Reconsidering the Elcan.

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Originally Posted by falnovice

Thanks for the replies.*
My only real concern for 1-4x scopes is durability. They just don't appear to be as rugged as an Elcan or ACOG.*
I have never owned one, but I do have a varied of other rifle scopes that I use on my bolt guns. I can't say that even the best of them is really that tough.*


Sent from my iPhone

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Check out the Nightforce 1-4x. Very good reputation for rugged reliability. Zero issues with mine despite pretty heavy 3-gun use.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by falnovice

Thanks for the replies.*
My only real concern for 1-4x scopes is durability. They just don't appear to be as rugged as an Elcan or ACOG.*
I have never owned one, but I do have a varied of other rifle scopes that I use on my bolt guns. I can't say that even the best of them is really that tough.*


Sent from my iPhone

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As TelLlamma recommended, I would take a look at the S&B Short Dot. It is a well made and durable optic. It has also been proven in combat as well.

Before I purchased one, I considered an Elcan but I couldn't get past the ARMS mounts either. Finally, the intermediate powers on an optic can be useful. I leave my SD on 2X with the dot off. It provides a fast acquisition and I can still fire out to a couple hundred yards if necessary.

A typical manufactured scope will not be as durable as a Schmidt and Bender produced optic.

Good info guys.

That pitbull 1x4x looks interesting.
I wonder if anyone is working on something similar?

I agree with some others, I really dont see the need for the inbetween levels of mag.

The latest generation of the Pitbull seems to have fixed previous issues. The illumination is now daytime bright. It is heavy (1oz more than an Elcan without a mount).

IOR optics typically are heavy due to the Schott lenses.

Here's the new reticle (poor camera picture):

http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/i...ullReticle.jpg

Thanks for the pic SingleStack.
Is the Horseshoe illuminated at x1?

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Originally Posted by falnovice

Thanks for the pic SingleStack.
Is the Horseshoe illuminated at x1?

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No. The illumination is as shown.

The new versions of the Short Dot are just about $1k over an Elcan w/o the mount. Their prices went up a few hundred dollars.

I had one and I wasn't overly impressed with it. Which may or may not be related to havng to send it in for service. It was heavy for what it was and supremely expensive. The exit pupil / eye box was also a bit less than my TR24. IIRC, the 1x exit pupil of the TR24 is like 17.7mm, the Short Dot 14mm.

The Short dot is about 6-8oz heavier than the TR24.

I also wish the Short Dot had more adjustments for the dot brightness. At one step it went from too dim right to too bright.

The model I had was the Short Dot LE with a P3 reticle. It was one of the newer shorter versions. FWIW, all of the specs I see on retail websites are dated for S&B stuff. Look at their German site if you want current stuff.

For the cost and weight involved, I would really like to see more magnification on the Short Dot. The S&B 1-8x is vaporware at this point, but a 1-6x would be worth a glance.

Switching optics, be it an Elcan or a vari scope will never be as fast as a dual optic solution.