All posts tagged Eotech 512

Fast target acquisition and indoor and outdoor lighting situations

We always do a lot of listing to our customers because considering how technical this industry is, and considering that nobody that works here has been in the Military for 25yrs or been a firearms instructor for that long, we don’t have the experience to witness all of the gear being used and all of the situations that things have occurred.   The best way to learn is to listen and ask questions so you can comprehend what is going on.   One of those things is learning about the situations that many of our local Police Departments go through.   The statistics are that even if you are carrying an AR15 Carbine, you are still most likely to be in situations that are well within handgun ranges.HHSII-2

Moving form indoor sunlight to low light or total darkness, and then turning on a flashlight could be a total of 4 different lighting settings and depending on what optic you are using, it can become a total mess trying to see through you’re optic.   Optics that cut it tend to be Eotech Sights and Aimpoint sights and sometimes you are just better off sticking with Iron sights.   The next issue is finding power setting with your optic that gives you a comfort zone.   Try doing it with your Eotech and see how annoying high power settings are in low light even though it might be good in bright sunlight. If you are thinking about a night vision compatible optic, if you like Eotech’s you’ll have to think ahead for the NV compatible versions, if you want something simple, go with the Aimpoint Patrol Rifle Optics.

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Aimpoint vs Eotech’s

Eotech sightsThis is a question that is often asked in our store primarily because there are similarly priced products with zero magnification.   Both optics can be co-witnessed and also magnifiers can be used with both product lines.    Even though there is a considerable difference between the battery life times, the real debate is about whether you want a 2 MOA red dot, 4 MOA red dot or a 65MOA circle with a MOA dot in the middle. One reason we have a plastic rifle in our store that is in spec for optics and flashlights is for potential customers to be able to mount the optics and see how well their eye picks up the reticle or dot.   There are some Eotech sights with different configurations for less lethal and for taking longer range shots but they are not is popular as the standard 65MOA/1MOA circle dot.

We stocked the Trijicon SRS sights and although there were initially some issues with the design it does offer a different approach but a very expensive option.   The majority of our customers have a price range and it usually comes down to the Eotech Sights (there are several in the $390-$500 price range) and the Aimpoint Patrol Rifle Optic.   The Patrol rifle optic has a thumb screw mount which, for about $400 you got the whole Aimpoint package without trying to figure out what type of mount to get, usually Larue Tactical but we have recently become a Bobro Mount dealer so there is another  quick detach option with a very good reputation.   The one thing to watch out for with Eotech sights is you really need to make sure you know whether or not you will be putting a magnifier on your AR15 at some point in the future.  If you “might” get an Eotech with a side button configuration.

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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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Eotech holographic sights are they still competing?

If you ask any of the local law enforcement officers in our area, that’s all you’ll hear them talk about.  Most SWAT Teams are still running these optics and the first rule of an optic for them is they must be able to keep both eyes open.   For any optics like the Trijicon ACOGS, they are more of a  liability for a police officer that may be in a hostage situation at 20yds rather than nailing a Taliban soldier at 4oo meters.  There have been many technological improvements to optics and to some people Eotech might be slacking because they are still reliant on batteries, but for short deployments that’s rarely and issue.  I personally run an Eotech 512 AA on my LWRC M6A1 and I have had some wear issues and batteries fail on me.  I had to super glue the contacts back in and recently heard that this was part of the reason the CR123 batteries are being used and they are also going in sideways instead of forward.

The Eotech XPS sights are smaller and lighter compared to the most popular Eotech 512 AA battery and this means something for those that are running various pressure switches or gun sights.   The smaller lighter XPS Eotech sights are running with the CR123 batteries and these batteries will give you more shelf life than the AA batteries and take up less weight.   The only bad thing about the CR123 batteries is they are not that common in gun stores or retail locations and if they are they are usually more expensive.  Buying these in bulk is a good idea, we normally sell them in 12 packs for $23.99.

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Eotech magnifier gives you distance

We’ve heard time and time again from our friends and customers that are serving in the military that the Eotech gun sights are the fastest combat sights around.  I recently got to check out some of the optics coming from Trijicon and they are really making some nice 1x magnification gun sights also.   It’s been over 2 decades that the ACOGS have been around, but it seems that just about everyone and their dog has them on an AR15 and in many cases, the Trijicon ACOG is a bit of an over kill depending on the gun sights that you are using.   We got a first hand account today about a guy using a Trijicon gun sight in a police call that identified an individual that was thought to have been holding a gun.  Someone with a standard Eotech gun sight could not identify an object in his hand and there was a call to shoot.

The only real drawback to the Eotech gun sights besides magnification are the batteries they are using.  Some people have issues with the CR123 Eotech sights, and mostly want the AA battery versions.   At some point someone from Eotech is going to have to come out with a non battery illuminated version of the sight because given the trends and technological advancements I have seen in the last decade, anything that is battery powered now is going to be obsolete in the near future.   Flashlights are going to get better when it comes to being rechargeable and holding power and gun sights should be self illuminated or controlled without battery power.

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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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Holographic gun sights

EotechModern combat optics are becoming more and more advanced.   Back in the day people just used the European pole or standard crosshairs for rifle scopes, but not anymore.   These days combat optics may be red dots, green dots, illuminated reticles, bullet drop compensators etched in glass or Mil-dots.   Combat optics like IOR scopes may have a reticle that is almost a sizing guide for range estimation where you just simply hold the target into a range estimator and then make adjustements on your target knobs or just  hold over.
There is also something completely unique.    Eotech holographic gun sights.  These unique combat optics have a holographic gun sight that, once sighted in, will stay sighted in no matter how you view through your sight.   According to many of those that we have spoken to in Iraq and Afghanistan, these are hands down the best CQB gun sight.  With zero magnifation,  you have the FOV that is unmatched by normal rifle scopes, and with that, comes faster target acquisition.    The unique holographic gun sight looks like something that was used in aircraft gun sights.   There are also options that can  be used for some level of magnification so that identifying targets at greater distances can be done without compromising the close up speed that these optics give you.

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