Primary arms sells a ton of those fake aimpoints, I guess they must work. Personally I’d save up and look for a used aimpoint, but it sounds like you are just setting up a rifle to fool around with, not a dedicated defensive rifle.
You’d be better off learning irons first
lol, that is just about sig worthy right there. A lot can be learned from such simple statements of wisdom.
SHOOT YOUR GUN, then SHOOT IT SOME MORE.
Dont waste your money on a china p.o.s. sight. (take it from a guy that did and learned his lesson)
Ammo and mags, now theres something to spend your money on. Save for an eotech/aimpoint/acog/whatever.
http://m4carbine.net/showthread.php?t=77928
Shoot your carbine.
Since the issue of POS Chinese optics was brought up, I thought I would post this here.
[b]Hi William
Our Primary Arms red dot sights, mounts, etc., like so many others, are made in China.
Unlike many other products and manufacturers our products are scrutinized, tested, quality checked, and continuosly improved.
Thanks
Geoff
[/b]
So if you feel comfortable buying optics made in China, that are in some cases clear ripoffs of quality optics made by companies that have invested alot of time, money and R&D into their products by all means do so.
Primary Arms will be perfect for you at this stage. Decent red dots with a one year warranty and the owner (Marshall) is great to deal with. Now I have an Aimpoint on my go to rifle, and if you are going to stake your life on this gun i suggest you get the real deal. But for plinking rifles, the Primary Arms will serve the purpose.
Please explain why they would be perfect? Why can’t he use iron sights? What if it takes a shit on month number 13? Why advocate use of some shit instead of just saving up for a good optic?
Is there a dire need for a red dot sight right now?
Because he is new to the hobby and price is a major factor in his buying decision at this point - hence the M&P sport. Many have never laid eyes on a red dot and are reluctant to shell out the cash for an Aimpont, or an Eotech.
I know youR stance on buy once, cry once, but these red dots are a good way for a new person to test a theory without sinking a wad of cash.
Iraqgunz, I respect your viewpoint and I’m not going to change your mind and I’m not trying to. Just presenting an alternative.
This is precisely why many, and now myself, recommend that he shoot irons first. It would be best for him to get used to the basics first and then make an informed decision based on his needs as to what optics, etc… to later add to his weapon.
I concur with learning to shoot irons first. You need to learn distance shooting as well as close in reflex shooting with the irons. The AR15 sights are surprisingly easy to use - even if you have old eyes like me 
Thought it was obvious, and by the following posts after mine, I think it is.
While I would never put a knockoff optic on my ar15s, if he wants to get a red dot to try out, I think the primary arms dots are a cheap way to experience them. If he later saves enough for an aimpoint or eotech, the pa dot could always go on a .22 or something.
I do agree with iraqgunz tho, i’d rather use my iron sights than buy a cheap dot.
If you don’t like the thread, why post in it?
I bought a PA Micro Dot because after doing a lot of research I didn’t find one bad review. I put it on a good mount (ADM) to make sure it would return to zero. I’m glad I didn’t spend the money on an Aimpoint because I learned that red dots just do not work with my eyes because of my astigmatism. But it was cheap enough that I’ll probably just keep it anyway.
i feel i really need to clarify that i am going to learn to shot iron sights first. the gun came with a little fixed rear sight and that will be sighted in and shot plenty of times before any optic goes on.
was just trying to get any suggestions for a red dot and also to see what type of rail system would be recommended… was looking at a UTG extended rail from CTD.
in regards to the ammo the range i usually go to in garland will not allow FMJ so i will be shooting HP’s more than anything
In the time it takes you to figure out what ammo your rifle likes, and how to shoot with the irons, you’ll enough money saved to buy a quality optic.
If you don’t have a problem ripping off hard working Americans in favor of a Chinese knock-off, then buy a PA.
Go with quality.
The UTG stuff is airsoft grade, and I would highly advise just leaving the carbine stock until you can get a war fund set up to get a quality optic and mount (Aimpoint, Eotech, ACOG; LaRue, BoBro, ADM mount), and if you really want a rail system, Troy, Daniel Defense, LaRue, Knights Armament, all make excellent systems. You also might want to look at the Magpul replacement forend.
Best advice I can give you is found right here:
One fellow who used to work at my place who’s very giddy about his S&W M&P MOE asked what type of “scope” (as he eloquently put it) I have on my rifle and how much it cost me. I told him. . .Long story short, he ended up buying from E**y some G&P “Military Type” Red Dot Sight and a G&P “Tactical” Flashlight setup for his rifle. He told me he can’t see why one would pay soo much $$$ when it could be had for $50 something and change that he paid for. After a while, he said that the “scope” (as he eloquently put it) he bought keeps coming loose after shooting a couple of magazines and wondered why.
Anyways, lots of sound advice being given here.
I don’t think that the OP will follow any of our advice as of right now. It’s very difficult for many civilians who pick up their first gun to resist the urge to buy shit accessories for them thinking that they really don’t need the “military grade” stuff.
The problem is that it doesn’t become apparent how bad the “shit” really is until you actually decide to start using the gun in a more serious role.
OP, I’m going to share with you my experience. I bought a M&P15 ORC during 3/2009 (Obamamania). I spent about $300 immediately on a Magpul CTR stock and a set of Midwest Industries BUIS, which aren’t bad, but I now prefer Troys. The other thing I did remotely right was to purchase a Eotech512, instead of a total piece of shit RDS.
Then began the downward spiral…I got a UTG carbine quadrail (about $60), which, when I first got it, I thought it would be fine for my purposes. I eventually realized that it was a piece of shit and poorly constructed with low quality metal.
I then corrected this huge mistake with another one…this time a YHM Diamond series quadrail (about $150 w/ taxes). I chose this because I thought that it was good enough, and I wasn’t LE or military, so I didn’t need to drop $200+ on a more quality rail. I also had to replace the heavy gasblock that comes with the ORC as it is a brick and won’t fit under most FF rails. I used this set-up for a few hundred rounds and realized that it was machined very rough, was as wide as a soup can, and was heavy as a brick. The round shape made it very difficult, if not impossible, to mount a light using a low profile offset mount. This mistake was FINALLY corrected with a Troy TRX Extreme (about $200 w/ taxes) which I researched after reading review after review on this site. As you can see, I spent around $400+ total, trying not to spend $200. Ultimately, I did recoup some of the money by selling off the other stuff, but I could have just purchased the correct thing the first time around.
Nothing I own has failed me in a class because I’ve spent time and money fixing issues before they popped up after reading loads of information from this site.
Most people will have similar experiences of buying cheap and buying twice. Listen to me, and don’t be the dumbass I was and don’t buy shit you don’t need.
thanks for the advise… just don’t like the look of the stock carbine hand guard… going to put in an order to mag pul when i get paid for 3 more mags, a MIAD grip, MOE handguard and MOE stock, along with the BAD lever, Sling adapter and sling. Just not comfortable with the m4 stock and a2grip, like the feel of the MIAD grip, buddy of mine has one and i love it.