Re: Lets talk low end red dots and clones
My friend bought a cheap Chinese knock-off Aimpoint off Ebay and besides it's battery life sucking ass, it works ok on his M4.
On mine I have a real Aimpoint Comp ML3 4moa and I've never had any issues with it what so ever.
$300 isn't much for a hunting scope, most of your deer rifles will have Loopy VX-III's and Nikon scopes that are about that.
I can tell you he has spent upwards of $50 on batteries for his red dot since he got it last spring, and that's just with normal use... Depending on how often you are going to use it, you might save a few bucks here buying cheap and paying for it later.
I'm still on the same battery after almost 5 years using my Aimpoint Comp, and that's with leaving the thing on for weeks / months at a time by accident.