-
Hi Guest. Welcome to the new forums. All of your posts and personal messages have been migrated. Attachments (i.e. images) and The (Old) Classifieds have been wiped.
The old forums will be available for a couple of weeks should you wish to grab old images or classifieds listings content. Go Here
If you have any issues please post about them in the Forum Feedback thread: Go Here
Recommended red dot sight?
- Thread starter corvus
- Start date
- Oct 20, 2012
- 5,101
- 1,668
That budget is on the edge of being able to get a Holosun red dot. Might be worth scouring the classifieds for one as they make up the entry level 'real steel rated' stuff that'll be of reasonably better quality than the reproductions. Could likely find one for 150 quid if it's in second hand - but good - condition.
Just be sure to buy a killflash or some 3mm Lexan to protect the front lens.
Just be sure to buy a killflash or some 3mm Lexan to protect the front lens.
Last edited by a moderator:
LightningCh
Members
- Dec 1, 2017
- 464
- 77
Fixed it to show how important it is
Last thing you want is on your first game, the first bb to hit you is a sight shot and wrecks the £150 piece of gear on the £300 gun lol.
I have a little Pinty Clone Reflex sight thing on my Krytac, cost me £20 preowned, and I always have the protector in front of it because screw paying £20+ again when replacement lenses cost so little lol.
Last edited by a moderator:
+1 on the lens protector.
i had an inexpensive ACM reflex sight that was actually brilliant. Solid build, Bright reticle, no ghosting - superbly sharp image.
They can be a bit hit and miss from what I’ve heard, but I say definitley worth a thought. I moved to an EOTech type sight though since you can fit the protectors directly into the housing.
i had an inexpensive ACM reflex sight that was actually brilliant. Solid build, Bright reticle, no ghosting - superbly sharp image.
They can be a bit hit and miss from what I’ve heard, but I say definitley worth a thought. I moved to an EOTech type sight though since you can fit the protectors directly into the housing.
- Oct 20, 2012
- 5,101
- 1,668
Also - as with many things - the decent stuff will hold ~70% of its value for resale. Cheaper stuff usually sells for far less when one needs to pass it on. That's why I'd stretch the budget marginally or look second hand.
However, if you want a reasonably bulletproof optic that's well priced then you could try the UTG 4.2 cannot be beat for value reliability. It's not a looker though (if you're worried about that sort of thing). Can be had from almost everywhere, but AliExpress or DHGate will be cheapest if you're ok waiting 3 weeks for it to arrive.
However, if you want a reasonably bulletproof optic that's well priced then you could try the UTG 4.2 cannot be beat for value reliability. It's not a looker though (if you're worried about that sort of thing). Can be had from almost everywhere, but AliExpress or DHGate will be cheapest if you're ok waiting 3 weeks for it to arrive.
why on earth do you need to spend £150 on a RDS?
£20 on ebay will get you plenty
I use one of these, love the changeable brightness and reticule choices and red/green choice.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Walther-Holographic-red-green-dot-sight-Airsoft-reflex-sight-Fits-20mm-rails/171315882245?hash=item27e338e905:g:~G8AAOSwxCxT0244
£20 on ebay will get you plenty
I use one of these, love the changeable brightness and reticule choices and red/green choice.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Walther-Holographic-red-green-dot-sight-Airsoft-reflex-sight-Fits-20mm-rails/171315882245?hash=item27e338e905:g:~G8AAOSwxCxT0244
why on earth do you need to spend £150 on a RDS?
£20 on ebay will get you plenty
I use one of these, love the changeable brightness and reticule choices and red/green choice.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Walther-Holographic-red-green-dot-sight-Airsoft-reflex-sight-Fits-20mm-rails/171315882245?hash=item27e338e905:g:~G8AAOSwxCxT0244
You don't even need to spend £20 for that sight. I saw a seller flogging about 50 for £3.99 not long ago. Bought one myself and it works great!
Last edited by a moderator:
You don't need to spend a lot on a red dot, but if you want to there are a lot of really nice options in the £150 and under bracket.
There are many options. ACOG style, scope style, reticule style.
ACOG's are a closed sight, 1x, 1.5x, 2x, 4x magnification. With an illuminated dot (red, green, blue). 1x and 1.5x magnification is better for airsoft as you don't need the higher magnifications. ACOG's are heavily cloned and you shouldn't need to spend more than £50 for one with the options you want.
Reticule style is an open style, It's nothing more than a bit of glass with an illuminated dot projected onto it. Again heavily cloned and you shouldn't need to spend more than £50 to get the spec you want.
Scopes are different. Scopes generally need a special ring mounting system, 25 and 30mm rings are common and they fit into the 20mm rails. A scope is very much a user thing, and the budget end of the market are generally fixed 4x magnification with large illuminated dots. The budget rifle spec (£80+) is where things get interesting with them. The market is very competitive worldwide, And for your budget you can get a very good rifle spec scope, with variable zoom, illuminated dot, weather sealing, designed for use with gloves. It's in this market your budget falls, but you should be looking at live fire webshops rather than airsoft ones.
Models like the Nikko Stirling 30mm Diamond 1-4x24 IR, fall right into this bracket. It's a rifle scope that can be used like an ACOG, but gives the option to dial in a magnification level that suits the situation. It also has a far finer illuminated dot that any airsoft marketed product, and has sight marking for when the batteries die and you don't have any on you. It's also got a focus ring. Uttings are selling it for about £130 atm. You will also need the mounting rings. And there are other makes as well that do the same thing, like I said competitive market.
It should be pointed out however that a scope or expensive red dot is going to get shot at, and it's totally unnecessary for airsoft since our guns are wildly inaccurate.
http://www.uttings.co.uk/p122015-nikko-stirling-30mm-diamond-1-4x24-ir-rifle-scope-ndsi1424/#.WptYQHxpHZI
http://www.nikkostirling.com/content/Products/Diamond/Diamond Hunting/NDSI1424.html
If you want to treat your son, you can always take him out to the nearest live fire shop (most citys have one) and let him pick within budget. Plus you get to look at all the live fire gear and have a lads day out!
There are many options. ACOG style, scope style, reticule style.
ACOG's are a closed sight, 1x, 1.5x, 2x, 4x magnification. With an illuminated dot (red, green, blue). 1x and 1.5x magnification is better for airsoft as you don't need the higher magnifications. ACOG's are heavily cloned and you shouldn't need to spend more than £50 for one with the options you want.
Reticule style is an open style, It's nothing more than a bit of glass with an illuminated dot projected onto it. Again heavily cloned and you shouldn't need to spend more than £50 to get the spec you want.
Scopes are different. Scopes generally need a special ring mounting system, 25 and 30mm rings are common and they fit into the 20mm rails. A scope is very much a user thing, and the budget end of the market are generally fixed 4x magnification with large illuminated dots. The budget rifle spec (£80+) is where things get interesting with them. The market is very competitive worldwide, And for your budget you can get a very good rifle spec scope, with variable zoom, illuminated dot, weather sealing, designed for use with gloves. It's in this market your budget falls, but you should be looking at live fire webshops rather than airsoft ones.
Models like the Nikko Stirling 30mm Diamond 1-4x24 IR, fall right into this bracket. It's a rifle scope that can be used like an ACOG, but gives the option to dial in a magnification level that suits the situation. It also has a far finer illuminated dot that any airsoft marketed product, and has sight marking for when the batteries die and you don't have any on you. It's also got a focus ring. Uttings are selling it for about £130 atm. You will also need the mounting rings. And there are other makes as well that do the same thing, like I said competitive market.
It should be pointed out however that a scope or expensive red dot is going to get shot at, and it's totally unnecessary for airsoft since our guns are wildly inaccurate.
http://www.uttings.co.uk/p122015-nikko-stirling-30mm-diamond-1-4x24-ir-rifle-scope-ndsi1424/#.WptYQHxpHZI
http://www.nikkostirling.com/content/Products/Diamond/Diamond Hunting/NDSI1424.html
If you want to treat your son, you can always take him out to the nearest live fire shop (most citys have one) and let him pick within budget. Plus you get to look at all the live fire gear and have a lads day out!
- Oct 20, 2012
- 5,101
- 1,668
I respectfully disagree for the reason(s) given above: More expensive ones hold their value (and are relatively liquid - the technology they use is about 30-40+ years old so even a 90s EoTech sells for about 60-70% of what one sells for today), they don't break after 3-4 years as many others do, and they're safe for use on GBBRs and for getting knocked about. Them getting 'shot out' just doesn't happen if you're taking the right precautions.
If I were to buy something cheap, then something such as the UTG ITA is the only real-steel rated optic I've seen at that pricepoint (Walther also coming close). Everything else is a clone that you're paying a good deal of money just for the looks of - at this pricepoint you're not going to get something that will last, but if appearance is more important than function (and there's certainly an argument for that in airsoft) then frankly almost all the clones are fair game. I've seen people say good and bad things about almost every G&P, Nuprol, UTG (their clones) or even nameless clones; at this point, I'm willing to believe use case (GBBR or HPA blowback vs. AEG or nonblowback) and luck of the draw on the batch its come from is far more important than which 'brand' you go for.
Scopes are a different situation entirely. I wouldn't recommend anything but Visionking at this point as they are absolutely amazing value if imported. Again though, that's not the subject of the OP.
Long-term: Scour classifieds and find a second class Holosun or something else
Short-term: UTG ITA or Walther. If you want something that looks good then pick any brand you like - the rate of duds will be about the same
In summary: You cannot have your cake and eat it. If you want something that looks good but aren't willing to put down the cash then expect poor quality (or at least not as good value as something that's made to be almost purely functional and not mimic something iconic).
If I were to buy something cheap, then something such as the UTG ITA is the only real-steel rated optic I've seen at that pricepoint (Walther also coming close). Everything else is a clone that you're paying a good deal of money just for the looks of - at this pricepoint you're not going to get something that will last, but if appearance is more important than function (and there's certainly an argument for that in airsoft) then frankly almost all the clones are fair game. I've seen people say good and bad things about almost every G&P, Nuprol, UTG (their clones) or even nameless clones; at this point, I'm willing to believe use case (GBBR or HPA blowback vs. AEG or nonblowback) and luck of the draw on the batch its come from is far more important than which 'brand' you go for.
Scopes are a different situation entirely. I wouldn't recommend anything but Visionking at this point as they are absolutely amazing value if imported. Again though, that's not the subject of the OP.
Long-term: Scour classifieds and find a second class Holosun or something else
Short-term: UTG ITA or Walther. If you want something that looks good then pick any brand you like - the rate of duds will be about the same
In summary: You cannot have your cake and eat it. If you want something that looks good but aren't willing to put down the cash then expect poor quality (or at least not as good value as something that's made to be almost purely functional and not mimic something iconic).
Last edited by a moderator:
- Thread starter
- #11
Thanks for all the replies. I'll be getting lens protectors.
As to why I want to spend so much -- well, I don't (and I did say "up to
), but I'd like to avoid paying 20 or 40 GBP and ending up with a piece of junk.
My natural tendency is to get the best I can afford, without getting into the silly-money territory. So I do need reminding that airsoft is not the real thing (wrt. range and accuracy).
I'll have a look at the UTGs. And I think I may get a Visionking for myself.
If I do accidentally get a 56 mm Schmidt & Bender High Power for doing CQB though I'll let you know
As to why I want to spend so much -- well, I don't (and I did say "up to
), but I'd like to avoid paying 20 or 40 GBP and ending up with a piece of junk.My natural tendency is to get the best I can afford, without getting into the silly-money territory. So I do need reminding that airsoft is not the real thing (wrt. range and accuracy).
I'll have a look at the UTGs. And I think I may get a Visionking for myself.
If I do accidentally get a 56 mm Schmidt & Bender High Power for doing CQB though I'll let you know
Similar threads
