Vortex Strikefire Vs. Primary Arms AA Red Dot

[jthrelf]

Now let me start by saying I've had incredibly bad luck with Primary Arms products but I don't expect my experiences to be the norm. I'll try to keep that bias away from my review but of course it has to play a part.

I originally bought a Primary Arms 1-4x Illuminated Scope with their deluxe mount, but the magnification was stuck on 4x and wouldn't adjust. They quickly sent me a replacement and a shipping label for the defective one. The new scope was also defective, now stuck on 1x. At this point I figured I'd stop testing my luck and go for the new AA battery red dot. It came and the dot didn't work - tested with multiple batteries etc, it just didn't work. After all this I just wanted a cash refund and that's what I got.

Update: The 1-4x scopes not adjusting power were completely my fault and I apologize to Primary Arms. I believe I loosened the screw on the power ring thinking it was a set screw to hold a zoom in place. This was obviously the screw used to catch the power adjusting mechanism. I feel very foolish.

Throughout everything though, Primary Arms was a great company. Good customer service, fast shipping, etc. I'll order from them again, just not one of their products.

Still in need of an optic, I got the Vortex Strikefire and this is where the review begins.....

The Strikefire easily gets the nod here. The quality seemed much better than a budget optic. The mount is nice and seems like it will hold pretty tight through some abuse. The PA has an integrated mount which seemed good and can also have the riser removed for use on a non-AR rifle or a shotgun.

The Primary Arms dot just seemed a bit cheaper in its overall finish and glass clarity. Also I believe the Strikefire is made in China, but I looked all over (box and optic) for the evidence and couldn't find it - meanwhile the PA was clearly labeled with a sticker. The packaging of the Strikefire was much better in terms of quality and directions.

I'd say the control placement of the two are equal in quality, but just different. The PA has the turn-click adjustments for on/off/brightness and the Strikefire has buttons. Both different types of adjustments are pretty crisp and I don't think you'd have a problem with either.

Both optics have pretty good flip caps for being on the cheaper side.

As mentioned, I never got to see the dot on the PA. The Strikefire dot is 4 MOA and is a bit fuzzy, but I still dig it. The dot can also be selected as red OR green - one of my favorite parts about this optic.

The Strikefire includes a 2x magnifier that screws into the eyepiece. I haven't used it yet, but for just a little extra that's thrown in, it seems really cool. It's not super high quality but I think you can get some use out of it.

Warranty: No brainer here. Strikefire has a lifetime warranty and the PA Dot a 1 year warrant. (I suspect though that Primary Arms won't strictly hold you to that and will probably make right any issues that occur...)

Price: The PA dot retails for $99. I got the Strikefire on sale at Palmetto for $99 with free shipping. PSA usually has them for $119 but I think if you're patient you'll catch it on sale again. EDIT- Yup on sale for $99 right now - March 20th.

All in all I'm very happy with the Strikefire and that I didn't have to spend $400 on an Aimpoint to get a good optic.

[bluetrane2028]

I had a Strikefire go down recently. The battery contacts failed.

Vortex fixed it no questions asked. Can't argue with service like that.

That said, is it really super trustworthy? I hadn't shot the rifle a whole lot with the optic in place until it failed. Original battery too.

I'll keep it for now, but someday I might end up with an Aimpoint or Eotech. Just can't justify the spend yet.

[sgtmcbowflex]

Kind of disappointing to hear about the PA stuff. I really want to try their 1-6 scope due to the amazing price compared to other 1-6x scopes. I did snatch up a SPARC from PSA on their 20% off deal. Can't wait to get my hands on it.

This will be my second Vortex optic, first one being the Viper PST 1-4.

[Lycanthrope]

Kind of disappointing to hear about the PA stuff. I really want to try their 1-6 scope due to the amazing price compared to other 1-6x scopes. I did snatch up a SPARC from PSA on their 20% off deal. Can't wait to get my hands on it.

This will be my second Vortex optic, first one being the Viper PST 1-4.

I have one of those 1-6x if you want to try it out.

I also really like the microdots.

Lycanniceglassthrope

[Mabuz]

PA's quality control seems to be hit and miss.

I was looking for a small red dot for a .22 I was putting together, and in the past I had one of PA's old Aimpoint Pro clones and a magnifier, and it was (and still is, as I gave it to my brother) a great quality sight.

After that first experience, I figured their Aimpoint Micro clone was a no brainer for what I wanted in a .22 sight, but the first one I got had bad glass as there was a red smudge when looking through the sight. I emailed them pics showing that the smudge was present even with the emitter off, so they let me exchange it for another one.

Second one had the same problem again. When I asked if they could have possibly had a bad batch, I was told that they inspected the one I returned and it met their standards. The rep also said I probably don't know how to use a red dot sight correctly and they all look like that.

No, sorry, not true, some may have a reflection from the emitter, but not with the optic off. This isn't my first go-round with a red dot bud, I just needed an inexpensive one to put on my .22.

So they took this one back again, and I ended up getting a refund and buying a Vortex Sparc, which is so far a great little red dot.

[jim-analog]

Greetings,

No experience with the PA unit, but have a few of the Vortex. Decent for the $, not near as nice as an Aimpoint particularly regarding battery life, overall construction and optic quality, but just fine for a range gun. I believe they have been discontinued with a new model coming out. You may be able to find good deals on old stock of the original. No major changes as far as I know; just some little things.

One of mine has had a few intermittent on/off issues that ended up being battery contact related. Cleaning contact surfaces and re-tensioning the spring seems to have fixed it. I lost one of the turret caps and when I tried to order a replacement, they sent me one no cost with free shipping. Not a big $ deal, but I was impressed with that.

Still really prefer the Aimpoint, but for the cost could have half a dozen Vortex units as spares (which also come with mounts). Good value product and a decent company behind it. Good luck!

Regards, Jim

[ShaulWolf]

I haven't had much experience with the Strikefire, but I was impressed with it when I got to try it out on my friend's Sig556. Being able to use different mounts is handy, but I think I like the integrated mount on the PA more. Personal preference there.

Both companies seem to be pretty good, and the price point is hard to go wrong with.