i just got a 5.45 upper in, and need to top it off with a new optic.
i was going to use this as my training blaster (ammo is obviously cheaper than 5.56).
i am tempted to experiment with an Eotech 552 (LaRue combo). i am partly motivated by the lower price, but also am curious about trying new things. fans of the eotech like the faster target acquisition. i hear that haters say mechanical reliability may be an issue with the eotech. i have no firsthand experience with eotechs.
additionally, am i setting myself up for optical or muscle memory failure at some point if i do this?
If you go with a Larue Combo, the savings versus some of the Aimpoint Combos is negligable. And one of Grants C3/ADM Combos will save you some $$$. Obviously the C3 isn’t NV compatible, but that wouldn’t be a requirement for me, especially on a training upper. YMMV though.
That being said, the 512 I had worked fine and was reliable. But the Aimpoints were cheaper, lighter, had much longer battery life, and after using both I found I prefered just the single dot.
Consistency is the key to many things in the shooting world.
The longer you spend on similar optics the flatter the learning curve.
See also “The SIMP”.
Is the 60 MOA ring that much of a distraction or is the slightly bigger dot on the Aimpoint that much faster? In my opinion, which carries little weight as I’m relatively new here, the larger circle is pert neer on the mark at anything under 20 meters (defensively). The smaller dot is just a pin point when you focus in on it. I’ve shot the Aimpoints (not mine) as well, and they’re great, but do people dislike the Eotech’s because the outer circle is distracting or because they have less battery life? I have found that the 1 MOA dot on the Eotech can be quite precise. Anyone would say that a 1 MOA focal point is more precise than a 2-4 MOA focal point when precision is needed right? Like I said before, I shot the Aimpoint, I shot the Eotech… the Eotech seemed more natural for “quick” acquisition. The outer dot guides the eye to the center. Leads me to believe that my eye will go to the center faster. (works for me, not a declaration of “it’s better than”)
Now, to the OP,
I’ve shot open sights, I’ve shot Aimpoints, I’ve shot Eotech’s, I’ve recently acquired a Trigicon TR24R (Thanks Grant). Is it just me, or is it really that hard to keep both eyes open and put the reticule on the target? I’m not trying to sound pompous here, I just seem to have a knack for it I guess. Perhaps I’m taking more time than others do, but it just doesn’t seem hard to transition between them, as long as it’s not every other day. When I shoot the Eotech for weeks on end, it works great. I hit what I’m aiming at. When I decide to take the other rifle out with the irons… I hit what I’m aiming at. I’m still getting used to the Trigicon, so I can’t really say, but I bet that once I get used to it, it’ll work just how it’s intended to work. Put the pointy thing on the object you want to hit, and tap one off. CLANG.
Every weapon you shoot is different in one way or another. Pick up two ARs and you’ll have some difference regardless of if the same company made them. It’s a mechanical certainty. That’s why RDS’s are so “comfortable”. It takes the weapon almost out of the mix. You put the red dot on what you want to hit and pull the trigger. I hunt. I don’t take red dots hunting. Could I? You bet, but I don’t. A standard crosshair reticule doesn’t distract from all the shooting that I have done over the years. You focus on your target (longer time frame of course), you ready your mind and body, you do what you’ve trained your body to do countless times… easy… easy…bang. Dead elk.
Personally, I think it’s more about getting your head in the game than what you’re looking thru. If I’m shooting at elk, I’m calm and focused on the crosshairs. If I’m shooting the AR with an Eotech, my eye naturally drifts to the center of the outer ring, picking up the small 1 MOA dot. If I have the FAL out and I’m shooting, the rear ring just goes over the post and I focus on the target. Either way, I know what weapon I picked up, and I just don’t seem to have all that much trouble hitting the target.
Now, why would I say all this? Because I read it all the time. This one’s better than that one, this one’s faster. Has anyone here driven more than one type of car in a day? How do you function if it’s not the same? Has anyone worked on a keyboard vs. a laptop in the same day? Some of the keys are in different places… how do you function? It all comes down to repetition with what you are using. Yeah, I know the keyboard was a stretch, but there’s differences, and you compensate, naturally over time.
I shoot different pistols in the same session. It takes me about one magazine to get it right. There’s definitely some transition there, but it isn’t so long that I’d want to get rid of one pistol because I’m better with another. (I shoot Cowboy Action, try going from Single action revolvers to auto’s… it’s a trip for sure, but it can be done.)
I seriously believe that if you focus on what you are doing, with the tools you are using, it’s not that hard of a transition. Simply work with the tools enough to be comfortable with them all. Is it better to have one? Probably, but at what cost? Try selling an Eotech these days… you’ll get far less than you paid for it because everyone has heard that they’re horrible. It doesn’t go far when you’re trying to replace some seriously high priced aiming devices. Besides, everything fails eventually. Why would people train the transition to iron sights if they didn’t? Work with as many things as you can, find one that works the best and train more with it, but it’ll never hurt you to be able to drive a column shift vs. an automatic car, will it?
I have both, have shot both, and from a strictly usage side, I have a slight preference for the aimpoint.
What I liked most about the Eotech sights was the massive open viewing window, and the field of view that allows. I find that the Aimpoint Micro sights offer about the same advantage, as their small window, and minimum profile almost makes the sight disappear.
Our eyes like to look through round shaped objects, and we can instinctively center targets in a round field of view pretty well. Aimpoint does this with their sight’s body. Eotechs have the electronic big outer ring in the dislplay to help. On some level, they seem pretty similar in that regard.
For now, I have an Eotech on my .22lr AR. I plan to eventually upgrade it to an aimpoint. I haven’t really noticed any big issues going back and forth between aimpoints and eotechs aside from having a preference for the sight picture of Aimpoints. If anything, I think it’s more of a mental exercise in dealing with the sight system. Principle is still the same, put dot on target and fire.
With any martial art you should first master a few basic techniques. Then, add a few more as you advance.
Personally, I prefer the massive 65moa ring on the EOTech. But, the Aimpoint battery life cannot be contested. For newer shooters I would recommend the Aimpoint because of the simplicity of the controls, single dot, and massive battery life. It is hard to screw up.
If you go with Aimpoint go with a AA version. If you get an EOTech, make sure it is a Revision F and unless you get 123N batteries for free, I would get the AA version.