All posts tagged Sale on Trijicon Optics

Choose your reticle wisely so you don’t regret it later!

Trijicon ACOGS for saleWe’re dealing with a lot of first time AR15 owners, both Law Enforcement and Civilian, since we’re in the business we hear a lot of the same questions coming from them.   Some ask us questions like “is the ACOG better than the Eotech” like there is some type of durability difference in the designs.  Well, all of them are not bullet proof even though they are meant to send bullets down range but the Eotech holographic sights and the Trijicon ACOG have very different purposes.  Trijicon has optics that I would better compare to the Eotech like the Trijicon Reflex sights or even the Trijicon TA44 optics.   They are different but they aren’t dramatically different in application.   A 1.5×16 Circle dot reticle is a better comparison to an Eotech 512 with a 2 MOA dot and a 65 MOA circle than the TA31F-G chevron.

One of the mistakes people make with rifle scopes and optics is they get optics with too much magnification.  If you look at the price of what the Trijicon ACOGS for sale are listed as, that’s a very expensive mistake.   You do get what you pay for an there are plenty of $200 and under military looking scopes you can put on your AR15, but they won’t last 5000rds before you break something or find out it won’t hold zero.   I’ve seen plenty of rifle scopes get retired but never had a Trijicon break on a rifle unless it was shot.    Also be careful about what type or red dot size you get because the bigger the dot the harder it will be to see a target with that optic and longer ranges due to it covering the target.

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Some feedback about the Trijicon SRS

Trijicon Reflex Sights We’ve only been selling the Trijicon SRS sights for a few months and finally got some good feed back about why people wanted them.   The number one reason people like this sight is it’s something different and has a slight advantage over the Aimpoint red dot sights.  The solar battery powered SRS sight gives you years of battery life from just one AA battery.  We have done side by side comparisons between the Eotech XPS sights and the Aimpoint and if you want a compact optic, and you want the most rail space available to you, the SRS and the Eotech XPS or EXPS sights are the way to go.  Not all of our customers really cared about the battery life which was actually surprising.

Some of our customers really wanted the Eotech just for the wide visibility and that famous gunsight reticle.   The one thing we learned when we brought in the Trijicon Reflex sights were the that it was more compact than an ACOG and really good clean red dot unlike some less expensive brands.   Being able to have a crisp dot and the multiple power settings  and a great low maintenance optic is something the Eotech bashers wanted.   I personally am not a huge fan of red dots because I prefer more precision but the SRS red dot is the smallers red dot optic we sell.

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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 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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A discussion about ACOGSs and long range shooting

Sometimes people really get carried away with scope magnification and think that it will increase your accuracy.  Well try taking a 5.5-20×50 scope to the range on a 90F day and tell me if you can even see X on a paper target at 300yds.   Anyone with experience will know that a mirage will void you scope magnificatioin and actually make it very difficult to make pin point accuracy.   A mirage is a constant wave of distorted light due to heat rising and you might be better off with lower magnification or Zero magnification.  Most Trijicon ACOGS are really meant for medium range engagements.

Recently I got to the range and tried out some of the newer green reticle ACOGS and the first one I tried out on my Bushmaster XM15E2 was the Trijicon TA11H-G.    This optic is actually a long range optic and might be best suited for a machine  gun,  The Trijicon TA11H-G ACOG has a green horseshoe reticle which for some reason seems to be very popular.  This particular ACOG has a longer tube than something like the TA31F-G

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Clarity vs. Magnification for combat optics

There has been a lot of changes in the way people mount optics on firearms, years ago it was rare to find a zero magnification on a combat optics because to some people it didn’t make sense to have a scope that didn’t magnify.  Now that we know that most combat ranges are well under 75yds, medium range optics like the Trijicon ACOGS actually slow you down.  They are a great optic but the Eotech gun sights really have a better reputation for close range fighting.  I’m still waiting for Eotech to come out with a holographic sight that is solar powers like the Trijicon optics but it’s not been built yet sadly.

The biggest selling optic we have going for us right now are the Trijicon TA26 scopes.  The first thing our customers said when they picked up this small lightweight Trijicon rifle scope, or should we call it optic, was that it was light and very clear.   The green reticles are far outselling the red ones but the definition between these optics and what you get from a blurry red dot optics are drastic.  Many people with good eyesight really don’t like red dots because they can obscure your target and sometimes not give you a fine point.

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Accessories to rifle scopes for hunting or military applications

Anyone that has been at a firing range and done long range shooting is probable aware of the issue of scope glare.   For those that want to understand the sniper/counter sniper training, one of the first things you are going to learn is how to conceal your weapon in and environment.  The achilles heal of a sniper can sometimes be the optics that he needs to bring with him.  Scope glare is what ends a snipers life and in most situations, there is always the potential that a rifle scope will give off some level of glare.   Trijicon was aware of this when they were deploying the ACOGS in the MiddleEast and the flash kill is a must for those doing street work.  For police work or certain environments the high visibility of the Trijicon Fiber Optics cable can also have it’s unwanted attention, and some actually cover there so they are only partially exposed.

I have scope covers on all of my optics because I’ve put guns away in gun safes and had things fall on them where if they did not have covers,  I might be out several hundred if not thousands of dollars.   Trijicon Rifle Scopes are for military or hunting applications.   The Trijicon Accupoint gives you a unique reticle that is highly visible, but most of this is about preference. Trijicon reticles can vary dramatically depending on what the optics intended mission is.   There are traditional long range shooting optics with Mil-dots and are also heavily used for designated marksmen as well as sniper roles

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Know the color of your target and background

Recently I got into bow hunting and some of the bows they have out now are setup just like rifles are.   The optics are as fancy as the stuff that Trijicon has out and I got a good crash course on green vs red reticles.   Illumination is something that can bother me.   I still have pretty good eyesight for my age and I really don’t like it when I have reticles that obscure my target or cause fuzz and  haze.   Many of the red dot optics just piss me off if I have to use them past 100yds.  I do like my Eotech optics but am still looking for those skinny reticles.
The Trijicon TA01NSN is my favorite Trijicon ACOG and it is because it has nice skinny black lines and backup iron sights.   The TA01 is the even simpliar version of the ACOG.   These Trijicon Rifle Scopes have illumination when it is dark out but the bad thing about them is those nice thin black lines get lost on black clothing targets.   How many bad guys wear black over in Iraq and Afghanistan?  The vast majority of them.  Not only can a red dot obscure your target your black lines will fade on a target too.   A little bit of color contrast is a good thing for hunting and defense.

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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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