Fancy, fragile, e-lectronic sights double as 'Ghost Rings'

[AJMD429]

Messing with a Redfield 'Counterstrike' red-dot/laser sight (I really DO like that combination - see my 'Night Scout' posts - viewtopic.php?f=1&t=46640#p583183), I realized something kind of nice...



Even without batteries, such 'red-dot' sights serve VERY well as in-house-distance 'ghost-ring' sights.

It makes me less hesitant to depend on them for home protection. From across-the-room distances, anything in the view of the 1x sight is within an eight-inch circle where ANY hit would be incapacitating.

[GonnePhishin]

Followed the link to the web site and read some of the reviews. Seems like ii can be blocked by the front sight, depending on the weapon used.
Wonder how rugged it is but for less than $200 bills, you can't compare it to an aimpoint.
Thanks for posting.

[AJMD429]

Well, my post was sort of concerning ANY of the 'red-dot' scopes, but the one I've been playing with recently was the Redfield one.

The two complaints specific to that one were:

• a) the older-style front sight of the AR blocks the laser (well, duhhh.... ), and
  b) if you have a strong backlight overhead, it creates glare (again, true with most optics).

Still, it ain't an ACOG or an AimPoint, but sometimes the choice isn't between $200 sight and $1,000 sight, but rather between $200 sight and nothing.

Anyway, my intent wasn't to create a thread on 'which red-dot sight is best', but rather just to point out that most ANY of them seem to function at home-defense distances as a very acceptable 'ghost-ring' sight, so in the event of 'failure', they would still serve in that role.

[Grizz]

watched the video and alerted on the independence of the laser and red/green dot.

can they be zeroed independently? that would be awesome. set up the laser for the close contact zone and the red dot for the slower ones in the rear. is this possible?

[MrMurphy]

Not a new idea (people have been doing it with Aimpoints in the past), you can also leave the front lens cap on and use it as an occluded eye gunsight (like the original Armson OEG). I had to do that on a no-BS hot call back in 2006, when I (without thinking) kept the windows up in a warm Humvee, since it was below freezing, then jumped out on an alarm and suddenly couldn't see squat through the lens. Threw the cap back on, cranked up the brightness and continued. Thankfully it was a false alarm, but I learned to keep the window cracked just a bit....

Also, you can get an Aimpoint for about $300.....

[7.62 Precision]

We had a guy in a carbine course on a drill that went rifle till it jammed, pistol until it was dry, clear the jam and shoot a moving hostage target at abut 30m. While moving with the pistol he bumped his Aimpoint switch. The reticle was gone after he cleared the jam and brought the carbine up, but he had no time so he shot the target without the reticle. Hit the hostage taker in the head with several shots, didn't hit the hostage.

I like the Mepro M21 because there is pretty much going to be a reticle no matter what. No switches, no batteries.

[3leggedturtle]

We had a guy in a carbine course on a drill that went rifle till it jammed, pistol until it was dry, clear the jam and shoot a moving hostage target at abut 30m. While moving with the pistol he bumped his Aimpoint switch. The reticle was gone after he cleared the jam and brought the carbine up, but he had no time so he shot the target without the reticle. Hit the hostage taker in the head with several shots, didn't hit the hostage.

I like the Mepro M21 because there is pretty much going to be a reticle no matter what. No switches, no batteries.

How does Mepro durability compare to a Aimpoint? I have heard varying reviews, what is your experience with them? Todd/3leg

[7.62 Precision]

The things are tanks. They can handle recoil and thermal cycling at a level that kills every electronic sight on the market. You can see examples that have been in military use for years and are just hammered and still work fine. If you have something like a .50 Beowulf and you are going to shoot it a LOT, this is the sight you need. People involved in load development for calibers like that have broken competing military optics with the repeated recoil.









You can see some examples of pretty battered sights that are still in use in these photos. Meprolight has been building combat reflex optics for rifles longer than anyone else, and supplying them to troops that see constant combat, so they have a very proven record. http://idfcarbine.com/optics/meprolight-m21/

I like the sights because I can mount and zero the sight, and I don't have to worry about it. I don't have to turn it on or off, I don't have to buy, check, or change batteries, I don't have to worry about cold, heat, altitude, water, etc. I don't have to adjust brightness.

I have used Aimpoints (issued and civilian market), EOTechs, Trijicon Reflex and ACOG, many of the consumer-grade red dots, the older Mepro reflex and Mepor optics, and the current M21, MOR, M5, and RDS.

I am currently using M21s on everything I have reflex sights on, apart from an MOR an M5, and a couple RDS sights. I no longer own any Aimpoints or EOTechs. I like the MOR, but it is expensive. The M5 is not available in the US, and the RDS is very nice and very affordable, but to me the M21 has the right balance of everything needed for the right price.

[3leggedturtle]

thanks