A few days back, I asked for suggestions concerning the possible/probable addition of a red-dot/holographic scope to my new M1A. The first response I received was from Brass:
I sucked it up and payed the money for an EOTech, haven’t regretted that choice in the least. I went through Night Galaxy as they had good prices and a good reputation. I did quite a bit of research before buying and all the products they sell are of good to excellent quality. Here’s a link.
And the second was from Peter:
I had a similar problem with the battle sight on my No4 Enfield, with the exception that the Brits decided that a very pregnant, morbidly obese cat should fit through the ring.
Solution: 7/32-40 tap and a Williams aperture.
I bought a Walther P22 with some aimpoint/reddot/whatever. Besides the whole balance thing (which for me is a deal-killer right there), I just didn’t see the reason for it. The size of the dot ensures that it isn’t any more accurate than the iron sights.
A ghost-ring setup would probably solve the fuzzy front sight issue.
Brass is definitely correct… EOTechs are worth the money, and every bit of it from what I understand. But, as I mentioned, the money is the problem. I was able to sneak the M1A past my financial advisor (i.e. Better Half) through something of an end-run maneuver, and something tells me that trying that kind of thing again would end very poorly for me. Call it “male intuition”, if you will. And Peter is equally correct – if I wanted to stick with iron sights, there are a plethora of possibilities for the M1/M14/M1A frames, and they are remarkably easy to swap out. But that dorsal rail of the SOCOM wants something, and I definitely like the one-point-of-aim provided by red-dot/holographic sights.
Well, now that I have decided and already ordered mine, I figured I would go ahead and let you all know what the end result was. After boredly stumbling around The High Road for a little while, I happened to stumble across some rather interesting information. It turns out that MidwayUSA was having a sale… this, in and of itself, is not a particularly unusual event – it seems like they are always having some kind of a sale or another. I guess it helps with business, after all. However, in the midst of that sale, a holographic sight had a reduced price… in fact, a 70% reduced price.
Suffice to say, I purchased it.
A few comments. First, I know BSA does not have the best quality when it comes to rifle optics. However, from the admittedly limited reading I have done on the topic, this shortcoming is particularly evident in their actual scopes, not necessarily their sights. Also, the reviews on both MidwayUSA and The High Road are not bad. Not glowing, no, but not bad. Finally, the darned thing is 30 bucks! I think I can afford to purchase it, see if it is any good, and go from there. Second, this is not exactly the style or design I was looking for… But, as I said, that was purely an aesthetic discriminator, and was therefore completely pointless/useless. My only real concern at the moment is whether or not the HUD on the BSA unit would be able to withstand a shock or two. Ideally, I will just take care of it, and baby it, but knowing me… Third, amazingly enough, it does have multiple reticles available. I have not been able to confirm whether they are just different sizes, or different shapes as well, but I will let you know. Fourth, unfortunately, it uses some strange cr2032 battery. The downside is that they are a little expensive. The upside is that they are rather small, so carrying spares is not going to be hard. Fifth, the Picatinny/Weaver rail adapter is built straight onto the sight. The front clamp has the screw going all the way through it fits into a Picatinny slot, and the back clamp just clamps. Should mount on easily. Sixth, again, 30 bucks, for something that was originally priced at $100. Cheap, I am.
Trust me, I would love to have an EOTech or Aimpoint gracing the top of my rifle. But, the fact is, they are both out of my budget for the time being. I will certainly keep you all appraised as to how this BSA unit holds up, and if it is worth the admittedly small cost. The sale lasts until the 31st of October, and, ideally, I should have this thing in-hand no later than next Monday. Better Half and I are hopefully going shooting sometime next week (we are going to see if an outdoor venue might be a little better for her, since the noise/concussion drove her off even before her first shot at an indoor range), so that should give us a good opportunity to put the sight through its paces. Regardless, now that mine is on its way, I thought I would let you all know, if you were possibly interested as well. I will be standing by for the pointing and laughing now that I have purchased a BSA product. Yeah, yeah, yeah…
I have a NCStar knock-off for my .22 and love it.
Cost me $30, and while the dot is 5MOA, I can still nail the bullseye with remarkable regularity.
I’ve see the $1000 red dots, and the difference is amazing, just not $970 amazing unless you’re actually shooting for sub .025″ groups.
That’s a great price, I may pick one up to mount on my Berretta NEO 22.
The $30 BSA red-dot I got at first (from WalMart) broke at the first shot and would not stay illuminated except on the “shoulder” of the click-stop detent,and at every subsequent shot the light went out as it dropped into the detent. I returned it for a refund.
Oh well, works in progress!
The Eotech (1-MOA dot w/in a 65-MOA circle) on the 6.8SPC upper was hitting the gongs first-shot at 300, 400, and 500-yards – it was GOOD! Me likey!
My aimpoint on the Carbine didn’t stay zeroed because I
had removed and replaced it on the rail. I need taller mounts so I can use the iron sights below. Also the carbine jammed a bunch and PO’d me.
I am somewhat scared of going for the knock-offs of the cheapo brands like BSA and NCStar, Robb, but if it worked for you, more power to you! I can live with spending $30 for something priced much higher, though… at least then, I can fool myself into thinking it might be a worthwhile expenditure.
Go for it, Brass. At that price, you have little to lose.
Sorry to hear about your experience with BSA, DirtCrashr… hopefully mine will not pull that stunt. And, yeah, I certainly did like the EOTech the few times I was able to handle it, but that price tag is just absurd. I thought you could cowitness through an Aimpoint?
FWIW, I bought a $25 BSA red-dot sight for my Marlin model 60 .22LR. I sighted it in at 10 – 12 yards (indoor range) and then put 15 rounds through a hole that could be covered with a dime.
For the money, it ain’t bad at all…
Co-witness normally yes, but the rail is low and the iron-sights are even lower – it’s all trying to be in the same place at the same time. I think for co-wittnessing all I need is the front post at CQB dsistances, and use the irons for 100-200 yards…
The WalMart BSA felt flimsy from the outset, what with the way the battery-cap threaded/fit and the contact points inside there – it was poorly soldered and one of the things that broke loose – and .30 Carbine is a bit more stout, recoilwise.
Hunters (Magazines) say you should spend as much on a scope as you spend on the rifle and my Aimpoint was only 1/2 the National Postal Meter cost.
I figure I can use it on the AR too!
I think I can live with Minute-of-Dime accuracy at 10 yards, Jay. By a rough guesstimation, that should be about Minute-of-Quarter at 25, so it works out nicely.
I have the same problem with my M1A, DirtCrashr, at least when it comes to cowitnessing. Or, rather, in my case, Springfield actually had to cut a groove down the center of the dorsal rail such that the sights would actually be usable. I guess you can only push the M14 frame so far.
Hopefully the MidwayUSA BSA will be a little better quality… Just have to wait and see, at this point. And I definitely agree that if you are concerned about putting multiple rounds through the same hole, or making that first shot matter, you should fork over megabucks. But in the case of my incompetent hands, and general-purpose plinking, it would be such a waste.
You know, Lin, that’s my main gripe when shooting.
I train to shoot in a way that means I will hit a man sized target in the chest / head. Hitting the xiphoid process is nice and all, but a nipple shot will work as will a belly button or a clavicle.
When I shoot .22, keeping it within the 8 ring is acceptable and the NcStar works fine for that. If I want to get 10 ring only, then yeah, I’ll need a Carl Zeis .004MOA sight for $1200…
Yerp. Man-sized target is all I am aiming for as well. With my Baby Eagle, I can manage that out to 10 yards perfectly, and 25 yards consistently, with just its iron sights. But with the M1A, getting the sight picture through the irons just takes a little too much time for my tastes, and since I am not too worried about single-holing a sheet of paper with my 10-round magazine, a $30 expenditure works for me (and, more importantly, my financial advisor).
I bought the BSA, based on your recommendation, though based more on price, but it is not clear to me whether I need a rail or can simply clamp the sight to the receiver (I have an M1A, too, though it is older). Have you installed and used it, yet? Can you better explain how it is installed? Inquiring minds will thank you.
OTOH, if a rail is required, then I need to go back to Fulton for some other stuff, anyhow, so….
Mark, the BSA does need a Picatinny rail to mount to your M1A. On my SOCOM, the rail comes with the rifle, so it was just a matter of unscrewing the clamp, holding it in place, and rescrewing the clamp. In your case, you might have to hit up Fulton, and get the Picatinny/Weaver additions they sell (either one should work, since the BSA sight only cares about using one slot). Sorry for the confusion.
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