Dropped my rifle (AR-15) for the first time, on concrete, directly on its optic!

[Rock_Islander]

I was blasting away at Sunnyvale Gun Club yesterday, and had an accident that caused my rifle to slide off the sandbags as it lay there resting on them, and the rifle took a pretty hard fall off the bench directly on to concrete (it was unloaded and empty at that moment). But at what angle it landed on had me feeling like at first... It fell directly on my Aimpoint Micro-Dot!

I know it's an Aimpoint, and that they're supposedly "virtually" indestructible when it comes to optics durability, but still... I was pretty horrified to say the least, at FIRST. But the next shooting session, I loaded up some mags, and fired away at 100 yards, and low and behold the optic was still perfectly zeroed. Headshots on steel silhouettes at 100 yards? No problem. Center of chest circular plate on steel silhouettes at 100 yards? Right in the center, every shot.

I guess I should've known that's what these things (Aimpoints) are supposed to do, stay zeroed under "rough" circumstances. I just thought I'd share with my fellow Calgunners my first experience of dropping my AR directly on its red-dot. Although dropping your rifle optic first is not a "great" idea, the results were great (in terms of durability).

[Droppin Deuces]

Haha. Not nearly the same degree of fall, but I had my rifle tip over ACOG-first on the carpet the other day Of course there was no damage, but it was sad to see it fall over anyway.

[Rock_Islander]

Ouch, yeah carpet is not so bad I guess, even though the floor under is just as hard as concrete. But Trijicon makes some built-like-tanks optics too, so we all hear from battlefield reports. Aimpoint and Trijicon are my favorite optics out there, they both tie for first place in my book as far as combat optics go. Eotech? A close second place.

And I told my girlfriend what happened later that night. And you know what she said?

This:

"I think it's foolish that you expect to keep your guns pristine and sparkling, they're made to be dropped and take abuse. And isn't that why you paid so much for your scope (she calls a red dot a scope) in the first place? So that it can do that? Stop worrying, it's just a battle-wound."

Haha, I told her I loved her right after she made that statement.

[zfields]

Silly AR guys.

[doc1buc]

Ouch, yeah carpet is not so bad I guess, even though the floor under is just as hard as concrete. But Trijicon makes some built-like-tanks optics too, so we all hear from battlefield reports. Aimpoint and Trijicon are my favorite optics out there, they both tie for first place in my book as far as combat optics go. Eotech? A close second place.

And I told my girlfriend what happened later that night. And you know what she said?

This:

"I think it's foolish that you expect to keep your guns pristine and sparkling, they're made to be dropped and take abuse. And isn't that why you paid so much for your scope (she calls a red dot a scope) in the first place? So that it can do that? Stop worrying, it's just a battle-wound."

Haha, I told her I loved her right after she made that statement.

You got a keeper there.....

lol, AK guys NEVER have this discussion BTW.....

[Droppin Deuces]

AR guys = F1 fans.

AK guys = Monster truck fans.



In all fairness, I would want my AK to look nice as well. Just because it can take a lot of abuse doesn't mean it should be abused.

[17+1]

Yeah...should be OK.

My buddy had his M16A2 thrown out a third story window in the Corps because he pissed of the DI. Kept on chuggin'.

[Rock_Islander]

Without sparking another AK vs AR debate, I do concede that reliability goes to the AK because of its gas piston action... But do you really think a stamped sheet metal receiver is stronger than a forged 7075 (AR) receiver? And if the front sight is canted on an AK, you can take a hammer to it to align it straight. That doesn't sound so "durable" to me. It sounds like if enough impact is applied to the front sight in the "field", it can throw off your front sight yet again. At which point your weapon's zero is completely lost. At least the AR-15's standard front sight is drilled and pinned into the barrel, eliminating that issue altogether.

Of course the AR has high maintenance requirements, parts replacement requirements, etc. But they're pretty tough guys.

[m03]

But do you really think a stamped sheet metal receiver is stronger than a forged 7075 (AR) receiver?

Are all AR receivers forged 7075 now? Anyway, I don't think all AK receivers are stamped....at least my milled receiver isn't

Besides that, I'd guess that heat-treated stamped receivers are at least as durable as the best aluminum receivers.

And if the front sight is canted on an AK, you can take a hammer to it to align it straight.

According to who? Realignment involved pressing it off an redrilling/repinning AFAIK.

That doesn't sound so "durable" to me. It sounds like if enough impact is applied to the front sight in the "field", it can throw off your front sight yet again. At which point your weapon's zero is completely lost. At least the AR-15's standard front sight is drilled and pinned into the barrel, eliminating that issue altogether.

Sounds like you don't know much/anything about AKs.

[17+1]

Without sparking another AK vs AR debate, I do concede that reliability goes to the AK because of its gas piston action... But do you really think a stamped sheet metal receiver is stronger than a forged 7075 (AR) receiver? And if the front sight is canted on an AK, you can take a hammer to it to align it straight. That doesn't sound so "durable" to me. It sounds like if enough impact is applied to the front sight in the "field", it can throw off your front sight yet again. At which point your weapon's zero is completely lost. At least the AR-15's standard front sight is drilled and pinned into the barrel, eliminating that issue altogether.

Of course the AR has high maintenance requirements, parts replacement requirements, etc. But they're pretty tough guys.

They're like anything mechanical and require regular maintenance. I don't do a whole lot on mine besides clean and grease it every so often, just like the rest of my guns. Will replace action, extractor and ejector springs, gas rings, every few thousand rounds, but that's about it.

[evidens83]

I remember how sad I felt when I made my first idiot scratch when assembling my lower

[rero360]

This is why quality optics are worth their weight in gold, whether its an Aimpoint, USO, Trijicon, etc. they are built like tanks and will survive just about everything short of nuclear holocaust.

[tujungatoes]

Good to know those optice will survive a tumble.

Waiting for the inevitable ar/ak flame war to erupt...

[llamatrnr]

I'm leaving now to drop my Saiga w/Simmons scope off the roof1!!! Great tip, thanks!

[Josh3239]

Silly AR guys.

Don't lump us all together. Some of us don't mind if our AR takes a dive and gets a scratch or gets dirty inside and/or out.