Sven
Senior Member
Now, which optic
Below is more information from Lyle at UltiMAK.com... what a great resource!
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Yes, the mount will attach to the barrel. Take a good look at the Mini-14 with its UltiMAK mount installed, and imagine that it's a .30 carbine. That's about how it will look. It will replace the upper handguard, and give plenty of rail space. The rail will sit low enough to use irons when the optic is off (you can leave the irons in place too, and not risk dinging something while drifting out the rear iron). If one wants a see under set up, there are some see through scope rings that may work, or we may decide at some point to make some just for this application, depending on demand. Personally, I don't like see-under at all.
The decision of Trijicon Reflex or, say, a tube bodied diode powered sight, like an Aimpoint, will depend on your priorities. The Trijicon sight axis is higher. No problem there for M-16 users, because it still needs a pedestal to sit high enough on a flat top AR. The Trijicon will not co witness on an AK or a Mini-14/30. No problem there on a .30 carb, since you'll not get co witnessing anyway-- the irons are too low on the barrel for that. The Trijicon "always on" feature is very liberating in practice, because you're always ready to go, and you never have to wonder if you've left your sight on, running down the battery. (The Aimpoint, with its new CET diode, will run for hundreds of hours on a single 1/3 N lithium cell, so you'd have to leave it on as you put it away in the closet for weeks to have that problem. It is also brighter than before.)
To make an example; a SWAT team, which is the type of unit that will always know when it is going into action, I would go with the Aimpoint. They will have ample time to open the lens covers and turn on the sight, and there is no question that they can have any dot brightness they want, because it's manually adjustable. Another benefit that you will never hear about is that the Aimpoint with its flip up covers, can cope well with aiming directly into bright glare-- something iron sights or the Trijicon cannot do so well. You close the front cover on the Aimpoint, and you have yourself an Occluded Eye Gunsight. Your aiming eye will see the dot regardless of lighting conditions, because it's a glowing red dot on a black background. If your other eye can make out the target, you're good. Your brain can blend the images. I've tried this on an 8" round target at 100 yards, and it works. You can sort of approximate this on the Trijicon, using the polarizing filter with crossed polaroids, but it's more fiddley getting it set up. A note of caution; you must be absolutely sure of your target and what is beyond it.
For people who keep a carbine for home defense, or for area defense, such as a security guard, or for those hunting for targets of opportunity, I would slant to the Trijicon, because it's always ready, right now. I also like the triangle reticle a little bit better for more precise aiming. Other people prefer the 4 MOA dot. If you use a reflex with one eye closed, you will like the better light transmission of the Aimpoint. With two eyes open, as intended, it does not matter, because your non aiming eye is getting an unobstructed view of the world. It does take some practice to get used to this, however. Most people I've seen try a reflex type sight for the first time, do not know what to do with it, and so do not see the benefits. With either sight (Trijicon or Aimpoint) you're getting a very well though out and designed product-- The U.S., and other special forces use both.
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Food for thought... the Triji is looking better and better.
Below is more information from Lyle at UltiMAK.com... what a great resource!
-
Yes, the mount will attach to the barrel. Take a good look at the Mini-14 with its UltiMAK mount installed, and imagine that it's a .30 carbine. That's about how it will look. It will replace the upper handguard, and give plenty of rail space. The rail will sit low enough to use irons when the optic is off (you can leave the irons in place too, and not risk dinging something while drifting out the rear iron). If one wants a see under set up, there are some see through scope rings that may work, or we may decide at some point to make some just for this application, depending on demand. Personally, I don't like see-under at all.
The decision of Trijicon Reflex or, say, a tube bodied diode powered sight, like an Aimpoint, will depend on your priorities. The Trijicon sight axis is higher. No problem there for M-16 users, because it still needs a pedestal to sit high enough on a flat top AR. The Trijicon will not co witness on an AK or a Mini-14/30. No problem there on a .30 carb, since you'll not get co witnessing anyway-- the irons are too low on the barrel for that. The Trijicon "always on" feature is very liberating in practice, because you're always ready to go, and you never have to wonder if you've left your sight on, running down the battery. (The Aimpoint, with its new CET diode, will run for hundreds of hours on a single 1/3 N lithium cell, so you'd have to leave it on as you put it away in the closet for weeks to have that problem. It is also brighter than before.)
To make an example; a SWAT team, which is the type of unit that will always know when it is going into action, I would go with the Aimpoint. They will have ample time to open the lens covers and turn on the sight, and there is no question that they can have any dot brightness they want, because it's manually adjustable. Another benefit that you will never hear about is that the Aimpoint with its flip up covers, can cope well with aiming directly into bright glare-- something iron sights or the Trijicon cannot do so well. You close the front cover on the Aimpoint, and you have yourself an Occluded Eye Gunsight. Your aiming eye will see the dot regardless of lighting conditions, because it's a glowing red dot on a black background. If your other eye can make out the target, you're good. Your brain can blend the images. I've tried this on an 8" round target at 100 yards, and it works. You can sort of approximate this on the Trijicon, using the polarizing filter with crossed polaroids, but it's more fiddley getting it set up. A note of caution; you must be absolutely sure of your target and what is beyond it.
For people who keep a carbine for home defense, or for area defense, such as a security guard, or for those hunting for targets of opportunity, I would slant to the Trijicon, because it's always ready, right now. I also like the triangle reticle a little bit better for more precise aiming. Other people prefer the 4 MOA dot. If you use a reflex with one eye closed, you will like the better light transmission of the Aimpoint. With two eyes open, as intended, it does not matter, because your non aiming eye is getting an unobstructed view of the world. It does take some practice to get used to this, however. Most people I've seen try a reflex type sight for the first time, do not know what to do with it, and so do not see the benefits. With either sight (Trijicon or Aimpoint) you're getting a very well though out and designed product-- The U.S., and other special forces use both.
-
Food for thought... the Triji is looking better and better.
