All posts tagged AA Batteries

Your aging eyes and target acquisitions

Eotech sightsI recently got off the phone with a customer that told me we shipped him the wrong scope and the reticle he has on his optic was green and not amber.   We took out several of the optics we had to see if Trijicon might have come out with a new scope reticle and we discovered that they had not.   We did a quick quality control to see if something freeky happened and came to the conclusion that the customer was wrong.  The thing that people don’t understand with red dots, Eotechs, night sights ect are that it’s really about contrast.   You don’t need night sights during the day because it’s already light, you need night sights in low light or total darkness, but depending on how long the light is, you might want brighter imagery.   There are always issues when moving from indoors to outdoor with a scope right and thats why varying power on a rifle or shotgun sight is a good idea.

I rarely adjust the settings on my Eotech 512 but I have plenty of friends that told me they had them on full brightness when they were outside in the desert.  I recently did a comparison between Eotech sights and the new Trijicon SRS sight and fell right back in love with my Eotech.  Considering all of the changes I have seen in the Surefire and Streamlight flashlights where the candle power is up about 85% which is a huge leap forward.   Solar panels and battery storage is way up and I expect to see something very new in these regards with Eotech sights.  I am a big fan of the EXPS sights and the red dot and 65 MOA dot get picked up by my eyes very well.  I don’t see this changing anytime soon for my primary CQC optics.

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Are Eotech sights out dated?

eotech sightsWe have had a ton of people stop in our store and ask us if we sell Aimpoint but unfortunately the distributor that we use to deal with no longer is carrying them.  If we wanted to be a direct dealer for them, we’d probable not get product for another 6 months or more considering the craze that is going on in  the Country.   Aimpoints are probable the best price combat durable red dot optics but I am not a big fan of them.  My eyes tend to track the Eotech sights or a Circle dot reticle like the TA44 from Trijicon better than a red dot.   Lasers and Red dots seem to race around on targets and they also can obscure targets depending on the size of the dots.  Trijicon does  have a 1.75 MOA dot that is very nice but there are still some issues with that optic that I recently have found at fault.

After all of these optics are tested out, many of our customers still go back to the Eotech sights.  Primarily because they are zero magnification and you can keep both eyes  open when using Eotech sights which is very important if  there are close quarters engagements which statistically occurs for Law Enforcement.   I have been running the Eotech 512 for about 8yrs and only a battery contact came loose on it.  I do have the Gen 2 Magnifier on it but I could probable be better off if I was running the Eotech 516 or the EXPS2-0 which have the buttons on the left side which is what you have to think about if you are thinking about adding on the Magnifier later on.

 

 

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Eotech configurations vs ACOGS

I started out with an Eotech 512 because I basically thought that AA batteries were so common in my home that that was my best option.  I was right, but I learned real fast what the limitations were for the Eotech sights when I was engaging targets at 300 + yards with it.   Those optics are really fast for close up fighting which is why most of our Law Enforcement Officials want them, but they, along with any red dot, will actually be difficult to use at longer ranges.   I find the haze from red dots to be annoying but I personally have never had to use one in a house clearing situation.    The Eotech XPS sights and the EXPS sights are more compact versions with different power switch locations.

Eotech sights while many may claim are slowly becoming outdated, are still very popular.  Sometimes it’s not just what is higher tech, but the Eotech sights that we sell are so well known that sometimes it’s hard to deviate from something that you know works.   I have yet to see somebody complain about their Eotech not holding zero and the quick detach options are very appealing.   The one thing I will say that is you really need to put some thought into how much magnification you want on your Carbine before you buy and Eotech sight because I know many people that got the optic, magnifier combos and later said they basically purchased a Trijicon TA01NSN .

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Eotech range report on the 512

The newer Eotech gun sights are all being made with the power buttons on the left side and not in the back.  If you have the older models, you’ll probable have some issues like I did with the Eotech Magnifiers.   I had to leave a bit of a gap between mine just so I would be able to get  my hands in between them to turn it off and on.  The way my present M4 Carbine setup is, I can still use the older models, but It should does make it easier to just use your left hand them (if you are right handed) to turn the power up and down.   The magnifiers really make a difference, but its one of those never ending responses  I get about “Couldn’t I just have got an ACOG for that price?”

Sure you could, but you’ll have a lot of trouble using a Trijicon ACOG in short ranges.   If you look at the ranges most engagements take place in, there is almost no need for magnification.   A few friends of mine that were in Iraq said the Trijicon ACOGS they had came in real handy to spot wires from roadside bombs.   The Eotech sights you the widest field of view of any optic I know of and that makes rapid engagements of multiple targets very easy and fast.  Getting the first hits in is more important that how tight your groups were.

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Is it time to upgrade your Eotech gun sight?

I finally got on the M4 Carbine bandwagon about 6 years ago after many years of shooting without being much of a black gun enthusiasts.   I jumped on the piston driven carbine wagon and I’m glad I did.   I’ve been getting lots of good feed back from my friends and LWRCI about the Carbines that I own, but I have also shot many DI guns from Daniel Defense that are 100% reliable under extreme conditions, well extreme AR15 conditions.   If you want fast you gotta go with an AR15 platform, there are other nice 556 guns, but the AR15 is really pretty darn close to perfection when it comes to versatility and comfort.   Reliability is something that Magpul Pmags and modern technology has done with drastic leaps.

The Eotech gun sights I used years ago are still working today, but I’ve gotten a little tired of trying to turn them off and on when I have a magnifier in the way.    The side mounted buttons on the newer Eotech make that a non-issue.   I am also having problems with the new magnifier not because of it’s weight or durability, but that it is not compatible with some rear flip up sights.   I have to mount my magnifier a few notches forward of where I want to  place it because it does not clear the rear sight if I move it back.   Time to do some tweaking on the fastest AR15 guns I own.

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AR15 parts

AR15 PartsWhy be without spare gas rings or an extractor? A complete bolt can be at your disposal ready to be installed, and the parts necessary to repair the faulty bolt are stored handily for the needed repair. You just supply the level of AR15 Parts spares you think you might need. This is the complete M4 Tac-Pac.  What is it? The TAC-PAC is a modular storage system designed to store tactical batteries and other small parts. It consists of an injection-molded housing with interchangeable EVA foam die cut inserts. The housing and insert is closed with a snap-on rubber sealing lid. This is then placed into a tactical nylon storage pouch.

 

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