EOtech Magnifiers? Are we just blindly paying for things now?

[TacticalTed]

Hi,

Im hoping someone can help me understand something.
Im having a hard time spending 400-500 on a flip to side unit from EOtech for what is essentially a magnifying lens.

There are other low cost options for this rarely utilized device that may have lower quality glass etc. But I am hoping there is something I am missing here. Or is this just so we can feel like "operators" because of the Call of Duty effect...(I had a Call of Duty fanboy kid at the range remark that my suppressors reduce range and damage)

How can the magnifier cost as much as the holographic weapon sight? I just don't get it...what am I not seeing?

 

[Younggun]

I've got a cheap one. It sucks in terms of eye relief and light gathering ability but works ok for a little magnification from time to time. The mount is also pretty loose feeling.

The EoTech are supposedly much better in those areas.

If you have the money for the extra quality it's worth it. If not get a cheaper model.

As with many things "worth it" is highly subjective.


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[Dawico]

Glass quality, light gathering ability, dispersion, and even parallax are the qualities that separate the good from the bad. The mounts (as YG stated) are quite a bit different also.

But yes, you do pay some extra for the name on it. That name brings with it a standard of quality for the money though.

I personally have never seen the need for a magnifier on a red dot. 1 power and 3 power may as well be the same for me. That being said, I am more of a scope fan than a red dot fan anyways.

 

[TacticalTed]

Totally agree with that. Worth it is very subjective.

 

[TacticalTed]

You know Dawico, you are right. I can't really see the added weight to be comensurate with the added value of a minor magnification except when range bench shooting. Thx for the input

 

[Savage20]

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[wakal]

I use them as a modular add-on, and prefer the ARMS "flip to the side" mount behind a Aimpoint Comp M4. The dot works great as, well, a dot with the magnifier folded yet a three or four power boost comes in handy occasionally yet stays out of the way when it isn't needed. The magnifier mount is pulled and replaced with a PVS-14, also in a flip mount when playing at night. All old school by the "latest and greatest" standards, but functional.

I have noticed that scopes tend to produce tunnel vision when used in close at speed and prefer just a dot to out around a hundred yards or so. But magnification is key in target identification and in non-contrasting targets so...like most things, there is a trade off. My gamer guns have a 1-6 or 1-8 on top with either a dot at 45 degrees or angled irons; I find myself using the dot or irons for close work no matter what I intend before the timer activates, so I have tended to keep gamer configurations off "working" guns. Until now.

Having worked with a lot of the cheap glass (and having both Aimpoint and EOTech magnifiers on hand), in my opinion you get what you pay for. Either of the high end magnifiers let you "center" the dot properly through the glass, and light transmission (along with eye relief and edge to edge clarity) are great. Low end glass works like, well, low end glass.

That said, I am fond of 1-6 and 1-8ish glass for gaming use, and prefer Leupold Mk6 and Mk8 these days although the new VariX-6 1-6 Multigun is very good. When combining the cost of a real dot and a good magnifier plus the cool flip mount and QD/cantilever on the dot a good scope seems a lot more reasonable. In the low end (but not crap) scope category, I picked up a Trijicon Accupoint 1-4 cheap at the gun show this past weekend, and will swap it for an Aimpoint magnifier/M4S rig on a full auto 7" silenced piston gun for a while...just to see if I like it.

 

[Texasjack]

Saw a large table of "knockoff" scopes at a gun show and decided to give them a try. There were tables nearby with good quality stuff, so I could make a reasonable comparison. The cheap stuff was terrible - poor focus, not lined up square, weak light gathering, etc. Did it work? Well, yeah, but not like the quality stuff. Decided not to waste my money on something I'll regret buying.

 

[jeepinbanditrider]

I've never understood magnifiers. 1-4 Scope with illuminated red dot is so much more practical, useful, lightweight, and cheaper

Having both a micro dot with magnifier and a 1-4 and 1-3 variable scope I have to say the weight between a 1-4 and micro dot with magnifier is about a wash. A 1-4 before you even stick it in a mount is generally about 16 or 17 ounces. My 1-3 Weaver V3 by comparison is 8 ounces before a mount. The RDS with a magnifier is about the same weight as the 1-4.

 

[Savage20]

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[Savage20]

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[Mikewood]

With even low magnification comes a higher level of precision. A 3x scope can turn a 100yd "good enough" hit into a precise hit. I don't trust my red dot to scope for a head shot hit on a doe at 50 yds. With a good 3x magnifier it's pretty easy. While that doesn't make me an operator I do like having an ethical level of precision while hunting. If you don't need it "yet" that's great. Most of us get to the point in our lives a little magnification helps. If I want to pop a pig at 10 yards I can flip the magnification off and take my shot.

There was a time when 1-4 scopes were pretty fragile but you can get some nice stuff these days. One with a lit reticule is really sweet for 0-100 yds.


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[Younggun]

Everybody has a preference for the type of optic they want in a given situation.

I love the sight picture an eotech offers. Some are just as happy with a scope that can be reduced to 1X (or very close to it).

EoTech offers some capabilities that most scopes wouldn't, such as night vision compatibility. Out of my financial range though.

You also have no issue with light gathering ability.

Magnifiers can be completely removed when not needed, no effect on zero.

I'd like a 1-4X for hunting, probably pick one up someday. But I wouldn't sell my EoTech when I got it.

If you have the money for a quality magnifier and the combo fits your use, great. If you prefer a 1-4X scope, great.

Or maybe you'd rather have a red dot because EoTechs kinda suck when you want to turn them on quick.

I much more plausible argument in this discussion would be the zero shift issue that I'd never had known was happening if the internet hadn't told me.


Buy what you like and try to buy quality optics. Test a few different options before hand if possible. Nothing works. Set in every situation and anyone who says otherwise is just letting their fan boy pride override common sense.


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[jeepinbanditrider]

Uh, no. What 1-4 are you looking at that's 16+ ounces? Is it made of lead? Are you just guessing on weights?

Eotech EXPS3 with a G33 magnifier and flip mount - 22.4oz - $1000

Here are some scopes that all have an illuminated reticle:
Trijicon Accupoint 1-4 - 14.4oz - $950
Leupold VX-R 1.25-4x20 - 11.5oz - $500
Leupold VX-R Scout 1.5-5 - 14.2oz - $525
Leupold VX-6 1-6 - 14.6oz - $800
Leupold VX-R Hog 1.25-4 - 11.5oz - $450
Leupold Mk-AR Mod1 1.5-4 - 9.6oz - $450
Vortex Crossfire II 1-4 - 14.8oz - $250
Bushnell 1-4 FFP - 17.3oz - $175

Add an Aero Ultralight mount which is 3.2oz and $80 and each one of those scopes with the mount is still far less weight and way less money than the Eotech setup. Not sure anyone can argue that a flip mount is less bulky or $#@!bersome than a fixed scope, or that fixed 1x and 3x is better than infinitely variable zoom from 1-4.

No I was going off of memory but I went and double checked got about a wash in terms of weight. Even with a micro red dot going off of published weights total weight would be around 20 to 22 ozs.

That's not an eotech which tends to weigh more and that along with their crap battery life (i had an older unit that ran off n batteries) is why I sold it.

But it is pretty close in terms of weight even with your light weight mount that's within 4 or 5 ounces sometimes less or more depending on the scope you choose.

I do agree that a 1-4 or 1-6 or 1-3 is a much more Effexor than setup and less cluttered though. Thats the reason my magnifier mostly sits in a box now and I switch back and forth between RDS and 1-4 depending on what I'm doing.


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[Savage20]

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[Younggun]

You are only worrying about what is important to you. That's fine, for your guns.


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[jeepinbanditrider]

I think you may be confusing my comments for fan boyism.

I'm a fanboy of no company.

I sure as hell didn't spend 500 on a magnifier or my variable optic. And i sold my eotech because I didn't like it. Bulky and crap battery life.

I am a fan of micro red dots as an optic but I'm not loyal to any one brand. And I do like variable optics for some situations but mostly run a RDS with no magnification at all.

Why stick 1 and a quarter pounds of weight on my rifle if I don't need it and can get the job done with a quarter to a half pound instead?

If I need the variable optic (and the weight) i flip a few levers and it's on.

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[Savage20]

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[TheDan]

But I am hoping there is something I am missing here. Or is this just so we can feel like "operators" because of the Call of Duty effect...

I thought the concept was interesting so I bought the Primary Arms version to try out. After using it for a bit I decided it felt gimmicky... There might be a time when I'm shooting with a red dot and think "Damn, I wish I had magnification," but it's just needless and bulky weight for 99.9% of the time.

I've never understood magnifiers. 1-4 Scope with illuminated red dot is so much more practical, useful, lightweight, and cheaper

Yep. A 1-4 is smart.

 

[STXdevilsquid]

I have a vortex red dot with the flip magnifier on my 300BO.
I didn't have the magnifier on and needed it for longer shots. Mine works perfect for its purpose. It's taken more animals with the magnification then without.

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