Aimpoint Red

Eotech & Aimpoint Red Dot Optics

 I’ve been into AR15′s for a little over 3 years. After going out looking at complete rifles I opted to learn how to build a low cost AR15. After researching and building myself an AR15 rifle, the last item I needed was a red dot optic to be used as my primary aiming device in addition to my back up ironsights, aka BUIS. Ironsights are must on all AR15 rifles which can be utilized if your primary optics fails. For my primary optic I wanted to look at quality brands with ruggedness and having peace of mind that should they be called upon in stress situations, they won’t fail. With that said, I didn’t want to go cheap but I did limit my budget at $500. So how did I go about finding such an optic? I turned to the military to see what they were using. Eotech and Aimpoint are two major players used in both the military and civilian law enforcement sectors. There’s a third major player used in military optics which is made by Trijicon but for this article, I’m focusing on Eotech and Aimpoint only because they are both non magnified optics. Non magnified optics are designed to be used in close quarter battle which is also called CQB with both eyes open allowing maximum peripheral vision in close quarters such as in a confined building. CQB distances can be any distance to approximately 25 yards. Anything beyond that range I would recommend using a seperate magnifier which I’ll explain later below or use a low powered scope or higher for distances past 100 yards. Personally I have used my non magnified Aimpoint out to 100 and 200 yards sucessfully but the dot covered my 8″ diameter plate steel target so precision shooting would be difficult.

In every niche, there’s always a brand x vs. brand y and Eotech and Aimpoint are two of the most debated brands out there. Both have their pros and cons and we’ll dig into them after I list the specs for the two I’m familiar with which is the latest Eotech model XPS2-0 and the Aimpoint Comp ML3.

Eotech XPS2-0

[IMG]http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/tt78/gunfighter420/XPS2.jpg[/IMG]

Single transverse 123 battery to reduce sight length

• Shortened base only requires at most 2 3/4 inch of rail space compared to the 4 inch N battery sights
• Battery cap and latch are eliminated and replaced with a simple O-ring, tethered cap; better sealing is achieved
• Battery compartment is now separated from the base to allow it to hover over the delta ring of the rifle
• Average battery life at brightness level 12 is roughly 600 hours, 3X battery life of N cell sights
• Reticle: 65MOA circle with 1 MOA aiming dot
• The XPS2 is not Night Vision compatible, for Night Vision compatibility see the XPS3 sights.

Aimpoint Comp ML3

[IMG]http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/tt78/gunfighter420/ml3.jpg[/IMG]

Lightsource LED (Light Emitting Diode) totally eye-safe Lightsource wavelength 650 mn red light Red dot size in MOA (minute of angle)* 4 or 2 Parallax Absence of parallax – No centering required Eye relief Unlimited Night vision compatibility No Anti-reflex coating all surfaces & multi-layer coating objective lens Yes Magnification No magnification (1X) ELECTRONIC DATA Battery One 3V Lithium battery, type 2L76 or DL1/3N Battery life in hours ** 50 000 (over 5 years of continuous use) Dot intensity adjustment Manual rotary switch Daylight (DL) settings 1 Off & 9 DL MECHANICAL DATA Material housing Extruded high strength aluminum Surface finish Hard anodized, matte Color housing Black Adjustment 1 click 13mm at 100m, (1/2″ at 100yds) Mounting methods 1 ring, ø 30mm ENVIROMENTAL DATA Temperature range -45° – +71° C, (50°- +160° F) Water resistance – submersible to 45m, (150ft)

 Aimpoint Pros:

• Rugged Build Quality  
• Parallax Free
• Extremely long life
• Submersion to 150ft.

Eotech Pros:

• Rugged build quality 
• Less expensive compared to equivalent Aimpoint such as the Comp ML3 above.
• Faster aquisition of close targets because of 65MOA outer ring.
• Built in mounting system does not require a seperate purchase unlike Aimpoint.  
• Made in USA 

Aimpoint Cons:

• Expensive
• Needs a mount purchased seperate.

Eotech Cons:

• Battery life 600 to 1000 hours.
• Submersion to 33ft.

You really can’t go wrong with both brands mentioned. I own both of them but I do lean more towards the Aimpoint because of battery life. Not that I’m going to leave it on all the time but I do think it benefits the military more so than civilian use. In a combat environment a soldier can encounter an enemy at anytime and won’t have time to fumble around to turn on his optic especially when coming into an ambush situation when the bad guy is shooting at you first. I do like the Eotech becasue I can aquire a target at close range rather quickly because of the larger 65MOA outer ring and take more precision shots with the 1MOA dot inside the outer ring.

As mentioned above, For medium ranges from 100 yards out to 300 yards, I recommend the use of a seperate magnifier. Both Eotech and Aimpoint make 3x magnifiers for their optics. Its a seperate optic and mounts behind the red dot optic. You can use a quick disconnect mount or a flip to side mount so you can maneuver the magnifier out of the way for CQB. You WILL have a hard time aquiring a target within 25 yards using a magnifier.

Before I close, please be warned about clones, counerfiets or fakes. There are cheap clones out there that are made in overseas that imitate the top three. The third being Trijicon. They look identical to the real product. Only buy from authorized dealers. If you want more info and where to buy, please visit my website at www.ar15online.com

About the Author

I just started Article Marketing after I created my website. I was a veteran of the first Gulf War in 1990 and was honorably discharged in 1996. My interest in firearms started when I was in the Navy to the present day. I created my website to share my interest with others.

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