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This is my first attempt at an optics review so forgive me if I leave out something. I just hope that someone somewhere might find it useful.
As of this morning my AR build is now officially complete. It was in a state of near completion for a long time but the only thing it lacked was a good optic. I've tried some cheap dots from BSA/Barska but something was missing so after extensive research on CGN and other sites I opted for the Burris AR-332. It came in last night from Opticsplanet (love em or hate em) and I sighted it in this morning. Here's what I think of it.
Initial Impression:
Out of the box I noticed first how heavy it was (14.4 oz) especially for how compact the unit is. However, the housing was solid and there was no rattle at all. The sight came with a rail mount or if you'd like you can remove the clamp and mount it directly to your carry handle. Interestingly if you do mount it to your handle there is a view slot so you can still use your irons. Kinda cool but if you mount it to the rail the slot is too low to use. Burris also sells a quick detach base that fits the AR-332 and I might look into getting one. NOTE: If cowittnessing with your irons is important to you this sight does not cowittness. It came with a 1.5" sun shade but I quickly took that off. The lens caps are nice but the one that fits over the eyepiece can interfere with the brightness dial which I found to be progressively annoying. Mounting was a snap although the eye relief is supposedly 2.5" I found it better at 2" so I had to adjust it back a slot on my rail for me to get a good picture. The optics were clear and surprisingly bright in the uneven lighting of my shop at night and the 3x magnification, after a small focus adjustment, was spot on.
The reticle:
It's small. Much smaller then I was expecting and it will take some getting used to. With my BSA STSRGBD30 the dot was 5-6 moa and tended to cover my target making me guesstimate where I was actually aiming but the Burris is a crisp 1-2 moa which can be hard to focus on but the cross hairs really help out. One of the main reasons I bought this sight was that the reticle was illuminated which means that 1.) You don't get that annoying star-burst of a traditional red dot (if you don't have perfect vision) and 2.) The reticle is still there even if the lights not on. The lit reticle is clear and crisp with no bleed over or distortions whatsoever. However, the unlit reticle can't be seen clearly unless your under full day light. But the light worked out of the box and that's a plus. So as I was clearing my house in true mall ninja fashion, I found that under dim lighting conditions the brightness setting (both red and green) can be very sensitive to changes in ambient lighting either too high or not high enough. The middle setting of 3 produced the best results but I had to bump it to 4 a couple times. Setting 5 (again both red and green) produced a hazy bleed over around the reticle. I also noticed that the reticle was nicely visible when you open both eyes despite the magnification but again it takes some getting used to. Not as clear cut as a traditional red dot. But since I'm not a tactical operator I think I'll be ok.
Sighting it in:
Outside on the range is where I fell in love with this sight. The adjustments are in MOA which if you're not used to that it can be tricky. I had this sight dialed in after 12 shots at 100yrds. The 3x magnification really makes those 100 yrd shots super easy. By then I was used to the size of the reticle and found it actually pretty easy to use. At 100 yrds I got my groups down to 1.5" -2.0" and was hitting 1/2 milk cartons at 200yrds and 300yrds with ease. The ballistic drop is accurate and idiot proof. I shot a total of 200 rnds this morning and the last was just as accurate as the first so the sight held up to the recoil.
Bottom Line:
While this scope does have some limitations in terms of a true Close Quarters Combat dot and lacks the magnification of a serious sniper scope, the Burris AR-332 is the perfect middle ground between the two. Once I got over the sights steeper than normal learning curve I found it to be exactly what I was looking for. Enough magnification to help those long shots while still making those 35yrd shots a breeze. The price point was also a plus. At $300 this sight is the best I found and it's a Burris. It only came with a 1 yr warranty and little documentation however. And I've read elsewhere that the battery life isn't stellar. The manual lists battery life at 200 hrs at full intensity and 500 hrs at medium intensity. Honestly I don't know if I'll spend that much time at the range for it to matter but there it is. As I said before, I'm not a tactical operator and most of my shooting is done at the range. I couldn't see spending $500 - $1200 for the top of the line gear. I'm very happy with this sight and would recommend it to anyone who is looking for a great optic for their AR. Thank you.
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