Gear Review: Red Dot or Low Powered Variable Optic (VIDEO)

The choice between red dots or low powered variable powered optics typically is a topic that creates some “friendly debate.” I myself wrestle with this question frequently. I am constantly in search of the “do all” optic to put on my modern sporting rifles. Am I doing myself a disservice by going with one or the other? Both options have their strengths and weaknesses, but which one will give me more capabilities? 

The tried and true red dot has been around for some time. It is easy to install and operate piece of gear. Mount the dot on your rifle, zero it, and then begin shooting. If you have one of the more common zeros then you will notice that everything that dot lands on inside of 200 yards has a good chance of hitting its mark (even small targets). The minimal parallax in dots also takes a lot of the user error out of your sight alignment. 

The popularity of LPVOs on MSRs is an upward trend. Generally an optic is referred to an “LPVO” when the range of magnification is under 10x. Almost all of the major optics manufacturers have released their version of a 1-4x, 1-6x, and or 1-8x variable optics.