What sort of optic is best?

[StrikeNoir]

So, I'm just starting out. I did a fair bit of paintballing over the last few years, and decided to try this out. Mostly because paintball was setting me back wwaaayyyyy too much each time I'd go out. Somehow lost 100 bucks each time. :/ But while I hunt down a gun to get, I'd like to but an optic on here that will actually be useful! I tried a Red Dot Sight before, and ended up never using it due to it being pointless. But with Airsoft, I'd like to get one that's actually going to help. So, that gets to the basic question!

What sort of optics do you guys like using best? Red Dot Sights, Holo Sights, 1x Scopes, 2-4x ACOGs? I've seen some videos where people have things like a hybrid scope (Holo in front, and a magnification scope behind it can flip to the side). Are these actually useful? Cause they are cool as hell.

[redzaku]

What kind of play style you are planning to play in?

[Red Dot]

Honestly I would stick to iron sights (stock ones) for a bit until you know what you want. In CQB they are pretty pointless, a flashlight will be better in that situation. In outdoors they can probably help but again until you know your style it's not worth getting in my honest opinion.

[StrikeNoir]

I myself tend to stick to longer distances. I'd try being a sniper, but I thought I might try getting into the game a bit first, and going from there. Sniping seems like a bit of an experienced thing, rather than a newbie thing. My thoughts on it was to try with something like a Red Dot Scope, just cause I like all encompassing sights like that. I noticed with my old Red Dot, when used outdoors I had issues seeing the dot. But then again, I had a 20 dollar sight, so I figured that would have been most of the issue there.

[Derpystronk]

Use irons for the first while. You should already have a decent set on your gun, or you can buy decent Airsoft flip up back ups for fairly cheap.

If you feel you want to upgrade to the world of red dots and glass optics, buy real steel. Buy that cheap 80 dollar bushnell or whatever. Never, ever buy an Airsoft optic. Ever. Just don't do it. I've had nothing but problems with them for YEARS.

[SuperHog]

For outdoor play, you can see the bb trace to your target just like paintball. I have a red dot but rarely use it unless the target is in the shade where I can't see a good trace. I would have shot you while you are wasting your valuable milliseconds trying to sight me in your red dot.

Red dots are also good for low light indoor play and very practical.

The other thing you have to consider is parallax issues with airsoft red dots.

[Ricochet]

Large field of view is a good idea, especially for eye relief. An Eotech works fairly well, and you can mate it with your iron sights. You want something where you'll see your rounds. There are a few airsoft Eotech replicas that are decent, but you'll want to reinforce them with lexan, so they don't get shot out. Companies like NC-Star and UTG are affordable, and make a wide array of products. Anything with zoom will definitely need good eye relief, and having too much zoom is useless. 2x - 3x maximum, or a variable zoom works as well.

A lot of it comes down to your gun and where you play. You may think you're a sharp shooter type, but then your gun has to be long range and accurate, and that can cost some serious money. Is your local fields mostly indoors, forest, open grasslands, urban, etc? Are the local players all rocking $1,500 VSRs and $2,000 PTWs? Check it out first.

Flip-to-the-side magnifiers are extra weight, and mostly useless. I ran one for a long time, and it wasn't a help.

[lurkingknight]

I almost exclusively use reflex sights. They're cheap, the reticles are bright enough to see in sunlight (you don't have to play the lottery on getting one that's bright enough like the eotech replicas) They're often cheaper than the eotechs.

I find a circle reticle much more useful in airsoft than a simple dot sight. Simply because airsoft guns shoot in a cone, rather than a line. With a circle that's probably zeroed, you just fill the whole thing with target and shoot.

A dot sight imo is too precise for airsoft. You put the dot on something and your rounds will be out and around the dot. A reticle gives you a visual reference of your cone of fire. When you start to understand the groupings your gun shoots at various ranges, you can immediately figure out how tight your cone will be in relation to what you see in your sight.