Carbine Optics Poll

[Wake27]

I run a t2 on 10 or so with a wml. Maybe even 8 or 9. To need the full extra setting is...different. that's nuclear.

I was wrong, my preferred setting would be 11. Its a little much in normal interior lighting but against a wall with the M300 on its perfect. Setting 10 works well in normal light but is a little more dim than I'd prefer against the WML. Aimpont CS sent me the following numbers last week: position 9 = 25,000. 10 = 12,500. 11 = 6,250. 12 = 3,125. I got less than six months of useable brightness on setting 11 which is why I dropped it down one.

This is only inside. Outside, I typically have to turn it all the way up from what I remember. I don't get to shoot a lot here but as I said, the EOTech is the only optic I've had that was plenty bright on the range. Must be the Hawaiian sun.

[Unobtanium]

I was wrong, my preferred setting would be 11. Its a little much in normal interior lighting but against a wall with the M300 on its perfect. Setting 10 works well in normal light but is a little more dim than I'd prefer against the WML. Aimpont CS sent me the following numbers last week: position 9 = 25,000. 10 = 12,500. 11 = 6,250. 12 = 3,125. I got less than six months of useable brightness on setting 11 which is why I dropped it down one.

This is only inside. Outside, I typically have to turn it all the way up from what I remember. I don't get to shoot a lot here but as I said, the EOTech is the only optic I've had that was plenty bright on the range. Must be the Hawaiian sun.

I'm 32, 20/10, no aberrations. 11 is super bright and horrible. Like looking into a cash register scanner.
What is your age and vision, and have you seen other t2s?
This is just odd sounding to me.

[drjaydvm]

I’m just a hobby shooter and I’ve settled on a TA44 green circle dot (I’ve said before that I don’t know why these aren’t more popular) on a Beretta ARX (not an accurate enough rifle to justify a LPVO), a Steiner T5xi on an accurate carbine that is good at distance, and an RMR on a 300blk pistol that would be used at short distances. All red dots are a comet to my 45 year old eyes, making etched reticles important to me.

[Wake27]

I'm 32, 20/10, no aberrations. 11 is super bright and horrible. Like looking into a cash register scanner.
What is your age and vision, and have you seen other t2s?
This is just odd sounding to me.

27, vision has gone from 20/10 to 20/20 in the last few years but no issues like astigmatism or anything. I don't have another T2 to compare it to and have wondered at times if mine isn't as bright as it should be. The closest comparison I have is a type 1 RM06 which definitely looks brighter on the highest setting. Not sure how much of that is just because of the smaller window size and the massive blooming of the RMR, but my Aimpoint's setting 12 looks closer to my RMR's second highest setting, which I think is 7.

[Unobtanium]

27, vision has gone from 20/10 to 20/20 in the last few years but no issues like astigmatism or anything. I don't have another T2 to compare it to and have wondered at times if mine isn't as bright as it should be. The closest comparison I have is a type 1 RM06 which definitely looks brighter on the highest setting. Not sure how much of that is just because of the smaller window size and the massive blooming of the RMR, but my Aimpoint's setting 12 looks closer to my RMR's second highest setting, which I think is 7.

I just took my H2 (which looks the same to me as the T2's I've owned), and aimed it against the wall. I lit it up with my M300C 500 lumen, M600C 500 lumen, and X300U 500 lumen. 1.25m away. White wall, with matte texturing. Setting 9 looked great. 10 was like a beacon, 11 and 12 were a "bit much". If I were to choose a setting for that situation (as quirky as it was), I'd pick 9.

[Bucky]

In the past few previous 3 gun matches, I’ve been frustrated with my so called “competition” rifle. Not that there’s anything wrong with it, but I just didn’t connect with it. So the last match I took my hobby / HD 16” AR, standard collapsible stock and all. It has an Aimpoint Pro on it. There is no magnifier, but I knew the furthest shot was only 200 yards. It was the best rifle shooting I’ve done the date. Loved it so much, I’m thinking of setting up a new competition AR with Aimpoint Pro and a Magnifier.

On a side note, I also learned I prefer 2 stage triggers.

[rob_s]

I'm a pretty long-time Aimpoint user by modern standards I suppose. I'm pretty sure my first one was a Comp M2 in ~2002 or so (and I think I still have that optic on one rifle).

For a strictly defensive purpose, excluding rare personal situations where people feel they have a need to defend themselves at 100+ yards across the plains, I don't see a need for anything else. I do prefer the 30mm tube to the "micros" only because I find them more forgiving of head position. I do not believe either to be truly parallax free, but nor do I think the amount of parallax when viewing the 30mm Aimpoint from a non-ideal head position matters in any scenario I can envision.

That said, I can easily envision a potential need for better target ID even at relatively close range, or simply using the rifle for "spotting" in the absence of a set of binos or spotting scope. I'm just not sure I'm willing to sacrifice the money, weight, bulkl, and what I perceive as a more difficult learning curve to go to a LPV. I have considered, and may yet revisit, a magnifier paired with an H2. The H2 obviously uses my non-preferred "micro" tube size but if adding the magnifier I think I might find it worth it relative to weight.

Anecdote:
When I used to organize a monthly training event for some friends we often did a "cold shot" where we ran a scenario-ish drill with the gun you had on you and the ammo in it. A couple of times we did this with whatever "home defense" gun we kept at the ready. Mine was my suppressed AR wearing that old M2, and when my time came to shoot and I pulled the trigger on the first target, the dot went out. I finished the stage with all targets at "indoor distance" and using only the tube I had no issue keeping all my shots in the upper half of the body A-zone on a USPSA target, and avoiding "no shoots" in the process. that kind of helped sell me.

FWIW, it turns out that after 15 years Aimpoints too can have issues compressing the springs just like an old Eotech. This was ultimately shown to be the cause of my Aimpoint's failure.

[LittleLebowski]

I've gone Primary Arms. I know...

[jbrimlow]

I have a strong preference for LPVs if I have a good one. My favorite carbine has a Vortex Razor II-E, and I love that thing. The body really seems to disappear on 1x, and it's about as bright as I could want. This is coming from a hobby shooter who prefers run-and-gun stuff.

[StraitR]

@LittleLebowski LOL, that pic is great.