Aimpoint vs Vortex strikefire?

[gelgoog]

I need a low profile red dot for my AKs because my Eotechs sit far too high to get any kind of cheekweld. So I am hearing a lot of positive reviews on the Vortex Strikefire and wonder how well it compare up against an aimpoint.

Vortex vs Aimpoint?

Vortex vs Russian red dots?

I am not expecting it to be as good as an aimpoint, but I am hoping they are durable enough for serious use (even if it only gets used as a range toy).

[PotatoMuncher]

Each one has its niche: Obviously Aimpoint for its durability, and obviously Vortex for its price.
I've heard great reviews on the Strikefire, and it seems durable enough from the videos I've watched.

But won't both have almost the same sight picture Issue as your EOTechs? They're not exactly low-profile unless you're speaking of micros.

[universal_exports]

i'm not an aimpoint fan like some, when I was in Iraq in 2005, they had to bring over a civilian contractor to repair them, and he stayed busy, lots of issues
with not being able to move the dot for zeroing, quit working etc. his opinion of them was he loved them, he was guaranteed stead employment.

in 2008 they issued us ACOGS over there, and they were awesome!

[skeet]

If you want it to co-witness with your iron sights then it will sit at exactly the same height as your eotech.

If you don't run BUIS then I don't know what else to say.

[Dave_M]

Are you fucking high?

Aimpoint.

[Dave_M]

If you want it to co-witness with your iron sights then it will sit at exactly the same height as your eotech.

Depends on the platform. EO's have and always will work best on AR-style rifles. EO on an AK? Screw that.

[gelgoog]

If you want it to co-witness with your iron sights then it will sit at exactly the same height as your eotech.

Depends on the platform. EO's have and always will work best on AR-style rifles. EO on an AK? Screw that.

Wouldn't a RS low profile mount with an aimpoint be lower than a standard picatinny Kalinka mount with an eotech?

[hatchtrikk]

The RS with an Aimpoint will have a lower 1/4ish co-witness. The other will give you a chin weld at best.

[jrswanson1]

I just put this http://www.midwestindustriesinc.com/ind ... ory_id=421 on my Arsenal. Got the Primary Arms combo. Lower 1/3 co-witness, and it works very well. You can swap out the Primary Arms sight later for a mini Aimpoint.

Jim

[BHP]

i'm not an aimpoint fan like some, when I was in Iraq in 2005, they had to bring over a civilian contractor to repair them, and he stayed busy, lots of issues
with not being able to move the dot for zeroing, quit working etc. his opinion of them was he loved them, he was guaranteed stead employment.

in 2008 they issued us ACOGS over there, and they were awesome!

I have an Aimpoint at the house that was hit by a train, it didn't lose zero. I am on my third deployment and I've never seen one fail. I know they do from time to time but I've never known it to happen in any of the three units I've deployed with.

[Cpt. MelonBuster]

Not to be an dick or anything, but you can afford Micro-Uzi's, Krinks, and boutique one-off leverguns, but you don't want to shell out a little extra for a guaranteed quality red dot?

[skeet]

Depends on the platform. EO's have and always will work best on AR-style rifles. EO on an AK? Screw that.

Woah, I am a god damned idiot. I completely blanked out the AK part of the OP. Disregard.

[gelgoog]

Not to be an dick or anything, but you can afford Micro-Uzi's, Krinks, and boutique one-off leverguns, but you don't want to shell out a little extra for a guaranteed quality red dot?

You got me there.

I was just curious if anyone had used a vortex, as PSA seems to be pimping them out as well as several other companies.

[Skull_Hide]

Strikefire, unless your Rambo it'll do its job from what I've seen. The only bad thing I've really heard about it is the light levels isn't bright enough for some people, but that's a personal view point. For the price its excellent and if you aren't scared of what the fan boys think its a alright optic. I plan on getting one in March, too much going on right now. I know Aim Points are the fucking holy grail for some and that's fine, but their price point isn't, well new atleast, I know there are some steals out there.

Anyways, flame suit on.

[Kommander]

If you have the money the Russian stuff might be fun to play with. Once upon a time they were actually a good option for the guy who wanted a red dot on his AK. But combine the increased costs of the Russian optics over the years and a wider variety of ways to effectively mount quality western optics and the Russian option no longer looks that good.

[Browning 35]

I have a Vortex Strikefire that I had on an AK-74 for awhile.

The Strikefire's pretty good for the money and you get your moneys worth, but it's no Aimpoint.

I used a Samson AK rear sight mount, with the wire folding stock I used to have on it the scope sat a little high and I eventually removed it.

Crappy/Grainy Cell Phone Pics.



Vortex with the doubler and the Samson AK rear sight rail





Likes...

• I like the choice between red/green dots.
• Price/Good Value (it comes with a free doubler in addition to the free mount, lens caps, Allen wrench and lens cloth).
• The lens is very clear, especially when compared to RDS's in the same general price range. Not as clear as an Aimpoint, but that's a bit of an apples to oranges comparison since the Aimpoint costs quite a bit more (There is a bit of washout when you're in an extremely bright environment though, this hasn't been much of a problem for me though).

The things that I don't like about the sight itself is...

• Poor 'On/Off' switch placement on the Strikefire. When I placed the weapon on it's left side the pressure was sometimes enough to turn it on (draining the battery).
• I wish that it used a different battery than the CR2 battery that the Strikefire runs off of (AA would have been nice).
• It's a bit big and slightly heavy. Not overly so, but it's still a bit bigger/heavier than what I'd prefer.

It is what it is, a decent priced RDS at a bargain price. :Shrug

Since I recently replaced the furniture on that '74 (it now wears wood) this combo might end up finding it's way back on at some point in the future simply because the height wouldn't be so much of an issue.

[omega_man]

I plan on getting a strikefire, as per the good press I hear about them. Not all of my evil black guns need Ramadi-proof expensive optics. I have heard that vortex has killer customer service, which eases whatever worries I have about getting a lemon.

[ultra magnus]

Strikefire would probably be fine for a range rifle, and would leave you close to $300 or so to put towards one of your fighting guns, or training. AFAIK there is no co-witness mount for the Strikefire if that is an issue.

[TCB Firearms]

Vortex makes some great gear, but are somewhat "new" in the field. Anxious to see what the come out with and ho it keeps. Aimpoint wins for now for a few reasons:
1-Battery life- On full power, sight uses less battery power than the natural "bleed off" of the battery.
2-Durability- Have seen one survive being duct taped to a flashbang. Barely, but worked mostly. Larry Vickers and Daniel Defense did a great torture test on one.
3-Company profile- I have meet with most optic companies over the years as a dealer, Aimpoint really stood out an impressed me.

Now with all of that out of the way, for an AK I run irons only, but have used a micro holo with good results on the upper handguard. I tend to run AR's 99% of the time

[Browning 35]

AFAIK there is no co-witness mount for the Strikefire if that is an issue.

Actually you can Co-Witness with your iron sights while using the Vortex Strikefire on both the AR...



http://new.robotsquad.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=109&t=48391&p=1003553&hilit=vortex+strikefire+co+witness#p1003553

....and the AK.



With the AK you'd just need a side mount (like those at Kalinka Optics *Click*)

http://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php?t=44632

I actually didnt know about the Vortex-SF being able to co-witness w/Iron Sights on an AK (I knew that you could with an AR) until just recently myself either.

Wouldn't have done me any good immediately as my '74 doesn't have a side mount for a RDS/scope anyway, but maybe I could have installed one. Oh well...'you live you learn'.

(BTW, NONE of these pics, rifles or the RDS in this particular post are mine....just for illustration purposes on being able to co-witness w/the Vortex SF or not)

[northernxposure]

Due to the placement of the emitter on the Strikefire/SPARC you'll never get anything closer than lower 1/3 co-witness on the AK.

Also, I don't know about sustained heat with the Vortex units, so if you use a gas tube rail adapter you could cook the optic over time. Aimpoints have shown that this isn't an issue. Get a side mount if you're not sure.

I think there's a place for mid-priced red dots - I just wish there wasn't such a huge step to go from a 200$ red dot to a 500$ one without resorting to an old/used optic. I missed out bigtime with the silver Aimpoint deal that happened earlier this year, still kicking my own ass for not using the plastic on that one.

NXP

[Unorthodox]

Are you fucking high?

Aimpoint.

Yeah...this is the end of that. And on a krink? No doubt, especially an Aimpoint Micro.

And if this mounts on the dust cover, you're a tardbiscuit and you can get whatever you want because it won't matter. It'll just be a tube on your rifle that does nothing but add weight.

[Kutter_0311]

I plan on getting a strikefire, as per the good press I hear about them. Not all of my evil black guns need Ramadi-proof expensive optics. I have heard that vortex has killer customer service, which eases whatever worries I have about getting a lemon.

I'd Ultimak it and see how long it takes to cook. Then see if they replace it...

Maybe it'll turn out to be worth a shit!

[Super Kill Guy]

I'm getting this as the next "bigish" purchase.
Co-witness.
No Heat.
Not Expensive.
Also it's a standard 30mm mount so if you got something more expensive later on you could potentially swap it out, depending on clearances and whatnot.