Nikon Monarch VSD Dot Sight review

[Bravo Whiskey]

I have been asking 625 for feedback on his. Evidently he hasn't used it enough to say anything on long term use. I have searched the internet every where and can not find anything close to this thread anywhere in regards to this red dot.

I bought one a few months back and love it. The adjustable dot and brightness is a major plus. A setting of 11 (brightest) and the 1 MOA is great for bright sunny days and 200 yards as well as any other time or distance. The only draw back was that it would not co-witness on the rail of my rifle so I put it on a Larue LT110 riser and all is fine. After roughly a 1000 rounds I have not had any problems at all. Quality optic for $230 on e-bay.

I have seen many other sights $400- $1500 and they are nice but I can not justify the price difference. This one actually does more option wise, weighs at least the same if not less than the others, but the battery life is not as good as the others. I can buy a pile of batteries for $500. I have many Nikon products as well as a few friends that own Nikon optics and they all are nice with no problems period, be it the rain, saltwater, freshwater, humidity, high temps, drops, sun, inshore, offshore, in the woods, at the range whatever.

http://i978.photobucket.com/albums/a...x/IMG_2933.jpg

Glad to hear that the dot size is what I thought it would be & as posted I agree w/ the durability of Nikon. The Sablizing Bino's are far more complicated then any optic and take basically the same abuse and I hve not heard of any going down.

[24/7dude]

If its made by Nikon , its made right.

All the other junk breaks like any other optics, Eotech, Aimpint, Trijicon , they all have service centers because they all break like any other optics, if there stuff were so good they wouldnt need customer service department. Think about it. Spend your money on ammo and training, remember -you are the weapon.

Nyman

Well.. i thought about it, and can't see how Trijicon ACOG would break unless it took a bullet straight through the glass. i think their service center mainly does work on ACOG's since they have a lifetime warranty and when the tritium dies you send it in to get replaced, or send it in to get the color changed.. they do green ACOG's now!

[Bravo Whiskey]

Can’t say enough good things about it.

First, it’s on sale here for $199 plus shipping. http://www.botachtactical.com/nimodotsi.html But, they only have it in camo. The web page is wrong. Still a fantastic deal. I took a Sharpie to mine, so it would match the Sig 556 I mounted it on. It looks like hell up close, but better than it did IMO. The Sharpie gave it a funny purplish color. No big deal, function before form in my book.

Anyway, back to the optic itself.

Nitrogen filled, so no worries about it fogging up. Clear, quality lenses that you’d expect from Nikon that afford a wide field of view.

It’s advertised as waterproof and shockproof. Eventually I may test those claims. The 556 shoots pretty soft. From reading the reviews on this optic, most people seem to be mounting these on big bore magnum handguns, so it’s probably built well.

One of the things that sold me on this was the variable sized dot (VSD). Not many red dots out there that can do this. Simply twist the middle knob to get the size you want. I love the 1 MOA dot for precision shooting. It has a nice meaty 10 MOA for close up stuff, plus a 4, 6, or 8 if those are preferred. The dot has 11 different brightness settings, which is nice too. The manual states that the battery lasts over 300 hours if left on the “4” setting which is plenty bright for indoor shooting with the 1 MOA sized dot. It takes standard sized lithium batteries that can be found just about anywhere. I picked up a couple spares and stored them in the pistol grip compartment of the 556. Some other optics have a much longer battery life, but since these batteries are cheap and I can store a bunch in the pistol grip and/or the stock, it’s really not an issue for me.

Mounting is a breeze. It comes with an integral mount, which is easy to work with and fits on Picatinny and Weaver rails. The screws have a hex head and it comes with the allen key to tighten them. Some type of quick release would be nice, but would add to the bulk. This mount is lean, but plenty sturdy. I don’t like the need for tools, but the allen key is easily stored in the pistol grip of a 556. YMMV.

Another nice feature, which is just pure dumb luck, is the fact that this optic would still work great as a peep sight if the electronics fail for some reason. What I mean is; when I flip up the factory front site, the tip of it perfectly touches the red dot. Bonus for 556 owners.

I’ve only shot the 556 once since I put the Nikon on, but so far, so good. Mount stayed tight and it seemed to hold zero fine.

This optic seems to be quality inside and out. All metal construction. Even the knobs and caps are aluminum. Comes with nice aluminum lens caps, but I’ll be replacing those with a bikini style cover because they are a hassle to screw on and off.

This is one optic that seems to be at home on the 556 because of the previous mentioned items, plus, it does not interfere with the charging handle.

I’ll post some photos later.

Please post up how the nikon functions. I would love to know and that is what site's like this are all about
TIA

[24/7dude]

I think it broke...

[625]

I think it broke...

Your Trijicon broke? That's a shame.

Recently took a carbine class and had no problems with the 556 or the VSD. Still going strong.

[dbldeuce5]

I have been asking 625 for feedback on his. Evidently he hasn't used it enough to say anything on long term use. I have searched the internet every where and can not find anything close to this thread anywhere in regards to this red dot.

I bought one a few months back and love it. The adjustable dot and brightness is a major plus. A setting of 11 (brightest) and the 1 MOA is great for bright sunny days and 200 yards as well as any other time or distance. The only draw back was that it would not co-witness on the rail of my rifle so I put it on a Larue LT110 riser and all is fine. After roughly a 1000 rounds I have not had any problems at all. Quality optic for $230 on e-bay.

I have seen many other sights $400- $1500 and they are nice but I can not justify the price difference. This one actually does more option wise, weighs at least the same if not less than the others, but the battery life is not as good as the others. I can buy a pile of batteries for $500. I have many Nikon products as well as a few friends that own Nikon optics and they all are nice with no problems period, be it the rain, saltwater, freshwater, humidity, high temps, drops, sun, inshore, offshore, in the woods, at the range whatever.

http://i978.photobucket.com/albums/a...x/IMG_2933.jpg

Glad to here you like it. I just ordered one from optics planet. $244 with free shipping. The variable size dot is what sold me(and the Nikon name). I'll be mounting on a flatop AR as well. Don't have any BIUS on it yet, but glad to here they work well for you. Keep us posted. 225

[Kanatz]

NO PROBLEMS at all. Monarch, Red Dot, Nikon for the money works!!! Very clear dot (any way you could want it) with nice glass.

[Edg]

pretty much decided this is the scope for my new sig 522.

To the folks saying eotechs and trijicons never break...you are wrong. They have a reputation for failing LESS. And you pay for this reputation. Anything can fail....This is why a Honda costs more then a hyundai..

I still think 220$ is alot to pay for a .22 optic, but if it lasts forever it will be worth it.....been thinking about 50$ scopes since its just a plinker and if it fails, I just leave the range early and go buy another one. This Nikon has a nice look to it though and Nikon is known for their lenses so Im hoping its worth it, the 1mil adjustable dot is a big factor.

[Pixsurguy]

I offer the following as what I think is a viable and reasonably low cost alternative to the Nikon and sure as hell as to the big dogs of Eotech, Aimpint, and Trijicon. Not dumping on those - just their cost. I am a big fan of the Eotech anyway. Just don't want to pay so much for one.

I've had several Kobra so-called "red dot" sights over the last ten years or so. These are Russian military open "heads up display" (holographic) types, as opposed to the tube sights such as the subject Nikon and Aimpoint. Same basic technology as the Eotech, but probably earlier generation. I can't recall what i paid for them, but it seems like maybe $200 or so each. I've had three (two got stolen in a burglary) and all of them had built-in quick release lever systems for mounting on standard weaver/picatinny bases.

Because they are in sort of an "L" shape, with the glass part sticking up vertically from the base, I suppose that they might be more subject to damage than the tube type, but the several that I've had have not been damaged, despite some occasional very rough treatment. You'd think that they would have to be pretty robust or the Ruskies would not have adopted them.

In any event, the Kobra has multiple brightness settings and four built-in reticle designs, my favorite being an upturned chevron with a 1 minute of angle dot perched just above the point of the chevron. It is fast and allows precise placement of shots at pretty long ranges when there is sufficient time to do so. I've deer hunted with it and it worked very, very well, particularly in low light conditions and where a fast shot was needed. I have it mounted now on an Alexander Arms 6.5 Grendel (AR15 flat top type). Have not hunted deer with it yet, but I expect to this fall. I did nail a couple of groundhogs with it last summer at pretty long range for a non-magnifying sight (maybe 250 yards or so?)

I've used both the tube type and the holo type rifle sights and much prefer the holo type. I think that you can get them from maybe three or four different internet retailers. I don't want to look like I'm touting any company, so I'll not mention any names. It's worth looking into, at least. For a YouTube video clip, go here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwDgOc7-LsU

[verge]

I don't want to look like I'm touting any company, so I'll not mention any names. It's worth looking into, at least. For a YouTube video clip, go here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwDgOc7-LsU

Internet retailers are chancy at best ... who did you get yours from and how well did they treat you?