All,
As you all can see, I’m trying to figure out the options on various 1-4x Variable Scopes.
The Meopta K-Dot seems to be good on paper for someone who has a limited budget and wants daytime illumination.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of the Meopta K-Dot?
How does it compare to the TRG24 and how does it compare to the Higher end scopes such as Nightforce, Swarovski, and S&B?
Any help wold be much appreciated. Thanks.
AKA the poor man’s short dot. I have one mounted on an AR. The glass is very clear with a decent reticle, which can be illuminated with a dual on/off knob that also adjust the amount of illumination. Battery life is around 80 hours. On the 1 x setting, it can be used as any other 1 X red dot scope, with both eyes open. It does appears a little larger and a bit heavier than the other tactical scopes out there, but it doesn’t bother me. I do recommend a Cat Tail for the power ring for quick adjustments. Mine is a little over 3 years old so I’m not familiar with any product improvements on this particular model. Overall, I think it’s a very rugged functional piece of kit, but unless I could get a great deal on one today, I’d probably lean towards the current production Trijicon Accupoints. Current prices appear to be comparable. I can’t compare it to other scopes other that what I read, but there is a thread that does a very good review and comparative analysis here:https://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php?t=104
Compared to the TR24 the Meopta’s reticle allows you several hold over points for shooting longer range. So if you plan on shooting past 300 the Meopta is faster since you don’t have to dial in your hold over. I like the TR24’s triangle reticle for speed however inside 300 yards.
I like my Swarovsk Z6i better than either scope. I can do ok to 400 yards with out dial in because I use the top of the heavy duplex as a hold point at 400. It works well with my load. But I do need to dial past 400 and fortunately its easy to do with my scope as it is with the TR24. Nightforce makes great glass but the illumination sucks. Sucks totally. Its only usable in low light. S&B is great from what I hear and you can get them with bullet drop elevation knobs. But I prefer the 1-6 option over just a 1-4. But for shooting past 400 yards the S&B would be faster to use.
Here is my poor mans bullet drop elevation adjustment modification to my Swarovski. I just painted the points for 400 and 500 yards.
Pat
I agree with everything said so far. I use the K-dot and TR24G in 3-Gun, but the K-Dot takes the lead at distance past 300. I have both set up with cat tails and Larue 1.5 SPR mounts.
My pros/cons list:
TR24 turrets are much better than the K-Dot
K-Dot reticle is better for hold overs, and less clutter
TR24 is more compact than the K-Dot
TR24 works great in most lighting, same for the K-Dot
Glass quality seems to be similar, maybe small edge to the K-Dot
K-Dot reticle is hard to see when not illuminated, IMO
In the end, neither is a bad optic, just depends on your use. I think the K-Dot is a better option for 3-Gun. TR24 is a better option for someone only shooting to 300, and doesn’t like batteries.
SPOT ON.
Pat
Not much to add but support for all that’s been said. I’ve had my Kdot for about three years and it has been reliable. I like the reticle better than the Trijicon because of the holdover capability. Glass is about equal to my eyes between the two. Daylight visible reticle on one power is very fast, almost as fast as an Aimpoint with great field of view.
I’ve got mine sighted at top of dot / 50, which is back on at 200 (depending on load) and top of bottom bar at 300 with 75 grain TAP.
I’ve not yet compared it to the new Vortex offerings, but would like to check them out.
2010 SHOT reviews had an improved KDot on display that was shorter, lighter, and with an improved reticle. Haven’t seen it for sale yet.
Excellent optic for the money.
Here’s another thread with a pretty good evaluation of the Meopta K-Dot. https://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php?t=2445
From what I have heard the meoptas reticle lends it self better to both CQB shooting and for accurate shooting at longer distances (200-300 yards+) than the TR24 reticles which are less dual-use depending on what you get (triangle or #4).
Also I understand the meopta has a better FOV than the TR24 and being one of the few scopes with really good daylight illumination.
I am leaning towards buying a meopta over a trijicon for this reason, still haven’t decided though. The improved K-dot threw a wrench into this business.
Here are my 2 cents on the topic.
I am a proud meopta owner. I have it on my LaRue Stealth and use it for 3 gun.
One of the biggest advantages of the Meopta is the Illumination. On the brightest setting you are going to be able to see the red dot no matter how bright the day is.
The Meopta also has very simple aimpoints that you can easily transition to from a 0 yard target to a 400 yard target.
The aimpoints are as follow:
Zero the center of the Dot at 250 yards.
Top of the dot is a 200 yard aimpoint
Bottom of the dot is a 300 yard aimpoint
Top of the bottom stadia line is a 400 yard aimpoint
Bottom of the dot is a 500 yard aimpoint
Quick, easy and no fuss =) This is with 55 gr .223 flying at 3100 fps.
Attached are a few pictures, one is the reticle itself and how many MOAs there are in case you purchase one, and also my meopta on my gun =)
Deleted
Here is the short answer, see below for the explanation:
25 yard: point blank with the center of the dot
50 yard: point blank with the center of the dot
100 Yard: Top of the dot
For 25 yards the impact will be -1.15 inches, so center of the dot on target and the impact will be 1.15 inches low. You can also use the bottom of the dot and shave off .25 inches from your drop, but I personally just use the center, but If I have to make a very accurate shot I will use the bottom of the dot.
50 yards it is .20 inches high with the center of the dot on target.
with 100 yards it will be 2.12 inches high, thats a pretty easy fix just use the top of the dot since the dot is 2 moa, and using the top of the dot at 100 means your impact should drop 1 inch. So using your top of the dot your impact will be 1.12 inches high.
Hope that all sounds clear =) Please remember this is for a 55 grain 5.56 or .223 round flying at 3100 fps.
Thanks. The K-dot is moving to the top of the list for my new 3 gun scope.
Your welcome =) If you have any other questions feel free to blast away.
I would recommend downloading the JBM ballistic calculator for a lot of experiments with hold overs and aimpoints.
the website is http://www.jbmballistics.com/. I have a mini laptop attached to my rangebag and I never ever second guess my adjustments or aimpoints, I just punch in the data and it does the clicks for me. I usually make adjustments when I go to a match and all the engagements are “xx - xx” then I just dial my meopta in and work with different aimpoints using simple math based on the MOAs of the reticle.
Worked out for me, the last USMC 3 gun match I came in 8th overall and 4th in my division thanks to JBM. I just dialed in my optic to a 300 yard point blank and dinged all the LaRues at the hard stage with no aimpoints. Made things plenty faster =)
So any news on when the new & improved k-dot is coming out? Is it also first focal?
This has been giving me a headache because prior to this I’ve heard the meopta was a second focal reticle scope. And when I look at meoptas own site they claim that the scope features a 2nd plane reticle.
http://www.meoptasportsoptics.com/prod.php?prod=301&nav1=3&nav2=3
So what is going on here?
When I purchased my meopta a while back I was told it was on the 1st plane. I was very intrigued by your post and looked up some information, and I have come to the educated conclusion that I was wrong about the meopta being on the 1st plane. It came from a very reliable source, so I didn’t question it.
The dot stays at 2MOA at all magnifications. Thank you for bringing this to my attention. My aimpoints and other data is still fine, as I have only done data when the optic is on 4x and taken into consideration of a 2MOA dot.
The meopta is indeed on the 2nd plane
The new and improved K-Dot which will be called the “Tactical K-Dot” is supposed to be available in September/October.
any links to any information about it?
What type of reticle?
MOA / size of reticle or stadia lines?
Weight improvements?
thanks!
I was talking to a multiple meopta owner / 3-gun guy and he says the dot remains constant, but this means it’ll turn into the equivalent of 2MOA at 4x and 8MOA at 1x (like you said)… I’m having problems visualizing this but I suppose he’s right.
I was told the same thing. I am going to give meopta a call tomorrow and see what they say. I am also meeting a buddy who has plenty of experience. He is the one who turned me onto the optic a while back. I am confused now as well =).
I know for sure that I am very pleased with my meopta. I only shoot around 4-5 3 gun matches a year with it, but for what I do … up to 400 yards it has worked excellent for me.
I took it out to a Spartan Tactical Course and Jim Smith taught me a ton about my optic, and we made plenty range cards for it and he showed me some good ballistic calculators to use with my meopta.
Overall very satisfied, but I do want to clear up the “moa dot size issue”. My optic rarely leaves 4X as it is, just on the close stages it will stay on one power, and sometimes on the practice range.