Quick Tip: Choosing an Optic - Red Dot or LPVO?

Your sweet new AR-15 build is coming together nicely, and it's time to choose an optic. Should you go with a red dot sight or a low-power scope, a Low-Power Variable Optic or LPVO. Brownells Gun Tech™ Caleb Savant has some tips for deciding which optic is right for you. COST: an LPVO will typically cost more than a red dot of similar quality. If your budget is tight, it's better to buy a mid-tier red dot than to settle for a cheap LPVO. RANGE: A red dot sight is good for ranges out to about 100 yards. If you're shooting silhouettes, you can push it out to 300 yards. The LPVO has a 1x (non-magnified) setting just like the red dot, but it also offers magnification - typically 4x, 6x or 8x - so it really shines out past 100 yards. If the LPVO has a 1x setting, why would a red dot ever be a better choice? Red dots provide FASTER target acquisition because there's no long tube to align, no eye-relief issues, and they are smaller and lighter than LPVOs. Another point in Team Red Dot's favor: you can see (and use) your rifle's "iron" sights through it. But as Caleb explains, the AR-15's standard front sight tower does NOT block the view from an LPVO. If it sounds like a red dot will do most of what you need, but you sometimes need some extra range to address more distant targets, adding a detachable magnifier is a great solution.