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Sights or optics

M

MrSpaulding

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I'm new to the game, recently purchased a Saint Victor. Realizing it doesn't come with sights, I am wondering if I should go with flip up sights or optics. Looking for something that would give me the capability for shooting 100-200 yards but also be good for closer range. Any suggestions on make, design?
 
somorris said:
I am not familiar with the Saint Victor (I know, I am a dinosaur! :) ), but I used to have a hunting rifle with a scope mounted high enough you could use the open sights under the scope if you wanted. The best of both worlds.
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An AR is not the same platform as a hunting rifle...it really doesn’t work the same when it comes to sights.

Look into ”Co-Witness”...more applicable to the platform.
 
MrSpaulding said:
I'm new to the game, recently purchased a Saint Victor. Realizing it doesn't come with sights, I am wondering if I should go with flip up sights or optics. Looking for something that would give me the capability for shooting 100-200 yards but also be good for closer range. Any suggestions on make, design?
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Why not both?

100-200 yards is plenty close enough for a red dot (2-4 MOA); cowitness a set of flip up backup sights (BUS) and you're set.

Either that, or get a LPVO in a quick release mount, and flip-up BUS.
 
You need BUIS either way. Get a set of Magpul or Magpul Pros AND an optic. The MBUIS will co-witness with a red dot. For example the Sig Sauer Romeo 5. I have this combination on my AR and so far 2 shotguns.

Another good option which I am looking into is an LPVO or something with magnification to get you out to the 200-300 yard range and something I recently picked up which is the Viridian HS1 hand stop w/ green laser for close quarters.
 
MrSpaulding said:
Didn't think about both. Like I said I'm new to the game. Any particular red dot better than another?
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Yes; but it all depends on budget...and when it comes to optics, you get what you pay for.

You want a hard-use, combat proven optic? Look at Aimpoint (my personal preference), EOTech, and Trijicon...do check them out; several options (Aimpoint PRO and ACO, Trijicon MRO) are actually quite affordable. These are the top shelf when it comes to red dot optics.

After that...if you do your digging, you'll find a lot of the cheaper red dot optics—Holosun, Primary Arms, Sig, Vortex, for example—are all made by the same manufacturer and/or with the same parts, just get different branding put on them. This doesn’t make them bad; but it also means that there isn't a whole lot of difference between them.
 
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MrSpaulding said:
Didn't think about both. Like I said I'm new to the game. Any particular red dot better than another?
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There is a new thread here Mike put up with a little review of the HS1 I was referring to, FYI.

As far as Red Dots, it really is budget and intended use dependent. The Romeo 5 I referenced generally runs in the $100-$150 range. I have 3 of them and I like them a lot. It is not a high end red dot. I think if I was going to Afghanistan to combat I might pick a different one, but for my intended use, which is range and home/self defense, I have spent enough time with it that I would definitely trust my life with it. It has " Shake Awake", which means it shuts itself off when not in use and there is no need to turn it on or off manually. Some guys diss them, but you'll have that. I'd guess most of those guys never used one much less owned one. There is a torture video on YT. Believe me these things are tough, they stay zero'ed and they absolutely co-witness with most standard AR BUIS. They are NOT magnified so using them for 200+ range shots means you would need a magnifier.

Eotech makes a top shelf red dot. It's about 6 or 7 times more expensive than the Romeo 5.
 
MrSpaulding said:
Didn't think about both.
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For reference, BUIS is an acronym for Back Up Iron Sights. As in if your optic fails for one of the many reasons it possibly could fail, you still have your flip ups. And the fact that they co-witness means that if your red dot fails because the battery dies or some internal problem kills the dot, you can still sight through the glass with your back ups.
 
Bassbob said:
There is a new thread here Mike put up with a little review of the HS1 I was referring to, FYI.

As far as Red Dots, it really is budget and intended use dependent. The Romeo 5 I referenced generally runs in the $100-$150 range. I have 3 of them and I like them a lot. It is not a high end red dot. I think if I was going to Afghanistan to combat I might pick a different one, but for my intended use, which is range and home/self defense, I have spent enough time with it that I would definitely trust my life with it. It has " Shake Awake", which means it shuts itself off when not in use and there is no need to turn it on or off manually. Some guys diss them, but you'll have that. I'd guess most of those guys never used one much less owned one. There is a torture video on YT. Believe me these things are tough, they stay zero'ed and they absolutely co-witness with most standard AR BUIS. They are NOT magnified so using them for 200+ range shots means you would need a magnifier.

Eotech makes a top shelf red dot. It's about 6 or 7 times more expensive than the Romeo 5.
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EOTechs?

Many are under $500. Aimpoint PRO's are usually around $400...MRO's are $4-500, with mounts (buddy just got one in a LaRue QD mount for $400 or so, iirc...)
 
HansGruber said:
EOTechs?

Many are under $500. Aimpoint PRO's are usually around $400...MRO's are $4-500, with mounts (buddy just got one in a LaRue QD mount for $400 or so, iirc...)
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Yeah I was just shooting from the hip a little. I'm guessing you can hunt them down a little cheaper than the first thing Google pops up with.

Black Friday Bass Pro was selling the Romeo 5 for $99. I bought one locally a week earlier for $120. If I was going to war I would definitely want the best I could buy, but for my use these Romeos are hard to beat for the money.

I am seriously considering taking the Romeo off my Witch Doctor and putting an LPVO on it. It depends on how well I like this HS-1. If I'm going to drop 5 bills on an optic I think that's the direction I would go in as opposed to a red dot.
 
Bassbob said:
Yeah I was just shooting from the hip a little. I'm guessing you can hunt them down a little cheaper than the first thing Google pops up with.

Black Friday Bass Pro was selling the Romeo 5 for $99. I bought one locally a week earlier for $120. If I was going to war I would definitely want the best I could buy, but for my use these Romeos are hard to beat for the money.

I am seriously considering taking the Romeo off my Witch Doctor and putting an LPVO on it. It depends on how well I like this HS-1. If I'm going to drop 5 bills on an optic I think that's the direction I would go in as opposed to a red dot.
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This is definitely a starter for me. Getting into it but there's so much to learn. I will be using it for range mostly to hone in my skills...then progress from there
 
MrSpaulding said:
This is definitely a starter for me. Getting into it but there's so much to learn. I will be using it for range mostly to hone in my skills...then progress from there
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Well Hans and a lot of the other guys here know a hell of a lot more about ARs than I do that's for sure. When I came across the Romeo 5 I didn't even own an AR. I bought my first one for a KelTec KSG25. In case you don't know, the KSG25 is a fairly brutal shotgun. Loaded with 00B or slugs, especially of the 3" variety, it kicks like a dancing mule. I have subjected this first Romeo 5 to like 1500 rounds of it so far and it's still dead on and looks and performs like brand new. I've also got one on my IWI Tavor TS12 and one on my AR-15. Personally, I would say this is as low on the budget pole as I would be willing to go with a red dot for anything that isn't an airsoft gun.

It is a perfect choice to get your feet wet with unmagnified optics. You and I may upgrade to higher quality stuff at some point, but given the cost of these ( as Hans said, you are realistically looking at $400-$500) it's a lot easier to vanquish a $100 optic to a drawer somewhere than it is a $500 optic.
 
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