warranty is valid. basically all you need is the scope, no questions asked as to how or why it was damaged. thats pretty good service if you ask me.
I've got the Vortex Strikefire and really have liked it. It has stayed dead on target for the last 6 months of shooting. The little 2x adapter that comes with it is pretty slick for when you need it. I really like that you can set it pretty dim so it doesn't blur over the target when doing more precision work.