Global Sports: Modern Red Dot Sights

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Modern Red Dot Sights

By Chris Pieterman


Reflex or 'red dot' sights have become extremely popular with civilian shooters and are now ubiquitous throughout Western militaries. Three companies have taken the lead and now dominate this sphere; each has a different approach to the task of rapidly engaging and hitting targets at short to medium ranges.

Aimpoint of Sweden went for an extremely rugged 'tube' design, creating a range of optics that are parallax free beyond 50 meters - thus head position can be ignored in all but close range bullseye shooting for which these sights were not intended. Aimpoint have a wide variety of sizes and dot minute of angle diameters to suit different shooting applications. The US Army having type classified the Aimpoint CompM2 as its M68 is now purchasing the improved Model CompM4s. Note the small 's' in the manuracturer's designation. Aimpoints have the disadvantage of narrower field of view than holographic sights when used with rear mounted night vision systems, but boast incredible battery life. The CompM4 and CompM4s can get up to eight years out of a single AA battery!. Although Aimpoints are typically 1X units for the fastest possible target acquisition, a flip-to-side magnifier can increase this to 3X instantly. This gives the operator the flexibility to engage long range targets should these appear in an otherwise CQB scenario. Aimpoints are compatible with 'co-witnessing' or iron sights for emergency use should the main unit or its battery fail. Further alternatives include offset iron sights and see-through mounts of various kinds - beware the latter as they can mount the sight too high for proper cheek weld. Some aimpoints come with mounts, but a a huge range of alternatives are available from Aimpoint and third parties to enable the Aimpoint to be used in almost any conceivable configuration.

Eotech broke new ground by introducing laser HUD technology to individual weapon sighting. This makes for parallax free aiming at all distances and extremely fast target acquisition regardless of head position. Reticle design is more flexible and models are available with aiming patterns ballistically matched to the .223 Remington (5.56x45mm NATO) and .308 Winchester (7.62X51mm NATO) calibers. The Eotechs will display the entire reticle even if all but a small part of the aiming window is obscured or even if it is entirely shattered. The Eotechs are more difficult to protect from the elements than Aimpoints with optics that are awkward to cover. GG&G make a set of flip up covers for some Eotechs, but they don't really seal like the Butler Creek style ones typically used on Aimpoints The lasers in Eotechs exhaust batteries far faster than their Aimpoint competitors, but battery lives are still in the hundreds of hours and are protected by a user configurable auto power-off feature. Eotechs are considered somewhat less robust than Aimpoints, but enough for demanding military operations. USSOCOM was impressed enough to commission its own Eotech HWS model and the sights have seen extensive service with the the 1st Stryker Brigade and 3rd Infantry and 10th Mountain Divisions. USSOCOM requested twice the waterproofing depth of the standard models - 66 feet. That Eotechs are reliable in salt-water environments can be seen from their adoption by the Royal Navy for use on defensive Miniguns. Again a flip-to-side magnifier can be purchased - Aimpoint and Eotech magnifiers being effectively interchangeable. Some HWS models come with 7mm risers to improve night vision compatibility and iron sight co-witnessing. To clear the delta rings of AR15s, these models also boast 'cantilevered' battery housings. Most Eotechs are night vision compatible - the most modern featuring brightness and NV buttons on the side of the unit to allow the magnifier or NV to be mounted right up to the back of the sight. Eotechs come with their own mounts to suit Weaver and Picatinny rails - depending on budget and desired amount of rigidity/detachability these can be bolt, thumb screw or ARMS type quick detachable throw levers. Many Eotechs are available in models to suit either CR123 or AA batteries offering longer life vs easier availability. The 512.A65 is a good example of an Eotech Holographic Weapon Sight.

Trijicon offer a huge range of sights to cater for applications from close combat up to long range sniping and crew-served weapon sighting. ACOGs are essentially reflex sights that magnify and bridge the gap between reflex sights and scopes. Magnification extends the useful range of the ACOG dramatically. It is possible so use an ACOG with both eyes open, but, for closer range engagements, some now boast either peep and post back-up iron sights and/or mount a small 1X red dot sight on top. Such a combination has recently been adopted by the British Army for their new L129A1 7.62mm sharpshooter rifle. The Marine Corps have also opted for the ACOG as their standard optic with two units calibrated for the M4 carbine and flat-top M16A4 rifle. The M4 carbine variant is the TA31RCO-M4CP or AN/PVQ-31B. A key advantage of the ACOG is its non-reliance on batteries, utilizing a tritium light source for night use and, in the models with a bright daylight aiming point, a fiber-optic light gatherer. ACOGs come either set up for the traditional M16/AR15 carrying handle or Weaver or Picatinny rails

Aimpoint, Eotech and Trijicon ACOG sights have replaced iron sights throughout the US military, increasing effectiveness and driving up qualification scores. They are all excellent but cost hundreds of dollars, so deciding which one to purchase is a non-trivial decision. A flip up or detachable magnifier will add immensely to its versatility. You need to decide how detachable the sight needs to be and whether you will be using it with iron sights and/or NV or a magnifier as this will dictate the model of sight and mount options. ACOGs offer magnification in a rugged compact package at the cost of some loss of close range capability in the higher magnification models. The CQB capability of the Eotech and Aimpoint can be added to the ACOG by opting for a model with its own back up iron or mounting a red dot sight mounted on top, or by going for the very low magnification models (down to 1.5X). At the opposite end of the spectrum an ACOG magnifying reflex sight can make a tough and flexible replacement for a traditional tube telescopic sight. Mounting an RMR red dot on one of these covers the whole spectrum of targets from across the room to several kilometres distant.

These three manufacturers produce absolutely top notch optics that will take everything front line service in the military will throw at them. All are relied upon in life or death situations on a day to day basis.




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