EOTech 553 Experiences

[Harv]

M4Guru

I write all this stuff from a Starbucks in Berkley.

I knew it......

Now would you please leave Berkley... your upsetting the hippies....

[KevinB]

I write all this stuff from a Starbucks in Berkley.

LOL



Public service notice - bashing or attempting to bash an IP is not the most wisest of things to do if you expect to have any credibility.

[iamtruebeliever]

I have two 553s.

One is mounted on an AR bridging the upper and the handguard and has gone through about 2k rounds. I has been removed 10 or 11 times for disassembly and cleaning of the AR and it has had absolutely no issues with the mount or zero; it is still as tight and sturdy as the day I bought it.

The other is mounted on a pistol grip (no buttstock) Mossberg 500 with a receiver mounted rail and has gone through about 500 rounds. It has been removed 6 or 7 times for transport and cleaning and as with the other has had absolutely no issues with the mount or the zero.

[SapperRob]

I've been using one for about 5 months. Not too long but it made it through a 3 day Urban Rifle class and has survived being in my trunk in a soft case with no problems. The temp got down into the teens with freezing rain and fog(about as bad as it gets in NC) during the class. I never had a problem with the sight when it was wet, cold, and muddy.

There was an older 552 that suffered from the blinking reticle problem on day 3. This same sight had just done a contract year in Iraq and was used and abused before the class.

I have taken mine on/off several times for cleaning and have had no problems with the levers. I have not lost my zero since the initial zero.

[Shihan]

I was thinking of picking a 553 up a while back until I Pat Rogers told me all the ones he has the ARMS crap has went TU.

[Failure2Stop]

There was an older 552 that suffered from the blinking reticle problem on day 3. This same sight had just done a contract year in Iraq and was used and abused before the class.

No sight, regardless of manufacturer, should failure be acceptable after one deployment.

Aimpoints will take any abuse you can survive and keep right on working.

ACOGs (though I am no fan) are definately tough enough to "survive" a deployment.

If the extent of your use will be a few hours of shooting followed by a toss in the trunk and a vigorous cleaning at the end of the day, there are many optics that will work just fine for you (probably). If you need an optic that will actually be expected to take abuse and keep on going, time after time, the mounting platform becomes much more relevant, and the field narrows considerably.

If you need to pick the gun up and use it immediately, or have to wait for a considerable amount of time while potentially needing the optic, and then need to immediately employ the system, the field narrows even more. Something that turns itself off after a few hours, requiring constant monitoring on my part to turn it back on when it shuts down, is not what I want in an optic.

We do not need to be apologists for choices we made before other options existed, or with the information we had at the time. To continue to use an item that does not meet our requirements, however, is not going to help us do what we need to do.

Of course, this may not apply to you, and that's OK too.

[SapperRob]

The 552 wasn't mine. It was the only optic that failed during that class and as far as I know the only one that had seen hard use (the officer just returned after doing a year as a contractor). I wasn't making excuses for the failure, just stating the facts.

There is a world of difference between what a soldier and a police officer need as far as equipment goes. A soldier needs a reliable sight system that is always ready to go. When I was in we called them iron sights, now there are M68s and ACOGs. A police officer, either SWAT or patrol, will have the time to press an "on" button when they deploy their rifle. The weapon will be stored in a patrol car, most likely in a case in the trunk or a locked mount, and will only be deployed under special circumstances dictated by the department's SOPs.

I have no regrets in purchasing and using an Eotech over an Aimpoint for a patrol rifle. Unlike a soldier my primary weapon is the sidearm on my duty belt, not the long gun (rifle or shotgun) in my trunk. My agencies SWAT team chose the Eotechs because they decided that the reticle worked better for them for their applications. I was able to try one out because they were available and liked it.

I am considering switching to a magnified optic, possibly a 3x30 ACOG, as my primary sight over a red dot, because the primary use of a patrol rifle is to engage distant targets (25-100 yards in police work)that pose an immediate threat to someone's life. Shooting the right guy while he's holding a knife/gun instead of a silver cell phone or black wallet is important. I think a compact ACOG, may be a better solution than any red dot. If I make the switch I'll let everyone know how it works out for me in my application. And thank you Failure2Stop for being one of 2 responses to my thread on this topic......(BTW not a traffic cop, Gang Cop).

I'm not SWAT, I don't do high-risk warrant service, I just knock on the door and then stand out of their way and listen to the bangs. When I chase someone into a house and kick their door down I clear it with a 45, not an M4, I'd have to go back an unlock my trunk to get to it......

The whole point of my over long post? I agree that a 10,000 hour battery that stays on all the time is great for a grunt, maybe even SWAT, but is not as important for a cop.

Thanks for helping me kill time working a boring off-duty job to help pay for my AR addiction with 2 kids in daycare.