Bass Pro Vortek Spitfire 3X Prisum Scope question?

a prism is closer to a low mag scope than a dot sight, sight picture and target aquisition speed are a bit better than a scope ... id say a pistol scope is closer to a dot sight and offers some good mag options if your rail allows one to be mounted forward in a scout configuration ... pic to dovetail adapters are easy to find, utg makes a good low 'insert' type of adapter that are fine for pcp ... i wouldnt use them on anything with stiff recoil ..

Hello I had a gen 1 Vortex spitfire 1X (sold it with the gun, looking back should of kept it) it was a great scope. I have a gen 2 3x on my FWB 700 that too is a great scope just as clear just a lot smaller.

Red dot vs Prism

Red dot- 

1x 

no reticle or dot if powered off

unlimited eye relief

may find some in a 11mm base or use ring depending on the optic

usually parallax free

Prism-

1x, 3x, or 5x

if powered off you will have a black reticle or dot

bright, but a red dot is usually brighter

has a set eye relief like a regular scope usually 2.5 to 3 inches

will probably not have a 11mm base you will probably have to use a UTG adapter

will have a set parallax

The nice thing about a prism optic is you can just grab the gun and shoot, nothing else to do. Great for a close range pesting rig.

Hope this helps, if you have any questions please ask Eric

Here are some of the major differences:



weight: red dots are usually much lighter at 2-4 oz or reflex sight and well under 10 for even the bigger red dots. 


Optics: red dots only has a piece of glass with reflective coating. Prism sights are actual scopes. Prism can have mag indication vs none on red dot


illumination: here is the biggest difference from user perspective. Red dot is just reflection of a LED light, works well but many people like me who have astigmatism found them very hard to use because we just see a big star. Prism scopes are etched reticle so very easy on the eyes for people like me plus newer scopes even have adjustable eye piece, as we get older it’s harder and harder to see with red dots and prism scope without adjustable eye piece. Plus etched reticles are usable even if your battery runs out. 

This is a fun little optic, and is a 1x prism. So basically a red dot that works when batteries run out. It is much smaller than their gen 1 https://www.primaryarms.com/primary-arms-slx-1x-microprism-with-green-illuminated-acss-cyclops-gen-2-reticle

the posters before me covered the pros and cons great.

Pretty good breakdown of the differences between the 1x only optics (pb content) https://youtu.be/CVV-M_kTBtk