Found a deal at my local shop, and now have a used black 17 on layaway. I already have a FDE 17 with a Razor 1-6, extended rail, and a few other mods. Love the rifle 100%, hence me getting another one! I think I want to set this one up different…. as light as possible. Thinking I’ll go with a red dot of some sort. Maybe add a magnifier later, probably not. I like the big window on the Eotech, but hate the battery life. Anything else you might suggest that would give you a bigger window than the typical Aimpoint / Holosun round optic?

Holosun AEMS or AEMS Max. Similar to the Eotech, much better and more usable battery life. You just pick it up and it's on, no fiddling with buttons.

Sig Romeo 8T has a huge window and great battery life. Price hovers between $600-700 though. they are also about 2oz heavier then an exps3, so not a deal breaker but not a lightweight RDS.

Might consider a trijicon RMR on a Scalarworks mount. If you really want lightweight. Small window though. But on a rifle your eye should line up right behind it.

https://scalarworks.com/shop/q...tach-mounts/leap-04/

I have been using Eotechs since 2008. I recall earlier models consuming batteries. We discussed it not too long ago in another thread (no way I can find it).

The battery life on the new ones is good. It can only be called a minor con, and it's easily outweighed by the pros. Get the EXPS and it uses the same batteries as your weapon light. The reticle blinks when the battery is getting low, and you still have plenty of time to change it before it dies.

Never ever have I been even as much as inconvenienced by my Eotech battery life.

In addition to the performance advantages, the Eotech also has the advantage of being US-made.

Eotech even makes a dot-only reticle nowadays, if you don't like the circle-dot reticle. I'd love to have a dot-only model, but can't justify the purchase.

quote:

Originally posted by 1KPerDay:
Might consider a trijicon RMR on a Scalarworks mount. If you really want lightweight. Small window though. But on a rifle your eye should line up right behind it.

https://scalarworks.com/shop/q...tach-mounts/leap-04/

I honestly am surprised we don't see more of this. If you're shooting target focused with both eyes open and a proper cheek weld, window size doesn't really matter. Pistol red dots are smaller, lighter, have smaller bezels so they block less of your peripheral, and they are less prone to causing tunnel vision. They're probably less durable than a mil-spec aimpoint rifle optic, but for most of us not enough to matter.

I had a 407C on my 9mm AR for a while and loved it, but ended up having a pistol that needed it so it got replaced with a Romeo5 for half the price. At some point when I have the extra cash I'd like to get another pistol optic for that gun and move the Romeo5 to my .22 AR...it just hasn't been a priority. I've also had a thought of an ultra-light/minimalist .223 build in the back of my mind and doing something similar with that...but that's another one that just hasn't taken priority.

The open emitter rules-out the MRDS for me, in the context of a "general purpose" rifle. If the rifle isn't for that use-case, then it's a good option.

quote:

Originally posted by KSGM:
The open emitter rules-out the MRDS for me, in the context of a "general purpose" rifle. If the rifle isn't for that use-case, then it's a good option.

Fair, but they also make enclosed emitter MRDS if that's a concern. I've shot enough open emitter dots in crappy conditions at this point that it doesn't really concern me (crud on my glasses has been more of a problem then anything with the optic), but if money is no object I agree there's no reason not to go enclosed.

If you're worried about getting mortared or blown up by IEDs on a regular basis, or throwing your rifle off of cliffs, I'd forego the MRDS altogether and get a heavier tube optic. But for most realistic uses by private citizens in the US right now, an MRDS would work just fine.

There are options from Aimpoint, Trijicon, and Eotech.

Holosun is Chinese -- don't support China when there are other options.

quote:

Originally posted by pepsiblue:
Anything else you might suggest that would give you a bigger window than the typical Aimpoint / Holosun round optic?

If a lightweight red dot with a larger window than an Aimpoint Micro is what you're after, consider a Trijicon MRO.

But personally, I find the Aimpoint Micro (H1/H2/T1/T2) to be the ideal red dot size for a rifle. Not too big. Not too small. Just right.

Me, I love the CompM4 and you can get good deals on them. The M5 or RDS are good smaller optics.

I hesitated because I wasn't sure what the "typical Aimpoint/Holosun round optic" window was given the variety of options for each but figured I might as well mention these since every other Aimpoint was mentioned.

I have a ZILLION optics from all the vendors mentioned, the Holosun AEMS is what you want. They just came out with an updated version, it's phenomenal.

Holosun is communist Chinese.

Does anyone keep up with what China continues to do to the United States, or am I the only one whose web browser doesn't block such news?

quote:

Originally posted by fritz:
Holosun is communist Chinese.

Does anyone keep up with what China continues to do to the United States, or am I the only one whose web browser doesn't block such news?

This is my stance on Holosun as well. I will NOT buy one. I don’t care if it’s cheap. It supports our nation’s primary enemy, amd while they may be much better than when they first came out, I’m still not convinced that they are up to par quality wise with the likes of ai point, Eotech, Steiner, etc. I personally view putting anything Holosun on a gun as equivalent to using an air soft accessory on a real firearms even though it looks cool, and is maybe 80% as good as the “real thing”.

I went with a Trijicon TA110 with a piggyback RMR.

If you guys are religious about not spending a single dollar on absolutely anything made in China, then I think it's a reasonable criticism. Otherwise, whatever sales Holosun is somehow contributing to the CCP is a drop in the bucket compared to all the money US consumers spend on Chinese goods and in the meantime, I've got more guns outfitted with optics that work just as well as my Eotech does. If you want to say you'd never own one and you're happy with the quality and performance you get with Aimpoint, Trijicon etc, nobody can say anything much about that. Saying something you don't own and have no experience with is airsoft grade trash isn't exactly intellectually honest. I own both an AEMS and an EXPS 3-0 and I'm here to tell you that in terms of performance, Holosun has Eotech matched in most ways and beat in many others. It really is a contender, no matter how you guys feel about it.

quote:

Originally posted by P220 Smudge:
If you guys are religious about not spending a single dollar on absolutely anything made in China, then I think it's a reasonable criticism.

I am religious about not spending money for the benefit of China. There are some who say it's a drop in the bucket. It means nothing. But China plays the long game, attacking from many fronts.

Just off the top of my head, some folks will dismiss individual actions by China towards the USA, because there were only a few....
- acres of land purchased near military facilities
- acres of farm land purchased
- students in universities
- pathogens brought into the States by said students
- lobbyists in Congress
- unknown electronic devices & aps included in communications & infrastructure products
- balloons flying over land, including military installations
- military secrets stolen, and sometimes equipment copied
- websites used to influence public opinion & elections
- consumer products copied, then underselling true products
Other folks could certainly make this list longer.

I believe China is our country's primary enemy - political, military, economic, freedoms, among others. Death by a thousand cuts -- Chinese Lingchi.

I'm sure the OP is well aware of all of that and can factor all that into whether he wants to spend money on Chinese. We're getting out into the weeds.

All that notwithstanding, the AEMS is comparable to the Eotech in many ways, and blows it out of the water in terms of battery life and overall usability. It's also slimmer and less than half the weight. It isn't even about the price, I simply love the feature set.

quote:

Originally posted by P220 Smudge:
If you guys are religious about not spending a single dollar on absolutely anything made in China, then I think it's a reasonable criticism. Otherwise, whatever sales Holosun is somehow contributing to the CCP is a drop in the bucket compared to all the money US consumers spend on Chinese goods and in the meantime, I've got more guns outfitted with optics that work just as well as my Eotech does. If you want to say you'd never own one and you're happy with the quality and performance you get with Aimpoint, Trijicon etc, nobody can say anything much about that. Saying something you don't own and have no experience with is airsoft grade trash isn't exactly intellectually honest. I own both an AEMS and an EXPS 3-0 and I'm here to tell you that in terms of performance, Holosun has Eotech matched in most ways and beat in many others. It really is a contender, no matter how you guys feel about it.

Your points are valid, and some of it is definitely a matter of preference and cost vs benefit analysis. I really do try my best to not purchase anything from China when I can help it, not just in guns either. For example I recently replaced a Craftsman Professional combination wrench that went missing. The Craftsman version was no longer US made, so I replaced it with a Snap On at roughly $70 for one wrench to complete my set. I might not even ever use that wrench (20mm is an oddball size), but I would have got zero pride in ownership from something made in China, no matter how good it was, so I replaced US made with US made.

With respect to lower cost enabling equipping more firearms with optics, I’ve really moved towards a quality over quantity ethos. I have way more guns than I need, or should I say I used to have more guns than I needed before they were lost in that boating accident lol. So for me, new purchases have to scratch an itch, and one of those itches is pride of ownership. I would get no pride in ownership from a Holosun, no matter how good it is. So, personally I would much rather have 3 carbines equipped with Aimpoints, Eotech’s, or LPVOs like my Kahles optics, than I would to have 10 carbines with Holosuns, or even Chinese made SIG LPVOs. I know that might not be everyone's point of view, and I’m not saying my view is the right one, but I am generally pretty consistent with that view. It’s also why I have a Geissele Recce build with nothing but backup iron sights currently, awaiting a Kahles, March, Steiner, Nightforce or Leupold optic. I’d rather wait to put something on there that I will truly enjoy and be proud to own than have something cheaper on there right NOW.

I'd check out the newer Trijicon MRO HD. It's supposed to have a crisper dot for use with a magnifier when compared with the standard version. I've found the MRO has a wider FOV and less of a "tube" feeling to it when compared with the Aimpoints I have. It has a long battery life, is very durable, and it's made in the USA.