Input wanted on the Trijicon RX01-10 carry handle mounted reflex

[R.W.Dale]

I'm gonna be honest I don't need to fight off a horde of zombies or undead Chicoms in a red dawn scenario. Rather I'm merely looking to bump up the fun meter on my retro a notch or two and possibly in the process make an even faster rifle for snap shooting when hunting in the thick stuff.

I have a line on a used Trijicon RX01-10 http://www.opticsplanet.net/trijicon-rx0110-reflex-65-moa-amber-dot-sight-m16-mount.html at what is probably a good price

I have a few questions about this setup

will this co-witness with A1 sights?

is the cantilever mount provided rigid?

is the dot on these readily visible in direct sunlight?

do they take up too much handguard real-estate on a 20" gun?

and does anyone have pics of rifles using this or a similar setup?

are there any alternatives I should consider at lets say sub $400

platform in question

 

[C-grunt]

Ive never used a Trijicon red dot but if they are the same quality as an ACOG I wouldnt be hesitant on purchasing one.

Have you looked at an EOtech? They can be had for around 350 I believe.

One thing I will say about the carry handle mounts is they tend to be heavy but rigid. I have had a couple friends who used them on their rifles. I convinced both to take off the carry handle and mount it directly to the upper reciever and both said it made a huge difference. Obviously you cant do it but know that they can make the balance of the gun kinda strange.

 

[GIJOEL]

C-more makes a cantilever set up like that with a "holographic" sight. They are well made and should be in your price range.

 

[R.W.Dale]

Ive never used a Trijicon red dot but if they are the same quality as an ACOG I wouldnt be hesitant on purchasing one.

Have you looked at an EOtech? They can be had for around 350 I believe.

One thing I will say about the carry handle mounts is they tend to be heavy but rigid. I have had a couple friends who used them on their rifles. I convinced both to take off the carry handle and mount it directly to the upper reciever and both said it made a huge difference. Obviously you cant do it but know that they can make the balance of the gun kinda strange.

I have and I like them but IMO their one weakness is their overall size particularly on a slim lightweight rifle as I'm working with.

Anyone else??

 

[Ratdog68]

Don't have experience with your selected optic, however, will offer this to you as a side note. The use of an optic with an A2 rifle is enhanced (for me) with the addition of the Delta Cheek Piece to the stock butt. I found this one from a vendor in Florida on eBay. The fitment was spot on and makes "cheek weld" better.

 

[IndianaBoy]

I am reposting this, my original post was a month or two ago on sigforum:




A few months ago I picked up a Trijicon Reflex II. I got it because the price was right and when I examined it I was impressed with construction and I liked the battery-free option.

If I were a cop or military doing any kind of entry into buildings I would not want one on my rifle. Why? Because the reticle can and does washout if you are in a dark room looking out at something that is brightly lit by the sun. A bright flashlight shining on a white t-shirt is enough to make it hard to see. Personally I am not concerned with this for a few reasons. First, I am not on a SWAT team, and second, I can use my front sight post as an effective aiming point if I ever have to use the rifle for defense inside my home.


That being said, outside it is an excellent option for quick acquisition. I have heard it said that the optic is useless in bright sunlight. I don't know how that can be unless someone had a unit with a defective or broken fiber optic. The fiber optic light gathering works extremely well. As long as you are outside it gathers enough light on cloudy days or bright and sunny days that it won't washout against any background. Inside a building and looking out at objects or backgrounds with high albedo is a no-go. If you are strictly shooting outside it is an excellent optic for a hobby or sport rifle out to 200 yards. I can put hits on a target out to 300 yards but the 12.5 MOA triangle is a bit imprecise once you get that far out. 0-100 yards it is excellent.

If any of you have kids and want an optic that is great for training on a 22lr AR or a Sig 522, this is a very simple point and click interface. My nephew got to try it out, and he loved it.

I use it for 3-gun, and while it is far from ideal for shot over 200 yards, I think it is superior to a 1-4x scope for everything out to 100 yards. I shoot with both eyes open and it works great.

A little magnification would really be nice out at 300 yards+ and I am trying to decide between a TR24 accupoint or shooting irons with the 3-gun rifle I am in the process of accumulating parts for.










It is hard to take pictures of a scope reticle, but the triangle is centered in the sight hood when I have a proper cheekweld.


I understand that the battery life of Aimpoints is tremendous, and they are absolutely acceptable for hard use. But it is still nice to never need a battery for daylight shooting. The tritium will eventually fade, it will still be a good sporting optic.

Another nice thing about this optic. If it gets muddy or extremely dusty, the manual recommends cleaning it by dunking it in cold, clean water.


I was shooting in the rain the other day. A friend of mine took his cheap red dot off his AR because he was afraid to get it wet. This thing IS tough, even if it has other shortcomings.


On a cold gray day, it still worked great.




I think the optic compares very favorably with the Eotech and Aimpoint for anyone who doesn't use their rifle to fight bad people. There are mounts available from Trijicon for Sig 55x series rifles, Picatinny, and Weaver rails. The reticle is available in various dot sizes, and the triangle like I have.

They have updated the Reflex sight with a wider objective, although since I shoot both eyes open, the objective on the II series is more than wide enough for my taste.

 

[IndianaBoy]

To answer your question: I get a lower 1/3 cowitness with my A1 sights.


The mount is rigid enough. If you push on the optic you can see a tiny amount of flex but the optic always returns to zero. If you drive over it with a truck it might bend.


You will still have PLENTY of room with a 20 inch barrel.


I don't think there is a better option for your stated purpose.

 

[R.W.Dale]

Excellent post ^^^^^^

A couple of your points really validate my choice. (mine is the 6.5MOA dot)

1 I'll never use this indoors or in darkness so brightness in low light isn't too big an issue

2 Objective size shouldn't matter as I'll be viewing this through an a1 apeture anyway

but what's up in the air is will this rig co-witness with a set of A1 sights? (answered as I typed)

Another question I have is does the dot occlude the target? Or can you see through it to an extent to make more precise shots on finer targets using the sights

 

[IndianaBoy]

Honestly I'm not sure why you would want to still look through the rear aperture unless you had to.


The extra speed of target acquisition really comes from taking the interference of the aperture away from your field of view. I recommend you look over your aperture while using the optic. It will feel natural to you to do it that way once you get to see and use the optic.


I really only know that the rifle will cowitness because I wanted to make sure I could still use my front post if the optic isn't working because of washout.


The dot does occlude to target somewhat. I use the full triangle for center of mass shots out to ~50 yards and the tip of the triangle as my aiming point for everything farther.

I zero my sights for a six oclock hold because I never want to try and hold over something and not be able to see it.

My pictures don't do the optic justice with regard to dot crispness. It is a very neatly defined triangle.


I suspect you would be very happy with a Reflex.

 

[R.W.Dale]

Honestly I'm not sure why you would want to still look through the rear aperture unless you had to.


The extra speed of target acquisition really comes from taking the interference of the aperture away from your field of view. I recommend you look over your aperture while using the optic. It will feel natural to you to do it that way once you get to see and use the optic.

really???

see this is why I'm glad I asked because this type setup is completely new to me. I thought co-witnessing was basically using the sights only you have a dot too.

The dot does occlude to target somewhat. I use the full triangle for center of mass shots out to ~50 yards and the tip of the triangle as my aiming point for everything farther.

I zero my sights for a six oclock hold because I never want to try and hold over something and not be able to see it.

My pictures don't do the optic justice with regard to dot crispness. It is a very neatly defined triangle.

I do wish this sight had the triangle reticle but the particular example I purchased has the 6.5MOA red colored dot

 

[IndianaBoy]

I thought co-witnessing was basically using the sights only you have a dot too.

You can do it that way, but the advantage of the red dot type optic is that it gets you out from behind the aperture. The ability to co-witness is overrated. The only time you will want to use your irons while your optic is mounted... is if the optic goes down. The likelihood of that is small, especially with a battery free Reflex.

You don't want the same sight picture that you are used to using irons. You want it to look like this:




No more squinting or closing one eye. Both eyes open and bring that rifle up to bear on target. Eventually you won't even notice the housing around the glass anymore, you will just see an red dot floating where your bullets are going to hit.


You can use your iron sights to help get your optic zeroed. Before you go to the range, look through your irons and adjust your dot until it is sitting flush with the front sight, that will get you very close and then you can fine tune with live fire.

Trust me, you don't want to bother squinting through your aperture anymore. You will love the reflex. The dot version will treat you just fine I am sure.

 

[Dave Markowitz]

I have one and like it. The reticle is not as bright as those in Aimpoints, but it's still very usable. I really like the triangular shape. The tip allows precision aiming at distance while at up close, "OH S@$T!" distances you can just put the whole triangle on your target and fire. IMO, the mount is both secure and rigid.

Mine is mounted on my Colt 6520. As you can see, it works good against zombies.

 

[benEzra]

I thought co-witnessing was basically using the sights only you have a dot too.

Cowitnessing just means you can see the irons through the lens. If you are set up with a lower 1/3 cowitness, the dot lines up exactly with the iron sights (through the aperture) in the lower third of the glass, but if you raise your eye a little and look through the center of the glass, you see the dot unobstructed. Best of both worlds, IMO.

Here's an Eotech with a lower 1/3 cowitness (sorry for the washed out photo, the reticle is actually quite visible but that's a cell phone pic). Note that the reticle is floating free and clear well above the front sight post, BUT if you lower your head you can see the reticle through the iron sights if you want to verify zero. And if the optic goes down, just lower your head and shoot through the irons.

Which isn't all that much different from IndianaBoy's shot of the Trijicon:



And with a quality optic, it doesn't matter where you put your eye in the lens; the dot will be sitting on the point of impact, whether you're at the center of the glass or near the edge. This is not necessarily the case with cheap glass, though.

If I had a fixed carry handle AR, I think the Trijicon would be just about perfect. The Eotech is a little heavy and bulky to put out front on a carry handle cantilever mount, although it can be done.

 

[R.W.Dale]

Thanks for the input fellas!

You've now got me counting the days till this puppy arrives

 

[R.W.Dale]

Man this thing is the awesome! High end optics are fun This optic far far outstripped my best expectations. My favorite part that I didn't expect is that opposite to every other dot optic I've used is the brighter the background lighting the brighter more defined the dot becomes.

a few 56K unfriendly pics

You guys are right it is really hard to photograph the dot! (targets shown are at 100yds, the white center is a paper plate placed on a 600 reduced to 300 NRA highpower target

over the rear aperture, you guys are right this is the natural way to go

through the aperture

 

[desidog]

I'm glad the set-up worked out.

You'll find you'll save some loot on ammo; since re-zeroing after removal is a breeze with the co-witness.