Rogue Elite

Rifle scopes  and gun optics have gotten easier to use in some regards, but the diversity of the reticles from various manufacturers is something that is starting to give me a headache.   Things were much simpler when it was about a thin crosshair a duplex, European reticle with a pole, illuminated reticle, dot or Eotech gun sight.   Its far more complicated now, but somebody finally realized that not all rifles are designed for the same thing.   When ACOGS started getting a lot of notice and showing up on a firing range I was in awe, but then I realized that the eye relief on them was a limiting factor in close range fighting and you really might want to keep those iron sights on the gun just incase.

I really don’t like deviating from thin crosshairs on a rifle scope because I’ve already seen one too many time that many reticles can obscure your target and what is the point of not being able to see an enemies head pop out behind a tree at 200yds  because your red dot is blocking the entire target.   If you get a CQB optic you may be limiting your rifle scopes ability to see further out and now you’ve got a problem with medium to longer range targets.   The TA01NSN will always be my favorite Trijicon ACOG just because you can quickly transition from glass to iron sights with very little movement.  Mechanical devices like the Eotech magnifier are nice but that is one more thing that can break or come loose on your gun when a simpler approach might be a better option.

I think it’s safe to say that if it comes down to the wire, it’s between Trijicon, Aimpoint and Eotech.   I’m still amazed at how well Eotech holds their own even though we are on the verge of a technological shift with gun accessories.  The first combat optic that impressed me was the Leupold CQT because it gave you an optic that was meant for close up fighting that didn’t get dead on  you when the batteries died.   The CQT is a nice optic but nobody gives you the field of view that the Eotech gun sight gives you.   Field of view in a gun sight means faster target acquisition.  It only takes a 2 second test on a firing range.

Even at ranges under 100yds you still might be at a disadvantage with anything other than an Eotech.  There is one optic that I think is my favorite other than the Eotech.   The Trijicon TA01NSN  gives you the medium range gun fighting ability, but the trusty iron sights mounted on the top get you back to the basics.   If you learn to shoot properly with both eyes open your field of view is as good as your eyes and this is something that can get lost in the realm of combat optics.   Don’t forget to keep your iron sights on your M4 Carbine.  It might be tempting to just put a scope on it, but the what ifs do happen.

I’ve gone through many trends with firearms and optics.   Most people start out with iron sights and a bolt action but there is nothing wrong with starting someone out with an AR15A2 style gun.    In my opinion all combat firearms should have backup iron sights on them and every AR15 style carbine has that option.   Some firearms do not handle optics very well, especially many of the battle rifles that came out of the NATO Countries in the last century.   Optics have gotten stronger, but some mounts just don’t hold up in the real world.   The AK style of firearms were very limited with the types of optics that  you could mount on them.  If you have a side rail you would have to worry about some serious cheek weld issues due to the heights of various optics.

I recently watched a video on the Personal Defense Network where Rob Pincus goes over some improvements that you can make to the AK rifles to improve the ergonomics.   One optic that I have fallen in love with recently is the Trijicon ACOG 1.5×16 ring and dot.  You can get them in red or green ring and in my humble opinion, these optics give you a real reason to not get an Eotech gun sight.   The Eotech will give you a larger field of view, but the 1.5 magnification gives you a little help in identifying something just a little further out.  The red ring has more clarity than the Eotech gun sight and didn’t have the haze that some optics give you.

There are a great many combat optics you can float on your boat, but much of what I like is the dressed down versions.   I still have pretty good eye sight for my age and I find many of these red dot and reticles to blur or obscure  targets and that just pisses me off at times.   I’ve done enough steel plate shooting to know that you can’t see steel plates at 200yds unless they are in broad sunlight and or have a strong contrasting background.   I learned this while looking forward to a day of shooting with my primary firearms instructor when he took me to his Class III friendly range.

I get bored shooting handguns and moved over to the steel Carbine range and starget plinking.   I couldn’t ID a 6″ plate at 100yds with an Eotech and the Red Dot I had on a 10/22 was just as difficult.   I recently picked up a few Trijicon ACOGS and have various Carbines with the Trijicon TA01-NSN.  These optics give you 4×32 visibility and also have backup iron sights mounted on the top.  I believe Trijicon is re-thinking the way they mount sights for CQB on the top of the Trijicons, but the NSN works well.  The drawback to the ACOG is that it isn’t as good in close up fighting, but you can’t beat iron sights for short ranges.

I have definitely evolved in my tastes for firearms over the years, but all of us have a starting point and grow from their.   I have always had a lot of respect for Russian semi-autos, because they just don’t have the maintenance issues that many European firearms have.   One of the biggest draw backs to the SKS and AK style rifles is the scope options.  These firearms were never really meant to be shot with optics and with something like the SKS, the mounts are usually part of the top of the bolt covering and once you take this off for cleaning, the rifle will loose it’s zero.  I know a few people that have welded mounts on SKS rifle because they used them for hunting.

The SKS can make a good medium range DMR gun because it can be more accurate than an AK and it’s longer flatter design is easier to shoot off the ground.   The Trijicon rifle scopes that I like for the AK though are the Trijicon TriPower optic this isn’t like the Trijicon Acogs.  This give you 3 options for illumination, one for daytime use and power regulation, low light use and one with a battery backup.   Getting this mounted on an AK gives you a better optic than what you find at gun shows and with Trijicons reputation on combat optics, you’ll have nothing to worry about.

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.

I have on numerous occasions watched people try and turn their AR15 rifles into sniper rifles and long range shooting rifles.   The AR15 has become so modified that it’s really hard to say what it’s limitations are because their are many things that it can do if modified.    I remember when the M1A ruled competitions, but now it’s really hard to find them anymore.   There have been many long range shooting modifications that have made the AR15 a 1000yd rifle.  One thing the AR15 is really known for doing well is being accurate.  I jumped on that bandwagon a few years ago and enjoy the ones that I have.  One thing that the AR15 in .223 is also known for is lack of penetration on hard targets.   With the invasion of Iraq, there have been numerous stories of guys not  being able to shoot through concrete walls to get a BG that was just about a foot on the other side.   The AR15 with M855 or SS109 can penetrate steel at reasonable ranges, but when it comes to taking 300yd shots at hard walls, it is out of gas.

Considering what the M855 round can do as far as penetration, it’s no weakling when it comes to punching through targets, but that energy gets to be useless on anything other than flak jacket type armor.    The M1A or the .308 for that matter is an over kill at close ranges under 200yds and it’s going to do much more than what an AR15 or M16 can do, but when  you get out to 300yds + good rifles scopes, accurate rifles and a .308 are going to hit targets harder, punch through targets harder and save the guys carrying the M4 rifles a lot of ammo and get the job done.    Mounting optics and finding really good and fast bullet compensator on the glass shouldn’t slow you down and will help you get fast target acquisition at medium ranges.

I guess I’m an old man if I can remember a time before gun forums, but now that Twitter and Blogging has seemed to surpass the usefulness of those discussion forums, modern technology and accessories are sometimes hard to figure out until they’ve actually been fielded for some time.  I’m just starting to realize the importance of having some of the handguards, rifle stocks, and optics that I presently have on some of my AR15 rifles because now that I’m getting more time on the range, I realize that what I am using is really the best configuration for close up fighting.

I remember all of the squabbling I got on a firearm forum for wanting to put a rifle scope on a DSA FAL rifle.   Many use to think  that putting “glass” on a battle rifle was a bad idea.    Now that the M14 has been resurrected as the DMR rifle, putting glass on a battle rifle seems like the best purpose.  Trijicon ACOGs have shown up on many of the former scopeless battle rifles and that 2 MOA rifle can be very effective out to 800 meters if the shooter is up to it.   I have found that for most purposes, I really don’t need more than 3x magnification, but for longer ranges, the M14 or FAL is capable and worthy of more magnification.

I took a Carbine course at a western, PA gun club over the weekend and I did it just because I like to take them to observe the students progress from novice shooters to the next advancement.    Many of the Carbine classes I have taken were what I considered to be somewhat below my level of shooting, but since I often get asked to sit in on instructors, I get more than a few  opportunities.   Having the right attitude is something I look for because being in the business world, it is something that I often see lacking, I’ve seen students remove themselves for classes because gear went down and they were so ashamed of the malfunctions that they walked off.   It makes me think these individuals really lacked will power and i wouldn’t want to be in a crisis situation with them.

There is such a thing as a more durable firearm, but there are many things that I have seen people do to less expensive firearms to toughen them up.   Replacing extractors and working parts can give you a good leap forward.   The Trijicon rifle scopes that use to see on the range don’t seem to have the authority that they  use to.   They are still one of the best accurate shooting combat optics, but now that we are 10yrs into close quarters gun fighting in the Eastern part of the world, close quarters combat rarely needs more than iron sights, a red dot or an Eotech.  Taking a step back from the 4x optics is something that should be considered.

Ok, that was a dumb thing to say, but I still chuckle at one of my buddies comments whenever we’re on the long range.   Reaching out and touching someone at 600yds is precisely what a sniper does.  I have learned to notice that clarity of rifle optics but one thing that is becoming more and more of an experience is looking through all of the optics out there and their reticles.   A long time ago, people were more concerned with the durability of the optic and making sure it wasn’t going to fog up on them when they took the scope caps off in the early morning when they went out chasing whitetails.  Now some of your least expensive rifle optics don’t fog up.

I have a few Zeiss Conquest scopes that I’m quiet happy with, but I think I could go with less magnification on some of them.   When  you are trying to hit a 6ft target at 600yds, it’s really not that hard to see it.   When people try and see an X on a 2ft piece of paper in their rifle scopes, that’s a whole other thing and in my opinion something not worth pursuing.   I have walked off shooting ranges in the summer time because the mirage given off from the  heat was so bad that it was completely impossible for me to even see a target at 100yds and testing my hand loaded ammunition would have been a waste.