Leupold Prismatic, Aimpoint Micro, or Trijicon RMR

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Armed012002

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I had an EOTech, but didn't care for it due to poor battery life.

Purpose for this sight will be on a home defense/sporting AR with a 16" barrel. Maximum range will be 300 yards.

I'm interested in a Leupold Prismatic, Aimpoint Micro T-1, or Trijicon RMR. The model of RMR I'm interested in is the 4.0 MOA LED model.

I'm leaning towards the Leupold since it has the etched reticle. I can buy one for $400 with a picantinny mount which seems like a good deal.

Opinions on these three?

How does battery life compare?
 
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The Leupold Prismatic is essentially a fixed magnification 1x scope. It has all the same limitations as any other scope. It has limited eye relief (though still good when compared to a scope), a defined exit pupil, and requires a consistent cheek weld in order to use it.

Essentially, it is the same as the Leupold CQT; but without the option to increase magnification.

I personally don't have much use for it myself since I am sacrificing a lot of what makes close-range sights useful; and at the same time I am not gaining anything (like the ability to increase magnification).

Your next two sights are both red dot/reflex style sights. That means they project the reticle onto the lens so you can have unlimited eye-relief and no-parrallax. This means you can be very fast as well as use some unconventional positions, inconsistent cheek weld, etc. It also means if the sight dies, no reticle.

The Trijicon RMR appears to be an updated version of the Reflex. The problem I always had with the old Reflex is that it adjusts reticle brightness based on ambient light and uses an amber reticle. In practical use, this means when you shoot from a dark area to a target in a brightly lit area (underneath a covered firing line, from a house to outside, inside a dark structure with a weaponlight activated), the reticle either disappears or becomes hard to see.

The reticle dims because the area around you is dark; but the target is brightly lit (and usually by amber light to boot), so the faintly lit reticle blends in nicely against the brighter background.

Now that only applied to the Reflex. I don't know if it still applies to the RMR; but considering the dark blue tint on the RMR (which is what the Reflex also used to help make the reticle more visible), I would guess the RMR has the same issue to some degree. I do note the RMR you are looking at is LED powered instead of tritium/fiber optic and uses a red reticle as well, so it may well be a different story in that case.

Aimpoint T-1: Aimpoint reliability and a 50k hour battery life in an 84gram package. A lot to like here.

Out of the three choices you mention, I would definitely go with the T1.
 
I do like all the stuff I've read about Prismatic, but I don't own one. I probably won't ever, unless I get to handle one and it makes up for what I feel it lacks.

The Aimpoint and Trij RX30 are just too easy/quick to use, so they are what I prefer.
 
I love the Prismatic.

I've had it on my rifle for a year now and it's an amazing scope.
 
im also a big Prismatic fan. i have one on my FS2000 and my AR57. i like the slimmed down profile over the Eotech, which ive always felt made for alot of off cheek blindspots.
 
Although not specifically listed, I recently purchased an aimpoint comp M3 with the 2 MOA dot which is now mounted to my HK USC .45 using a Larue Tactical RAS II mount. Needless to say, I am very happy with the sight and the mount. The main selling point was the battery life of the optic.

I would definitely check the trijicon sight in artificial lighting conditions to make sure there are no rectical washout problems. I won't say where I work, but we have this problem with our duty issue AR15s and the Reflex II sights. They tend to "wash out" when looking towards artificial perimeter lights.
 
Roll with the Aimpoint. The battery life means you can leave it on w/o worries. 50K hours of battery life...well, let's just say that there are 8,760 hours and change in a year. That's over 5 YEARs of battery life, but I'd change it once per year for extra insurance.
 
Sorry to resurrect this.
I went through optics agony recently, trying to decide what to stick on my AR.
I settled on the Leupold. It is a wonderful scope. The only people who are negative about it are those who have never used one.
I wanted it basically to shoot beer cans at 25 yards. It absolutely makes the AR one of the most fun guns around. Battery life limited? So what? You really need the illumination for low light work. And how many ARs actually get shot in low light situations regularly?
Anyone considering the Leupold ought to get it. Good looking, effective, very high quality piece of machinery.
 
The only people who are negative about it are those who have never used one.

Yeah, clearly, there is no valid reason that someone would dislike a 1x, no magnification scope priced at $500 and weighing in at 12oz.

Just out of curiousity, what other types of optics did you compare the Prismatic to and why did you choose the Prismatic over those optics?
 
Just too add, for those of you who prefer the Aimpoint Micro T-1, but do not prefer the price, Konus make a copy of the Aimpoint called the Atomic.

While I hardly suggest a copy of anything supirior such as the Aimpoints, I have had the little Konus Atomic atop a Blackhawk 44mag for sometime now with no problems, probably 800 rounds 44 mag. have gone off under it...nothing broken yet! Where's the wood!?
 
Hey Uncle Mike, can the Konus battery life measure up to Aimpoint? Where's the trade-off in quality on that one?

That is what you DON'T get with the Konus, you don't get 50k hrs. of battery life like your supposed to get with the Aimopoint....more like 40 hrs.!

But, come on...$80 vs. $600, I'll carry a spare battery with me. Now grant you if I were to be an instrument in delivering the wrath of mighty God to insurgents around the world, I definitely would get the good stuff.

But for poppin' pigs off a buggy....
 
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