All posts tagged Trijicon ACOG

Optics that hold zero

There are a great many  things that I have learned over the years about what is a combat worthy firearm and what is a hobby type of firearm.   I have seen such huge variations in AR 15 rifles that I really can’t say that some manufacturers of direct impingement firearms are less reliable that gas piston guns.   There are some variations in the older design that have machine their parts so well that they really do run on less lubrication and have run in some tests off thousands and thousands of rounds with out failure.   I will say that gas piston guns will run cleaner, but are they more reliable than a high end AR15?   I don’t think most of us will really ever know the answer to that because there are always variables in how a firearm is maintained and in what climate and conditions it is subjected to.

If I had to issue handguns and rifles to relatives, I’d probable go with a gun that is easy to clean and easy to shoot, if I want a gun for myself, I’ll take the guns that work the best for me.   I know I put more effort into making sure every rifle I own has the right parts staked and loctited down.   I have broken a few Tasco and Simmons optics, but I have never had Leupold rifle scopes, Zeiss or Trijicon optic fail on me.   There are faulty mounts and scope rings out there, but even the less expensive ones will work if you use Loctite on them and don’t over torque them.   Over torque screws on firearms can mean broken screws and I have learned that the hard way with a DSArms SA58.   The FAL is not a very good gun for using optics, but it can work if you lock everything into place.  Cleaning the guns with this scope mounts is difficult, but the FAL can be made into a good DMR gun.

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Having fun but having the right stuff

I would have to say that the vast majority of those that have anything more than a flashlight and optic on the M4 are probable putting something on our guns that we really don’t need, but just enjoy having on.   There’s nothing wrong with having an LWRCI upper with a quad rail or a MidWest quad rail if you think you can put it to use, but when we actually have to carry the Carbine for any real length of time, we’ll wish we could strip a few extra pounds of weight off the gun.  Many of our Staff have been attending competition shoots lately that have been really well run.   These events are everything from battle scenarios or even Zombie shoots.

Last  year in Pennsylvania we attended a Carbine shoot where the the attendees has to sign in at 8am and once they left the club house, they couldn’t drop off any gear and had to lug it all with them for the day.   All of the competitors were carrying M4 or AR15 variants and a few had AK rifles.    Ammunition loads were approximately 400rds of rifle and 100rds of handgun ammo.    I enjoy these events because we get too see some real hard use of tactical gear and tactical accessories.   We tend to not see things fail at these shoots because the competitors are in the higher class as far as skill and the types of firearms they use.   If you ever want to see what kind of optics work and which firearms and when things jam, go to a competition shoot at your gun club and sit back and watch.

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Short deployments and planning ahead

I prefer the Eotech optics for most fighting within 200yds.   I have yet to pick up one of the G23 FTS magnifiers because I am waiting to find out if there is going to be a 4x version coming out.  To me there is zero magnification and then there is 4x, and then I move up to 10x.   I really find there to be no real reason to do the 1-3x or anything between 5-8x.   The magnifer is an good idea for someone who already owns the Eotech and wishes they had an ACOG.   You may think that is a funny thing to say, but it’s true.   The Trijicon ACOG is a nice optic, but it does have it’s limitations in close up fighting and if you want to mount a red dot on top of the scope, you’ll be dealing with extremely high mounted optics for 30% more money.

 

I think there is a difference between what a SWAT Team should be planning to use as far as accessories and gear and what Military personal should expect.   I have had my fair share of experiences with combat Eotech rifle scopes optics and optics that I would just consider for hunting that were very durable.   I have never had a bad experience with an optic that cost me more than $200.   I’ve had some optics that have been on my hunting rifles  with 5000 or more rounds and I have never had a loss of zero.   Although we all know that there are differences in the types of optics, most of us won’t have issues if we mount them properly.  Most combat optics will come with a mount or already are a one piece unit like the Eotech rifle scopes.

 

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Preferences and applications of reticles

There are now so many choices for hunting and target shooting optics, more so than just a decade ago.   I’m still waiting for an optics company to come out with combat rifle scopes that have interchangeable reticles, but we’re not there yet.    There are some really good bullet drop compensators for hunting optics, but the only drawback is that they are setup for specific bullet weights and deviating from that will make the calibrations incorrect.    IOR Valdada had some good fast European reticles, but the eye relief was notoriously bad.    I really don’t like the idea of having to get my eye that close to a combat rifle scope due to the higher risk of bonking yourself  in the eye.

Trijicon rifle scopes have a better eye relief and I really like the triangle chevron configuration.  You gotta do your research on how the Trijicon reticles are calibrated because once again,  deviating from the bullet weight will causes misses at certain distances.   It would be nice if they could get some of these reticles setup so you can switch from long range calibration to CQB, but like I said, we’re not there yet.   I’m not a big fan of putting to many  lines on a piece of glass because it can become messy when using them for observation.   I’d also have to state that the vast majority of people I know that have ACOGs aren’t using them for long range shooting and mostly just for hitting the X at 100yds.

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Practical and tactical should go hand in hand

Although I am a big fan of battle rifles and prefer to carry a gun bigger than an M4, if I gotta carry ammo on my person and it’s not being carried in the trunk of my car, I’ll gladly take the smaller caliber.    The M1 Garand is a great and powerful weapon, but combat is at a much faster pace and being able to suppress a target with small arms is as important as neutralizing it.  If you are a weekend warrior and are considering taking a Carbine Class, even though your training will take place in the Course, you should do research on gear and accessories before you walk in the door.

 

I always try to sit in on training courses whenever I can although I wish I had the time to actually take more classes.   I’ve written on several occassions that one of my greatest joys of watching classes is watching all of the gear fall off or fail a student and watching their slow evolution of losing gear along the way.   Theirs nothing wrong with being a tactical accessory junky, but if you have to carry an M4 all day like i’ve had to, you’ll quickly learn that lightweight, means a happy person.  There seems to be a big craze getting tactical gear with the quad rails even though most people don’t need them, and then having to go out and get rail covers, when a simple stock would have lightend the gun by a few pounds.

 

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backup options for combat optics

rifle scopesIt’s always up to the operator to determine which configuration works best for him, but with the reliance on battery operatored optics and high mounted optics, it’s really a good idea for a user to consider the what ifs.   What do you do with your Eotech if the batteries die?   What happens if the optics come loose ?   Scope mounts can come loose and even break,  I’ve seen this happen on M1A rifles, AK, FAL and AR15s on several ocassions.   Sometimes its a good idea to train  yourself to be able to  hit a target without even a rear sight.   There have been several times where I actually forgot to flip up my rear sights on my co-witness configuration and just used the sight picture from my Eotech optic and the front sight post.   I never missed what I was aiming at and it was actually good practice for me.

If you can get a good cheek weld, and you know approx. where your poi is, you should be able to hit a man size target out several hundred yards with just a front sight post.   I’m sure you’ll burn through a few more rounds to hit your target, but it is possible.    Many Trijicon ACOG rifle scopes are being used with red dots mounted on the top or have iron sights mounted on the top of the scope.   The TA01 NSN seems to be the popular configuration I am seeing around.  This will give you fast transition from CQB or long range engagements,   It also gives you more than one targeting system incase one goes down.

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Magnification from 0-20x

Trijicon ACOGOne problem that any hunter already knew was using too much magnification meant slow target acquisition, especially at close ranges.   Field of view is even more important in combat than in hunting.   In Combat you may be looking at a bad guys face with your reticle right on him, but 6ft to his right is a guy with his sights right on you that you can’t see.  I’d have to say that I belive that 3x-4x is probable the best of both worlds.   Trijicon knew that even an optic with zero magnification like the Eotech had an edge in some situations so now they have Trijicon ECOS which has a red dot optic which sits on top of the scope.  This will eliminate the problem of magnification in close quarters situations.

As The United States has been engaged in military operations since Sept 11th, there have been major changes in gear and combat optic for the Infantryman.   Most M16 rifles had iron sights on them, but now the vast majority of rifles being used are using some kind of Trijicon ACOGs  on them.   I still see the occassional hunting scope from Leupold and Designated Marksmen are common in every team.   The Eotech is still an extremely popular close quarters combat fighting optic due to its zero magnification and easy to track gun sight, but there are drawbacks, namely the battery operation.   Magnification has helped our men and women identify targets, wires, explosives ect. from safe distances and give the ability to put fast followup shots by using bullet calibration on their Trijicon ACOGs.

 

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Combat Optics and profile

Trijicon ACOGKeeping a scope cover on your objective and being aware of your flash is extremely important.  I highly recommend a flash kill cover for any combat optics and also suggest a cover for your flashlight.  Even something like a red lense will help avoid giving away too much reflection.   Flashlights are probable the biggest giveaway in low light even if you don’t turn them on.   Next time your at the range, put your rifle on the bench and walk down range and look again.   Keep in mind that even though you may be 50-100yds away and wearing camoflauge, your fancy schmancy M4 has various points of reflection and even moonlight will have an impact.

One trend that I haven’t jumped on the bandwagon with is the all of the battery operatored doodads on a rifle.    There are defintely reasons for putting lights on a gun and for 40mm objective lenses optics on your rifle, but many of those will stick out like a lighthouse in the field.   I remember a clear safety violation of a gun operator who was handling his rifle during a cease fire.   I was downrange about 500yds and turned and saw the flash of his Trijicon ACOG at that distance.   I knew he was handling his rifle, but it was too far for me to scream back and tell him to put his gun down.   It dawned on me that if I was the enemy, that guy would have been outed from 500yds away just because of how much his optics refected light.  He was actually  in the shadow of building and not in direct sunligh, nor was the sun shining from my direction on him.

 

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Combat Optics

The closest Trijicon ACOGcompetitor we have seen on the market is the Eotech style optics.  These seem to still gain a  lot of attention for house to house fightingi and close range shooting, but outside of 100yds, the Eotech reticle will most likely obscure a target.   If you’re picky about rifle recticles, you’ll have quite a few options to pick from with the ACOG.    Reticles come in red, yellow, amber and green.   They are crosshair, donut, Chevron or German style reticle.  There are a few optics that like the Accpoint that are even widely used in the hunting market.

 

 

Trijicon ACOG optics are hands down the most widely used combat optic used by our military.   There is a  reason for this.   These Trijicon ACOGS also known as Advanced Combat Optic Gunsights don’t need batteries, give you low light illumination, fixed magnification and models like the TRTA01-ECOS gives you fast up front CQB options and long range shooting in one package.  Like all optics being used today, nothing is good for everything, but technology is moving away from battery powered optics and Trijicon has been on that pursuit for over a decade.

 

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Advanced Combat Optics

Trijicon ACOGCompetitive shooters that are looking for rapid engagement optics, bullet comp for fast holdovers should look no further. When you’re engaged in a firefight or defending an established position, you want a battle-tested partner at your side. Trijicon®, the world leader in self-luminous Brilliant Aiming Solutions™ can supply that partner — the Trijicon ACOG®®. In fact, the 4×32 model ACOG® was chosen by the U.S. Special Operation Command (USSOC) as standard issue for all Special Operations Forces.

The Trijicon ACOG is a rugged, dependable aiming system that provides a distinct aiming point in all environments — without having to rely on failure-prone batteries. The ACOG’s dual-illuminated reticles are powered by Trijicon’s patented fiber optics and tritium-based technology. Because the last thing you want to worry about in the midst of a midnight skirmish is your tactical sight failing you.

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