What else can be said or even explained about this optic that was adopted by both the US Army and Marine Corps. This one is mine, Trijicon ACOG TA31-D-100367 4x 32 Dual Illuminated Green Horseshoe Dot .223 BAC Reticle Scope This unit has a BDC for a 16” barrel firing the older M193 55gr. ball ammo. The reason I chose this BDC was that it also shoots the Mk 262 77gr. BTHP to the same point of aim to 200 meters. The dual illumination comes from both the fiber optic on top of the scope and from a by product of nuclear reactors known as tritium gas. A gas that glows in the dark with a half life of 12 years, and is a critical component in making thermonuclear bombs. I chose the green horseshoe dot over the red chevron used by the military because it does not wash out in direct sunlight. A trick that we used is to cover the fiber rod with some 100mph tape to avoid the washout of the chevron.
I'm interested in if you purchased this recently, what you paid for it and where? Yeah, I am looking for a new optic... I tried the new Vortex 5X micro and the Primary 5x micro but while I really like the weight (extremely light) the damn eye box was so small that no matter what I did (position/adjustment) I was constantly searching for sight picture. They are great optics for the money and I know it is just me as loads of others have had no problem but it is what it is so I'm still looking.
When you say ‘eye box’ are you referring to eye relief, and finding the correct distance from it to plant your cheek on the stock? I found recently in using my ACOG that the eye relief is closer than I remember, and I’m going to need more practice with it.
I have been running the same ACOG but with the Red Chevron for nearly 25 years, I swear by it, and will not change to any other optic, the AR and ACOG are perfectly matched so well that it would be extremely poor judgement to try anything else, it just flat out works! For wash out, ether tape or a piece of plastic works well, something you can pull quickly, also, a kill flash is handy to have as it also dims the light a little, bonus is it keeps the crap out of your objective, they can be a bugger to find, but are available, worst case, a used pair of pantyhose cut with a soldering iron and installed with lobster bands will do the trick nicely, and fives your rifle that stylish upgrade all the ladies will be jealous of! Lol Seriously, it works quite well!
CM, yes, that is exactly what I mean. I never really understood why they call it 'eye relief' doesn't seem to describe or fit it but that's what they call it and I should use the correct term...even if I don't agree with it. BTW @Ura-Ki also has a knock-off ACOG he has been playing around with, think it is Chinese made (of course), perhaps this would be a good time for him to inject some of his findings, especially since he can directly compare it to his real ACOG.
This one was purchased through Amazon from Optics Planet November of last year for $1,239. Today, the average cost has exponentially increased to $1,439 and from a general search, this is now the average price anywhere and I don’t see them coming down in price anytime soon.
The one negative that most people complain about the ACOG’s is the short eye relief, but, considering the very large field of view they have, it is a good trade off. The general rule of thumb for proper eye relief is to “put your nose to the charging handle”
I have been getting them Used/Re-Manned for around $780 from my dealer, they send um in and completely go through them and then sell them to the public at a pretty good price WITH full warranty! I have both of the good variants, including the U.S.M.C. Retical with the yellow chevron, honestly, the plane jane with ether red or green and horse shoe or chevron is just fine, no real need to go nuts with the extra stuff the Marines insisted on, BUT, it does work VERY well if your intending to use your rifle at extended ranges! For the El-Cheapo Chinesium copy, it's actually identical, to the point you cannot tell, it holds zero and the optic is crisp and clear and the reticle is identical in function and all that, seriously, it's that good, BUT, you will never get any sort of warranty or support and it's questionable if it will hold up as well as the real deal, but for those who don't have the ACOG kind of budget, it' could be a very reasonable alternative with very good performance!
That's the way my Drill taught me to shoot and 50 years later I am still shooting that way, nose just lightly touching the outside edge of the charging handle. It keeps my head lined up consistently. I'm not sure what they teach today...
