All posts tagged Eotech sight reviews

Eotech sights, 512 vs 516 and what about magnifiers?

eotech sights I remember being to ranges when I was a kid and seeing the guys with the AR15s and the 3-9×40 scopes and thinking that was the pinnacle of coolness.   If you are target shooting, hunting or on a really tight budget, something like that might be good for you but for close quarters defensive applications, the need for magnification is very low.   Most Police Officers we deal with don’t even see the magnifiers on their guns because many of those guys are even on even tighter budgets.  They use what they know they need and Trijicon ACOGS are something rarely  used in the Law Enforcement community because they don’t need a rifle scope with 3.5X or 4X.  That actually can slow you down with your AR15  or M16 carbine.  The Eotech 512 with the AA Batteries is still the most popular but the XPS and EXPS optics have gained traction because they are lighter and smaller.

On some of my Daniel Defense M4 carbines I am running an Eotech 512 because I find the AA batteries to be more common, but if you bulk buy and stock the CR123 batteries they will work well for you.   Many of the guys running the Eotech sights with the CR123 batteries use those because the weapon mounted flashlights like the TLR1, TLR 3 laser combo use the same batteries so mixing up the battery types is somewhat of an issue.   Battery life can be betwee 600 hrs and 1300 hrs but for domestic purposes having access to batteries shouldn’t be an issue.  Keeping AA batteries or CR123 batteries around is something that should just be as important as having 5.56 ammunition.   If you want magnification you can run a Gen 3 magnifier later.

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Eotech sights, Aimpoints, and the Trijicon SRS sights and rail space

eotech sightsThere was a good add on a Trijicon facebook page promoting the Trijicon SRS sight and it was mostly about rail space.  That is an issue that I personally have run into because I put several things on my LWRC M6A1 rifle that I started to run out of room when i tried to put a pressure switch on it.  I started out with a vertical foregrip and it worked well with the my Streamlight Scorpion flashlight but after I fell in love with the Magpul angled foregrip I ran into issues trying to activate the flashlight.   I’m still not sure what I’m going to do but once I get the new XPS sights in from Eotech i’m going to retire my Eotech 512 just based on rail space.

Run time is important but there are differences between military applications and Law Enforcement applications.  There have been big changes in the industry and now that solar/battery optics are are on the market we’ll see what the next generation of Eotech sights are going to produce.   The Eotech magnifier is a very good idea for someone that already has an Eotech device and wants to make it a medium range optic.  The side battery switch is something I also really like because it makes it easier to get to if you already have a magnifier and rear sight.

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Eotech holographic sights are they still competing?

If you ask any of the local law enforcement officers in our area, that’s all you’ll hear them talk about.  Most SWAT Teams are still running these optics and the first rule of an optic for them is they must be able to keep both eyes open.   For any optics like the Trijicon ACOGS, they are more of a  liability for a police officer that may be in a hostage situation at 20yds rather than nailing a Taliban soldier at 4oo meters.  There have been many technological improvements to optics and to some people Eotech might be slacking because they are still reliant on batteries, but for short deployments that’s rarely and issue.  I personally run an Eotech 512 AA on my LWRC M6A1 and I have had some wear issues and batteries fail on me.  I had to super glue the contacts back in and recently heard that this was part of the reason the CR123 batteries are being used and they are also going in sideways instead of forward.

The Eotech XPS sights are smaller and lighter compared to the most popular Eotech 512 AA battery and this means something for those that are running various pressure switches or gun sights.   The smaller lighter XPS Eotech sights are running with the CR123 batteries and these batteries will give you more shelf life than the AA batteries and take up less weight.   The only bad thing about the CR123 batteries is they are not that common in gun stores or retail locations and if they are they are usually more expensive.  Buying these in bulk is a good idea, we normally sell them in 12 packs for $23.99.

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