Mike says ~ “A LUCID HD7 Red Dot Paired With Battle Rifle’s Paratrooper: One Sexy Combination!”
When it comes to shooting AR15 style rifles, the author still prefers iron sights to scopes or red dot sights.
However there are occasions when you need a little help with seeing and sighting and that is where good optics help the most.
We found this to be the case with LUCID Optics and the Battle Rifle Paratrooper Model we recently tested. LUCID is an importer and manufacturer of scopes based in Wyoming.
The majority of their scopes are made in Asia according to LUCID’s exact specifications. The first LUCID optic we ever saw was in a gun shop, and the model was the HD-7.
LUCID HD7 Red Dot
The LUCID HD7 Red Dot optic took the author by complete surprise. It must have flown under the radar at the annual Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade (SHOT) Show the year it debuted because it was one of the few times I saw a scope in a gun shop before seeing it at SHOT.
The frame is hard-cast aluminum with a rubber coating for an extra layer of protection, and like the other scopes in this category, it is completely waterproof, shockproof, and fog proof. Before you think that is a statement the author makes lightly, we once purchased an optic for $1200 from a premium manufacturer that was not waterproof, even though we assumed it was by the price and the maker.
It almost ruined a hunt that had been planned for 3 months and cost an excessive amount of money.
The Good
LUCID allows the shooter to choose from four different reticles (check image above) with a 2MOA aiming point and two modes of brightness. Adjustments are made at 0.500 MOA per click for elevation and windage. LUCID offers a limited lifetime warranty on all of their scopes, but the HD-7 will most likely never need it.
The company was kind enough to send us a few more accessories to really make the LUCID HD-7 stand out, like the offset LUCID 2-5x Variable Magnifier in a flip to the side mount.
As hesitant as I was about “foreign optics” (I am an admitted scope snob, but that seems to be changing by the day). I had to say I was truly impressed with the clarity of the glass on the magnifier and it changed the “dot” on the HD-7 to a visible multipart reticle.
The Bad
My only complaint was that the fit of the magnifier and its included mounting ring seemed loose and sloppy. This was not a major concern as the HD-7 was the reticle that was sighted in and needed to hold zero, but the looseness of the magnifier upset my sense of locking everything down tight and then torquing it. If you are of the same mindset, it may bother you as well. As an update, Lucid replaced the mount on this magnifier, apparently the original was slightly out of spec.
Once or twice the dot in the HD-7 seemed to vanish, but that is a common optical illusion in the high sierras with red dot scopes.
The Reality
With iron sights and the HD-7 we were shooting around quarter sized groups at 50 yards and ringing steel plates at the same distance. With the magnifier those group sizes shrank a little bit, but the real advantage with the magnifier is to be able to see your target better.
If you are stuck in that old time rifle shooter’s mantra of spending “3X the price of your rifle on your optic”, then Lucid is probably not for you..This author used to believe that way, but optic companies (particularly manufactured in Asia) have been stepping up their game and realizing there is a market for scopes between the $90 gun show throw-away types and the $900 “European Designs” that are obsolete within a few years.
The LUCID HD7 Red Dot can be found online for under $200 and the author strongly prefers it to his EO Tech which was three times that amount.
About Mike Searson
Mike Searson’s career as a shooter began as a Marine Rifleman at age 17. He has worked in the firearms industry his entire adult life as a Gunsmith, Ballistician, Consultant, Salesman, Author and was first certified to teach firearms safety in 1989.
Mike has written over 2000 articles for a number of magazines, websites and newsletters including Blade, RECOIL, OFF-GRID, Tactical Officer, SWAT, Tactical World, Gun Digest, Examiner.com and the US Concealed Carry Association as well as AmmoLand Shooting Sports News.
- Home page: www.mikesearson.com
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LUCID replaced my HD7 after it stopped working . I prefer it over the vortex strikefire II
I would like to note that my lucid hd7lll was stored with new batteries in a humity controlled safe for about 7 months. When I took it out to fire the gun and check the sighting I found the battery had opened up and basically blew open making near impossible to extract as it seemed to weld itself to the sides. I made an attempt to remove but failed. I wrote lucid to my problem and they said send it in and they would see what that could do. And recommend I remove batteries during long term storage. Just thought… Read more »
I got two Eotechs and two Aimpoint Pros. Of these sights I prefer the Aimpoint’s because occasionally if the humidity is high the red dot on one of my Eotechs will do that disappear thing on me. It only does it on the 512,never on the 552. Eotech said to send it back to them and they will fix it. I have another AR15 build in progress and might give the LUCID HD7 a shot. More money doesn’t always mean better quality. But I have to say it’s hard to beat them Aimpoint Pros with LaRue mounts.
LUCID is a WYOMING based company… not Idaho. Not sure how you missed that one.