Replica Aimpoints and optics

[EricCartmann]

I bought my last REAL ACOG for $450 earlier this year.
The deals are out there, you just have to have cash in-hand and catch them QUICK.

You got lucky. I offered $800 for a NIB TA31F and he called me a lowballer! Even now TA31F are going for $1000 and TA31RCO's are going for about $1200. ACOGs are expensive but to me they are well worth it. They are rock solid and practically bomb proof.

I think a well used TA01NSN (which is basically a TA31F without the BAC) can go for aboout $500 if you are willing to scan the internet all day on Arfcom and other gun boards. Even a well uses ACOG you will get value as these things will last forever.

But I got to sample some clones at the last gun show and I have to say they are pretty dam good. Not just that, but if you are a mall ninja like me, you want your equipment to look good even if you can't afford the real thing

For $150, you will not be disappointed. Here is a pic of a TA01NSN fakecog:

[EricCartmann]

As for real ACOGs.....

I tried the BAC and I did not really like it. But most ACOG users said BAC is awesome once you learn how to use it.

For the guys that are lucky enough to own multiple ACOGs, the consensus is most of these guys prefer the TA11 series because of the extra eye relief.

[ar15barrels]

As for real ACOGs.....

I tried the BAC and I did not really like it. But most ACOG users said BAC is awesome once you learn how to use it.

For the guys that are lucky enough to own multiple ACOGs, the consensus is most of these guys prefer the TA11 series because of the extra eye relief.

I don't have binocular vision so BAC does not work for me.

I mostly use the TA01NSN and I absolutely love the ladder.
I also have a little guy in 2x with the triangle.
2x is a good compromise for short to medium range 15yds to 200yds.

The TA01NSN absolutely rocks from 25yds to 400yds.

[EricCartmann]

I don't have binocular vision so BAC does not work for me.

I mostly use the TA01NSN and I absolutely love the ladder.
I also have a little guy in 2x with the triangle.
2x is a good compromise for short to medium range 15yds to 200yds.

The TA01NSN absolutely rocks from 25yds to 400yds.

I totally agree. I can't think of a better optic for an AR than a TA01NSN. But then again I try to hold this opinion to myself as I have not extensively used other ACOGs.

If you do have shoot at 25 yards or less in a hurry, the irons on the NSN is also not bad. The glass on all ACOGs are about as clear as it gets. Only issue with the 01 and 31 series is the short eye relief, but hey it's for an AR, and AR's don't kick much so short eye relief is not really an issue.

With an ACOG you get:
- compact and relatively light package
- big field of view
- clear glass
- bomb proof package
- kick *** looks

I also like Eotechs and Aimpoints but nothing beats magnification. With a 4x ACOG I can see camoflauged rabbits through the brush, and fI can see objects better under low light conditions, things just seem to lighten up with good optics such as an ACOG.. That is what a crystal clear quality glass will do.

[edittman1]

So, I guess I better start saving my pennies for an TA01NSN!

Wonder if I can score one for a deal somewhere..

[bwiese]

I am surprised by the amount of Anti-Chinese sentiment I keep seeing on this site....

Umm, anti- *RED CHINESE* sentiments.

This is not racial, it's avoidance of products of criminal companies violating copyrights and trade dress. (Probably not patents in this scope, since they put in crap innards that are likely architecturally different than ACOG's prism setup.)

And I'm not even playing the 'buy American' card either - I have a selection of IOR Valdada scopes I really like.

Anything Red China touches, it trashes. (This was told to me by a Chinese dude.)

Yes the product that come out of there are not the highest of qualities....

I wouldn't scrape dog turds with a chinese scope.

Chinese scopes and Ruger Mini14s deserve each other: each one can mask the other's slop.

but not every one can justify spending the $$$$ on a high quality and more expensive scope...

Maybe they should work harder? A few extra hours? Brew their own coffee instead of buying $3 Starbucks?

If you buy a good scope from a good company it lasts a lifetime, can be repaired (unlikely it's even needed), has warranty.

How much ammo and time do you waste when a Chinese scope fails and you have to put another scope on and re-zero?

and if it suits there needs and they are happy with the product.... Then it is great for them!

These scopes are so bad, that's about like saying people should just sh*t in their underwear if they're happy with it.

[bwiese]

I own a real Aimpoint that's 10 years old and still going strong after innumerable rounds, several tactical courses and desert trips where the rifle and scope were treated like the tools they are.

I doubt you'll get more than six months out of one of the knock-offs under rough conditions.

Multiply that low price point by 20 and compare it to the cost of the real thing.

That says it best.

Kinda why I got a Rolex - I kept going thru Seikos.

[EricCartmann]

cool. I hope when Bill says "All chinese stuff is junk" you guys believe him.

Hopefully this will drive down the prices of Chinese Polytech's and Norinco's M14s (the most dimensionally perfect M14 on the market today).

As the old saying goes, if you say it enough it must be true.

[edsel6502]

cool. I hope when Bill says "All chinese stuff is junk" you guys believe him.

Hopefully this will drive down the prices of Chinese Polytech's and Norinco's M14s (the most dimensionally perfect M14 on the market today).

As the old saying goes, if you say it enough it must be true.

Hell yeah. What Bill and Ted (excelllent!!!...) said is true. Most Chinese stuff is junk. But like all manufactured things, QC will improve in time.

My company does business in China. We have a development center in China. I have found that you have to be on your toes as the chinese engineers though hard working and cheap Tend to copy everything. I hate it when I find open source code with the copyrights removed passed as company code.

This is a sad fact. Modern China has lost the ability to innovate. The only thing they know to do well is to follow rote instructions and to copy. I'm not even going to get into Chinese food products.

So I will repeat Bill and Ted's excellent advice. Buy crap if you have no choice. Be prepared to replace it down the line. Or suck it up. Go without and then get something nice.

Bill and Ted have met me so IRL so if you think I'm being anti-chinese, that will be funny as all hell.

[edsel6502]

I just had another thought.. I know its bad.. I'm thinking...

IMO. Its not Red China that is a problem. I would prefer Red China. That way the government can still control and at least still pretend to have standards.

The trouble is that we have a billion plus people wanting free markets etc., and have no qualms about cutting corners to be a capitalist. Its just like the good old US of A early on in the 20th century. The problem is there is a butt load more chinese this time doing it.

[EricCartmann]

Hell yeah. What Bill and Ted (excelllent!!!...) said is true. Most Chinese stuff is junk. But like all manufactured things, QC will improve in time.

My company does business in China. We have a development center in China. I have found that you have to be on your toes as the chinese engineers though hard working and cheap Tend to copy everything. I hate it when I find open source code with the copyrights removed passed as company code.

This is a sad fact. Modern China has lost the ability to innovate. The only thing they know to do well is to follow rote instructions and to copy. I'm not even going to get into Chinese food products.

So I will repeat Bill and Ted's excellent advice. Buy crap if you have no choice. Be prepared to replace it down the line. Or suck it up. Go without and then get something nice.

Bill and Ted have met me so IRL so if you think I'm being anti-chinese, that will be funny as all hell.

Thanks for playing. I was getting bored today.


Sounds to me you are anti-red-chinese. You probably hate Nixon too because he made formal relations with China. Let me quess, you are Hong Kongnese? Taiwanese? If you are Taiwanese, don't worry, Red China will eventually take Taiwan and you will be one of them.


I would not say they lost the ability to innovate. Paper, gun powder, and the compass were invented in China. It is true that the grounds there does not allow innovation has much as here in America but they "can" innovate if needed to. When there is a need there will be innovation. Bill Walsh was innovative, he did not have the players to compete so he came up with the West Coast Offense and he made them competitive. Walsh even said that if not for the "lack of talent" with his teams, he would have not came up with the West Coast offense.


+1 on QC. People who think an American can put together a scope better than a Chinese person is just fooling themselves. It's all about Quality Control. USA has it, China does not (for the most case, but not all cases, see Polytech M14's)

[edsel6502]

Thanks for playing. I was getting bored today.


Sounds to me you are anti-red-chinese. You probably hate Nixon too because he made formal relations with China. Let me quess, you are Hong Kongnese? Taiwanese? If you are Taiwanese, don't worry, Red China will eventually take Taiwan and you will be one of them.


I would not say they lost the ability to innovate. Paper, gun powder, and the compass were invented in China. It is true that the grounds there does not allow innovation has much as here in America but they "can" innovate if needed to. When there is a need there will be innovation. Bill Walsh was innovative, he did not have the players to compete so he came up with the West Coast Offense and he made them competitive. Walsh even said that if not for the "lack of talent" with his teams, he would have not came up with the West Coast offense.


+1 on QC. People who think an American can put together a scope better than a Chinese person is just fooling themselves. It's all about Quality Control. USA has it, China does not (for the most case, but not all cases, see Polytech M14's)

Heh. I am probably anti-red chinese then. No skin off my asiatic tuckus...

At this point in time, the quality of manufactured goods from China is just terrible. They will get there eventually. Please don't get me wrong I like a good deal, as such I will continue buying chinese products. But in this particular case, I'm content to wait and drool or buy the darn thing right away and then go hungry.

Please also note. I said, "modern China". Old china was pretty inventive as you have said above. This weird disconnect between old and new, I believe this is due to cultural, education and political influences. The chinese system to date does not encourage inventiveness. They tend to emphasize harmony and all that hippy-like stuff. That IMO is a strength as you tend to get people willing to grind it out and toe the line. Especially in a factory assembly line. The weakness is that when you do innovate/be enterprising you tend to 'cut corners'. I have read of situations where the chinese farmers where using toxic whatever to treat food products. When told that this would be bad to consumers. The reply was that people in cities get free health care. However, during my last trip there, this lack of innovation/QC/whatever seems to recognized and people are trying to do something about it. ie. executing the equivalent of the Chinese head of the FDA.

After all my ranting I still say in this particular instance. The following holds true.

1. If you really really want a red dot sight. Get one. Get what you can afford. Realise it is usually not as well built and durable as the more spendy ones.
2. If you really want a good red dot sight. Save your moolah. I know It sound eird but glass tends to cost more the bloody boomstick
3. Chinese products depending on what and how they are used suffer from QC issues. Caveat Emptor.

Oh yeah... when you do get good glass. Mounts and the like will cost an arm and a leg too.

[maxicon]

I'm always amused by the "Chinese stuff is all crap" line. Might as well say "American stuff is all top notch", and you'd be just as accurate. The implication is that being born in China makes people unable to care about producing quality goods, when it may just be that we only see the cheap junk that Americans choose to import.

Being an American manufacturer doesn't mean squat when you compare the guy behind Hesse Arms and Mark LaRue. Is it possible there are some Chinese Mark LaRues, and we just haven't imported their stuff yet because it's expensive?

Sturgeon's Law says "90% of everything is crap", and I believe it's a pretty good rule of thumb, whether you apply it to 300 million Americans or 1 billion Chinese.

[mxndrnks]

So many intelligent responses on here...... Making me laugh.....