All posts in Trijicon Rifle Scopes

Trijicon MRO 2 MOA Red Dot now available with Bobro QD Mount

We’ve been in this industry now for over 12 years and one of the things we’ve learned to do, is not be the first person to buy something.   There are so many products that have come out that end up with a Generation 2 just a few months after its release.  I still don’t know how some companies can do product research, and development, and get it wrong and have to change it, but unfortunately it’s a reality.   Now that we have almost 2 years of sales on the Trijicon MRO we do expect that this AR15 Red Dot will be a staple in the market and it’s clearly here to stay.  Normally Trijicon prices themselves out of many of our Police Departments budget, but  not so much anymore.   I’ve found that 2 MOA is probable the best size dot for a Carbine because the smaller the dot  the more precise it’s capable of being.

In this day and age, quick detach mounts are pretty much the standard,  I have found that sometimes optics fail, or lose zero in the real world, and sometimes you just need to get them off and switch back to irons.   There are not going to be many products that own  the quick-detach combat optic world like Bobro Mounts and proof of that is it took us 7 months to get in the new Trijicon MRO Absolute Co-Witness and the Trijicon MRO Lower 1/3 mounts.  The biggest selling point of the MRO AR15 optic is the field of view.   People pick up a rifle with that red dot and instantly see through.   There are no issues or complaints about eye relief, clarity or battery life. This truely is a unique optic.

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Trijicon MRO Red Dots 2016 Sales Data

Trijicon MRO Red DotsTrijicon MRO Absolute Co-Witness Trijicon MRO Red DotsWe’ve been carrying the Trijicon MRO Red Dot optics for almost a  year.   When they first came out we were shocked by the fact that we didn’t have “sticker shock” compared to the rest of the Trijicon product line.   Ever since the Eotech lawsuit last November, everyone seems to be looking for something else, I can tell you it’s been almost a year since someone called me on the phone and asked if we sold Eotechs.  I still have no idea what’s going on with that company since the lawsuit.    All I can tell you is that Vortex, Aimpoint and Trijicon MRO sales have been through the roof and I would have to say that all 3 of those I just mentioned are excellent red dot optics.

Do you need night vision compatibility? Most people don’t.  Do you want 3 year or 5 year battery life?  Then we’ve narrowed it down to Trijicon and Aimpoint.  Do you want something that doesn’t make you feel like you are looking through a rifle scope?  Then you’ve arrived at the Trijicon MRO red dots.  The MRO stands for Miniature Rifle Optic and it really is a smaller version of the Trijicon ACOG housing.  Since we have so many competition shooters and see what they are using, this optics wider field of view usually means improved speed.    There are plenty of mount options available from Larue, Bobro Engineering and also the low, 1/3 Co-Witness and Absolute Co-Witness that Trijicon Inc. offers.    We have seen so many Law Enforcement switch from Eotech to Aimpoint and Trijicon that, that’s pretty much what we tell people they should be considering.

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It’s not just about quality, proper mounting of rifle scopes is extremely important

Rifle ScopesI don’t know how many times I’ve been in gun shops or sporting good stores where I picked up a new or used rifle and noticed the reticles were not level.  I can see how if you are working at Dick’s sporting goods and a sales clerk is told to put a scope a rifle he might just throw it on, but every year I am on a firing range during October-November, I see a large group of hunters show up shooting paper plates with groups that I would consider terrible and they go home thinking it’s good enough.   Well it might be for a 100yd shot, but it’s an almost definite miss at 200yds and if you know your rifle optic is level, it’s all science and knowledge of ballistics that will make it a hit at 200yds.   If  you have a range finder and mark of territory when getting into a hunting position, just about any 30 caliber hunting rifle from 30/30 level action to a pump 30/06 can be effective well beyond 100yds.

I’ve done a lot of target shooting just using hold overs and in the real world this is probable a very effective way to learn to hunt and shoot instead of having to dial in MOA clicks which can cause you to lose out in an opportunity.   Having a good cheek weld have proper height scope rings can also have an impact on being able to quickly acquire a target.  I’ve never been a fan of large see through scope rings because in my humble opinion it can through off the balance of the rifle.   I mostly see that on lever actions but if it works for you, that’s your decision.   If you don’t have a level then just find an open area of  your home, lay your rifle down on pillows and find a table or flat surface that you can align your horizontal crosshairs on  your rifle scopes to.  This is how I’ve done most of my leveling and I’ve done well at 600yds without windage issues when I had to make scope turret adjustments.

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Optics and Killflashes on Aimpoint and Trijicon ACOGS

Trijicon ACOGSThere arguments about using flashlights as defense tools really apply to just about any situation, if you deploy something, it can be an announcement visually or psychologically.   If you use a flashlight  on someone hoping to blind them, they may only become irratatted and be confrontational, just because you think you have them paralyzed for even a second, you can’t be complacent.   If you are a hunter, I probable don’t need to explain this to you, but if your prey sees you, they may run or even attack you depending on what it is you are hunting.  Hog hunting is really what comes to mind because recently I got the low down from a friend that was using an ACOG for Hog hunting in Texas and told me about the horror stories and complacency that got people hurt.   Even with all of the camouflage on, one of the biggest giveaways you can have to your location is the flashlight mirror or objective lense on ANY of the optics you are using on your firearm.

I think it should be mandatory for anyone ACOG purchase for someone to get a killflash and considering the cost of the scope and a killflash, you aren’t really adding much to the cost.   Some of the Trijicon ACOGS actually come with these in a package and considering how nice the glass is on the rifle scopes, they really do give off a signature at 1000yds if you aren’t using a killflash.   Even in low light it’s a good idea to consider using a blue or red lense over your weapon mounted light as well is something to reduce your signature.    Recently we got to test out some of the Meprolite sights next to Aimpoint, all with their killflashes and it was hardly noticeable when looking through them.   The pros far outway the cons on this one.

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Reflex sights, red dots and clarity and precision

Red Dot sightsTrijicon RMR mountsTrijicon RMR sightsSounds like a wordy subject line but so many people find out the hard way that certain levels of eyesight mean you can’t see so well with some of the modern optics.  Eye relief is a big one for those that don’t like some of the Trijicon ACOGS because you do have to put your eye pretty close to get a sight picture while optics like the TA11H-G give you a little more eye relief but its a much larger platform to mount.   The Aimpoint Micro T1 got some negative responses recently because according to our customer that the red dot sight looked broken Fiber Optic Rifle OpticsRMR SightRM08G sights in stockor flared, we informed them that this isn’t a defect in the optic, it actually has to do with how the operator’s eyes view the red dot.   Sometimes it pays to walk in a store and look through and optic before dropping $600 bucks on one.

Recently I learned a lot about the differences between the Aimpoint, Bushnell, Eotech and Trijicon RMR sights and have pretty good knowledge on helping customers narrow down what they really should consider.   Knowing the dot size you want to go with is a good way to narrow your product options and knowing what type of battery life you are asking for.   The Trijicon RMR sights have been constantly expanding and are used on handguns as much as Remington 870 and Mossberg 500 shotguns as well as secondary sights on AR15s.  Sure they are expensive but giving the clarity, battery life, and far more precise red dots than many other manufacturers, you may find it actually useable when the other product you were looking for is not compatible.

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The Red Dot Market

Trijicon RMR sightsWe have been adding more and more products to our website in the last year, moving from 18,000 products to well over 31,000 products in 12 months.   When you are cater to the broad customer base that we do, it’s really easy to expand your product line, but the one thing we don’t want to do is expand it with 2nd rate products.   We have people driving up to 3hrs to stop in our store because some of the products we sell like Trijicon, Aimpoint and Eotech and Surefire can sometimes be pricey products to buy online when you haven’t been able to look through it and know for you sure that it’s the correct item for your AR15  or Glock firearm.  Some products like Eotech and Aimpoint have some moderately price optics that have a very good entry level that aren’t crap.

Our phone and email boxes are loaded with new products from various companies going to SHOT SHOW out in Las Vegas that are asking us to stop by their booth, but if we never heard of their Flashlights or Optics, we’re really not that interested in deviating from staples like Trijicon RMR sights , ACOGS,  Aimpoint red dots and Eotech sights.    We have a good selection of the Eotech 512 and 516  optics as well as the Aimpoint Patrol Optics inbound because the reputation of these optics that have been battle proven insurmountable.  Thee optics work well on Russian AK rifles, Remington 870 shotguns, Mossberg 500 and AR15 variants.

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MBUS Sights, Cowitnessing optics, red dots and magnification

RMR08G-7SIf you are unsure of any of those questions when doing your next AR15 build, you need to spend a few days on youtube.com and learn about each individual trade off and asset.   I had to force myself several years ago when I was working on a new M4 selection, that I wanted a close quarters optic that gave me speed and a wide field of view.  I started out with a Bushmaster XM15E2 which is as basic as you can get with an AR15.  No muzzle brake, just two apertures to choose from and with the right kind of ammo for a 1-9 barrel twist, getting MOA is easy.  That was back in the day of carry handle ACOGS and heavy barrels.  Now the trend has been towards lighter and stronger.

I always felt that the AR15 was a great training tool and even youth can learn marksmenship on it, which in my opinion kind of gets lost when you teach with a scoped rifle.  I have taken some of Ruger 10/22 out with red dots on them, but it’s nice to use the Trijicon RMR sights for sale that we get in and let kids shoot balloons and just have fun.   If engagements on targets are under 50yds, iron iron sights or red dots are just fine.  Some law enforcement officers want some type of magnification even if its just a pair of compact binoculars.  It amazed at the number of people that still revert back to those, but sometimes you need it and sometimes you don’t.   If you got the money, there are some nice multitask combat optics from Trijicon that make good use of magnification and red dots.

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Trijicon SRS that diod thing?

Trijicon Reflex SightsYes, we are hearing about it, not everyone is complaining but there is definitely an issue with that reflective square that people are seeing.   Moving in and out of buildings and depending on various power settings you will see it.  Considering the cost of the optic and that the fix is to spend another $100 on this optic, it certainly has hit a cord with some of our potential customers.  I personally think that Trijicon is going to have to make a fix or modification to the optic if they want it to sell in the 2014.  The Trijicon SRS sight compared to some of the other AR15 or M4 red dot reticles is very popular with the competition shooters primarily because they have the money and they are willing to be the first to step in line for a smaller compact new technology optic with a 1.75 MOA dot.

I have always been a fan of the Eotech sights primarily because I like the 65MOA circle around the 1 MOA dot but I can see why people want an optic with longer battery life.  There are some pretty big differences between all of the Trijicon Reflex Sights and it’s up to the purchaser to do some research about them.  Some of the red dots have dramatically different dot sizes and there are pros and cons to using a 2 MOA dot, 1.75 MOA dot, or a 6.5 Amber red dot.  I hear from many of our Police officers about wash outs, or drops in reticle visibility when going from bright light to dark rooms so having variable power settings usually is a plus for house clearing. We’ll see what’s new from Trijicon optics this year at Shot Show but let’s hope for a new generation of Trijicon SRS sights.

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A very successful year in Delaware County

philadelphia police supply storesThis year was a very successful year for us in the Delaware County area in launching our tactical store and we double the size of our business in the first 6 months.  People are still finding out about us via word of mouth whenever they need a new holster, police boots or even just Ambulance companies hiring and people  needing to get a pair of pants.  Much of the product line we stock in our store is for people to checkout instead of buying it online.  Duty gear like handcuff keys and various police belts are things that people in the Law Enforcement industry lose or wear out over time and are always in need of.    Police vests, tactical pants, uniform pants, belts, hydration unites, SWAT team bags are things that are always wearing out and need to be replaced.

We’ve learned there are so many types of handcuffs, swivel and hinged doesn’t always narrow it down, some are different weights and types of metal.  The items we have brought in this year are the Safariland lightweight handcuffs and in our region there are no Philadelphia Police Supplies shops around here and many of our Law Enforcement Officers are very happy to see a business like this open up.   Tactical vests, body armor are all things people need to be sized up on and this is something that has to be done right so that there are fewer returns.   We stock a large number of Blackhawk serpa holsters, safariland products, pepper spray, mace, tasers, batons, police badge holders and more and more duty gear.

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Optics reacting to indoor and outdoor lighting

Trijicon reflex sights We recently did some tests between various red dot optics and even the Eotech 516 as well as the Trijicon Reflex sights.  I don’t quite put the new Trijicon SRS sight in the same category as RX30A-51 because they just don’t seem like the same animal.   There is some wash out with the Trijicon fiber optic cables when you go from outdoors to indoors so this is something you will have to train for.   We did some tests with the Trijicon SRS sight to see if there were any noticeable changes when going from the solar powered lighting environment to total darkness and we were impressed with this part of it.  I do have to say there are plenty of critical comments out there about the SRS sight and the Diod image that shows up in certain lighting conditions.  I’ve had some people say that you need a flash kill for this sight and in all honesty, from what I see, yes you do.

There are Eotech sights that are MOA red dots but there is definitely a clarity difference between the SRS sight and even Aimpoint sights.   The new addition to the Trijicon Reflex sights are the Trijicon SRS01 and the SRS02.  These are the same optic but different mounting systems.   I don’t know why anyone wouldn’t want the bobro mount because they just make so much sense.  I am running an SRS sight on my LWRC M6A2 and it is a very fast sight not just because it’s zero magnification but the red dot is more like star light than a hazy.  The cost of the SRS sights are about $300-$400 more than the Aimpoint red dots but if you are competition shooters or you want to be the first in  your group to get it, you’ll be able to figure out the advantages of this optic.

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