TFB Extended Review: Vortex Crossfire 2 MOA Red Dot

Recently I found myself in a predicament. I am fortunate enough to shoot a lot of varying platforms of firearms from tactical shotguns, AR-15s, and other railed toys. What I did not have though was a good, versatile red dot that I could float between these platforms to keep the brass flying and the good times riding high. So I sought out to find a good, reliable, accurate and affordable red dot. All these qualifiers I tried determining in theory before peeling open my wallet and purchasing one. The red dot that I eventually bought 6 months ago and am still using is the Vortex Crossfire 2 MOA Red Dot. While I disqualified a lot of competitors in my search for something reliable, accurate and affordable, did I make the right choice?… In this TFB review, we will figure that out. Maybe after we are done you will buy one yourself, or possibly run for the hills! You can make your own decision here shortly.

A couple of “tests” this red dot passes before we bury ourselves in the minute details are price and warranty. The MSRP for the Vortex Crossfire 2 MOA Red Dot is benchmarked at $219 which I believe is fair. I bought my red dot from, ironically myself, since I manage a gun shop for my family in MN. Most gun shops will be selling the Vortex Crossfire 2 MOA Red Dot south of $219 so it is a pretty good bargain. In comparison, two nearly identical competitors are the TRUGLO Tru-Tec 2 MOA Red Dot and Sig Sauer Romeo5 2 MOA Red Dot which also has an MSRP of $219.

The other thing that helped hook me into buying the Vortex Crossfire 2 MOA Red Dot is their VIP Warranty. I understand most optic companies have lifetime warranties nowadays so it is a strong tip-of-the-hat to the culture Vortex breeds with their customers. If you talk to enough people there is a strong legion of Vortex faithful with a slew of anecdotal evidence supporting how great their warranty process is. That alone gives me good enough peace-of-mind to spend my money on Vortex before performance is even addressed.

• Fully Multi-Coated: Multiple Anti-Reflective Coatings on all Air-to-Glass Surfaces increase Light Transmission
• Brightness Settings: 11 Levels of Intensity/Brightness
• Parallax Free: All Red Dot and Holographic Sights will exhibit some small amount of Parallax. Matching current industry practice, this small amount would be considered “Parallax Free” and will make a negligible difference in the Crossfire’s performance.
• Unlimited Eye Relief:  Non-Critical Eye Relief for Rapid Target Acquisition

This little red dot has the makings of what should be a good optic out in the field. Decent battery life, lightweight, lean design, waterproof, fog proof and multiple mounts for varying platforms. To further boast about the Crossfire 2 MOA Red Dot, Vortex had these words to share about their cost-effective optic solution:

For close-in work and general shooting, it’s tough to beat a quality Red Dot Sight. The super-light, ultracompact, insanely-fast-on-target, incredibly durable, Crossfire Red Dot is exactly that. Not only does this sight absolutely rock, it does so at a price that’s hotter than a $ 2 pistol.

The daylight-bright, 2-MOA dot, is easy to acquire and promotes rapid engagement of targets, yet is fine enough to more precisely engage targets at distance. 11 intensity levels of brightness let shooters cater the dot intensity to the situation at hand. Skeletonized mount offers two height options (Low and Lower 1/3 Co-Witness) – lending its functionality to AR-15’s, shotguns, and pistols.

Since I have owned the Vortex Crossfire 2 MOA Red Dot the last 6 months I have used it across a variety of firearms. I have shot it on a Lone Wolf Distributors AlphaWolf PCC in .45 ACP. I have fired it on a Springfield Armory SAINT 5.56 NATO rifle. I put it to the test on my BCM RECCE-14 KMR-A in 5.56 NATO. I also mounted it up on some shotguns to see what the eye relief, handling and sight acquisition was like as well. So unlike most reviews, there was no singular range day. This has been an ongoing process of using this red dot when some “pew time” needed to occur.

To say that the Vortex Crossfire 2 MOA Red Dot has been tested is an understatement. Overall, I was pleased with the performance of this red dot, but like anything I have some critiques, concerns, and compliments for it.

The Vortex Crossfire has 11 different brightness settings which I thought was very valuable. The reason being that 11 options of intensity give you “options”, but you can notice the red dot increase/decrease with every change you click through. I have handled other red dots that have 20+ brightness settings, but from one click to another you cannot observe any change. So this red dot provided lots of levels of brightness to play with that could be seen with every adjustment.

One downfall to the brightness knob is it does not freely rotate past 360° in either direction. Moreover, if you have the brightness on 11 and wish to rotate it further directly into 0, you cannot. You reach a hard stop and must reverse direction. Only after going through the entire progression in reverse order can the red dot then be turned off. Is this the end of the world? No, but the convenience to rotate from the brightest setting of 11 into 0 would be nice.

The mount that comes with the optic is fairly standard for red dots of this size, but it still does its job nicely. The skeletonized frame of the mount gives it a lean, attractive look while keeping the weight down. For some people, ounces matter. This lower 1/3 co-witness mount is the perfect height for AR-15 platforms. The ability to remove this mount and employ a near flush mount is nice added utility also. Then, it could be used for shotguns like turkey hunting, home defense, and 3-gun competitions as well as a plethora of other platforms.

Another nice thing I noticed while using this extensively the past 6 months is the long-lasting battery life. From cloudy outdoor ranges to dimly lit indoor ranges and nearly every lighting scenario in between I have experienced no trouble seeing the dot and it appears as bright and vibrant as the day I bought it. Most of the lit-reticle or red dot optics that I own I do not use as intensively as I have the Vortex Crossfire 2 MOA Red Dot and this has held up great.

Another small thing I have appreciated is that from mounting, removing and re-mounting this red dot a dozen times over it has not become loose or unstable. I bore-sight the red dot every time it saddles up on a new firearm and it’s pretty much dead on every time and never has lost it’s zero once achieved. All in all, for the cheap buy-in of this red dot I am pretty satisfied and impressed with it.

After getting the Vortex Crossfire 2 MOA Red Dot seated up on multiple firearm platforms over several months I became very confident in using it. My concerns with testing various firearms drifted from… “How’s my red dot going to do today?”… to… “What am I going to eat for lunch afterward?” The reliability of the Vortex Crossfire was a non-issue. After becoming a believer in its accuracy, stability, and ease of transition between platforms my range days were more about how hard I can run and test a firearm than a concern of the accessories tagged along with it which is exactly what I like. My one complaint is that the brightness wheel does not rotate beyond 360° in either direction, but that can easily be attributed to a preference on my behalf and not a true shortcoming.

So with all that being said, is this affordable little red dot going to be your next bargain buy in optics? Have you observed any critiques, concerns or compliments I glanced over? Let us know your thoughts in the Comments below!

You can pick one up here.