I have been back and forth with my optics for some time now…
I picked up a set of the MBUS and have settled on those for my BUIS…
I had a millett zoom dot which I liked but it was too robust for my taste as far as a red dot is concerned… I want something just as rugged but more HSLD…
Aimpoints are wonderful but the comp m4s is far too big for my liking and the T-1 just doesnt do it for me…
I switched to a 1-4x set up but it only serves certain roles and is heavier and has more drag… I would rather switch to a 2-10x with a qd mount for when I needed a precision shot at distance and run a small red dot the rest of the time…
I like this little guy and I love the fact that it was “tortured”… It seems to be exttremely rugged and I am partial to insights products since I already own an m6x and love it…
I have heard ofd some mounting issues but those are easily remidied…
Any opinions, thoughts, smack talk is appreciated…
any specific questions? regarding the mounting issue, the commercially available one doesn’t come with a mount (it’ll fit any docter mount though) and the insight mount is too low to co-witness and needs to be centered on the irons for better head position.
like the docter, you buy the optic, then buy the mount applicable for your intended usage.
the military kit comes with the aforementioned mount, plus a metal protector (hood). the button could be more positive.
the quick hit - it’s nice and light. the click adjustments are better (IMHO) to those on the docter, fastfire, JP etc.
yes, there’s a very low setting compatible with NVGs.
it’ll co-witness with a larue irondot mount or a JP j-point mount with docter adapter (i believe).
i recommend researching the current mini red dot sights to see the differences between them - others i can think of are trijicon, jpoint, fastfire and pride-fowler.
Protective hood and the small light sensor in the lower front body that autogain according to the birhgtness of the enviroment. Auto gain is the default mode when the unit is initally switched on. under this photodiode mode, the battery life is supposed to have a one year run time.
‘expensive’ is a relative term and needs to be qualified. i have a couple of burris fastfires myself, and they’re great little sights. their price point is hard to beat, and for a hobbyist shooter like myself, it’s probably all that’s needed.
the insight MRDS price is on par with the ruggedized/waterproof mil/LE version of the docter sight, which was significantly more than the standard docter (MSRP is about $500 from trijicon). any optic that’s built and tested to meet a mil std or spec, and is made in the USA is going to cost more. ultimately, it’s up to the consumer to decide if it’s worth the additional cost, but it’s important to realize that it’s not an apples-apples comparison.
Also to add, if it is to be your primary optic on a shotgun, or a carbine, i would not trust in the Fastfire. I have a Fastfire that went down twice. the MRDS are much better made and that much more rugged and durable.
The J-point seems to be a viable option…I like that it can withstand 5000 Gs and only weighs .05 oz… it is stated that it it waterproof but I get leary when they dont specify how waterproof it is… It can also operate in - 25 degree and up to 130 degress
Same with the Burris fastfire II…I like that it is rather inexpensive and offers some great mounting solutions… it is light and fast but boasts being able to withstand only 1000 Gs “at least” and claims to be submersible but does not detail the depth… It can operate in - 10 degrees and 100+
The Mrds seems to have both of these units beat in certain aspects but at a cost…
It will pull double duty and its home will be on my 6.8mm rig… I run an Insight
M6X on the same rig and I have grown an affinity for thier products…
They are very rugged in thier design.
The J-point would be more considerable over the Buris FF2 as far as specs go… The Mrds would be more desireable over the J-point in terms of specs and at a mere 70.00 difference in price…
“‘expensive’ is a relative term and needs to be qualified.”
MM, you are absolutely right.
In the majority of instances, a MRDS is a 1x back-up to another sight or optic, or used as a CQB alternative to a magnified optic. As a back up, it should not run so close to the price of the primary optic that the idea of just packing a spare primary starts to become a cost effective alternative. If using the “bang for the buck” principle, this MRDS, although robust, just isn’t providing enough bang to justify the bucks in my opinion.
yup - if you want ‘bang for the buck’, the fastfire is probably the one to get.
as far as being close to the price of the primary optic, the MRDS is about half that of the optic it was designed to as a close-quarters alternative/backup to - the ACOG.
Good point. I saw the pics of it mounted on a rail as a primary (great pics by the way, this MRDS looks robust) and that tripped the $500.00 price point in my brain. The Eotech, Aimpoint, etc. 1X price point that this MRDS fall into. BTW, I love your site. I won’t buy anything anymore without checking out your sight and MM’s first. Thanks and keep up the good work!
kmrtnsn - thanks for the kind words and i’m glad you’ve found my site useful. i’m a civilian hobbyist/consumer, and budget/cost is a major factor in any purchase.
with products suchs as the MRDS, i’m not trying to convince anyone that they need something like it, or that it’s better for their intended usage, but just conveying why it may cost more. the added robustness may not make a difference to us who would view a sight breaking down as an inconvenience on the range or during a match, but may make the difference to the user out on the battlefield engaging the enemy.
when it comes to optics/gear/equipment designed primarily for military usage, it’s often not so much that they don’t provide the ‘bang for the buck’, but more that we (joe civilian hobbyist enthusiast) don’t really utilize them (or need them) for the full spectrum of conditions that they’re designed for. to the civilian user, what may seem expensive for a hobby gun might be a well-justified expense for a work gun. all i try to do is to provide information, so people can make their own informed decisions.
Keep it up! The effort is both noticed, and appreciated.
Having both a “work gun” and a hobby gun I see the difference is what I need and expect from one to the other. I am in the process of building a hobby gun with which I am testing the bang for the buck principle first hand. As these things go they tend to be expensive lessons in what works and what doesn’t but I wanted to try different ideas and products with this concept. Hopefully the end of the month all of my “parts” will have arrived and I can finish painting it and post some pics. I imagine that it is going to be a continuingly evolving rifle as ideas and the associated items fail the concept and are replaced with others. For my rifle the Fastfire II is one of those items to be “tested”. We’ll all see how it goes.
I’ve got a Burris FF2 and it’s great on my “hobby gun”. The problem is I end up putting more rounds through this carbine than all of the others combined. It’s a complete build from scratch but I did use all good quality parts. FWIW I’ve got a NightForce, 2 T-1’s, and 1 Acog w/Doctor on my other carbines.
I will probably end up looking hard at the Insight. I should add that the reality is that the T-1 is marginally larger than the FF2 when both are mounted in Larue mounts. I was just comparing them the other night.
I also agree about not relying on the FF2 for my primary optic. It’s just light, quick, and small. I’ve not had any issues over the last year but that doesn’t mean much. It’s been to the range probably 1 dozen times. On one of our SWAT training days I take it each month and let someone train with it for the day. Figure 100-200 rounds a day for those training days. The little BUIS on the Larue mount is very basic and works great for what it is. For me it’s a 4-6 MOA sight which isn’t bad for what it is with that enormous aperture. The only bad thing about the FF2 is the single setting for brightness, ON. It starbursts pretty bad but again for what it is and about $350.00 with mount it’s pretty cool for my frankengun.
