Optics for Self Defense and CQB: My thoughts and experiences

[St.Michael]

I know someone said something about their eyes being bad and I had a question that went along those lines. Does anyone have a slight astigmatism that has used the Aimpoint. I was wondering if that affects you at all or if anyone knows anything about that. Thanks for the great post. As a civie it's nice to learn this stuff from all angles and viewpoints of people who are LEO too.

[WitchDoctor02]

I know someone said something about their eyes being bad and I had a question that went along those lines. Does anyone have a slight astigmatism that has used the Aimpoint. I was wondering if that affects you at all or if anyone knows anything about that. Thanks for the great post. As a civie it's nice to learn this stuff from all angles and viewpoints of people who are LEO too.

I wrote a longer response just before my magic box hiccuped, so if it posts twice, sorry. Regarding the astigmatism issue, there are number of threads on various forums where guys complain about the issue, and from a technical standpoint, this may be the case -- I'm sure someone more knowledgeable than me will chime in, so take my experience for whatever it's worth.

I've used Aimpoints on my issued M4s for several years, as well as an ACOG TA31RCO-M4 and EoTech 552s on personal weapons. I didn't know I had an astigmatism until 2005, despite having used reflex sights for years. ACOGs - no issue whatsoever. Aimpoints and EoTechs tend to be a bit blurry (like a slight smear rather than a crisp dot) if I focus on the dot itself, which, of course, I don't. When focusing on the target, which I do, the 'problem' goes away and I have never had any issue.

Personally, I've favored EoTechs since 2006, perhaps for the 1 MOA center dot and previous M68 battery issues in the sandbox; however, I'm now an Aimpoint revert, and switching to the T-1 without any problems at all (so far). So, while some guys say it's a deal breaker, in my experience it's no big deal. YMMV. Hope that helps.

[arno]

Is the Elcan usable for compitition ?

[USMC03]

I used both the older Elcan and have a small amount of trigger time on the newer Specter (or whatever it's called). Didn't care for either of them.

I've seen very few competitiors using the Elcan in matches over the years.


S/F,
Jeff

[arno]

So which optic do you suggest for competition?, I am a newby in IPSC rifle, but I shot IPSC pistol for 10 years. I live in europe so not all the optics mentioned here are availible in my country. Greetings Arno

[USMC03]

TA11 ACOG or Leupold MR/T 1.5-5x most of the time.


S/F,
Jeff

[Alaskapopo]

So which optic do you suggest for competition?, I am a newby in IPSC rifle, but I shot IPSC pistol for 10 years. I live in europe so not all the optics mentioned here are availible in my country. Greetings Arno

Trijicon Accupoint 1.25-4 power or the improved version that is a true 1 to 4 power.

The Meopta is very popular and is nice glass.

I like the Swarovski 1-6. It did very well for me in a few three gun matches last summer.

[arno]

Okee, so the new trijicon TR-24 ( 1 -4x) would be an option, but what kind of reticle would be your choice?

[I'mGatMan!]

What was quote above was my response to a discussion from early 2005. The poster above only quoted part of what I wrote.

I was not advocating that a homeowner's pistol / long gun should not be in condition 1. The point I was trying to get across was that in a home invasion there will be no time to -load your firearm -turn on your optic -mess with a sling -etc. These comments were in reply to other people who posted in the origional discuss.





For most of us, our guns, equipment, and tactics are constantly evolving.


In 2005 I was still turing off my Aimpoint ML2's every time I used them. And it wasn't uncommon to find shooters who were still using Aimpoint Comp M and Comp XD, and at the time EO Tech's seemed to be more popular than Aimpoints (even though I was getting in constand arguments with people about how many times I had seen EO Tech's go down during SWAT missions, during training classes, etc).

At the time, I didn't feel comfortalbe advising to keep your electronic red dot sight on 24 / 7 (especially EO Techs). Thus I recommended a white light and iron sights for a home defense / bed side gun.

As times goes on, we progress. For approxiamtely the last year I leave all of my Aimpoints on 24 / 7.

Consider that the origional post is over 3 years old, and it just kept getting added onto as I tried different optics. My origional comments about the CQ/T date back to Feb / March of 2002.

That being said, much of the information contained in the origional post is still useful and relevant.



S/F,
Jeff

So it is now 2/09, and I'd like to know what you perceive to be your optimal HD/CQB kit now. I'm very interested in the Aimpoint M4s, based on my research here and around the web, but I saw in one of your original posts here that you prefer something with an MOA of 4. Has that changed since you originally posted? What do you now think, besides the iron sights/white light option, is the most effective setup?

Thanks, Jeff. I'm finding your posts here invaluable.

[USMC03]

Aimpoint M2 / ML2 / M3 / ML3 / Comp M4 / M4S Micro T1......just leave it on and change the batteries on a regular basis.

For CQB work I still prefer a 4 MOA dot, but have been used 2 MOA Aimpoint ML3's / M4's for the last few years. Not a huge issue, just something that I have noticed that I prefer based on my first hand experiences.


S/F,
Jeff