Vortex SPARC

[warped]

Well I mounted mine and zeroed today, it is AWESOME.

I think it is far better than an Aimpoint Micro, it comes with many features that makes me wonder how they can give such a deal.

Parallax Free: Allows for rapid shooting with both eyes open, without concern for parallax shooting error.

Parallax free beyond 50 yards; less than one-inch error closer than 50 yards.

Operating Temperature Rated from -40 degrees to +140 degrees Fahrenheit.

Convenience Features: Unlimited Eye Relief Non-critical eye relief for rapid target acquisition.

Adjustable Dot Intensity: Provides ten variable illumination settings to increase or decrease dot brightness according to viewing conditions. Even on lowest setting it was still visible in really bright sunlight.

Night Vision Mode: Sets the brightness to the lowest possible level—an illumination level that generally is not seen without use of a night vision device.

2x Magnifier: Screw-in doubler provides extra magnification for longer distance shooting.

Risers and Shims: Combine in various ways to mount the SPARC at four different heights. on a flat top AR15 just use the thinnest riser and no shim to co-witness on Magpul BUIS.

Battery Life: 6-hour auto-shutdown feature maximizes battery life. Typical battery life in normal mode of operation: 120 hours (maximum brightness), 3400 hours (minimum brightness).

Typical battery life in night vision mode: 4200 hours (maximum brightness), 4600 hours (minimum brightness).

The scope caps are on heavy rubber cording, you can lower it and still keep it on the scope without interference.

The adjustment caps are knurled, they are on stainless wire retention cables that are rubber coated.

The 2x magnifier is really good but I wish Vortex and all other manufacturers would quit placing the magnifier behind the optic, this increases dot size.

If they moved it forward they could also incorporate a wider lens for increased field of view under magnification.

In general I was extremely pleased and shot a 1" group of five from the bench @ 100yds. I was using my rifle rest to do this, it helped in making final adjustments as well.

It stood up to me doing several IAD's, when I found that I had a mag that was not letting the bolt close fully, I pounded the butt of the rifle hard on the table to clear it. The optic took it without a problem.

DoD price was $150 from SWFA.

[wolverine]

Good review, I have heard nothing but good things about this optic. The only complaints were that it was water resistant and not water proof. So out in the rain you should be fine, however drop it in a river and you may have some issues. The other complaint was that the 2xmagnifier seemed cheap and was not that clear, personally I not sure if I would even use it so not a deal breaker.

Was there any distortion in the red dot though out the brightness ranges? Have you had the opportunity to use the Burris FASTFIRE yet and if so how do you think it compared to the SPARC? I was going back and forth between the two optics for an AR-15 pistol; I now seem to be leaning toward the Vortex. If I could only get the DoD pricing at $150.00 that would be awesome!…………………Roger

[warped]

I did notice a bit of blurryness at extreme high settings, of course it could just be me considering I am 50yrs old and have eye damage due to impact induced glaucoma.

Not whining I am not the best at determining that factor anymore, I am sort of light sensitive now.

[LRRPF52]

I have both the Burris FastFire and Vortex SPARC on some guns right now. We've used them in extreme cold/humid conditions (-20 C/-4 F), as well as pretty hot temps (+100F) in humidity. Both guns are run in high-volume, and no issues so far, other than battery life with the FastFire in extreme cold. I'm actually looking more at the Trijicon RMR for a Dr. Optic type mini red dot. Keep in mind, these are two entirely different system profiles. The Dr. Optic type RDS's were originally intended to go on competitive action pistols, but have been finding their way onto carbines and rifles more and more now, first as offset optics for 3-gun, then on top of ACOG's, and now more and more as primary's, especially with the LaRue MRDS bases.

The SPARC is an amazing buy for the money. Retains zero through those temp shifts, has a very bright dot, and is very low-profile. There was a guy on Barfcom who threw his in the freezer, baseball batted it over his roof into the backyard, threw it across the yard a few times, mounted it, and proceeded to run it through high-volume, with no shifts in zero or failures. Go figure...

[Jaywalker]

The specs are less than useful re battery life. High intensity 120 hours and low intensity 3400 hours, or some such. I'll be interested in "normal" intensity battery life. A couple of hundred dollars can buy many batteries, but I'd like to know how many are really needed.

[DangerClose]

Nice to see a more budget optic that can handle so many extremes. Thanks guys, I will have a new optic soon

[Ullr]

Warped,

The 2x magnifier is really good but I wish Vortex and all other manufacturers would quit placing the magnifier behind the optic, this increases dot size.

The reason they put the magnifier behind the primary optic is that placing it in front would change the relationship between point of impact and the reticle. Avoiding that requires very tightly aligned optics in the front mounted modifier - the sort of thing you dont get at the $200 price point.

[BjornF16]

Anyone tried the Vortex Strikefire?

I have been offered a red/green dot Strikefire for $120 (very slightly used)...

[VASCAR2]

I just bought the Vortex strikefire with bright red dot from Brownell's. So far I'm pleased with the sight. I tried the night vision setting with a Gen 3 NV and it actually worked real good. Dot showed up green in night vision instead of red which makes sense. Only complaint I've read about the Strikefire is the red/green model has insufficient light intensity in bright sun light. The newer red only model supposedly solves this problem. My Strikefire seems plenty bright when I had it out a noon the other day. The Strikefire seems to have better quality than all the other Chinese red dots I've seen. I bought my Vortex Strikefire while Brownell's had free shipping and with LE discount I'm satisfied.