I have in my possession two optics suitable for a generic AR15. DDM4V4. Progressive lens wearer.

Trijicon RX01NSN, in fine shape, but tritium d-e-d, has been on the carbine rail since day one. Original box, papers, polarizer, etc. and apparently a real US military item based on Trijicon comments. It was all I could find in the chaos of the president from Hawaii first term.

Vortex Strike Eagle 1-8x24, sfp, which has the odd chevron reticle and illumination by battery.

100 yards is the furtherest the range has.

Application is strictly civilian.

Question:
For casual use, which would you choose and why?

Choices:
Trijicon RX01NSN with $300 repair
Vortex Strike Eagle 1-8x24 and $120 cantilever AR mount

 

This message has been edited. Last edited by: 4MUL8R,

quote:

Trijicon RX01NSN

quote:

tritium d-e-d

In a quick, non-exhaustive search, this is a dot sight that has been discontinued. I assume d-e-d means dead. Is it usable in daytime without the glow-in-the dark? Trijicon does service their products, but I don't know about a discontinued one. With all these unknowns I can't really vote for this specific sight.

I tried the same or closely equivalent scope on my own AR and didn't care for it. Scopes are dependent on your eye positioning, or you find yourself looking through a little tiny, blurry hole, and with the adjustable stock my AR does not shoulder naturally or instinctively. It took an extra second to get my head/eye positioning right. The reticle was - for me - needlessly "busy", what with all the hash marks and lines.

Anyway, I like a dot with as large a window as possible for 100 yards and under. Even without magnification, at 100 yards I can get hits on a 12.5x20-inch silhouette (caveat: off a bench with just the front of the gun rested).

Trijicon will replace the tritium vial for about $300.

The brightness of this optic is NOT consistent without the working tritium vial.

Personally, I don’t like the 4x32 ACOGs because of the very short eye relief, but if you like it and have had it forever, why not just get Trijicon to replace the tritium?

I am not curious about the Strike Eagle because of the Trijicon RX01NSN tritium lamp being out. Repair is $300.

As the RX01NSN is a 1X no magnification amber dot, I'm interested in comparing it to a variable power scope.

The RX01NSN is not an ACOG.
https://www.scopelist.com/trij...ter-polarizing-filte

This message has been edited. Last edited by: 4MUL8R,

The RX01NSN has a 4.5 minute dot, which is pretty big. If your 100 yard targets are 6-8" or bigger it'll work fine. But if you're shooting at eggs, the dot will completely obscure the target, making hits as much a matter of luck as skill. Whereas the center dot in the Vortex reticle is only 1 minute, less than the size of your egg, making hits easier.

On the other hand, the Vortex will be heavier than the Trijicon, maybe significantly so. If you're shooting from a bench with a good front support, that won't really matter. If you're carrying it around (hunting or playing run & gun games or otherwise shooting from unsupported positions), it might.

Both require a battery so that's probably a wash, although I don't know the battery life of either one (i.e., if one of them goes through 4 batteries in the time the other burns 1, it might make a difference for you). [EDIT: Never mind that, the Trijicon doesn't use a battery, I just foolishly assumed that it did.]

If you're shooting decent size targets AND you're willing to pay to have the tritium replaced, then I'd vote for the Trijicon. Otherwise, the Vortex.

Sent it back to Trigicon, I haven't heard anything bad about their customer service.

$300 for new tritimum? vs how much for the Vortex?

I own both optics.

Trijicon would be $300 to repair.

Vortex would be $120 to purchase a cantilever mount.

Would the "backwash" from a weapon light be enough to illuminate the fiber optic part of the Trijicon? Then you could have your dot sight while also illuminating the target and save money. Or for magnification, provided their heights match, you could put a 2-3x swing-out magnifier behind it for your longer shots. These suggestions all go back to the Trijicon over the scope.

Of your two choices, the Vortex is the way to go.

I've owned one of the Trijicons and the Meprolight version, and while I love the idea, they never worked out for me with the unpredictable nature of seeing the dot depending on lighting conditions. Fine for the open sky range. Bad for the covered range, shooting into light. Unpredictable in the woods and changing conditions.

Not much of a vortex fan, but that's the way I'd go. With a cheaper mount. lol I have a couple ADM's, a LaRue, but also one inexpensive Brownells mount (that was actually free) and one cheapie mystery mount. Other than the QD features that I never use anymore, I cant tell one from the other when using them.