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Today on range, we discuss the much-debated red dot versus the low-power variable optic. It's a hot, much-debated topic, and people tend to feel strongly about it one way or the other.
Henry comes from the iron sight era (if you're into carry handles and iron sights, Henry has an episode here on MidwayUSA on the M16 A2s iron sight system), but this is for the 99% of people in America who want to know more about which of these modern optic systems might be the best fit for them.
Today, we're shooting Geisele 14-and-a-half-inch uppers with effectively matching lowers. These are some of our favorite off-the-shelf OEM-style uppers. They are premium. You must spend a bit more, but they are very accurate, reliable, well-gassed guns that perform phenomenally.
So, we're shooting very similar setups. The only major difference is that Henry uses an Aimpoint Red Dot Sight, while Josh uses a Nightforce ATACR Rifle Scope. You could easily do this with a Red Dot and Rifle Scope from Holosun, Primary Arms, or Vortex as well. Henry is particularly fond of the Aimpoint CompM4 Red Dot Sight because that is what he used a lot in the military.
To set the groundwork for this, it is relatively well-understood that if you're planning to do a decent amount of mid to long-range, extended-distance engagement for a carbine out to 5, 6, 700 yards, maybe just even outside of 300 yards, having an LPVO with aiming points like a BDC, mills, MOA, is going to be advantageous. Hard to argue that. But when we look at what the average person is doing with an AR platform, it's probably personal protection, home defense--stuff that occurs at 25 yards rather than 250. So, is there a place for an LPVO with aiming points in that range? Are you giving anything up with something like this inside of 25 yards?
Sit back and enjoy the video above as we explore this question and compare performance with these two types of optics on the range.
--9-Hole Review
