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Thread: Magnifiers for use with an RDS

  1. #11
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    I haven’t had that problem with the original model Aimpoint 3x / LaRue combo...I see that combo occasionally in the $450 range on the secondary market.

  2. #12
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    I had an old Aimpoint 3x, and got rid of it due to the aforementioned zero shift. I got a consistent 1”-2” shift at 50 yards. Enough that I wasn’t willing to risk it on a duty weapon. A few months ago I decided to revisit the magnifier concept. I got a new Aimpoint commercial 3x and a Scalarworks mount. Scalarworks mount was great, the 3x was worthless. I run a BUIS folder rear, and I shoot with an extended stock (usually “5” on a 7 position A5 RE). The eye relief is so short I couldn’t use it. If I removed the rear sight, put the 3x in the rearmost slot, and craned my neck forward- I could almost see through it. Think TA31 ACOG eye relief. Plus I’m at the point where I’d like a little more than 3x mag. I’d try the 6x if it didn’t cost more than a dang T1.

  3. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by TGS View Post
    My 3x Vortex magnifier turns the dot into a perfectly crisp dot like in a first-person shooter video game.

    Magnified optics in general act as a corrective lens, IME.

    The problem with the Vortex being what we had talked about in PMs, that it doesn't maintain the dot center when detached and reattached (for anyone who is wondering about this otherwise attractive offering).
    Is that the older model vortex or the newer vortex micro?

  4. #14
    Member TGS's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Caballoflaco View Post
    Is that the older model vortex or the newer vortex micro?
    Newer. This one: https://www.brownells.com/optics-mou...rod130560.aspx
    "Are you ready? Okay. Let's roll."- Last words of Todd Beamer

  5. #15
    Member CoGT3's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by dontshakepandas View Post
    I’ve recently tried the 3X-C (commercial) and the 3Xmag-1 which is the newer duty grade model. I kept the duty grade model, but think most people would be just as happy with the commercial one if budget is a factor at all.

    The glass in both are very good, but the eye relief is longer on the duty grade model which is very helpful if you are running a back up iron sight and need to mount the magnifier a little more forward. There isn’t a huge difference, but I’m fairly tall and like to keep my stock extended so every little bit helps.

    The duty grade model is also flat on the bottom which allows me to use my back up sight built into my Unity Tactical FAST mount without removing the magnifier. The commercial model blocks the sight picture so must be removed.

    If neither of those matter to you and you don’t plan on going scuba diving with it, you’ll likely be very happy with the commercial model. Scalarworks actually told me they don’t do a combo deal with the duty grade model because they flat out don’t think it’s worth the extra money over the commercial.


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    Did not know that was an issue. So with the Unity FAST mounts for the 3X-C you can not see the integrated rear peep sight in the FAST mount? But you can with the 3Xmag-1? If so, that needs to be wider spread information. I have 2 FAST mounts for RDS and love that I can add a fixed front and use the rear peep of the FAST. Have been going through weather to give the 3x magnifier a try but that becomes a more expensive option is you need the 3Xmag-1. Street price for T2/3Xmag-1 with both Unity mounts is in the range of a Kahles K16i plus Badger mount with only a 3.5oz weight penalty.

  6. #16
    Site Supporter dontshakepandas's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by CoGT3 View Post
    Did not know that was an issue. So with the Unity FAST mounts for the 3X-C you can not see the integrated rear peep sight in the FAST mount? But you can with the 3Xmag-1? If so, that needs to be wider spread information. I have 2 FAST mounts for RDS and love that I can add a fixed front and use the rear peep of the FAST. Have been going through weather to give the 3x magnifier a try but that becomes a more expensive option is you need the 3Xmag-1. Street price for T2/3Xmag-1 with both Unity mounts is in the range of a Kahles K16i plus Badger mount with only a 3.5oz weight penalty.
    The magnifier mount is QD so you can pull it off to use the rear sight. I wouldn’t recommend paying the difference between the 3X-C and 3Xmag-1 just for that.

    With the FAST mount I think the commercial magnifier is the way to go. I bought the 3Xmag-1 to use with a traditional mount and rear sight and then switched to the FAST mount, but would have gone with the 3X-C if I knew what I know now.


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  7. #17
    I've used the EOTech G33 with T-2s/CompM5s on GDI lower 1/3rd mount on my SBRs (10.75" and 11.5"), ended up switching away to go to taller Aimpoint mounts, plus the dot being off-centered in the magnifier messed with my OCD (you could move the sight picture around to try and center it, but then the sight picture gets wonky due to the edges of the RDS sight picture being cut off, so now the sight picture in the magnifier is an oblong oval). Did not notice any shift in zero from magnifier to non-magnified, but I never shot groups without the magnifier, and was able to get first round hits on reduced-size IPSC steels at 100 yards unmagnified with M193 clones, so it wasn't a huge shift if it did exist.

    Swapped over the using Scalarworks 1.93" mounts for both the CompM5 and the 3XMag-1, like it better than the G33, if only because it is perfectly centered. The eye relief matters to me, since I run my stock all the way out, and having to crane my face forward to get proper eye relief is annoying; still have to do it with this, but not as bad as it would be with the 3X-C. I strongly considered the 6XMag-1, as the additional length would totally negate the eye relief issue, but was kinda leery of the the idea of having 6× without any other reference points on the reticle (easier to persuade me with something like an EOTech with multiple dots); after playing a bit with one (albeit just in the hand, not mounted to anything), I decided that the excessively narrow FOV made it not worthwhile, especially since these were going on short guns that weren't focused on accuracy.

  8. #18
    Site Supporter Erick Gelhaus's Avatar
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    Regarding the zero shift, can't recall when I heard about it but within a day of each other both a cop in Hawaii and a mil guy at Bragg brought it in discussions. And they were encountering it with EOTechs and their proprietary magnifiers. Not sure if I was still with Aimpoint then or not but I was using a T1 & the 3x both in LaRue mounts. I stayed with it on my work rifle until I retired because the T1/3x combination fit in the rack fine while a LVPO would not.

    The recommended method for those who used them was zero the optic & confirm with the magnifier in place. Then shoot it without the magnifier and see what you get, note it, work with it.

  9. #19
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    Quote Originally Posted by Whiskey_Bravo View Post
    Thanks for the great info. I'm in the process of finding one myself for my rifle. Question for you, is you 3X Aimpoint the older model or did you get one of the newer ones?

    I see that there is a "hobbyist" one for about $250 and then a more rugged duty grade one for $600+
    Ummm, that 3X-C is a nice optic, fully armored housing and very nice glass for a smoking deal. Eye relief may be a bit short for some tastes, but I've been tearing ass with mine behind an H-2 on Texas whitetails. I would recommend you give one a shot.
    Regional Government Sales Manager for Aimpoint, Inc. USA
    Co-owner Hardwired Tactical Shooting (HiTS)

  10. #20
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    What is the eye relief difference between the 3xc and the 3xmag-1? I know the 3xmag-1 is supposed to be a little better, but how much? An inch?, half inch? Does it have more forgiveness to eye position than the 3x-C?. Also any noticeable difference in glass quality between the two? As I mentioned earlier, the 3xC just didn’t work for me because the eye relief was so short. I’ve got a Unity Fast micro and 3x mag mount on the way, so I’m continuing to re-explore this concept. I just hate the 3xmag-1 is over $400 more. With the fast mount, I can eliminate the flip up rear and mount the mag all the way to the rear. (I have to maintain iron sights because of my dept rifle qual).
    Last edited by msstate56; 05-05-2020 at 02:12 AM.

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