All posts in Scopes

Time to change the way you view optics?

Ever since I picked up my crossbow from Horton and it came  with the illuminated red and green reticle, i have changed my mind about the types of optics that I am going to be using.  I had a lot of trouble going from standard duplex reticles to all of those circle, triangles and hash marks that you see on many combat optics.  I’ve learned in the past that it’s best to pick a bullet weight that is flat shooting and then give yourself a better chance at getting a hit rather than knowing all of your bullet drops at various distances and having to bring a range finder with you.   For 556 I tend to stick to 62gr bullets and the 150gr for .308 if I want that flat shooting trajectory.

When i first looked through the Trijicon Accupoint scopes that looked very odd to me.  I had trouble understanding why I need to have a pole reticle but the Trijicon Accupoint rifle scopes have a very clear and pin point aiming system that can actually help many shooters see their target instead of covering it with crosshairs.  There are different reticles you can get and background can make a difference.   There are certain wooded areas where amber or yellow reticles might do better for  your eyes than the green or red, but it’s really all about preference.   There are many Trijicon Optics out there to choose from and their hunting optics are superb.

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Trijicon M4 Optics what bullet weight?

You do have to be careful who you listen to when you shop around for optics for your M4 carbine.  In recent years it is not that uncommon for people to be using 75gr or 77gr ammuntion in their M4 Carbines, and if you change the bullet weight of  your round, you can void the purpose and  uses of your bullet compensator.  I know several people that think there is no difference between the M855 and the M193 round when  you sighting in  with a Trijicon ACOG, but this is not the case.  If you are using something like the Trijicon TA01NSN optics and you want to engage a target at 400yds, there is going to be a big difference in where you hit.  If you pay attention the ballistics of the ammunition you are using and you use the good stuff, you should be dead on with your Trijicon sighting system.

I use an LWRC M6A1 with a Trijicon TA01NS which is my favorite optics, primarily because I can never really adjust to anything but crosshairs on my reticle.  I have used  the TA31F-G on occassion but the Trijicon TA01NSN is still my favorite optic.   The iron sights are an added feature which do sit high, but an easy transition from medium range to close quarters combat shooting if need be.   You also have a night sight on the front sight.   You can always swap out the iron sights for one of the RMR sights if you want to.

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Trijicon Reflex sights and dot sizes

We’ve seen a lot of changes in recent years in regards to what optics military and Law Enforcement Officials are using.  The Trijicon ACOG is widely used in the military but it is not so much in use amongst LEO’s.  The reasons are that 4X is far more power than the average Police Officers is going to need.  That type of magnification will slow you down which decreases your changes of being the first to get hits.  I see a lot of guys running Micro Dot and Aimpoints on their CQC rifles but many complain about the same things.  Red dots are not as precises and if you have good eye sight those hazy dots can be annoying, not to mention many of them can be too large and drain batteries.

The differences between the Eotech 512 and the Eotech compact optics is significant.  And now there is a new error of Trijicon Reflex sights coming out namely the Trijicon SRS.   The SRS is a compact red dot optic that gives some serious competition to the Aimpoint.   The SRS dot is the smallest dot we’ve seen from Trijicon but we’ll give further testing out when they arrive in December.  We’ve been told they are only making about 25 of these a week and in high demand so backordering them is probable the only way you’re going to be able to acquire them for awhile.

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Eotech sights still the fastest gun sights

Not everyone has 20/20 vision and everyone’s needs for optics can vary widely.  Many people prefer red dot optics over black line reticles because they need the visibility and the contrast. Having contrast against targets is very important and part of the reason you see red dot and even green reticle optics.  Eotech optics can come in different switch configurations, there is also an Eotech Magnifier that you can use.

Eotech gun sights will give you a wide field of view with fast and accurate target acquisition.  These unique optics,  Eotech sights have variable power settings, low battery warnings and can be easily removed. There are reasons to have magnification on a Carbine and the Eotech magnifiers are a simple solution to engaging medium range targets with the flip of a switch. Gun sights are available for the 5.56 caliber firearms as well as .308 guns. The Eotech magnifiers are available in Black and Tan.

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Trijicon ACOGS, Mounts and configurations

I’ve seen the trend towards the fancy pants combat optics with the 4×32 ACOGS with the red dots on top but then after people do enough shooting they find out that they didn’t need the magnification in the first place or the red dot optics are just mounted too dam high.   You can always adapt to the rifle but for house to house fighting having your head higher than need be is something of an annoyance.   People trended towards zero magnification optics like the Aimpoint or Eotech but then having zero magnification can be a problem in identifying threats.   There have been many second hand stories heard around our store of Law Enforcement not being to identify weapons from cell phones at distances of under 25yds.   Small  handguns can almost fit in the palm of your hand and there is a big difference between a cell phone and a Walther PPK.

Recently there has been a strong trend towards green reticles but the still very popular Trijicon reticle is the TA01NSN.   The Trijicon TA01NSN has a traditional crosshair style reticle but with bullet drop comp.   It is very important to know that combat style optics are more about speed than precision but precision accuracy is absolutely obtainable for even novice shooters because the optic is so well thought out.  Even though you have one of the toughest optics out there, the optic top is designed to have a low light engagement iron sight.  The rear sights have a wide aperture for close fighting not just as a backup if your primary sight goes down.  It is a very easy transition to go from optic to irons with this system.

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All those gun sights and no idea what you want until you pick it up and loo through it

As a retailer of Trijicon rifle and handgun sights, we hear it all the time that customers had no idea what the products were like until they looked through them.   There are so many variables with the Trijicon ACOGS and the differences between each, even though not much to an experienced shooter, can be some what overwelming when  you have no idea what the lines are.  I had to have a meeting with my Trijicon Sales Rep to find out what all of the specs were and how some of these were sighted in and aimed.   Those simple X crosshairs are somewhat a thing of the past and what use to be the M16 gunsight on the Eotech is now a low tech combat optic.
Low tech might be the way you want to go with your optic but chosing between having optics that are battery operated and fiber optics can also be a hard one.  Many people have moved away from 4x optics on their guns because they don’t do you all that good in close up fighting, the Trijicon Reflex sights for sale are a good competition to red dot and Eotech sights.  You can get a wide field of view from the Trijicon RX30A-51 which we have in stock in our store with the amber dot.  This gives you a defined illuminated dot that does not haze or look blurred like red dots.  You get a similar field of view as the Eotech 512.

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Moving away from battery reliant optics?

I remember when Eotech sights and red dots were showing up on gun ranges about 15yrs ago and how high tech they were.  They were because you were basically getting an F16 gun sight on a Carbine and it was so easy to see targets and engage them quickly.   I have good eye sight for my age but there have been many times I have taken friends and family members as well as students to the range and people had trouble looking through optics.  The best thing about low magnification optics is that is less of a problem for them.  Aimpoint is still probable the king of the red dots but Trijicon has the SRS red dot out now and we have a few of them inbound.

Having AA batteries around for your firearm optic is easy and it’s a very common battery to find.  There have been design changes to Eotech sights because it was common for the gun sight to have issues with the battery contacts when the batteries were put in forward in relation to the firearm.  I assume it had something to do with barrel harmonics but I have witnessed this first hand.  The smaller CR123 batter is being used more than the AA batteries and you’ll get a shorter smaller optic.  There are always trade offs with firearm optics and even trijicon is moving towards battery powered optics.

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Coming this Fall at Rogue Elite

Not only have we finished setting up our new tactical shop here in Broomall, we are getting setup for the Fall outwear promo with TruSpec.  This year Gunny will be releasing his own tactical pant from TruSpec and we were happy to hear that this tactical pants has a gussetted crotch.  This has probable the only consistent complaint we got about the TruSpec pants.  They really are comfortable to wear and the pockets are very unique.  The material designs make it an easy transition from 5.11 tactical pants to the TruSpec design because they are both a polyester cotton blend.  Its hard to find places to try stuff like this on but now we have a location here in Southeaster Pennsylvania.

Tru Spec has a big 2 month long outerwear promotion going on from October 1st to November 30th and it will be a good time to stop in early October to get the best deals and selections.   There aren’t too many places to tryout things like this and Philadelphia Police and Security Supplies doesn’t usually mean that you are selling tactical pants.  Many stores that market that mostly deal with uniforms and the like but we are a full stocking dealer for Tru spec pants, jackets, vests, shorts and jackets.  We are located in the Broomall Industrial Park just right off of 476 South.  We are open Tuesday- Friday 12am-6pm and Saturday’s  10am-5pm.

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Trijicon ACOGs and thinking ahead

Trijicon optics are probable the most complicated rifle optics we sell.  Not only has there been a major trend away from red illuminated reticles towards green reticles, there are so many reticles that if you don’t think about what you get ahead of time, you might spend $1200 and find out you should have gotten something else.  Being a showcase dealer for the Trijicon product line means getting listed on their website and having traffic directed towards you, but we still get a lot of confused customers and always have to break out the Trijicon catalog and explain it to them.  It really helps to have product in stock because a good look through is really what sells the product.

Which reticle should you choose?  The horseshoe and donut reticles seem to be very popular but for those that want the tradition crosshairs the Trijicon TA01NSN is the best option.   Many people realize that the ACOG is mostly a medium range optic with some long range applications but it is definitely not a close combat optic unless you mount a red dot or iron sights on it.   The good thing about the TA01NSN is that it has the tradition reticle and has a night sight iron sight on it.   This is an easy sell for those that don’t want to get too fancy with the reticles.

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Leupold AR optics

Along with defensive ammunition improvements, one of the largest improvements we have seen in the industry is with combat optics. 20yrs ago there were only a handful of optics that could hold up to the abuse that real hunting and shooting gave them. With the advent of military rifles being issue with scope rails, more and more of our soldiers are getting the most out of the M16 and with the re introduction of the designated marksmen, Leupold rifle scopes are even today being used for combat duty. We are seeing M16A4 being used with Leupold 3-9×40 optics just because the troops are familiar with their hunting skills in America and know that Leupold scopes are dependable. For long range and medium range shooting, there are a great many options on the table.

Our favorite things to come from Leupold are with their close quarters. medium range and extended range rifle scopes. These aren’t your fathers hunting scopes, the compact  Leupold rifle scopes aren’t the high profile optics that will force you to adjust your cheek weld and the close quarters CQT won’t have a disappearing reticle if the batteries go out. With the now growing number of .308 AR showing up, Leupold medium range optics with Mil-dot and medium magnifications won’t slow down your designated marksmen. The Leupold AR riflescopes are specifically designed for the AR15 owner that may be doing varmint work in his backyard. While the .223 seems to be over looked by many in the varmint community for the 22-250, with the correct platform, the AR15 can be a DMR or Varmint option.

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