Yikes! Failure2stop and markm are here. Now it's a party.
I really appreciate all the responses from you guys because it helps me to clarify my thinking, both in my reading your notes and in my replies.
Sorry to bore you, but here is how I got to this point.
Once, I believed that any "serious" carbine should have: an optic, BUIS, a light, and a sling. I called rails "trash collectors" because they seemed to encourage people to add on every little do-dad they could. You've seen rifles like this: SWAT/Warrant teams with everything under the sun mounted, and that was before NODs became more available.
I ran into one guy (nice guy), who was doing some testing and sighting in with M4s (the real deal, fun switch, non-transferrable dealer sample). Here's the list of mounted accessories: NF ATACR 1-8X in a Badger Ordnance mount, MAWL, PEQ-15, SureFire Scout with tape switch, BUIS, and an Aimpoint T-2 in an offset mount. I am pretty sure the lasers were not the civilian versions. That's a lot of sighting options. It is also a lot of weight.
I am also weight averse, due to congenital problems with my left shoulder and hip. I think about what I can support, a lot.
Finally, I can get to the point. Nothing here is particularly insightful or profound. When the newer 1-6x, 8x, 10x LPVOs came along, Some of the selling points were:
1. You can use them at low power like a red dot! [Well, maybe. People have shown that LPVOs can function as fast at red dots when you are standing and shooting at IPSC targets. Now try doing that in non-optimum positions, with NODs.]
2. With a First Focal Plane, the reticle is consistent through the range of magnification! [Yes, but like most people I am shooting a LPVO at minimum or maximum magnification; I don't stop at 4.5X to admire the view. In fact, the usable reticle for a FFP scope is often very different depending on magnification. And, at that point, it's almost like using two different scopes. See where I am going here?]
3. The power ring has a throw lever for smooth and easy transitions! [One fixed power and one red dot: no need for a lever, but you have to cant the rifle a bit for close shots with the RDS, and you don't have to take one hand off the rifle to make adjustments.]
I know that some of the better LPVOs are now down around 17 oz., without mount. I now have three of them: NX8, Kahles K16i, and Leupold Mark 6 (now discontinued). My testing with those got stalled and I haven't really figured out what they are good for in my world. Put them on Scalarworks LEAP mounts and you have a package that runs about 24 oz. I tried the Aero Precision lightweight mounts, but there was a problem: I think that as the mount flexed during shooting, it would gradually rotate the scope in the rings. I am not sure of that, but it's a hypothesis.
So, I guess I can get a fixed optic and NODs-friendly RDS setup for a considerable weight advantage. About eight to 12 oz. less than a lightweight LPVO. But to get that, I have to live with a 3X or 4X scope, with crappy eye relief.
The conundrum continues.
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