German Army selects ELCAN Specter DR 1-4x

[titsonritz]

I have zero experience with one but for my hard earned dollars they always looked clunky and heavy surrounded by much better options, again, zero experience but it seems like a lame move in 2021.

[sinister]

I was surprised to find out how popular is is in Europe.

Irrational, emotional tie for the Germans.

ELCAN stands for Ernst Leitz Canada. Leica (another German Ernst Leitz company) makes cameras and other optics.

[BrigandTwoFour]

No experience with the ARMS mount, but I take it that it's a somewhat dated design?

Yes, it's one of the earlier QD methods and rather notorious for being picky about which rails it works on. It can also wear out over time. With my Elcan, it simply wouldn't clamp down on the top rail of a Spikes Tactical upper, for example. I closed the latches and it would still slide back and forth within the slots. That didn't get any better when I installed the adjustable levers, either.

It works fine on my BCM uppers, though. ARMS's answer to loose mounting has always been, "Get an in-spec upper."

The levers are also non-locking. There are little metal loops for running a small zip die around the lever and cinching against the loop so it doesn't accidentally come open.

The mount is the weakest point of the unit, IMO. And there isn't any other option because it's integral and nobody has tried to come up with something better.

[Averageman]

The problem with the Elcan seems to be that it is heavy and it's old tech, thus the weight and lower magnification choices.
I beleive buying them "As Is" isn't the smartest choice, but based on the budget for the German Army, perhaps they can't make a lot of demands as perhaps we can? They seem to be buying "Off the shelf."
The perfect Optic in my opinion would be 1x, 2.5x, 5x, 10x, not difficult, but perhaps heavy. I'm pretty sure the tech is out there, just the weight is the problem.

[The Dumb Gun Collector]

It appears they are getting a few mods like ambi magnification levers? Or was that already available?

I have never owned one but I have a buddy who swears by them and they seem really nice. I like the system and find it more handy than a traditional throw lever on a variable optic. My only real issue is I think they need to up their battery life game.

[BoringGuy45]

From I know of the Elcans, it seems like the biggest problems with them are they, while solid, good optics, are WAY overpriced, and the mounting system is way out of date. At about $2200, especially compared to LPVOs like the Razor Gen III and the Kahles K6i running less than that, it's hard to justify. I remember Garand Thumb said he thinks it would do much better if it were in a $1300-$1500 range.

[mig1nc]

See, that's the thing.

These routinely go on sale for around $1700 or so. Which isn't that bad considering... It's similar in cost to an ACOG with RMR. Used they can be found for a couple hundred less unless somebody is selling a "clone correct" NSN marked one.

The other thing is the weight. It's lighter than any "duty grade" LPVO when you factor in the mount. Especially a robust mount.

I find that most complaints of the Specter DR aren't really founded anymore, except one. Eye box and eye relief. While much better than a 4x ACOG, is not as good as a good LPVO. And thus, the 1x is a poor substitute for a true red dot. This is especially evident when trying to shoot passively with night vision, since your "eye" is now a few inches in front of your face.

So, there are definitely some pros and cons, even with the latest updated models.