All posts tagged Combat Optics

Hottest Seller for the M4 Carbine from Trijicon

Sometimes we get a new product from a company that just flat out blows away the previous production line, but recently we have noticed that our most consistent selling M4 Optic is the Trijicon TA01NSN ACOG.   This is probable the most practical setup without over complicating the system and putting higher mounted parts on the already high sitting combat optic.   The Trijicon TA01NSN has backup iron sights for close up fighting.   For those trained with iron sights, nothing gets you back to the basics and away from glass optics that those metal or composite posts.

One of the best things about the ACOG system is the optics come already mounted.  We have all witness some shooters have a really difficult time with long range shooting because the optics they are deploying are not leveled properly.  The Trijicon TA01NSN like it’s fellow ACOGS can come on a carry handle or it’s only mount.  Nothing to adjust with the optic like you have to with scope rings, these optics are already leveled and once they are sighted in they can be removed and should remained zeroed.

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Trijicon TA26S vs the Eotech design

There have been several changes with the Eotech combat optics, but the biggest one is the position of the on and off buttons.   Now they are all being made on the left side because we now know that an M4 Carbines rail system can get pretty crammed up with sights and gear and the best place for the optics was not in the back, but on the side.   When Eotech started to realize that just a little bit of extra magnification was a big deal for a combat soldier, they released the Eotech Magnifiers for slightly over 3x.   This helped soldiers spot wires or identify weapons on and individual even if it only meant getting a better view from 75 or less yards.  And that’s what 3x optics does.

Trijicon is well know for their 3x and 4 power combat optics, and  you can’t beat the ACOG for it’s combat worthyness, but it still is not a close quarters combat optic.   The Trijicon ACOGS are highly visible and if you put Irons on them like the Trijicon TA01nsn, your going to have you head mounted high on the optic, the same goes for any dot sighting system like the TA31ecos-g.    Those are fancy combat optics, but try fighting out a window and you’ll be wishing for something smaller and compact.   The Trijicon TA26SG-10 is has a shorter housing and is lighter and gives you a lighter Carbine in the end.   The Trijicon TA26SR-10 is the same thing with a red reticle.

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Rogue Elite is now a Trijicon Showcase account

We’re proud to announce they that Rogue Elite is now a Trijicon showcase account.   This means that when you stop by you’ll get to check out more and more of the items that we have listed on our website and we’ll be a full line stocking dealer.  Everything from night sights to scope mounts and Trijicon ACOGS and Accupoint rifle scopes.

One thing that has kept Trijicon rifle scopes about the rest is that Trijicon optics don’t need  batteries like other rifle optics do.   Trijicon rifle scopes are making grounds in the hunting community and was one of the first to introduce green reticle rifle and military scopes.   There is a very big difference in certain environments when it comes to the styles of reticles and green reticles have really caught on.  Keep an eye on our new showroom because it’s getting bigger and better every month.

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Do you have a favorite combat optic?

I think it’s safe to say that if it comes down to the wire, it’s between Trijicon, Aimpoint and Eotech.   I’m still amazed at how well Eotech holds their own even though we are on the verge of a technological shift with gun accessories.  The first combat optic that impressed me was the Leupold CQT because it gave you an optic that was meant for close up fighting that didn’t get dead on  you when the batteries died.   The CQT is a nice optic but nobody gives you the field of view that the Eotech gun sight gives you.   Field of view in a gun sight means faster target acquisition.  It only takes a 2 second test on a firing range.

Even at ranges under 100yds you still might be at a disadvantage with anything other than an Eotech.  There is one optic that I think is my favorite other than the Eotech.   The Trijicon TA01NSN  gives you the medium range gun fighting ability, but the trusty iron sights mounted on the top get you back to the basics.   If you learn to shoot properly with both eyes open your field of view is as good as your eyes and this is something that can get lost in the realm of combat optics.   Don’t forget to keep your iron sights on your M4 Carbine.  It might be tempting to just put a scope on it, but the what ifs do happen.

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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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One of my favorites from Trijicon

There are a great many combat optics you can float on your boat, but much of what I like is the dressed down versions.   I still have pretty good eye sight for my age and I find many of these red dot and reticles to blur or obscure  targets and that just pisses me off at times.   I’ve done enough steel plate shooting to know that you can’t see steel plates at 200yds unless they are in broad sunlight and or have a strong contrasting background.   I learned this while looking forward to a day of shooting with my primary firearms instructor when he took me to his Class III friendly range.

I get bored shooting handguns and moved over to the steel Carbine range and starget plinking.   I couldn’t ID a 6″ plate at 100yds with an Eotech and the Red Dot I had on a 10/22 was just as difficult.   I recently picked up a few Trijicon ACOGS and have various Carbines with the Trijicon TA01-NSN.  These optics give you 4×32 visibility and also have backup iron sights mounted on the top.  I believe Trijicon is re-thinking the way they mount sights for CQB on the top of the Trijicons, but the NSN works well.  The drawback to the ACOG is that it isn’t as good in close up fighting, but you can’t beat iron sights for short ranges.

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Changes in combat optics are around the horizon

There have been many changes in recent years away from the tradition long tube rifle scopes.   There has been a steady trend away from magnification and most combat optics are now either zero magnification or less than 4x.    There are many things that I wish they made, but technology is not there yet, but it soon will be.  I love the Eotech gun sights, but the dependency on batteries is a major drawback.   The Eotech magnifier is so popular that many are using them with Aimpoint optics.   The wide object and fighter plane combat gun sight really make the Eotech a great close up fighting optic.

There are a lot of preferences  out there and it’s another one one those age old debates, but it’s really all about what you are going to  use a combat optics for which makes it worth the price.  Trijicon ACOGS have had many changes and I often have to refer to the Trijicon catalog to remember all of the changes.   I’ve heard rumblings that the ACOG DOC sights aren’t being made anymore or they are going to be modified because they keep getting sheered off.  It kind of reminds me of the guys bitching about Blackhawk Serpa holsters that got sheered off during a police chase.

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The reality of gunfights is you rarely need magnification

I took a Carbine course at a western, PA gun club over the weekend and I did it just because I like to take them to observe the students progress from novice shooters to the next advancement.    Many of the Carbine classes I have taken were what I considered to be somewhat below my level of shooting, but since I often get asked to sit in on instructors, I get more than a few  opportunities.   Having the right attitude is something I look for because being in the business world, it is something that I often see lacking, I’ve seen students remove themselves for classes because gear went down and they were so ashamed of the malfunctions that they walked off.   It makes me think these individuals really lacked will power and i wouldn’t want to be in a crisis situation with them.

There is such a thing as a more durable firearm, but there are many things that I have seen people do to less expensive firearms to toughen them up.   Replacing extractors and working parts can give you a good leap forward.   The Trijicon rifle scopes that use to see on the range don’t seem to have the authority that they  use to.   They are still one of the best accurate shooting combat optics, but now that we are 10yrs into close quarters gun fighting in the Eastern part of the world, close quarters combat rarely needs more than iron sights, a red dot or an Eotech.  Taking a step back from the 4x optics is something that should be considered.

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Magnification and sending long distance phone calls

Ok, that was a dumb thing to say, but I still chuckle at one of my buddies comments whenever we’re on the long range.   Reaching out and touching someone at 600yds is precisely what a sniper does.  I have learned to notice that clarity of rifle optics but one thing that is becoming more and more of an experience is looking through all of the optics out there and their reticles.   A long time ago, people were more concerned with the durability of the optic and making sure it wasn’t going to fog up on them when they took the scope caps off in the early morning when they went out chasing whitetails.  Now some of your least expensive rifle optics don’t fog up.

I have a few Zeiss Conquest scopes that I’m quiet happy with, but I think I could go with less magnification on some of them.   When  you are trying to hit a 6ft target at 600yds, it’s really not that hard to see it.   When people try and see an X on a 2ft piece of paper in their rifle scopes, that’s a whole other thing and in my opinion something not worth pursuing.   I have walked off shooting ranges in the summer time because the mirage given off from the  heat was so bad that it was completely impossible for me to even see a target at 100yds and testing my hand loaded ammunition would have been a waste.

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Lasers and Flashlights the key is to know when to turn them off

I did a demonstration with one of my friends how using night vision and IR was really easy to pick up from a counter sniper situation if you were projecting it from the same location.   For instance, if you have night owl night vision which is pretty good for the money, the IR is located right above the objective lense.   If you had something like that mounted on a rifle scope and someone who had the same nightvision, but didn’t turn there IR on, they could find you as easily as you would have if you turned on a flashlight in the night.   The best way to aid a sniper in combat is to project IR from above and not directly from a rifle.  The point of this is just because you can do something with an accessory on a firearm doesn’t mean it’s really going to give you the edge.  You have to know how to deploy it.

I never thought just slapping a laser on my AR15 would be fun, I always thought it was kind of pointless because a laser is virtually a perfect beam of light, but a bullets trajectory changes very fast and the laser is about as good as a red dot or rifle scopes in all practicality.   Flashlights are a good thing to have around or on your firearm in your home, but if you are going to use it offensively and not defensively, you have to deploy  tactics that hide movement and don’t give your direction of movement away.   If you are in  your house and hiding in your bedroom ect.  In 99% of situations, yelling down the stairs that you have a gun and you are going to blow their head off if they come up will stop a threat being able to identify something in a corner like a burglar in hiding is what your flashlight it for.

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