School me on eotech holographic sights

[Bread is People]

After using iron sights exclusively, I'm thinking of getting an eotech, but I really dont know a whole lot about them. Can y'all give me some pointers?
What should I be looking for, especially if trying to find one used? (probably will be looking on this board) Are fakes a big problem?
What are the differences between the models that eotech offers & which should I be going for?
It will be a holographic sight, by the way. I like the circle dot reticle style & as such, that's pretty much my only requirement.
I'm not trying to go after the most expensive one they offer, yet I'm aware they are on the high end of the spectrum of optics price wise.
I read a few articles about getting into AR optics & they basically said that eotech is the best for the circle dot style of reticle & since that's what I want, I may as well save up & get the best.
You get what you pay for.
All I do know about eotech is that they're pricey & the model 512 is the cheapest new. It also appears to be the largest one they still make. The rest of thier model line looks a lot smaller in size. It's not really a big deal to me though. A large field of view would also be nice.
Lastly, it's going to go on a 16" nothing fancy AR with a fixed front sight that I use for training & home defense.
What eotech model do you guys reccomend?
Thanks

P.S. - anybody have a used eotech they might want to sell me?
P.P.S - I was also looking at the holosun HS510C as an alternative as it has good reviews & isn't as pricey, but it's not truly holographic.

[ggammell]

XPS or EXPS line. Difference is optic height. You want to stay in this series for the transverse battery. The old style batteries in line with recoil broke the contacts fairly regularly.
Night vision capable or not? Buttons on side or rear of optic.

Those are the choices you have to make.

They all work exactly the same. If you buy from a dealer or reputable source, fakes aren’t that much of an issue. If you buy from a private seller, Amazon or eBay you’re taking your chances.

[RKB Armory]

Nobody has tried to sell us a fake, yet. Maybe we're not their target victim. Eotech's website has information about fakes.

I agree about the transverse battery recommendation. I would limit myself to the EXPS line because it has the built-in QR base at the right height.

We get Eotechs come through here fairly often, but they sell pretty quickly. We've never had one returned, so people seem to be happy.

[ExplorinInTheWoods]

I have a personal xps and at work we have exps. The exps is higher and has the QD mount. It’s not crazy high like the new trend is but enough where a la5 or peq isn’t taking up most of your field of view.

[matemike]

Would you consider Aimpoint? Their T1 or H1 are also top of the line RDO’s. They are a little lighter and slimmer than Eotechs and function a little easier IMO. Battery life is also probably a little better. All that comes with a little higher price.

The Eotech has a much larger FOV though.

[1168]

The latest EoTech weighs almost exactly twice as much as a T2/Scalarworks on my scale. Still less than a CompM4 or PRO. I don’t really notice, so I was quite surprised when I weighed it.

There is certainly a battery life difference, at least with the T2. Its only an issue for a HD or street cop gun, IMO.

Would you consider Aimpoint? Their T1 or H1 are also top of the line RDO’s. They are a little lighter and slimmer than Eotechs and function a little easier IMO. Battery life is also probably a little better. All that comes with a little higher price.

The Eotech has a much larger FOV though.

[dwhitehorne]

Not a fan of Eotechs. We had 175+ of the 512 and 552 models in the rifle program at work. I had a whole drawer of dead ones. Alkaline batteries corroded all the time and killed them. Police rifles are usually stored vertically in patrol racks or rifle lockers. Of course at that angle any liquid leaking from the batteries goes straight into the electronics and kills the sight. I tried to get officers to run lithium or rechargeables but most bought the cheapest battery possible. Those stupid Energizer industrials that came in the Eotech box were the worst for leaking. Telling officers to pull their batteries at every rifle cleaning to check them really did nothing to help. Everyday at quals at least one officer had the batteries die during the qual course. The corrosion was the worst problem that killed them but I had at least 10 units have the glass reflector fall out and rattle around. A couple of others just stopped all together for some reason. After the 5 year warranty L3 communications wouldn't touch them.

During the time frame of the DoD settlement one of our SWAT officers ran into a L3 rep at a SWAT competition and complained about our Eotechs. The rep actually called me and I was able to send 20 units back to get refurbished. I sent mostly 552's in and got all 512 back. At least they worked again.

If you love the Eotech reticle you should get a model that runs 123 batteries. David

[1168]

Pulled out my M&P 15-22 today to do some rimfire shooting. Its got a very old longitudinal 2xAA battery EoTech in it. Wouldn’t turn on. Pulled the (lithium) batteries and the crazy spacer thingies and metal strip doodad that makes the series circuit all fell out in the grass. Put in fresh lithium batteries. Still wouldn’t turn on. Opened the battery compartment and screwed with the thingies and doodads, closed it up, and it powered up. Worked all day after that.

So, there’s that.

[dwhitehorne]

Pulled the (lithium) batteries and the crazy spacer thingies and metal strip doodad that makes the series circuit all fell out in the grass.

Trying to get your average non-gun patrol officer to not loose those rubber spacers when changing batteries was quite frustrating. They would alway stick to the battery and officers would throw them in the trash with the battery without thinking of it. I use to carry a ziplock bag of them to the range every qual session. David

[Mysteryman]

The best model is one made by Aimpoint.