I used to play first person shooters, mainly when Call of Duty was the thing. CoD4 to Modern Warfare 3(never got into Black Ops). Ever since the CoD4, I had a thing for red dot sights. In video games, it made the target acquisition unbelievably easier. I wanted this in real life, too. :D
For while, I checked out the EOTech XR308. EOTech of course is the name nearly synonyms with red dot. While 1x red dot made sense for shorter range AR-15s, I was hesitant in putting that kind of limitation on my .308 caliber Bushmaster rifle.
Next one I looked at were the ACOGs.... but those things are out of my price range. They are typically $1,000 to maybe double that I think? I believe I finally found the decent compromise & for good price.
$470, shipped..... It might've been $475 after the $5 charge for faster shipping(which absolutely failed!). Unsatisfied with the seller, but happy with the item so far. It features FastFire 3 mini red dot on top of the AR-536 scope with 5x magnification. Not that I'm going to torture test it, but the scope is advertised as shock & weather proof.
Inside the Plano water/shock resistant case: FastFire 3/AR-536, sunshade(attached on scope), red dot cover, anti-glare attachment + manuals, tools, etc.
Red dot cover.
Clear plastic windows at both ends.
Anti-glare/reflection device.
Sunshade is attached, focus ring is actually hidden with the rear flip-up cover slipped over it. Very cool thing about this kit is that when I ordered mine, it was said to come with FastFire 2 red dot, not the FastFire 3. After ordering mine, I read that with the FastFire 2, you have to remove the sight to change batteries & I was kicking myself for missing that bit of detail. With the 3, you can change the battery from the top. It was quite a pleasant surprise when the kit came with the FastFire 3, not the 2. :D
I've never shot past 200 yards, so I will have very little use for those bullet drop compensation dots. Reticle is normally black, but you can light it up in five different brightness, in green or red. FastFire 3 red dot has three brightness you control with the on/off button.
From the right:
Left:
Top:
Bottom. Sneaky "Made in China" sticker.
FastFire 3:
I'm not gonna lie, red dot isn't as easy as it was in Call of Duty. lol However, it does seem to be heck a lot easier than other types of sights. I'll know more for sure when I actually shoot with it.
On my Bushmaster MOE 308. I'm going to shoot with it positioned here, at least at first. Eye-relief is better if I take that Magpul backup sight(far-left on the picatinny rail) off & position the scope way at the back. I'm tad hesitant to take the backup rear sight off, but we'll see if the scope work well enough where it's at.
Many reviews I read complained of canted(crooked) reticle. It looks funny here, but when I'm not looking through my smartphone camera, it looks perfectly fine.
I removed the sunshade & side picatinny rails from my scope. I think it looks good!
With the 25-round mag. With the .308/7.62x51, it looks big for AR. lol
I was hoping to sight this in yesterday, but I wasn't ready & didn't have the time. Maybe next weekend. I'm going to get the laser bore sight tool out & get it close before taking it out to the range to sight it in properly.
Edit: Got to finally test it out. Weather resistant. :D
Edit 2: Over a year of ownewship, I've come up with 3 major gripes:
- Eye-relief. I cannot use this scope with the rear Magpul MBUS backup flip sight due to eye-relief. I have red dot sight on top of the scope, it's not a deal breaker, but it would've been nice to have that insurance.
- One day, I find the scope moving around a tiny bit. It turns out the screws that attaches base to the scope has come loose. I can't believe they weren't secured with some kind of thread lock.
- Rear lens flip-up cap. This thing comes loose every chance it gets. It can seem like it's coming off every frigging time you handle the rifle. You can't tape it up, because it slips over focus dial. I'm thinking about maybe adding tape or something inside the ring to tighten the fit. *rolleyes*
