Aimpoint v EOTECH

[Bart Solo]

Last winter I built an AR lower from a kit and had a great time doing it.  I slapped a DPMS Lo-Pro upper, Leupold 3X9 and bi-pod on it and have had a ball at the range.   The bullbarreled rifle, however, is very heavy.  Too heavy to be of much use except at the range and as a varmint rifle. 
 
I want to change things and create a handy rifle for plinking and occasional three gun use.  I have been looking at either assembling a DI style upper from BCM parts or buying an Adams EVO gas piston upper.  The biggest question running around in my mind is Aimpoint or EOTech.
 
Which would you prefer and why?

[SHOOTALL]

I just got an EOTECH 512 . It cost less and seemed to be less obstructive to seeing around it. Also I have shot EOTECHs enough to know I liked them but had not the Aimpoint but once.

[simplicity]

I went through this not to long ago with my AR the maine problem I had was I needed a smaller dot for three gun use. The center dots in a EOtech are 1 moa, the smallest in a aimpoint far as I know is 2 moa. Weight is aboutt he same between the two. The advantage of a aimpoint is battery life, you get about 50k hours out of a battery in a aimpoint where as you only get about 1200hr in a EOtech. OK now the advantages of the EOtech. Price for the sight is about the same but with a aimpoint almost all the models you still have to buy a mount after geting the sight. Eotech have the mount built in. Another big advantage (granted you'll probly never need this) if the sight gets smashed or run over lens cracked etc. the aimpoint is no longer any good. If there is a big enough piece of lens left in a eotech to see the center dot on you can still put rounds on target. With a eotech once sighted in you don't have to keep the reticle in the center of the sight in order to stay on target. To me the eotech is a much better sight for all around just be sure to have a extra battery on the gun just in case. I have a eotech exps 2-2 with a three power magnifier (vortex not eotech mag) that I use for three gun and I couldn't think of a better combination. What you'd spend on a aimpoint mount you can get a vortex magnifier and flip or swing base for. thats just my 2 cents hope that helped.

[Lloyd Smale]

eotec is probably a faster sight to use but not that much faster. the aimpoints are dead reliable and battery life is amazing. I like them because you can leave them on 24/7 and not have to worry about working switches in the heat of an home invasions ect. I once saw a aimpoint test on tv where they took two aimpoints mounted them on ars sighted them in and then the two guys stood about 2 feet apart on a parking lot. took both of them off skipped them across the pavement picked them up skipped them back and mounted them back on the original guns and they both still held zero! Now thats a tough sight. Id about bet an eotec would have been in pieces. Bottom line is there both good sights for what there designed for but my ars wear either aimpoints or  acogs.

[Swampman]

I want the Eotech but I hear bad things about them.

[SHOOTALL]

I want the Eotech but I hear bad things about them.

What ?

[Swampman]

I want the Eotech but I hear bad things about them.

What ?

The fellows on the 24 hour campfire all say they are junk.

[Lloyd Smale]

they may not take the abuse an aimpoint will and dont have near the battery life but there far from junk. they served many police depts and the military for years.

[Swampman]

I like them better than the Aimpoint but I'm concerned about reliability.

[Lloyd Smale]

if they had good enough battery life to leave on id consider one. I think there plenty rugged for anyone short of a combat situation. Like i said i just dont want to have a home defense gun that i have to worry about turning switches on in the dark under the extream pressure that youd be under if someone was breaking into your home. My defense ar is loaded, one in the chamber and the sights on 24/7. Hit the saftey and shoot.

[SharonAnne]

Hi Lloyd! Which model of Aimpoint are you using on your AR?

[Lloyd Smale]

ive got 2-comp2 and 1-comp3. Comp 3 has better battery life. I believe its rated at 4 years left on. I bought mine 3 years ago and its still on the original battery. the comp2s claim one year but mine are left of a low setting due to the fact they would be used mostly at night and both of them have been on for over 2 years and the batterys are still going strong. I had to kick them up one click about a month ago though so ill will probably change out the batterys on new years day. that will have been 2 years 8 months for them and they have never been shut off. Out of all the aimpoints i kind of like the comp 2s best. they dont quite have the battery life of a comp 3 but are a smaller lighter package but not as small as the micros which cost a bunch more.

[SharonAnne]

Thanks Lloyd!

[SHOOTALL]

I want the Eotech but I hear bad things about them.

What ?

The fellows on the 24 hour campfire all say they are junk.

I have only had one for 4-5 weeks so that's no test . I know of one several years old and one about 18 mos. both are holding up well , both are used quite a bit. both see alot of truck time bouncing etc off road. I know Marine who will be getting one he liked it.

[Bugflipper]

I like aimpoints as well. I have a couple of them, an eotec, the old bushnell holosight and a vortex strikefire. The aimpoints beat them all with battery life. I know some folks just leave them on all the time and replace batteries every 2-8 years depending on model. I wouldn't worry much about the eotech being junk, as long as it wasn't a knock off. The big old bushnell I have, doesn't have the metal protector on it and it has faired well for years. I got it used with about all of the paint knocked off and big gouges in it. I ended up sanding it down and painting it, but no doubt someone abused it at some point and it still works fine.


The new aimpoint I got is said to be good for 80,000 hours on an AA battery. I think the old one I have is around 20,000 hours before the new led. Behind the aimpoints I like the strikefire. I can't remember the battery life, maybe around 2-3k hours, but it take a fancy sub cell battery that is not common. Maybe cr123a or something similar. They shut down after 6 hours.
The eotech takes an AA but just 600 hours. They shut down after 8 hours. Sorry to not nail down the specific times, it's late so just going off of memory and that could be a bad idea.    I don't keep them on all the time so it's no big deal to me. But if one will run for 8 years on a AA and the led will burn for hundreds of thousands of hours that may make a difference to some folks. I just like them because they are lighter than the other ones and use an AA battery that doesn't have to get switched out often.

[NYH1]

I went through the same dilemma a few months ago. I always wanted to put a EOTech on my AR15. When it came time to get one I did a lot of reading on both the EOTechs and Aimpoints. I wanted my iron sights (which are fixed and allows up) to be in the lower 1/3 of whichever optic I went with. I ended up getting the Aimpoint PRO. It came with the mount that put the optic where I wanted it. The mount is nice, I can take it right off in seconds if I have to with nothing more then unscrewing it by hand. I know there are quick release mounts that will do the same thing. However, my Aimpoint cost $400, shipping included.

 
I have a friend who was with the 1/61 Cav., 101st AB Div. and served in Iraq 11-2005 to 11-2006. His unit deployed with Aimpoints that had the 4 MOA dot on all their M4's. The first seven or eight months they were there, they did mostly missions to get information, basic patrols, went out to make contact so a larger force (usually with some sort of armor and heavier weapons) could come in and help them fight. Then they started doing a lot more kicking in doors doing raids on houses and such. I noticed in a picture he sent us that he had a EOTech instead of the Aimpoint on his M4. I asked him about it and he said there was a special forces unit that was stationed at Ft. Campbell as they were, that was rotating back. A few times my friends unit would provide outer security for the SF unit when they did raids. They gave my friends unit their EOTechs when they left. I don't know if they gave them enough for his whole unit (company size) or just enough for curtain troops.

 
He said the EOTechs worked better for the CQB they were doing then the Aimpoints did specifically because they have the larger ring around the center dot. In most cases all they needed at the distances inside a house or most buildings was the large ring to be on whatever/whoever they were shooting at and that was it. He said they were the quickest sights setup he ever used. They also liked the smaller 1 MOA dot the EOTechs had for longer range shooting. They didn't have any trouble with either the EOTechs or Aimpoints and most troops liked both optics. He did mention the battery issue with the Aimpoints lasting so much longer. However, they had all the batteries they needed and changed them often.

 
NYH1.

[shvlhead.45]

Have an EOTECH 512 on my M4orgery and had the M68 (Aimpoint) on my issue M4 on my last trip down range and don't feel a bit disadvantaged with one or the other.  My next purchase will be the Aimpoint PRO and I promised my brother that if he got a PRO and didn't like it I would trade my EOTECH for it as he really likes the EOTECH and it's 65 moa ring around the dot.  Both are about the same money, within $30 or each other.  Had the EOTECH for about 4 years and it's on the second set of AA batteries (I use Duracell batteries).  Bottom line is that without springing for a Trijicon either of these is the standard in law enforcement and the military.  The least expensive I'd go on what I perceive your goal to be is a JPoint or Burris Fast Fire.  The EOTECH and Aimpoint PRO readily co-witness with the back up iron sights (BUIS) and I'm not sure what trouble you would need to go to get the Fast Fire or JPoint to co-witness if you have BUIS.  I won't be without the BUIS.  As to durability, you got to get purdy rough to mess either up.  I've seen them dropped, thrown around while loading up to go out the wire and periodic checks show no loss of zero.  Oh, with the picatinny rail system they both return to zero as long as they are returned to original mounting location. 

[SharonAnne]

I must agree with shvlhead.45. The 60 MOA circle makes for extremely rapid target acquisition. I have a Bushnell Trophy multi reticle  sight on my 9x23 Para Open division USPSA pistol. As long as the target is mostly in circle just shoot. The Bushnell Trophy is quite inexpensive, less than $100 at Sportsmans Warehouse. It has 5 intensities in red and 5 in green. The green works better in low light. There are four reticles although the Bushnell web page lists only 3. I have cross hairs, 3moa dot, 10 moa dot and 60 moa circle with 3 moa dot.

It is not an Eotech but for pistol competition it is great.

[Bugflipper]

I must agree with shvlheat.45. The 60 MOA circle makes for extremely rapid target acquisition. I have a Bushnell Trophy multi reticle  sight on my 9x23 Para Open division USPSA pistol. As long as the target is mostly in circle just shoot. The Bushnell Trophy is quite inexpensive, less than $100 at Sportsmans Warehouse. It has 5 intensities in red and 5 in green. The green works better in low light. There are four reticles although the Bushnell web page lists only 3. I have cross hairs, 3moa dot, 10 moa dot and 60 moa circle with 3 moa dot.

It is not an Eotech but for pistol competition it is great.

Makes for a fine quail jumping sight to. I have the old bushnell on a semi auto with a 20" barrel cyl bore. 3 shots and 3 or more birds on the flush in most cases. That circle is no doubt the quickest target acquisition I know of. I can usually only get 1 or 2 shots off with a bead front and don't always hit them either. If they are in that circle up close then they are pretty well in the bag.

[Swampman]

I really like the Eotech and I'm still not sure which one to buy.

[shvlhead.45]

Swampman,

The major differences in EOTECH models is battery type, length, dot size, and compatibility with night vision devices (NVD).  Unless you have or plan to acquire a NVD the best value is the model 512 for about $415 depending on where you get the sight from.  Here is the link to L3's page with a description of the model 512: http://www.eotech-inc.com/products/sights/512   I believe it will meet or exceed your needs.  MSRP is $439 but it can be found many places for around $415.

r/shvlhead.45

[Graybeard]

Let's bring this one back up and see if folks might want to talk more about it.

[Lloyd Smale]

aimpoint is still hands down a better battle sight.

[Graybeard]

I do agree with that Lloyd but it does seem the EOTech is a bit more widely used by the military these days tho both are for sure in use.

I owned an EOTech and did like it except it drained batteries like crazy. Even when turned off it drained them. It was pretty much required that I pull the batteries when it was not in use or they'd be dead when I went to use it again. I got rid of it.

I still have a couple of Aimpoint sights and do like them. Long battery life is a real plus for them.

[Lloyd Smale]

much more delicate unit too. Ive seen videos of people taking aim points off and throwing them onto concrete over and over and slap them back on and they not only still work but still hold zero. Try that with an eotec and youll have a box of parts. I also heard there was a rash of eotecs failing and a class action suit against them. Personally id take a sig Romeo or a vortex over a eotech. Much ruggeder sight and half the price and better battery life to boot. Heck id bet a Bushnell trs25 would stand up better to a torcher test then an eotec. They are fast and I do like there reticle and if they were under 200 bucks MAYBE id try another one but for 500 bucks hands down give me an aimpoint. I can leave them turned on and don't have to bother with switches in the heat of a bump in the middle of the night or hitting the switch and finding out the batterys are dead. I left a comp 2 on for two years once on the same battery. Ive got that one and a comp 3 and the comp3 claims 3 years left on and id bet on 5. I still change my batterys every year but its nice to know if something happened you wouldn't have to search for batterys a month later. My comp3 has a spare in the grip and if shtf id probably be set for the rest of my life. Yup the aimpoints are spendy and being retired ive kind of switched to sigs and vortex but ill still say that NOTHING is as good as an aimpoint. NOTHING. Only thing close is an acog and that's a totally different type of sight. But if I had to go into battle my gun would wear an aimpoint or acog and nothing else.