Scope use doctrine?

[Oleg Volk]

I finally got my hands on a 4x32 ACOG yesterday. It was the military version, with fiber optic illumination of a chevron reticle. I played with it but had no opportunity to fire a rifle with it mounted. It had some very impressive benefits:

- wide field of view
- bright, sharp, clear sight picture
- fairly prominent reticle in any light, though a triangle would be better
- huge exit pupil
- illumination always on

Compared to the EOTech 511 I am currently using on a 20" flattop with a fixed front sight, it was slightly slower to bring on target due to left-right eye parallax. Indoors, in very low light at ranges under 10m, it was also harder to acquire targets due to "tunneled" vision and 4x magnification.

At 20+m, it showed targets much more clearly than the unmagnified red dot sight. I am new to scopes and not certain if seeing the tatget better would translate into more reliable hits or not. It certainly boosts the shooter's confidence, and also helps to correct by observation.

My question is this: on a defensive rifle, would a 4x (or a lower-power compact ACOG at 1.5x or 2x) cause serious problems up close, or not? Some SWAT people I know use only irons but that's due to problems with temperature oscilations in wintertime, not an issue in Tennessee. Others use red dot sights. Most other rifles other than AR15 lend themselves well to point shooting, and AR canbe used that way with practice. Has anyone with experience in this area care to comment as to the desirability of a scope on a fighting rifle.

Also, if this is a go, how would you solve the issue of backup sights? I could use front sight only if the scope breaks, but I am not sure if the scope would have to be removed first.

 

[BigG]

Scopes are not for close use and prove detrimental when you have to search for your up close target, imho. Get good with irons.

 

[Andrew Wyatt]

scopes can be used well at very close ranges, though not as well as irons. does your ACOG have the iron sights on top of the scope? If the gun fits you well enough, it should not be a problem having to search for stuff through the scope, as it will be pointed where you are looking. It is my opinion that rifle fit is just as important as shotgun fit.

 

[sanchezero]

I'm not familar with the ACOGs (too spendy for me ). However, there is a trick you can do if you have lens caps, ideally those popup caps.

Just keep the front cap closed, shoot with both eyes open and you'll see the ret on your target. This works well up close and negates the effects of magnification. Then at range, just pop open the cap.

Just a thought. Personally I like the 1x red dots much better for a carbine.

 

[Feanaro]

Even a cheap 2X is very, very bad for close range I think. It blocks my line of sight on a target, so you have to re-aquire it once you have the scope up. Of course you could use one but it would get in the way, I think, more than help. I would save a scope for twenty yards, minimum. Farther if possible.

 

[mark mcj]

The ACOG's have a CQB feature called "BAC" [Bidnon Aiming Concept].
When in a CQB situation, use both eyes. When a possible target is aquired, close your weak eye and the target and recticle will be in focus. It takes some practice, but when you master the BAC feature you'll be suprised how fast it is.
This is one of the advantages of such a fine optic. It is designed for use in combat and is proven. Regardless of what thoughts people who don't know have.

 

[sanchezero]

Bidnon Aiming Concept

Well, I guess you won't be needing those lens caps then.



Thats good to know; I still won't be able to afford one but it's cool to find out they have that whole thing built into the design.

 

[Dave R]

Wow, Sanchezero and Mark, those are both cool techniques that I would never have thunk up on my own.

Oleg, there two other options.

1. See-through rings. These hold the scope up higher, and allow you to use the iron's by looking under the scope. Definitely a compromise, because the higher scope makes a consistent cheek weld hard, and increases the distance between line-of-sight and bullet path at any distance.

2. Quick-detachable rings. Another compromise, because they have a reputation of being a little less likely to hold that zero. The QD scope on my AK holds its zero pretty well, but its a Russian model built like a tank.

OK, a third option. A scout-scope setup. Acording to Cooper, and the few folks I have talked to who have actually used forward-mount scout scopes, is that they work well with both eyes open, and both near and far. The compromise there is you have to use low magnification. More than 2-3X and you lose the advantages.


Ooops. Edited to say I don't think any of these options will work on an AR.