Vortex Strikefire 2. The budget friendly red dot that could.

So in today’s world, with how many companies are jumping on the tacticool operators operating operationally bandwagon, there are many optics companies that make cheap, “budget friendly” optics for those of us that often are unable to drop $600 on a Aimpoint T1 micro. Of course, the Aimpoint PRO (Patrol Rifle Optic) is a very budget friendly optic that takes a beating, and can be found as little as $300 if you look in the right places. Yet, what are guys like me who do not make enough coin each year to have the budget to drop on the PRO? This is where the Vortex Strikefire 2 comes into play.

I have always been a fan of the PRO for its size, weight, and quality, however at this point in time in my life, I am not able to drop that much at once on an optic, and I will not finance something unless I have too. I have seen Vortex Optics throughout the internet for a while, and decided to give them a look. While speaking with a rep, Vortex Graciously sent out the new Strikefire 2 optic for me to test it. I guess you could say I was like a kid in the candy shop when the box arrived.

So, the first thing I did was take out the optic, put the lower 1/3 co-witness mount on it, and power it up. My biggest hate about red dots, specially budget friendly ones, is the quality of the dot, as many budget optics have a dot surrounded by tons of haze. I was very pleased to see a very crisp and defined dot with the smallest amount of haze around the dot that I had ever seen, even better then the PRO. And then, me being me, I dropped it on the concrete and only to hear a sound which would make anyone cringe after dropping their smart phones. Yet, when I picked it up and dusted it off, just one small nick on the paint, and that was it. WINNING!

So from there I took it to my deep freezer, which, I am not sure how cold it gets as my thermometers stop at -20 F, and I do not care enough to buy a better one. Simply enough the deep freezer works. So I dropped it in the freezer on top of some meats, and well, kinda forgot bout it during my 8 day work cycle. When I pulled it out on day 9, she worked like a champ, nothing was too cold to move, the dot was perfect, could mount it and dismount it without any issues. So for any of you Yankees reading this, yall are good to go in that weather yall call winter, something Florida does not really know about.

So finally I mounted the optic on my 18 inch DMR build, and took it to the range. At 100 yards I was grouping as good as it is expected with a red dot without magnification. Of course me being me again, I knocked the rifle off the bench to hear that same butt hole puckering sound of dread, as the rifle landed directly on the optic. Thankfully the drop was only about 3 feet, and I found no more damage to the optic than the first time I accidentally drop tested it.

So my final test for the Strikefire 2, was putting it in a Police patrol car, in the rifle rack. I do this because in a patrol car, there are tons of hard objects, specially the rifle racks that are used by the local PD, that have no extra padding, or clamps, besides the one clamp that holds the rifle secured. This means that patrol rifles take a beating, and are subject to a ton of vibrations for 12 plus hours a day. So after 3 months of being in the rack, I was nervous to see what the Strikefire 2 looked like, because the PRO that I used to have, actually lost an adjustment knob from time to time when it was in the rack. When it was time I go get my rifle from my friend, I found that the Strikefire was in perfect shape, no parts rattling, nothing loose, and well, all in all, did better than my PRO did. Now, after all of this, I bring you the best part about the Strikefire 2. For what you would spend on a new PRO, you could buy 2 or 3 Strikefires. With that price point in mind, I will now have to go buy a couple more. So, will you strike on the Strikefire 2?

feature photo courtesy of Opticsplanet.com