steven58
Member
A Friend of mine recently acquired one of these sights from Botach Tactical (While they allegedly have a spotty record for CS, the several purchases I have made through them have gone without a hitch YMMV). We were unable to find any reviews for this item on line and bought it based primarily on Elcan’s reputation for good glass and rugged optics.
Price was $ 450.00 which included the mount, 1 battery and the instruction booklet. Precise details and specifications can be found here. http://www.botachtactical.com/elcanspecterrd.html
This is the red dot version of the Elcan Specter OS Tactical Sight. The RD came in a simple plain white cardboard box with a foam egg-crate liner. Inside was the sight, one CR 123 lithium battery and an instruction book.
Built by Elcan of Canada, It uses a common CR 123 battery with 6 year constant on battery life, is waterproof to 66 feet, highly shock resistant, night vision capable, has an included mount and can be adapted to either an AR carry handle or (probably) any ACOG compatible mount.
The one piece anodized aluminum body certainly seems to be built like a tank! It appears to have very solid construction all around with a smooth finish that closely matches that of the BCM upper it was mounted on. The glass is clear and bright edge to edge. The red dot is well defined from the lowest visible setting to a very bright slightly blooming maximum setting that was more than enough to be visible on the brightest sunny day. On a well lit indoor range setting 7 was perfect. Outdoors in bright noonday sun 12 was just right and 14 was overkill.
The battery compartment is marked on the outer housing with a ‘battery” diagram to indicate which end is inserted. The cap is a combination of aluminum and high strength polymer. It is heavily fluted for grasping and has a deep slot cut in it in case you need to apply more torque than can be generated by fingers. Not a bad idea considering you may only be opening it once every six years!
From the front angle you can also see that the bottom of the RD is machined to fit in the top slot of an AR carry handle (just like the bottom of an ACOG) It is held into the mount by 2 bolts
While I neglected to measure it, it seems to be the same distance center to center as a standard ACOG, so any mounts that fit the ACOG should fit the RD.
What appear to be accessory rails at 12 and 3 o clock are not metal but actually rubberbabybuggybumpers with a soft core and MS 113 slotted hard polymer tops. Their primary purpose is to protect the external adjustment knobs of the Model B RD sight. As this is the model A with screw on caps over coin slot adjustment dials these bumpers are superfluous and could be removed as they are held in place by two small bolts each.
The included mount is made of aluminum with steel clamping plates running the entire length of the mount body and a nylon thumb screw to draw the whole affair in tight. The thumb screw is captive so when fully unscrewed it comes to a stop and you won’t loose any pieces in the field. The instructions warn that you should only tighten “finger tight” and not use any tools on the knob. This mount provides an absolute co-witness using a folding Magpul BUS rear sight.
The illumination adjustment is at the 5 o clock position in the form of a deeply fluted polymer knob. Other than a scribed line on the knob that aligns with the inscribed “off” mark on the RD body there are no numbers to indicate which of the 14 brightness levels the RD is set on. There is an arrow pointing clockwise with the inscription “brighter” to remind you which way to turn the knob. I found the knob to be tricky to access (I’m spoiled by my T1) but it moves with a positive tactile feedback “click” for each position. Without any reference numbers, we had to go back to “off” and count up to know what brightness level we were on.
We initially zeroed by aligning the dot with the iron sights. The adjustment slots provide audible and tactile click adjustments of ½ MOA. Once the RD was zeroed at 100 yds, we removed and re mounted the sight 5 times, each time firing 3 rounds at target 100yds away. It did not loose zero.
The finger knob was easy to use in both removing and remounting the sight. While it stayed solidly in place during the test, I am concerned that under hard use it might be bumped and loosen (maybe it's just because I'm a lefty and that puts the knob outboard for me). I would prefer to replace this with a LaRue QD or a permanent mount with slotted cross bolts.
The instruction book says you can add a kill flash inside the objective bell and a flip cap should fit on the outside with no problem. The ocular bell is short and has a radiused rubber ring that seems to be to short to hold a flip cap.
Overall I think the RD is a quality piece of kit and a bargain at this price. It’s solidly constructed and functional. I wouldn’t hesitate to use the RD as a first tier red dot sight that provides a more affordable alternative to an Aimpoint M-3 or M-4 series.
Price was $ 450.00 which included the mount, 1 battery and the instruction booklet. Precise details and specifications can be found here. http://www.botachtactical.com/elcanspecterrd.html
This is the red dot version of the Elcan Specter OS Tactical Sight. The RD came in a simple plain white cardboard box with a foam egg-crate liner. Inside was the sight, one CR 123 lithium battery and an instruction book.
Built by Elcan of Canada, It uses a common CR 123 battery with 6 year constant on battery life, is waterproof to 66 feet, highly shock resistant, night vision capable, has an included mount and can be adapted to either an AR carry handle or (probably) any ACOG compatible mount.
The one piece anodized aluminum body certainly seems to be built like a tank! It appears to have very solid construction all around with a smooth finish that closely matches that of the BCM upper it was mounted on. The glass is clear and bright edge to edge. The red dot is well defined from the lowest visible setting to a very bright slightly blooming maximum setting that was more than enough to be visible on the brightest sunny day. On a well lit indoor range setting 7 was perfect. Outdoors in bright noonday sun 12 was just right and 14 was overkill.
The battery compartment is marked on the outer housing with a ‘battery” diagram to indicate which end is inserted. The cap is a combination of aluminum and high strength polymer. It is heavily fluted for grasping and has a deep slot cut in it in case you need to apply more torque than can be generated by fingers. Not a bad idea considering you may only be opening it once every six years!
From the front angle you can also see that the bottom of the RD is machined to fit in the top slot of an AR carry handle (just like the bottom of an ACOG) It is held into the mount by 2 bolts
While I neglected to measure it, it seems to be the same distance center to center as a standard ACOG, so any mounts that fit the ACOG should fit the RD.
What appear to be accessory rails at 12 and 3 o clock are not metal but actually rubberbabybuggybumpers with a soft core and MS 113 slotted hard polymer tops. Their primary purpose is to protect the external adjustment knobs of the Model B RD sight. As this is the model A with screw on caps over coin slot adjustment dials these bumpers are superfluous and could be removed as they are held in place by two small bolts each.
The included mount is made of aluminum with steel clamping plates running the entire length of the mount body and a nylon thumb screw to draw the whole affair in tight. The thumb screw is captive so when fully unscrewed it comes to a stop and you won’t loose any pieces in the field. The instructions warn that you should only tighten “finger tight” and not use any tools on the knob. This mount provides an absolute co-witness using a folding Magpul BUS rear sight.
The illumination adjustment is at the 5 o clock position in the form of a deeply fluted polymer knob. Other than a scribed line on the knob that aligns with the inscribed “off” mark on the RD body there are no numbers to indicate which of the 14 brightness levels the RD is set on. There is an arrow pointing clockwise with the inscription “brighter” to remind you which way to turn the knob. I found the knob to be tricky to access (I’m spoiled by my T1) but it moves with a positive tactile feedback “click” for each position. Without any reference numbers, we had to go back to “off” and count up to know what brightness level we were on.
We initially zeroed by aligning the dot with the iron sights. The adjustment slots provide audible and tactile click adjustments of ½ MOA. Once the RD was zeroed at 100 yds, we removed and re mounted the sight 5 times, each time firing 3 rounds at target 100yds away. It did not loose zero.
The finger knob was easy to use in both removing and remounting the sight. While it stayed solidly in place during the test, I am concerned that under hard use it might be bumped and loosen (maybe it's just because I'm a lefty and that puts the knob outboard for me). I would prefer to replace this with a LaRue QD or a permanent mount with slotted cross bolts.
The instruction book says you can add a kill flash inside the objective bell and a flip cap should fit on the outside with no problem. The ocular bell is short and has a radiused rubber ring that seems to be to short to hold a flip cap.
Overall I think the RD is a quality piece of kit and a bargain at this price. It’s solidly constructed and functional. I wouldn’t hesitate to use the RD as a first tier red dot sight that provides a more affordable alternative to an Aimpoint M-3 or M-4 series.
