Looking for a cost effective red dot

[warrior poet]

A buddy of mine acquired an older Mini-14 on which someone had mounted a cheap scope. He said, "...the scope was junk and useless on it anyway... It isn't a super accurate thing to start..." He mentioned getting a red dot scope for it, and asked about what a shooter on a budget should get.
I'm not a red dot kind of guy; I like open sights for MOST things, and true optics for long yardage- but that's me, not him. Since I don't know much about them I'm asking: what would be a good, affordable, red dot type of scope for a Mini-14?

[Jermtheory]

not sure what you would consider "affordable".

but ive heard good things about the Burris Fast Fire for arround $175.

probably the cheapest i'd bother with personally.

[625]

I just ordered a Nikon Monarch VSD from here for $200.

http://www.botachtactical.com/nimodotsi.html

Haven't tried it out yet, but Nikon makes good stuff and that price will be hard to beat. They only have them in camo, though. The reviews were very favorable. Tough, waterproof, and quality lenses that you'd expect from Nikon.

I'll try to remember to post again after I try it out. Should get here today or tomorrow. Oh, I'll be mounting it on a 556 if that matters. Most seem to be mounting these on heavy magnum revolvers, so they must be tough. I like the idea of a variable size dot (VSD).

[warrior poet]

I clarified with him. He said up to $220. And thanks to Jermtheory and 625 for the help so far.

[LaTrooper]

Ultra Dot makes a really great red dot sight....They have them in 1 in. and 30 mm in black and silver. They also have a life time warranty and sell in your friends price range. I had a Untra Dot that was old and I had problems with it. I sent it in and the warranty repair folks said they did not have the parts to fix it and returned the scope. I contacted Untra Dot who advised to send the sight to them and a few weeks later and new sight arrived. Great customer service. Good people to do business with. Look on the internet for direct sales or call 866-473-3368. Be Safe

[chris in va]

That Nikon looks pretty good. Personally I like a small dot and to be able to change out sizes is a plus.

You can get the black ones on ebay, but cost a bit more.

http://search.ebay.com/search/search...fsoo%3D1&fgtp=

[johnbt]

I have an UltraDot Match Dot that adjusts down to 1 MOA. I liked it a lot better than the Nikons and it's only $189 with free shipping.

http://www.larrysguns.com/Department...cs.aspx?page=2

"We are importers of Hämmerli, Benelli, Pardini and Rink products and are a warranty service center for these lines. We are distributors for UltraDot optics and RoCo accessories."

[625]

I have an UltraDot Match Dot that adjusts down to 1 MOA. I liked it a lot better than the Nikons and it's only $189 with free shipping.

The UltraDot's are nice, but they don't come with an integrated mount. No big deal for some, I guess, but I prefer less screws that might come loose. They aren't Nitrogen filled, so they wouldn't be "fog proof" like the Nikon and they are not waterproof either. And their Match Dot only goes down to 2MOA, not 1.

[tomh1426]

Im still in the process of learning the hard way with red dots

[langenc]

Have a Millett PS-1 on a 22-under $100.

[kc5gxc]

I just bought a Burris Speed Dot for my minnie 14. But forward mounted it on a ultimak rail.........think the red dot was about $150. Sure like it.
Pete

[UniversalFrost]

the cheap ($30 is range) BSA red dots with the variable intensity ranges has worked well on my el' cheapo extrodinare AR (hand built from a wilson upper kit and a double star lower and dpms parts kit that i scrounged together from my other builds) that i lug around the back of the truck. I have around 3k of ammo through both the gun and red dot and it still works. Of course I always carry extra batteries because I always foreget to turn it off. I even dropped it many many times and still works.

JOE

[BerettaBill]

I just purchased the Bushnell Trophy Red dot/ Green dot 1x28 for $89.00 at Sportsman's Warehouse. I can't speak for other scopes as I haven't used any but this scope works awesome for my use which is mainly target and plinking.

[AK103K]

Unless the cheaper sights have wised up and improved their products greatly, do yourself a favor and buy a quality sight.

For what I've spent trying out the cheaper sights, like Bushnell, Tasco, Hakko, BSA, etc, I could have bought another Aimpoint, and probably two.

The Aimpoints and Eotechs, etc, cost what they do for a reason. They actually hold up to hard use. They also dont have parallax issues.

Battery life is also an issue. You dont have to turn the Aimpoints off. The older models will last a year 24/7 on, the newer models over 9 years. All the other makes will usually be dead the next time you take them out to shoot if you forget to turn them off, and you will forget, trust me, I know, I've done it more than a few times.

If your not sure if the dot is for you, buy one of the cheap ones and play around with it to see if it will work for you. They are OK for that, for the most part, and will give you an idea of how they work shooting wise.

[jdc48160]

I have a TruGlo 40mm red dot sight on my S&W model 22A-1 .22lr pistol. Works great. Sighted it in a couple weeks ago, and it's deadly accurate now.

Varmints better watch out next time I head up north with the boys from work.

[Inspector3711]

I have a Bushnell Trophy red dot on a S&W pistol that works great. Dead on on I've never had to readjust after two years. Use it for targets, plinking, and an occasional varmint. Cheap but effective.