BARSKA Red Dot Sight

BARSKA 25mm. Red Dot Sight

---

For those of us with lousy eyesight, the red dot sights have been a major blessing. Yes, they DO take a little getting used to, but once you get it working for you, you'll love it!

That being said, what red dot is right for you? Like everything, everyone has their own opinion, but here's some basics. The smaller the diameter, the harder it is to find the dot in a hurry, particularly on a handgun. The larger the diameter, the easier it is to find the dot, but it is more likely to be off as you move closer or farther away from the target, since the center of the sight is farther above the centerline of the barrel. The bigger the dot, the easier it is to see, but since it covers more of the target, it's harder to be as accurate. The thicker the "frame" around the viewing area, the more it interferes with target visibility.

For my first red dot sight review, I'm going to start with one that everyone can afford, the 25mm. BARSKA. I have a couple of them, and at the moment they are available from Sportsmans Guide for around 17 bucks, including mounting rings, battery, allen wrench, and a screw-on sun shade. A lot of stuff for the money.

The 25mm. BARSKA uses separate mount rings, rather than having the clamping portion of the mount built in to the body of the sight. The ability to change to a higher set of mount rings may come in handy in some situations, or a set of .22 mount rings would allow you to mount it onto a .22 rifle.

The BARSKA uses the most common red dot battery, the 3V. lithium 2032, found just about everywhere. Eleven different brightness settings cover a wide range of lighting conditions. The dot size is 5MOA. I like a little smaller dot, but a lot of shooters like the 5MOA dot. I guess it's mostly a matter of personal preference.

I've tried the BARSKA on several guns, but for me at least, the diameter is too small for a handgun, unless, of course, you are really good at bringing the gun up in exactly the same place every time. Otherwise, it can be hard sometimes to find the dot.

In my opinion, the BARSKA is a perfect match for relatively short range carbines, like the Hi Point, or perhaps on a shotgun. Having the sight on a rifle greatly reduces the problem of finding the dot when you bring it up. I think it's diameter is too small for a handgun if you are planning to acquire target and get a shot off qiuckly.

The quality seems to be fine, with no obvious roughness or poor fit. Windage and elevation adjust as you would expect. Adjusting one does seem to move the other a little bit, but that seems to be a common trait among red dot sights, regardless of price range.

I'd say the BARSKA 25mm. red dot sight is a well made sight, and with nearly an unbelievable price for what you get. Sportsmans Guide has always been great to deal with.

At the very least, it's a good starter red dot sight if you've never tried one before, and for seventeen bucks you can't go too far wrong!