I have a sightmark reflex and i just bought a 3X magnifier off Ebay (i don't have it yet), i was wondering if anyone has a setup with both. I'm hoping it works out but i have a feeling its going to look stupid, or not match up right. If so, i guess will get a Aimpoint or Eotech style red dot to go with it.

What do you think??

I've seen some of those setups at gun show displays. The ones I have seen produce less than sharp red dots with fuzzy tails. As well, magnification boogers the main advantage of the red dot which is two-eyes open with unlimited eye relief and FOV. That being said, I think they look real cool on the rifle.

I get a lot of bang for the buck with a powered scope and reflex red dot sight operating independently on my 15-22.

yeah i have a scope too, i just want to have both at once and be able to switch faster...I guess I'll see how it works out when it gets here and maybe post a pic.

I tried an Eotech/magnifier at the gun show last weekend and didn't like it. Not only does it magnify the image, but it magnifies the "dot" too.

Personally i don't like magnifiers, And i really have my doubts on how it would work with a reflex sight combo.
A magnifier on a swing mount behind a 1x tube or Acog isn't bad.
I am with ChattanoogaPhil on optics setups,i like mine separate also.
I can go from 100 yards too 15' with just a small turn of the rifle and it still keeps my cheek weld in less than a second.
There are many other options out there with different optics and different mounts and places to locate them

Here's a setup I'm going to try on on my new toy. Scope, red dot and sights. The carry handle mount is see-thru so all three sighting methods can be used without swapping equipment.

Attached Images

DSC02440.jpg (101.7 KB, 1764 views)

i can positively say that magnifiers magnify an object without negatively affecting the size of the dot. It would make most sense also to drop the red dot to it's dimmest setting as well.

My dislike for magnifiers (and my only experience is a cheap knockoff) is that the eye relief seems to be less than an inch, and the field of view is relatively smaller than a scope with equal magnification. I would love to try a better quality glass between my eye and holographic sight.

refer to this post for a pic, and the entire thread has some useful tidbits. I have yet to shoot with my 4x magnifier.
Mako Magnifiers, Has anyone used them?

__________________
Cliff Rock

Right. In relation to the target backdrop, there isn't proportional change in dot size because everything in the FOV is being magnified.

Agreed, but the dot gets so big it obscures a smaller target (or a more specific aim point).

Once again, that was with an EOTech, which has a HUGE dot. Might not be so much of a problem with a regular red dot.

If your dot covers up 2 inches of the bullseye at 50 yards with no magnification, it will still cover up 2 inches of the bullseye at 50 yards when magnified.

For those who try to bullseye shoot with large dots and run into trouble with the X ring being completely covered by the red dot, you might try using a 6 o'clock sight picture. You can line up the top edge of the dot with the lower edge of the bullseye for very precise red dot aiming.

Not sure what you mean about the EoTech dot being so large. Most of their models come with 1MOA dots.

Small target & Close Range (3-4 yards)
Mako Magnifiers, Has anyone used them?

This is on the brightest setting, if I were really concerned, I would have lowered the optic to the dimmest dot. Also, you can see the dot is about the size of the door latch, both when magnified or not.

Quarter and door mechanism for reference:

__________________
Cliff Rock

for this rifle, eye relief shouldn't be much of an issue. the recoil is so low that even if you have to stick your eye into the magnifer you should be fine.

i've got a primary arms 3x (with azimuth adjustments to center the dot) on the way with a flip to side mount. should arrive before the weekend so i'll mount it and give you guys a range report next week. they had pretty good reviews on ar15.com

my intent is to primarily use the red dot unmagnified with the magnifier hanging off to the side most of the time. i want the magnifier to hit steel spinners at 100 yards. since most of the shooting i do is at 50yds or less, i was hesitant to go with a standard scope. i like shooting both eyes open. the magnifier will hopefully deliver what i'm looking for.

for me personally, the reason i don't run a scope on a carry handle and a red dot is that you are looking through the carry handle rear sight aperature (with a scope sitting over it). you're basically just using the iron sights. if you have a hard time seeing the front sight post (bifocals, old eyes, astigmatism) i would think you'd be better off with a fiber optic front sight post or a tritium glow in the dark luminating front sight post. it would weigh less but then again, it would open up rail space real estate that any tacticool ninja type might not like.


to southernga, my only concern with the reflex and the magnifer is making sure your mounts are the same height. also, unless you have a cantilever mount for the reflex, once you mount the magnifier you'll run out of upper receiver rail space and the rear sight will have to come off. you can mount the reflex on the handguard rail but it generally won't be as accurate as mounting over the receiver. unless you're planning on punching 1" groups at 100 yards though, i wouldn't worry about it, mount the sight where it's comfortable for you.

good luck. hope it works out for you.

There's the center dot, then the ring around it.

The ring took up almost the entire FOV through the magnifier.

Thanks for all the opinions and links! And to ~tc~ the sightmark reflex has just a red dot option (with no ring) which is what i use . Ill let everyone know what i think about when it comes could be a while.

Anybody have a good place to get a cheap FTS mount? The Magnifier i ordered comes with a twist mount. I wana have both. . .as may options as possible.

primaryarms.com has FTS mounts for $49.00. that is the cheapest i've seen. anything american made is gonna easily top $100 (LaRue etc.)

Everyone's eyes are different, but a common problem is having difficulty keeping both the front sight post and target in relative good focus. I can keep the front sight post looking sharp but then the target gets fuzzy. Or, I can keep the target looking sharp but then the post gets fuzzy. A glowing fuzzy front sight post isn't much help. A red dot sight allows focus on the target while the dot remains sharp.

This might be of interest to you. This would give you both at once with one optic.

"Millett Tactical DMS Rifle Scope 30mm Tube 1-4x 24mm Illuminated Circle Dot Reticle Matte 1-4X red dot scope."

Millett Tactical DMS Rifle Scope 30mm Tube 1-4x 24mm Illuminated Circle Dot Reticle Matte - MidwayUSA

Thanks i haven't seen anything like this yet! I will definitely consider it if i don't like the magnifier.

well my primary arms 3x magnifer and flip mount arrived today. talk about fast service. i ordered in online on sunday and it arrived snail mail this afternoon.

my first impression is good. easy to mount and will sit over the magpul buis. when flipped to the side the buis can be activated for iron sight use. eye relief is short with a max eye relief being about 1.5-2". not a worry to me since the .22lr recoil is negligible. for larger calibers, the risk of a shiner exists. the magnifier lined up perfectly with my adco mirage tactical 2moa red dot optic on a cantilever mount. the magnifier optics are pretty decent for the price. i think it will work out well for up to 100 yards. the thing i notice is that my adco red dot is not perfectly round. when magnified 3x i can see how the "dot" isn't perfectly round. as the dot intensity is dialed up toward maximum, a starburst effect is noted. if the goal is to shoot quarter sized targets, the magnified dot will completely obliterate the target. for me, not a big deal as i won't be shooting at targets that small. i can however see why high quality optics cost so much. i can only assume an aimpoint dot at 3x magnification will retain more of a round dot appearance. with the magnifer rotated to the right, it is still well behind the ejection port and above it so i find it highly unlikely that it would cause any sort of malfunction with a spent casing being improperly ejected.

i had to move my red dot and my rear magpul buis so now i have to sight everything back in. oh well, i guess i'll have to send some rounds down range this weekend. i'm pretty excited to try it out.

i'll post a range report here on sunday afternoon or monday morning.

I'm jealous, i hate to admit this but i ordered my magnifier from Hong Kong and based on my previous purchase from China it will won't be here until march 9th.

If it works good i will tell everyone where i got it. I feel stupid admitting this but i got for $44 free shipping. we'll see

That's a heck of a good price. I think most all this stuff comes out of the same Chinese labor camp anyway... just different labels.

Now I've got myself talked into the DMS.... another $200...

The only bad thing about cheap .22lr ammo is that I keep thinking with all the savings I can buy more stuff... My bank account did just as well confined to the .223.... oh well... this is more fun.

phil,

when you get the dms please post a review. i was thinking of getting one as midway has them on sale right now but i opted for the red dot magnifier instead...for now.



i think the magnifier i bought was made in china as well. primary arms just buys in bulk to their specs and has them in stock here in the U.S., that's why shipping is so fast. great customer service from what i've heard too.

Will do. There's a bunch of reviews on Midway too. Most all seem to be quite positive. For $200 bucks... I'm thinking dual use with .22lr and .223.

i read the midway reviews and got a bit nervous by the post about millett being bought out by bushnell and the service deteriorating. dare i say i prefer a review from a guy i "know" who'll be using the optic on the same platform that i would be.

haha that didn't take long. . .I've had this gun for 2 months now and I've probably put 7k rounds through it. I am starting to realize that i really do have a problem with accessories. As soon as i order something im looking at other stuff, then looking to replace stuff with better stuff. It dont think it will ever end

first it was the red dot, then a scope, then a fore grip, then a light and a mount, then rail covers, then a better fore grip, then a magnifier, then better covers. . .

Beck27 compared these .22s with rails to a crack addition. I think he is right.

So this morning i was woken up by the mail man with a little package. It was my Aim-point magnifier clone! I originally posted this wondering if this would be a good match for my sight-mark reflex. I'm happy to say that it works perfectly and remember i only paid 40$ for this shipping included. I highly highly recommend this to anyone who has any type of red dot sight. I will post pictures when i can get my hands on a camera.

Quality is excellent.
Feels sturdy
Twist mount is good and doesn't wobble ( i do wish i could have found one with a FTS mount for as cheap)
Looks BA
eye relief 1.25-1.5 inches (whatever there is no kick)

Let me know if you have any questions.



3X Magnifier / MAG Scope w/ QD Twist Mount fit Aimpoint - eBay (item 280474337261 end time Apr-05-10 01:48:08 PDT)

i like the FOR AIRSOFT ONLY in big ol letters on their page. haha

I bet you got the same magnifier that costs $100+ most places but paid less by ordering direct rather than paying a middle man retailer in the states.

yeah i wouldnt doubt it. glad that the shipping worked out well for ya, lets see some pics!