Aimpoint Duty RDS or equivalent?

[ECVMatt]

I am putting together a couple of AR to leave at our family vacation house. I am trying to mimic the rifle we shoot the most and that everyone in the family is familiar with. It is a 6920 with DD A 1.5 and an Aimpoint Micro T1 for the sighting system. This set up is simple and has served me well for years. I have other AR setups, but this one gets used most often when we are shooting as a family.

I was looking a getting a couple of Micros for these rifles when I noticed that Aimpoint now offer the Duty RDS. These are about 1/2 the price of the T2 and seem to be a pretty solid sight for the money. Since these rifles will do more sitting than shooting, it would be nice to save the dollars to add lights or buy more ammo to practice. I have looked up some reviews online and they seem to be mostly positive.

From all this comes a couple of questions. First does anyone have hands on experience with a Duty RDS? And....I was wondering if there is anything else in the $500 dollar range that I should consider? We will be shooting these rifles several times a year, so they will see some use. I don't anticipate them getting beat up like my rifle, but would like them to be durable and match the quality of the rifles (6920s).

Does anyone have any thoughts?

Thanks,

Matt

[GJM]

I have one on a travel AR, and it seems fine. I find large displays more enjoyable to shoot, but this performs like what you would expect, a budget T1.

[WobblyPossum]

I have one and it’s ok as long as you aren’t going to be using NV. The light transmission numbers aren’t great for NV use. Think of it more as a smaller Aimpoint PRO than a budget T2. It should handle what you’re looking for just fine. Two other sub $500 options worth considering are the Sig Romeo 4T and Holosun AEMS.

[GJM]

I have one and it’s ok as long as you aren’t going to be using NV. The light transmission numbers aren’t great for NV use. Think of it more as a smaller Aimpoint PRO than a budget T2. It should handle what you’re looking for just fine. Two other sub $500 options worth considering are the Sig Romeo 4T and Holosun AEMS.

An AEMS replaced an RDS on a Rattler and an AUG — I really like the AEMS.

[WobblyPossum]

An AEMS replaced an RDS on a Rattler and an AUG — I really like the AEMS.

I haven’t personally used the AEMS but have heard nothing but good things. It’s definitely one I’d be considering if I was looking to set up another RDS gun. I have used the Romeo 4T as that’s the optic on my issued rifle. I haven’t had any issues with it. The only issues I’ve seen others have is the occasional clear lens cap breaking off but those are sacrificial anyway. The OEM mount is a little heavy compared to aftermarket options like Scalarworks but it’s definitely a solid thing that I don’t see easily failing. The display is pretty clear and the blue notch filter is a lot less noticeable than many other optics out there.

[HeavyDuty]

I have a Duty on my PS90, I haven’t run it hard but it seems fine.

[breakingtime91]

I bought a aimpoint duty sight, it'll be here today. I was going to do an h2 but the duty was so highly spoken of by Aaron Cowen from Sage Dynamics that I bought one. I plan on setting up rifles (All 6920s) for my kids and they will most likely get a duty rds or pro on them.

[Wayne Dobbs]

Considering the Duty RDS was just selected by the FBI as their optic, I think you'll do fine with it. I know a couple of guys that work at Aimpoint...

[HeavyDuty]

My only issue with the Duty RDS is that it is a different height than the T/H series optics. Has the aftermarket responded with Duty RDS height mounts?

[WobblyPossum]

My only issue with the Duty RDS is that it is a different height than the T/H series optics. Has the aftermarket responded with Duty RDS height mounts?

Any mount meant for the CompM5 works. That optic has the same height issues as the Duty RDS.