What do you prefer? I had a red dot before but I've never had a reflex sight. What is the difference? The reflex sight's look cool just wondering what the pro's and con's are?

A red dot is a reflex sight. The image of the reticle is projected onto a piece of glass and is reflected back towards your eye. These can be the tube style red dot sights, or the open Eotech clones.

The Eotech uses a hologram, which is a different technology.

check out this brief description....scroll down until you see "film"and press

EOTech EXPS 3 0 EXPS3 2 EOTech Holographic Sights - Oberland Arms

keith

It really comes down to which style is more comfortable for you to use. I've experimented with 3 styles............scope style,

open reflex hologram
reddotsight_zps494adc12.png Photo by Crunch1965 | Photobucket@@AMEPARAM@@http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p4/Crunch1965/reddotsight_zps494adc12.p@@AMEPARAM@@124.photobucket.com/albums/p4/Crunch1965/reddotsight_zps494adc12.p
and the Eotech clones.

Eotech makes a fine product but, it's a tad out of my price range and I refuse to buy an optic that costs more than the rifle I'm using it on.
SightMark makes a fine clone that in my opinion is just as good as the Eotech at a much lower price.

The 1st and 3rd styles are my favorites. The 2nd one can be hard to see in bright sunlight.

Shooting outside #2 reticle can fade out in direct sunlight. I prefer tube style, and use Primary Arms Micro dot, which unlike #1, comes with a mount designed for an AR platform.

Hamster, what you are calling an "open reflex hologram" is not a hologram at all. It is a reflex sight.

Also, if you think that the Sightmark is just as good as an Eotech, you have never used an Eotech... two different technologies, vastly different level of quality and reliability.

Why? Not knocking your preference, but many people put more money into their glass than their rifle. For the 15-22, I can almost agree with you since it's a range toy, which is why mine wears a Bushnell Trophy MP (~$140.00). But anything intended for a defensive use gets good glass, which is why my AR and AK both wear Aimpoints. Buy once, cry once.

I agree, the sightmark does not use a laser to project the reticle like an Eotech. It is just another Led sight that is made to resemble an Eotech to an untrained eye for sales purposes.

I understand budget considerations and why someone would be uncomfortable with purchasing a sight that costs considerably more than the rifle.

I did not appreciate the Eotech technology until I used one and IMHO nothing comes close under 100 yards. Keep in mind it can be transferred to your "real" AR-15 and is just at home on a shotgun.

In any case please buy as many as you can as I own stock in LLL who makes them.

I like the open style, targets faster as you maintain more vision down range, and much less bulky. Never had a problem with visibility outdoors, just get one with brightness settings.
You gain nothing but looks by going with eotech clones, which just add some bulk and no one will be fooled, since at best it'd look like a an eotech that was on backward.

Ok, so my wording was a bit off. Let me rephrase..............#2 is a Reflector or Reflex sight, which casts a holographic type image directly onto the glass whereas #3 uses 3 mirrors to achieve it's holographic type image.
The advantages of #2 and #3 are quick and easy target acquisition and your eye doesn't have to remain centered in the "window" to stay on target.
The downside to #2 is sun fade due to the design.

Hamster, all three of them use the same technique to create the reticle. A LED is positioned to where it projects the reticle image forward onto a curved, reflective piece of glass. The image is then reflected back to your eye.

Your eye does not have to stay centered with #1 either. All of these, as well as holographic sights allow for you to make hits on target without having to have the perfect cheek weld or looking through the sight perfectly centered. However, all of the lower priced units pictured above will have some parallax issues at shorter distances. The higher priced units such as Aimpoint and Eotech do not suffer from this.

With all that said, I run a lower priced red dot on my .22 myself. They work fine for my use.

If you mount the red dot sight forward and shoot with both eyes open, vision down range is not an issue.

Numbers 1, 2 and 3 all use the exact same method of projecting the targeting image (be it a single dot or a selectable reticle) on the front transparent piece of glass (the glass may be curved somethat.)

All three use an LED (very broadband light output, typically red or green) to illuminate the reticle. (the curved see thru lense on many reflective sights is what is projecting the reticle if no other lense is used.)

Reflector sight - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The real EOtech uses a colllaminated narrowband laser to illuminate a holographic image on the transparent glass.

A true holographic sight like the Eotech doesn't have the lense. Notice the use of mirrors in the drawing of the EOtech unit.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EOTech


http://www.eotechinc.com/holographic-weapons-technology

I have an Aimpoint Comp M2. I've noticed some parallax issue with it. I just ran across this info:

The M68 is parallax-free at around 50 yards, meaning that the red dot will not change position based on eye position at that range.[1] At shorter ranges the point of aim will change position based on eye position with the maximum error being equal to the diameter of the sight's optical window at short range.[2]

Source: Aimpoint AB - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

All of these 1x sights have some degree of parallax.

Advertising of parallax free is way overdone, and so is the notion that a certain degree of parallax is a big deal to begin with on battle rifles. These sights are not for precision shooting. They are for putting lead on the target fast. Those who worry about such things as they try to precision shoot at paper from a bench have purchased the wrong style optic, IMO.

If you want to try a holographic sight, try to find a used bushnell holosight. They usually go for $100-$150. I have a first gen, battery life kinda sucks compared to current sights but they are parallax free at any distance. I think mine is probably 15 years old and works and looks like brand new. I take care of my stuff.