WOrkable low priced Red Dot optic for an AR

[Ed L]

I have a friend who is interested in a low priced quality optic for two ARs that he owns. He is willing to spend up to $200. I don't know much about low priced red dots since I always go with Aimpoints. So I am asking here for opinions.

Four candidates that I have found are:

The Sig Romeo 5 which sells for $125 on Amazon: https://www.sigsauer.com/romeo5-1x20-mm.html

The Holosun 403R which sells for about $155 on Amazon https://holosun.com/products/red-dot...03/hs403r.html

The Holosun 503R which can be found for about $205: https://holosun.com/products/red-dot...03/hs503r.html

The Vortex Sparc AR that is selling for $183 on Amazon: https://vortexoptics.com/vortex-2019...ar-red-dot.htm

I would appreciate whatever thoughts and opinions on these. Thanks

[GJM]

Save a little longer and get this at $299:

https://www.primaryarms.com/holosun-...-red-dot-sight

[stomridertx]

I've had very good luck with Sig Romeo 5s, I think they are the best in the category of sub $200 T1 form factor red dots. I used to tell people to run iron sights until they can afford better optics, but the Sig Romeo 5 costs as much as good irons for a hell of a lot more functionality. Now it makes sense to run a Romeo 5 while you save up for the Aimpoint, Eotech, or LPVO.

[Dave Williams]

I used a Romeo 5 at a Rogers course on the recommendation of Rogers instructor Billy Lumpkin. Works great and cheap.

[BobM]

I have a Bushnell TRS 26 on my S&W FPC PCC that so far is working well. I'd probably get an Aimpoint if I plan on seriously using it in a defensive role but the Bushnell seems to have good reviews. It also claims a 50,000 hour battery life. It was about $150 at a nearby Rural King, Midway had them for $160 at the time.

[cosermann]

OP, I think the $200ish and less optics you list would all perform fine for what they are - $200ish or less optics. Wouldn't be surprised if they all came from the same factory. Have a couple of Romeo5s I use as offset mounted backup RDS and they've always worked fine. The Holosuns have 0.5 MOA adjustments, comparted to 1 MOA for the others if that's a factor for you. Depends how far the user intends to push it I guess.

The Romeo5s are currently a very good value IMO. One thing I'd suggest is to pay an extra $5 to $15 and buy from Brownell's or SIG rather than Amazon.

I had a tech support question for SIG regarding torque specs., recently, and the first question they asked is whether I bought the optic on eBay or Amazon - since there are many counterfeit products on both those platforms. Based on their reply, my guess is they would not have provided technical support had I not purchased from a reputable source. Caveat emptor.

[Clusterfrack]

Save a little longer and get this at $299:

https://www.primaryarms.com/holosun-...-red-dot-sight

I agree. The AEMS can be had on sale for well under $300. I think it is a legit competitor to optics costing more than double that.

[Exiledviking]

I agree. The AEMS can be had on sale for well under $300. I think it is a legit competitor to optics costing more than double that.

I second this. Watch for sales on these. I have 3 of them, they are that nice.

[HCM]

OP, I think the $200ish and less optics you list would all perform fine for what they are - $200ish or less optics. Wouldn't be surprised if they all came from the same factory. Have a couple of Romeo5s I use as offset mounted backup RDS and they've always worked fine. The Holosuns have 0.5 MOA adjustments, comparted to 1 MOA for the others if that's a factor for you. Depends how far the user intends to push it I guess.

The Romeo5s are currently a very good value IMO. One thing I'd suggest is to pay an extra $5 to $15 and buy from Brownell's or SIG rather than Amazon.

I had a tech support question for SIG regarding torque specs., recently, and the first question they asked is whether I bought the optic on eBay or Amazon - since there are many counterfeit products on both those platforms. Based on their reply, my guess is they would not have provided technical support had I not purchased from a reputable source. Caveat emptor.

I’ve also had good luck with multiple Sig Romeo 5’s.

I agree with the caution about fakes on eBay and Amazon. I try to avoid buying gun stuff on Amazon unless I am buying it from the Amazon store of the OEM manufacturer or importer.

Buying them from gun centric vendors like primary arms, PSA etc is fine also.

[Default.mp3]

I agree with the caution about fakes on eBay and Amazon. I try to avoid buying gun stuff on Amazon unless I am buying it from the Amazon store of the OEM manufacturer or importer.

This may not matter, due to the comingling of inventory at Amazon warehouses. Sellers can opt out of that, but I'm not sure there's a great way to determine which sellers do opt out; sellers that do opt out do incur additional costs on their end.