I think it all depends to what use you intend for your rifle. If it's target or varmint shooting, by all means, you want precision crosshair magnifying optics (a scope).
If on the other hand, you want a SHTF protection rifle, the red dot reigns supreme. Normally, ranges will not surpass 200 yards, and could be very close indeed. You will want FAST target acquisition with plenty of peripheral vision. Additional advantages include unlimited eye relief and no worries about parallax errors. Co-witnessed with your iron sights, you can take it off and still be on target. I've equipped my "go to" AR with an Aimpoint with a 4-minute dot and a flip-up backup iron rear sight. Very happy with this arrangement. I have other rifles for precision shots at longer ranges, and of course they are appropriately scoped.
John
