r/canadaguns • u/Harrison_Victor • Jun 11 '26

Application / Regulation advice Decent budget Red dot sight recommendations

I’m looking for a decent budget red dot sight to add on my .22 wildcat for some fun plinking. I’d be willing to spend up to 150-200$

10 Upvotes

86% Upvoted

36 comments sorted by

9

u/Dummy_Wire Jun 11 '26

I have el cheap $50 Amazon red dot on my Winchester Wildcat. For $150-$200 though, you can probably go for a base-level Burris or Bushnell or Vortex like others have mentioned, and then you can move it only another rifle down the line, and it’ll hold up. I’m happy with my $50 one from Amazon, though. I have them on all my .22lrs.

2

u/Sticky_3pk Jun 11 '26

I picked up a $50 Amazon special too. It's fine on its own so far, but the riser it came with doesn't exactly fit a Pic rail very well.

2

u/Harrison_Victor Jun 12 '26

I ended up getting the Triumph which was pretty much exactly in my range and like you said I’ll probably switch it around to some of my other rifles

1

u/Dummy_Wire Jun 12 '26

Great choice. I have an older Vortex Crossfire II, and it’s been good for me on .22lrs all the way up to my SKS.

2

u/Harrison_Victor Jun 12 '26

I’m currently shopping for a S&W 1854 in 44 magnum, I was thinking of rotating the sight on the wildcat and my future S&W. That way I’ll get more value out of the sight than getting an Amazon one

1

u/Dummy_Wire Jun 12 '26

That’s not a bad idea. Re-zeroing an optic a couple of times in .44mag though is probably gonna cost you more in ammo than a $50 optic for the Wildcat, so it might be worth it to buy the second optic after the .44.

2

u/Harrison_Victor Jun 12 '26

Yeah that is true actually, I’m still hesitant when it comes to .44. The idea of a .357/38 special is also very appealing and the ammo is definitely cheaper

1

u/Dummy_Wire Jun 12 '26

My whole collection, basically, is just based around ammo affordability, so I’d definitely recommend considering that.

The optic you bought was like $100 more than a no-name amazon one, but you’ll burn through that extra $100 in your first 100 rounds of .44mag, vs .38sp. Guns and optics and stuff last a while, and gets bought less often. Ammo gets used up fast.

2

u/Harrison_Victor Jun 12 '26

Yeah and bulk 38sp is super cheap when compared to .44 especially in a lever gun where you go through rounds like water. I barely use my Mauser M18 chambered in .308 because of how expensive the ammo is, it is exclusively for hunting and doing adjustments, which is unfortunate because I love shooting my Mauser

1

u/Dummy_Wire Jun 12 '26

I love my M48 Mauser too, but 8mm Mauser is pricy. I basically exclusively shoot .22lr, 7.62x39, and 12 gauge now, just because I can shoot way more for the price.

6

u/Even-Somewhere-9554 Jun 11 '26

I just got the vortex triump at $150 to mount on my shotgun

. Look and feel decent.

1

u/Harrison_Victor Jun 12 '26

Looks pretty neat

9

u/AnonCGN178 Jun 11 '26

Vortex SPARC 2 is on sale for $134 at Al Flahertys, good red dot for that price.

8

u/SpinachStunning5547 Jun 11 '26

I have both the triumph and the sparc II and imo, put 30$ more and get the triumph.

3

u/ThatBigFuckoffTree Jun 11 '26

You could get a used one with the Vortex warranty even cheaper on Gunpost. Dozens of them on there.

1

u/Banana_war Jun 11 '26

This ⬆️

2

u/MourningWood1942 Jun 11 '26

The absolute cheapest I would go is the Bushnell TRS-25 and that would only be on a .22

If it was larger caliber I’d probably go Sig Romeo 5 as the budget option

2

u/CenturionV Jun 12 '26

Sig Romeo 5 bass pro sales, older 403 series holosun, Vortex Triumph, Osight has been good so far for a shotgun reflex and they go on sale on Amazon now and again. 150-250$ CAD optic range is actually pretty stacked with decent options these days.

1

u/Harrison_Victor Jun 12 '26

Nice I’ll check them out

2

u/Hot_Cheesecake_905 Jun 11 '26 edited Jun 12 '26

$150 or so is a good budget, The Vortex Triumph is $135 regular price and is Vortex's brand new budget optic.

Any low-end red dot will do on a .22LR, even an Amazon or AliExpress special.

The older Vortex SPARC II was on sale last week, but is much larger and missing many of the new features of the Triumph. There is also the Vortex Crossfire Red Dot II too, but wait for sale. Oddly the SPARC II and Crossfire Red Dot II are more expensive than the Triumph which has updated features like auto-wake, autoshut off, and more granular adjustments.

5

u/Relevant_Diver_3228 Jun 11 '26

I came to recommend the triumph but you beat me to it

1

u/Hot_Cheesecake_905 Jun 11 '26

I have a new in box Crossfire Red Dot II I bought during Boxing Day ... 😡 I did not realize Vortex would release a much better red dot in such a short period of time.

2

u/Relevant_Diver_3228 Jun 11 '26

Looks like you need a new gun so you can test out the new red dot

2

u/Harrison_Victor Jun 12 '26

I’m pretty settled on the triumph you all convinced me

1

u/LumberjackCDN Gold'n Loan Outfitters & Pawn Jun 11 '26

The triumphs are 159.99 but yeah theyre 2x the dot the xfire 2 is, and have shake awake etc

1

u/__WayDown Jun 12 '26

My Feyachi red dot (TRS-25 clone) fell apart changing the battery. I know some folks swear by them, but I'd avoid them until the budget allows to get a Triumph or something.

1

u/SKS1953 Jun 11 '26

Sig romeo 5. If it's a .22 basically any sight

1

u/Whispersfine Jun 12 '26

Throw in a few more pesos and get the holosun

1

u/Iokua_CDN Jun 12 '26

I've had good luck  with Chinese red dots. Ordered a Romeo  5 clone  that's been great so far, and a Bushnell  ts25 clone.

If I wanted better,  I'd consider something like a Victoptics Red dot. Their Lpvo was great and pretty cheap. 

1

u/Remarkable_Vanilla34 Jun 12 '26

People will shit on this, but the OSIGHT closed emitter RMSc and RMR dots are fantastic for the money.

1

u/No-Principle-433 Jun 12 '26

My bushnell ts25 works good on my pcc

1

u/swift_gilford Jun 12 '26

Vortex Crossfire - but I'd opt for the green dot option. Much easier to see during daytime hours.

1

u/TopLemon3678 Jun 11 '26

I grabbed a $50 one off Amazon to figure out if I liked red dots and it's pretty decent so far.

1

u/RoundRefuse1740 Jun 11 '26

Do you have astigmatism with your eyes? Might not be the best solution if you do…the dot will appear smeared. I learnt this thought my red dot was broken till I put on my glasses.

1

u/Harrison_Victor Jun 12 '26

I got pretty good vision so it shouldn’t be too much of a problem