Krydel Posted March 17, 2014 Report Share Posted March 17, 2014 Hey guys, So I've been wondering about making a step up to real optics rather than crappy clones of aimpoints or eotechs and I figure there must be real optics about that aren't as expensive as the aforementioned, yet are solid choices. Any suggestions for running on AR-15 platforms? Usually run a clone T1 or a M2. I've found this website, which look decent, but I would welcome further suggestions. https://www.primaryarms.com/Primary-Arms-s/586.htm Thanks in advance! Link to post Share on other sites
j33v3s Posted March 17, 2014 Report Share Posted March 17, 2014 This is from when I (briefly) looked into getting a real steel red dot for my AEG - mainly due to frustration at the general -ness of airsoft clones. The general consensus I found on real steel shooting forums in the US were that primaryarms scopes were a very good cheap alternative. They hold zero on real steel firearms (so will be fine for GBBs even), seem well built and have good clear dots/reticles. However, primary arms won't ship to UK - ITAR restrictions or some such nonsense <sarcasm> cos we're all terrorists over here obviously </sarcasm> I did find that brands to avoid were (off the top of my head, forgive me for any typos):NCSTARPRO ARMS If you find an easy way to get hold of the primaryarms red dots, do let me know - would be perfectly happy laying down $60-$90 on one of these seeing as it won't fall to bits & will actually be visible in anything other than pitch blackness Link to post Share on other sites
WTF?Shane Posted March 17, 2014 Report Share Posted March 17, 2014 Primary Arms micro red dot is good to go! Edit: I was using mobile device so I didn't see you are outside the US. Link to post Share on other sites
j33v3s Posted March 17, 2014 Report Share Posted March 17, 2014 @WTF?Shane - or anyone else in the US for that matter.What would be the dealy-o on someone buying a an item like this within the US, then bringing it back with them on the plane (or one of you buying, then shipping to us) - I'm guessing no no as you'd be done for exporting restricted items (or whatever the restriction is on these)? Link to post Share on other sites
Kunlun Posted March 17, 2014 Report Share Posted March 17, 2014 Vortex Sparc! http://www.vortexoptics.com/product/vortex-sparc-red-dot-scope Worth every penny, love mine!!! Link to post Share on other sites
Krydel Posted March 17, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 17, 2014 Found the Sparc on a UK website, so thats good. £148 (http://www.riflecraft.co.uk/products/sparc-red-dot-2-moa-150.aspx) Also ran across the Vortex StrikeFire on the same website, which looks similar to an Aimpoint M2 (http://www.riflecraft.co.uk/products/red-green-dot-with-extra-high-mount-4-moa-146.aspx) So thanks for pointing me in the right direction, to find some UK options. Link to post Share on other sites
renegadecow Posted March 18, 2014 Report Share Posted March 18, 2014 I have an NcSTAR and I think it's pretty good. A lot of thier products have good glass, but they also have really bad items. With that you can't judge the brand as a whole but instead at a per product basis. Link to post Share on other sites
max archer Posted March 18, 2014 Report Share Posted March 18, 2014 I played around with a SPARC at the gun store recently and it seems like quite a nice little optic for the money. They were asking around $200 so it might be worth seeing if a U.S. dealer could get you one, since even with shipping it might beat £148. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using Tapatalk Link to post Share on other sites
airsoftmatthias Posted March 18, 2014 Report Share Posted March 18, 2014 Sightmark makes some good Aimpoint/EOTech look-a-like sights that are made for real firearms. http://www.opticsplanet.com/sightmark-brand.html Link to post Share on other sites
aznriptide859 Posted March 18, 2014 Report Share Posted March 18, 2014 There was a blog post on this actually; hope it helps. http://www.thebangswitch.com/budget-red-dot-sight-comparison-part-1/ Link to post Share on other sites
BigAl Posted March 18, 2014 Report Share Posted March 18, 2014 The Vortex sights are a good option, they a night vision compatible as well. I have recently seen the Sparc on Ali Express for about $38 so beware! Make sure you order through a reputable company like Riflecraft or you could get a Chinese Lemon. Link to post Share on other sites
intinerious Posted March 18, 2014 Report Share Posted March 18, 2014 Primary Arms T1. Got one; nice clear glass (with a VERY slight tint of blue; nothing like the ACM clone sights) nice circular dot, and pretty cheap too. Here's a good review of it: http://230grain.com/showthread.php?67132-Is-my-optic-Ready-for-the-Tactical-Bathing-Environment-The-Primary-Arms-MD-02 Also looks nice with fishsticks. Link to post Share on other sites
PureSilver Posted March 18, 2014 Report Share Posted March 18, 2014 There was a blog post on this actually; hope it helps. http://www.thebangswitch.com/budget-red-dot-sight-comparison-part-1/ Exactly what I came here to say. READ THIS carefully. Link to post Share on other sites
Krydel Posted March 18, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 18, 2014 Primary Arms T1. Got one; nice clear glass (with a VERY slight tint of blue; nothing like the ACM clone sights) nice circular dot, and pretty cheap too. Here's a good review of it: http://230grain.com/showthread.php?67132-Is-my-optic-Ready-for-the-Tactical-Bathing-Environment-The-Primary-Arms-MD-02 Also looks nice with fishsticks. Ha, that picture is so bizarre. Trouble is getting hold of Primary Arms stuff in the UK? Link to post Share on other sites
Siavash Posted March 18, 2014 Report Share Posted March 18, 2014 If you are willing to forkout £100 you might aswell go on ebay and get a real Eotech from USA. I got 2x eotechs from USA on ebay and an eotech Magnifier.. "Assumption is mother of all *fruitcage* ups!" Link to post Share on other sites
Krydel Posted March 18, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 18, 2014 ITAR will be an issue with importing from the USA won't it? You can get real eotechs in this country anyway from uk retailers. Also, I highly doubt £100 will fetch me an eotech. Link to post Share on other sites
PureSilver Posted March 18, 2014 Report Share Posted March 18, 2014 If you are willing to forkout £100 you might aswell go on ebay and get a real Eotech from USA. I got 2x eotechs from USA on ebay and an eotech Magnifier. Not to be unkind, Siavash, but are you absolutely sure they're all the real deal? Krydel, as Siavash rather convincingly accidentally demonstrated a week or so ago, when you buy RS kit from the US you run a lot of risks. ITAR is a major threat in this area, with many retailers putting a blanket ban on export rather than dealing with the minutiae of what is and isn't acceptable, and you end up buying from unaccredited outlets or private sellers, which puts you at considerable risk. The reason RS kit is so expensive from retailers over here is the cost of importing it legally; you can try to skirt the rules if you like to bring that cost down but it is not risk-free and if you or your exporter get caught you could be in quite serious legal trouble, depending upon what it is that's being exported. £100 won't buy you a real EoTech, but it might get you a particularly battered old Aimpoint. I'd still be looking for low-end RS stuff; remember that you can deal with this sort of stuff within the EU without too much difficulty. Link to post Share on other sites
Krydel Posted March 18, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 18, 2014 Not to be unkind, Siavash, but are you absolutely sure they're all the real deal? Krydel, as Siavash rather convincingly accidentally demonstrated a week or so ago, when you buy RS kit from the US you run a lot of risks. ITAR is a major threat in this area, with many retailers putting a blanket ban on export rather than dealing with the minutiae of what is and isn't acceptable, and you end up buying from unaccredited outlets or private sellers, which puts you at considerable risk. The reason RS kit is so expensive from retailers over here is the cost of importing it legally; you can try to skirt the rules if you like to bring that cost down but it is not risk-free and if you or your exporter get caught you could be in quite serious legal trouble, depending upon what it is that's being exported. £100 won't buy you a real EoTech, but it might get you a particularly battered old Aimpoint. I'd still be looking for low-end RS stuff; remember that you can deal with this sort of stuff within the EU without too much difficulty. Either they're not real, or they must be battered. A quick ebay search in the US doesn't find anything legit in that price range. Even the Hurricane clones fetch about £100. I'll stick with looking to low-end RS stuff, its only airsoft after all, I just value a decent optic. Any retailer recommendations for getting hold of any of the stuff mentioned in that blog? Incidentally, just emailed Riflecraft and they should be getting the new SPARC II and Strikefire in the next 3-4 weeks, with June/July for the entirely new optics they've got primed for release. Link to post Share on other sites
Siavash Posted March 18, 2014 Report Share Posted March 18, 2014 Ohh my eotechs are not £100!! Ahahah mine are real and i did ask about ITAR and the store's response was "ITAR laws cover specific items that cannot be exported out of the U.S. There are other items that are restricted but eligible for export but only to specific countries without an export license. Those are mostly NATO countries. Finally some of those items can be shipped to other countries but require an export license. I do not ship items that require an export license because I am too small a business to deal with the government paperwork and approval delays. I have been informed by EOTECH export compliance officer that this is exportable to those NATO countries. That where things stand" So yes he can ship to the UK. Each of my unit was £300 est. So mine are Real but he could just buy second hand ones for cheaper "Assumption is mother of all *fruitcage* ups!" Link to post Share on other sites
Siavash Posted March 18, 2014 Report Share Posted March 18, 2014 But they again you can buy a g&g sight off rewolf for $150 so just save up and buy a decent optic and stay away for cheap ones. I have many optics over the years and i found they never hold zero. "Assumption is mother of all *fruitcage* ups!" Link to post Share on other sites
Krydel Posted March 18, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 18, 2014 But they again you can buy a g&g sight off rewolf for $150 so just save up and buy a decent optic and stay away for cheap ones. I have many optics over the years and i found they never hold zero. "Assumption is mother of all *fruitcage* ups!" When you say cheap, do you mean cheap Airsoft, or cheap RS optics? If the latter, as far as I can tell, the Vortex Optics hold zero very well. There are countless good reviews and youtube videos of people explaining how they've used a SPARC for 2.5 years without ever having to change the zero on a real AR-15 variant. I'm sure my AEG won't cause many zeroing problems If the former, I have an ACM T1 and it is absolute balls in all but appearance. Link to post Share on other sites
Siavash Posted March 18, 2014 Report Share Posted March 18, 2014 Cheap airsoft mate, iver never used any cheap RS sights so i wouldnt know. "Assumption is mother of all *fruitcage* ups!" Link to post Share on other sites
Krydel Posted March 18, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 18, 2014 Cheap airsoft mate, iver never used any cheap RS sights so i wouldnt know. "Assumption is mother of all *fruitcage* ups!" Gotcha, agreed on that one! Tactical Kit sell Eotechs fwiw, for £300-400 which isn't too bad and doesn't require importing from the US, though way out of my price range. Link to post Share on other sites
Siavash Posted March 18, 2014 Report Share Posted March 18, 2014 I would never buy from Tactical Kit! They are bloody rip! "Assumption is mother of all *fruitcage* ups!" Link to post Share on other sites
Philbucknall Posted March 18, 2014 Report Share Posted March 18, 2014 Stick with the vortex range mate they are very good from the reports i've heard from RS shooters and competitively priced too. Link to post Share on other sites
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