Red Dots Is There a Difference?

I am sure this has probably been asked before so sorry if it is a repeat.

 I currently shoot an Ultradot 30mm on my 1911, the dot seems to be a little fuzzy around the edges.

 My question is are there really any differences between Ultradot, Millet, Bushnell, and Aimpoint?
 Getting ready to buy a new dot and was looking for some feedback.

If you are the original purchaser, you can send in your ultradot for free warranty repairs.  The dot shouldn't be fuzzy.  It should be crisp.

If the dot appears fuzzy let someone else look through it. Most of the time it's because your eyes aren't focusing at that distance. I thought all my UltraDots had comet tails until I went to get a new pair of glasses and had one pair made that focused at the focal distance from my eyes to the end of my arm.
Magically now the dot is perfect.

yes there are differences in dots, aimpoint and ultradot are parallax free , tasco, bushnell and most cheap ones are not, as for a fuzzy dot, that most times is due to the person looking at its eyes.

Even the parallax free models are "free" only at a precise distance from your eye.  Pistolsmiths deal with this issue....mounting toward the muzzle for optic quality vs. closer to the wrist for balance.

Jim

spursnguns wrote:Even the parallax free models are "free" only at a precise distance from your eye.  Pistolsmiths deal with this issue....mounting toward the muzzle for optic quality vs. closer to the wrist for balance.

Jim

 The parallax im referring to is red dot to target not eye relief, there is a good write up on it on bullseye encyclopedia showing different models.

From another forum...

"A quick question for you, Jerry (Keefer). What dictates the sights location, fore and aft, on the rib? The shooter's preference for balance?"

"Well, it's a little bit of both.. Technically, it is felt, that mounted far forward at the muzzle, would be ideal, since any sighting/parallax error would be mitigated. Mounted at the extreme rear aggravates those errors.. So the best compromise is midway. Some shooters prefer the optic weight closer to their wrist, but as these little scopes become lighter in weight, that issue is diminished."

I have an Aimpoint Micro 2moa and two Ultradots. I have used them all in competition and practice and have never found an accuracy difference between the two of them.

If you take accuracy out of the equation, there are some differences.

Price: 600 for the Aimpoint vs. 200-250 for an Ultradot.

Mounting: both can be mounted right away but I have had several people tell me that the mount for the Micro is not beefy enough for the recoil of a 1911. Jim Lenardson and (please correct me if I am wrong) Brian Zins among others use a mount that Fred Totts makes which is much stronger. Lenardson has told me that the mounting screw that comes with the Micro will shear. Lenardson also has a mount that Jerry Keefer made which literally has the Micro hugging the slide. David Sams makes a really nice frame mount for the micro. 

Battery life: both use the same battery but I have had my Micro for a year and never shut it off.  Five year battery life. 

Tubes: I had Fred Totts press tubes on my Micro to keep glare and rain off the glass. 

So I guess what I am telling you is unless you really want an Aimpoint Micro, just buy an Ultradot.

I have the Bushnell TRS-25 on my 22/45 and it's an outstanding sight for the price (+/- $90).  

It's a 3 MOA red dot and the dot it very crisp.  It uses the cheap and widely available 2032 battery.  It has a built in Weaver/Picatinny base that attaches using a single Allen head screw.  It has a brightness setting that goes up to "11", but even in bright sunlight, I never needed to turn it up past "8".  I put over 300 rounds through my pistol and even accidentally dropped the gun (fell off a chair onto a tile floor) and the sight kept its zero.  

Now, I will say that the dot starts to get a bit fuzzy and elongated at the higher settings, but for the price you can't beat it.  I haven't seemed to have any parallax issues at 25 yards.  Not sure at closer ranges.  More experienced and "serious" shooters would probably want a better optic, but for a beginner, the TRS-25 is more than adequate.

I have experience with three types of high quality red dots and I would be happy with any of the three. 


The ultra dot match dot 4 is the scope to get if you like to switch between 4 MOA and 2 MOA.

 If you know what MOA dot you want, the Ultra Dot 2 is a little bit better quality dot and optics, in my humble opinion. 

I personally use a aimpoint 9000SC 2MOA dot which I think has even better quality dot and optics then the ultra dot 2.  Its a little bit heavier (which I like) and a lot more expensive (but I forgot what I paid for it 5 years ago) but for me it is the best.  I once had a problem with a range that faced directly into the sun but I was able to zip tie a sun shade made from a piece of target and got through the match.  it was late in the evening and everybody was having problems with the sun immediately above and behind the targets.  Picked that trick up from the guys shooting the ultra dots and now a good handful of zip ties is in my box. 

For what it is worth, I have not seen anybody else using a aimpoint 9000SC or an aimpoint 9000L but everybody that tries my gun out comments on the great sight picture!

I have also seen a number of novice shooters show up for a match with some of the cheaper dots and they get frustrated with them, take them off half way through the match, and then show up with an ultra dot next match. 

Regards,
Cranky

If you check out the shooters at Camp Perry I'm confident you'll find the basic Ultradot is the scope of choice.

I'm a novice. I think I payed a little more than $40 for my first red dot sight. While shooting an outdoor match, no matter how much I turned up the site I would still loose the dot. 

I bought an Ultradot. That problem is gone.

Yiogo

Past national champion Phillip Hemphill uses a aimpoint 9000, nice dot but heavier than a UD by several ounces and several hundred dollars more in cost.

I have an ultradot, pdp3, and Tru-Glo Tru-Bright reflex. The Tru-Glo and ultradot have lifetime warranties. That's about the end of the comparison. I strongly dislike the Tru-Glo. The pdp doesn't have the lifetime warranty, but it blows the Tru-Glo away. The Tru-Glo is fuzzy as all get up. I'm also not crazy about the mount strength on anything heavier than a 22. The pdp is definitely better, but the ultradot is crisp, clear, and light. The ultradot has my vote!