All posts tagged free shipping on Eotech sights

Are Eotech sights out dated?

eotech sightsWe have had a ton of people stop in our store and ask us if we sell Aimpoint but unfortunately the distributor that we use to deal with no longer is carrying them.  If we wanted to be a direct dealer for them, we’d probable not get product for another 6 months or more considering the craze that is going on in  the Country.   Aimpoints are probable the best price combat durable red dot optics but I am not a big fan of them.  My eyes tend to track the Eotech sights or a Circle dot reticle like the TA44 from Trijicon better than a red dot.   Lasers and Red dots seem to race around on targets and they also can obscure targets depending on the size of the dots.  Trijicon does  have a 1.75 MOA dot that is very nice but there are still some issues with that optic that I recently have found at fault.

After all of these optics are tested out, many of our customers still go back to the Eotech sights.  Primarily because they are zero magnification and you can keep both eyes  open when using Eotech sights which is very important if  there are close quarters engagements which statistically occurs for Law Enforcement.   I have been running the Eotech 512 for about 8yrs and only a battery contact came loose on it.  I do have the Gen 2 Magnifier on it but I could probable be better off if I was running the Eotech 516 or the EXPS2-0 which have the buttons on the left side which is what you have to think about if you are thinking about adding on the Magnifier later on.

 

 

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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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Moving away from battery reliant optics?

I remember when Eotech sights and red dots were showing up on gun ranges about 15yrs ago and how high tech they were.  They were because you were basically getting an F16 gun sight on a Carbine and it was so easy to see targets and engage them quickly.   I have good eye sight for my age but there have been many times I have taken friends and family members as well as students to the range and people had trouble looking through optics.  The best thing about low magnification optics is that is less of a problem for them.  Aimpoint is still probable the king of the red dots but Trijicon has the SRS red dot out now and we have a few of them inbound.

Having AA batteries around for your firearm optic is easy and it’s a very common battery to find.  There have been design changes to Eotech sights because it was common for the gun sight to have issues with the battery contacts when the batteries were put in forward in relation to the firearm.  I assume it had something to do with barrel harmonics but I have witnessed this first hand.  The smaller CR123 batter is being used more than the AA batteries and you’ll get a shorter smaller optic.  There are always trade offs with firearm optics and even trijicon is moving towards battery powered optics.

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