AR Setup Advice

[ShaulWolf]

Vortex and Primary Arms both make good red dots for cheap. Vortex has a better warranty with most of their optics, PSA tends to have better battery life. My friend has a Vortex Strikefire that he has put through its paces on his AK and Sig556 that's held zero without issue and is still kicking. Vortex tends to allow for more mounting options since their red dots use 30mm tubes without integrated bases, so you can use the mount that comes with the optic or any variety of aftermarket mounts later.

My PA AA powered red dot has been knocked around by my Shepherds, thrown into my trunk with my rifle and pulled out and is holding zero without issue and is still bright as when I first turned it on when I got it. Battery life is estimated to be 10,000 hours left on setting 5/11. Their advanced red dot is supposed to go up to 50,000 hrs and has a lifetime warranty. Most of PA's optics have integrated mounts, though their microdots have the models where the mounting bases are removable, and the newer models are compatible with some aftermarket mounts.

The Sparc II seems to have been improved and the issues it had before have been addressed. PA's microdots have been kicking pretty strong, and the latest iteration (Advanced Micro Dot) boasts 50,000 hours of battery life. Their other versions have approximately 1,000 hours of battery life.

Magnifiers are an option, though I'd rather have a dedicated scope that's 1-4x if I wanted the ability to scope in on a target. Lycanthrope might be able to chime in on how he likes his PA 1-6 illuminated scope. When I looked through it, it was pretty nice. I also like the idea of having a 2.5x fixed power scope, though my RDS does just fine for what I want, which is everything within 300 meters.

PA has magnifiers that cost less and offer longer eye relief (standard model and long eye relief model). Vortex offers a magnifier with an eye relief that's between the two and costs more.

Which do you feel more comfortable with, and which has features you'd prefer?

I've had no experience with back up irons, but I'd imagine that it isn't much more trouble (read that as none) to just flip the sights up yourself. Your hand is already there, all you have to do is maybe a couple centimeters of movement to push the sight in place.

-----edit-----

You may or may not have the money for this, but another option down the road may be getting an Aimpoint PRO. You can often find them second hand on forums for anywhere between $250-350 depending on the seller and condition. $300 seems to be a good price for a used one in good condition. A lot of times the buyer will get one, shoot with it mounted for a little, and decide they want to upgrade to an Aimpoint M3 or M4. Or they'll get a couple of PRO's and realize they don't need a second one. Others wind up opting for EOTech. You can find a lot of deals on second hand stuff that's still in excellent or (for all intents and purposes) new condition. Just some food for thought for a future purchase.

The BAD lever is used to make releasing and catching the bolt easier. Magpul and Tactical Link make versions of it. Personal preference on that; some like it, some hate it. If you do it right, it is faster to reload with one. It's not necessary, though, and there's less chance of mucking up something if you just use the normal manual of arms. You could also install a larger and raised bolt release to make hitting it easier.

[ViperHummel]

Adding to the above, some railed gas block heights are "receiver height" such as the Adams Arms block or S&W block, while others sit lower. DPMS and Stag are two companies I know of that use shorter railed blocks.

You can use "same plane" sights on free float hand guards (as long as it's not an unstable tube with addon rail) and receiver height gas blocks. And of course, only metal on gas/piston blocks. Always fun to see ads with polymer sights on metal gas blocks and even more fun when they are on backwards. Spring loaded is nice when the block gets hot, but certainly not necessary. Use gloves or just be sure to flip it up quick. You can save some money and use a rear Magpul Mbus and then a metal front. So it what if it's not uniform. As long as they can work in conjunction and not fuck up your sight picture.

[esh21167]

More questions answered/thoughts verified. I was expecting the AA rifle to have the gas block at the same height as the upper receiver rail from the pics. In the future, I will likely upgrade to a railed handguard like the Samson EVO or similar keymod rail. So I don't need a 'gas block height' front.

I think I've ruled out the red dot magnifier, even in the future, because of all the input from here, which makes sense due to weight. I've seen a couple reviews on the PA with the 7.62x39 BDC reticle, but I'm not sold on strictly a magnified optic with no red dot, so I think I'll just go with either a PA or a Vortex after just using the irons for awhile.

So to that end, it seems the Magpul PRO fits the bill at a decent price/performance point for about $150 for a set. The only other set I found around that price is the Troy micro DOA with the diamond aperture. Not sure how I feel about that aperture. They are lower than standard BUIS and also required pressing a plunger to fold. After a little research, appears they likely won't co-witness with most red dots.

[TXDMERC73]

i like the Trijicon ACOG scope, i tried one before but i cant afford it (close to a grand) .

Aimpoint pro and EOTECH are nice optics for AR my suggestion is get good electronic glass.

[animalmother85]

2: A Primary Arms or Vortex StrikeFire red dot with the option of possibly adding the PA 3x magnifier with the flip mount. I've heard good things about both for the price. I know there are better brands, but an ACOG, VCOG, even an Eotech or Aimpoint is just too high for my starter budget.


Attachment 66550

i like the Trijicon ACOG scope, i tried one before but i cant afford it (close to a grand) .

Aimpoint pro and EOTECH are nice optics for AR my suggestion is get good electronic glass.

[esh21167]

And in my cornflakes

[animalmother85]

And in my cornflakes

Stick around here for a short bit and you'll pick up on who and who not to listen and pay attention to.

[TheRealDonJohnson]

You may or may not have the money for this, but another option down the road may be getting an Aimpoint PRO. You can often find them second hand on forums for anywhere between $250-350 depending on the seller and condition. $300 seems to be a good price for a used one in good condition. A lot of times the buyer will get one, shoot with it mounted for a little, and decide they want to upgrade to an Aimpoint M3 or M4. Or they'll get a couple of PRO's and realize they don't need a second one. Others wind up opting for EOTech. You can find a lot of deals on second hand stuff that's still in excellent or (for all intents and purposes) new condition. Just some food for thought for a future purchase.

This is right on. Lightly used optics are a great value, and you can usually grab them for much below retail.

If you're interested in a 1-4 var scope, check out this classified from our forum.

http://forum.pafoa.org/accessories-a...r15-items.html

[ShaulWolf]

I just want to throw in this caveat that an Aimpoint PRO is still around $200 more than a Primary Arms RDS, and $100 more than a Vortex (depending on what you get and where). Like I said, it's a good optic that can be found cheap(er) second hand, but it might be more along the lines of buying down the road.

However, depending on how much you can save up and what you get, you might be able to swing the Aimpoint PRO for the cost of a new PA or Vortex RDS and back up irons. You can definitely get the Aimpoint PRO second hand for the cost of the RDS, magnifier, and BUIS together (but then you just have the Aimpoint).

I like my PA RDS just fine though. I won't be going on combat patrols or kicking in doors serving warrants, so it does what I need it to do. Truth be told, it'll probably survive against most things that I won't and still work fine, so I feel like I'm pretty good to go with it.

Find what your needs are and what fits your price range from there. Find what extras you want on top of your needs and narrow things down after that.

[arjohnson]

Have an AR on layaway and after a little research am in need a little advice on BUIS and a red dot.

1: Flip up BUIS. There are way too many options available for these, lol. Are the Magpul polymer ones any good? They are pretty inexpensive compared to most everything else, but I'm a little reluctant to go with plastic. Are there any other reasonably prices BUIS out there (around $100-$125 for front & rear)?

2: A Primary Arms or Vortex StrikeFire red dot with the option of possibly adding the PA 3x magnifier with the flip mount. I've heard good things about both for the price. I know there are better brands, but an ACOG, VCOG, even an Eotech or Aimpoint is just too high for my starter budget.

The flip mount would likely place a magnifier over the rear folding BUIS. Then it could be flipped to the side to deploy the BUIS. Or would it be a better idea to just have solid iron sights and co-witness? Which may bring up the issue of eye relief for the magnifier or even having enough rail for mounting everything. Input is appreciated. Thanks.

Here's the pic from the PA site for about what I'm considering.
Attachment 66550

Do yourself a favor, if you want a good RDS that will serve just about any purpose and won't break the bank save up and get a aimpoint PRO.

As for BUIS, the magpuls will be fine, if you want something better then the magpul PROS are a good option but not a necessity.

I'd get the plastic BUIS and put the difference towards the aimpoint PRO, you will use the RDS much more than BUIS.