I finally bit the bullet and got an Aimpoint PRO!

**Phaedrus** · 07-23-2015, 11:54 PM

After having my 2nd and 3rd choices up til now I finally bit the bullet and got an Aimpoint PRO! Just slapped it on my AR tonight, no chance yet to shoot or zero it. But my initial impressions are very positive. The dot is very clean and I can see just looking around the house that it has much less parallax than the cheap sights. I actually traded in a .40 cal pistol I never carry or shoot and got the PRO and some cash, so that was nice. Still it might wind up costing me- it's enough nicer than my cheaper sights that I will probably get another one for one of my PCCs down the road. I really wanted something I can leave on all the time without running down the batteries and not worrying that I'll forget to turn it on.

Like I said, they're a bit expensive. There are some other great RDSs out there but just for once I decided to have my first choice instead of a compromise.

Here are a few crappy pics:

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**kyratshooter** · 07-24-2015, 12:17 AM

I can see the reasoning in this. I have been playing around with cheap red dots and if I could get refunds on all the cheap ones I have, unused and in the shoe box, I could have paid for the good one I needed from day one.

I finally broke down and got a more expensive model and it is a great improvement. 8,000 hours on one 3v battery, easier zeroing and no dot shift.

Sometimes you can get away with a cheap scope, but a cheap red dot just will not make the cut.

**Phaedrus** · 07-24-2015, 12:57 AM

Haha! I wish I could trade in some of my cheap crap towards one or two good ones. Sometimes it is cheaper to get the best stuff the first time around.

**crashdive123** · 07-24-2015, 06:45 AM

I've been drooling over some Aimpoints for a while now. Maybe some day.

**Rick** · 07-24-2015, 08:49 AM

Yeah, me too. I look at them and then the price and then back at them. Makes me sad.

**natertot** · 07-24-2015, 09:16 AM

Very nice addition.

Just of note of caution, you have a mag inserted and the safety is off.......

**Grizz123** · 07-24-2015, 10:01 AM

I've been looking into the red dots for a while now and decided to get a SEEALL until I could afford a good red dot. Now I have two SEEALL's and like both of them.

**kyratshooter** · 07-24-2015, 10:56 AM

The SeeAll is a fiber optic and requires some level of light to work.

I gravitate to the red dots specifically because they work in zero light and all you have to do is place the + on whateverthehell it is you are trying to shoot in the middle of the night.

I have also started a process of rotating out all my standard scopes for Illuminated reticle models for the same reason. One nice feature of the IR scopes is if the battery does die the scope simply reverts to a regular scope with black cross hairs, you just lose your low light capabilities.

Now if they would hook a little LED up to that SeeAll it might just work for me. Or if it was luminous.

**Phaedrus** · 07-25-2015, 03:12 AM

Originally Posted by natertot

Very nice addition.

Just of note of caution, you have a mag inserted and the safety is off.......

Can't put the safety on as it's not "cocked". The rifle has an empty mag in it. Don't worry- it can't shoot you through the computer screen.

**natertot** · 07-25-2015, 06:04 AM

Originally Posted by Phaedrus

Can't put the safety on as it's not "cocked". The rifle has an empty mag in it. Don't worry- it can't shoot you through the computer screen.

I ain't skeered. Just looking out for my fellow wsf member.

**Phaedrus** · 07-25-2015, 07:15 AM

I was just making a [lame] joke. Since I haven't had it to the range to sight it in yet I don't keep it loaded. Actually, I have ten x 30 round mags but only one or two are loaded, and they're not stored near the gun. In any event I don't keep my home defense firearms loaded at all; normally with whatever I'm designating as my primary HD/zombie gun I keep a mag in it but not one in the chamber. The reasoning is that in my house I'll have a bit more warning than I would "on the street".

**kyratshooter** · 07-25-2015, 12:31 PM

Originally Posted by Phaedrus

Haha! I wish I could trade in some of my cheap crap towards one or two good ones. Sometimes it is cheaper to get the best stuff the first time around.

Do you think we might be able to talk NcStar and BSA into a trade in deal?

Two $50 red dots and $100 for a $200 dollar unit that will hold zero!

And you really have to watch out when buying online. You can pay $75 to someone for a unit that is only $35 from NcStar. Exact same unit and you paid the extra because you though you were stepping up in quality.

And there is a big lack of middle ground. Very difficult to find a red dot that is not expensive but "good enough". You pay $200 and you may be getting $50 internals, or you jump all the way to the Aimpoints, Ecotech and Trujocon, "bite the bullet" and pay their $400-$1000 prices.

Makes me wonder what that Seeall unit would do with a piece of luminous tape stuck on it ???

**natertot** · 07-25-2015, 04:14 PM

Originally Posted by kyratshooter

Do you think we might be able to talk NcStar and BSA into a trade in deal?

Two $50 red dots and $100 for a $200 dollar unit that will hold zero!

And you really have to watch out when buying online. You can pay $75 to someone for a unit that is only $35 from NcStar. Exact same unit and you paid the extra because you though you were stepping up in quality.

And there is a big lack of middle ground. Very difficult to find a red dot that is not expensive but "good enough". You pay $200 and you may be getting $50 internals, or you jump all the way to the Aimpoints, Ecotech and Trujocon, "bite the bullet" and pay their $400-$1000 prices.

Makes me wonder what that Seeall unit would do with a piece of luminous tape stuck on it ???

I agree with you KyRat. I have noticed the same thing with scopes. $60 or less for an optic, scope or red dot, and the only thing that they are suitable for is a .22. Anything beyond that and it seems like you can't even consider it without a $250 price tag. Even then I get leery because I cannot tell the difference between the cheap stuff and the expensive stuff and I do want to get taken. Thus why I still haven't done anything with my .270.

I love guns, but I HATE buying optics!

**kyratshooter** · 07-25-2015, 04:39 PM

I think that one of my problems is that we are in a time when you can buy a pretty good rifle/pistol for $300-$500 as production methods and materials have improved and prices dropped.

Optics prices have not dropped. You still have to use good tubes, good lenses and good internals and all of that costs more than it used too.

So while rifle prices have gone down, optics prices have gone up!

What it comes down to is that to get optics quality equal to rifle quality you might wind up spending as much for the scope/optic as you do for the gun. That is a difficult concept for most of us to accept.

I built my own AR from a kit that cost less than Phaedrus probably paid for that Aimpoint. Even at that price point when I stuck a 24x scope on top of it for testing it was accurate enough to make me grin.

But I am not going to run around with an 18" long 2 pound scope in top of an M4 carbine. I want something small, light and fast on the target. Looks like it is going to cost me as much as the rifle.

**crashdive123** · 07-25-2015, 04:50 PM

Originally Posted by kyratshooter

I think that one of my problems is that we are in a time when you can buy a pretty good rifle/pistol for $300-$500 as production methods and materials have improved and prices dropped.

Optics prices have not dropped. You still have to use good tubes, good lenses and good internals and all of that costs more than it used too.

So while rifle prices have gone down, optics prices have gone up!

What it comes down to is that to get optics quality equal to rifle quality you might wind up spending as much for the scope/optic as you do for the gun. That is a difficult concept for most of us to accept.

I built my own AR from a kit that cost less than Phaedrus probably paid for that Aimpoint. Even at that price point when I stuck a 24x scope on top of it for testing it was accurate enough to make me grin.

But I am not going to run around with an 18" long 2 pound scope in top of an M4 carbine. I want something small, light and fast on the target. Looks like it is going to cost me as much as the rifle.

Having every round be on target......priceless.

**Rick** · 07-25-2015, 07:26 PM

Yeah, but when you look at the price you rationalize that 2 out of 3 ain't bad.

**Phaedrus** · 07-26-2015, 06:45 AM

I like my HOLOSUN 403 pretty well. It's around $180 or so. It's almost as clear as the Aimpoint and the dot is very crisp, almost like the Aimpoint. The main area where it can't compete (well, aside from total build quality I suppose) is parallax. It simply displays more parallax at closer ranges vs the PRO. It's fine when you get out past 15-20 feet, then they're about the same. But now I finally understand why people are willing to spend $425! You really do get more RDS for $425.

A lot of folks are willing to spend as much for the optic as the rifle. And I suppose that makes sense. They work as a system, and a great rifle with a crappy sight is like a new Corvette ZR1 with bald snow tires! I doubt I'll ever manage to get Aimpoints on all my long guns but I probably will get at least one more eventually.