This review is from: Nikon 1x30mm Monarch Red Dot Sight With Matte Finish Md: 8430. (Electronics)
I've worked my way through a stack of dot sights, and that's pretty much where they are --- in a "pile" in my closet. I haven't subjected them to anything unreasonable. No mud. No combat. No sand. No major calibers. All I asked for was repeatable zero, manual (no-tool) adjustment, and crispness.
Got it. My Nikon has been on a Ruger MK III for a couple of years, now. Every once in awhile I switch barrels --- once the sight is mounted using a quarter and bench-rested, the dot stays where the hole goes.
I generally shoot at 50 feet. With this sight, bench-rested, and a box of Lapua Midas you can essentially make a dime-sized hole. I have a suspicion it would do the same thing at 50 yards. Obviously, the hole changes (a teensy bit) off-hand, but at least I know --- know --- that anything outside the 10 is my fault.
The sight appears a little bulky, at first, but it's actually extremely light. Turret caps come off to reveal marked, zero-able, coined target knobs that click snugly. Mine goes back to zero if I switch distances. Nice brightness range, and the dot adjusts from a needle-prick up to a baseball.
This sight will probably improve your score, but not your shooting. For that you'll have to take the Monarch off every now and then and go back to open sights. Then ... you put it back on.
Why four stars? Almost nothing is a five.
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This review is from: Nikon 1x30mm Monarch Red Dot Sight With Matte Finish Md: 8430. (Electronics)
I purchased this unit from a local gun store, after trying for days to find a thorough review online. I found only one mediocre one, so I thought I'd post my initial thoughts on the unit.
- Nikon doesn't generally sell junk, and this piece appears to be no exception. I have several other types of optics, including two from Bushnell (one of Eotech design), NCstar and Target Scopes. The finish and build quality of this sight is several steps up from any of the others, with the exception of the Bushnell Combat Holo, which is on par with the Nikon.
- This unit is light and easy to operate.
- The red dot is as clear as any Aimpoint I've shot through. It does not have the battery life of the Aimpoint, nor the battle testing, but it's half the price and I'm not taking it to Iraq. The variable dot size is a nice feature and I've gone as far as to take it out on a clear, sunny day and the dot remains visible on the highest setting.
- Lenses are clear and easy to see through. The size of the unit allows the shooter to maintain good peripheral vision.
- You can co-witness through your irons with a 1/2" riser (I used Yankee Hill's 4" piece and it works great), or you can co-witness your irons in the bottom third of the optic with a 3/4" riser.
- Many of these less expensive sights feel dinky and cheap, this one does not. It is imported, but even the battery compartment is well done. If you snug it down with a quarter, it will not release when operating the brightness selector.
I have not had a chance to take this sight to the range, but when I do I'll update this review and let everyone know if it maintains zero. Thus far, I'm very impressed with the quality. This is the first red dot, under $500, I've seen with a clear, perfectly round and centered dot that maintains it's sharpness in the bright, west Texas Desert with the sun up. The only reason I haven't given it a five star rating is I don't know if it will maintain zero under firing. I'll know soon enough and I'm going to shoot it on a 6.8 and 5.56.
Stay frosty.
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