Red Dot Failures? BUIS really necessary?

[SoCalXD]

Like me, you probably have backup sights on every optic equipped rifle you own. But I was thinking... I have never seen a MilSpec quality red dot optic fail (EoTech, Aimpoint). I even have an EoTech that spent 2 years on daily patrols in Iraq that is way dented and scratched, but is still is 100% reliable.

I'm beginning to think that backup sights on a carbine that already has a milspec red-dot mounted is money and weight allocation poorly spent, especially on a civilian defense rifle.

Any thoughts on this, or any experiences with failed milspec red-dots? (excluding dead batteries, of course).

[dieselpower]

I agree to a point. There are situations where the RDS isnt going to be the best option, such as strange lighting conditions and long range shooting. If you set up for a 50 yard zero, you got to have a IS system for shots past 250 yards. For me I use a 25 yard zero and my 4 MOA dot as a size reference for targets 400 yards away. I will use my IS to aim with.

[Grassninja]

There have been plenty of accounts of eotechs failing and, to a lesser degree, aimpoints failing. The bottom line is that these are both man made objects and can fail on you at inconvenient times.

The cost depends on which BUIS you choose. Weight is negligible and really adds nothing to a gun.

Assuming the carbine is meant as more than just a range toy, I see no reason to not have irons on a carbine with RDS, and a whole lot of reasons why you should.

[wtactraining]

There have been plenty of accounts of eotechs failing and, to a lesser degree, aimpoints failing. Really? Where and when?

[dieselpower]

There have been plenty of accounts of eotechs failing and, to a lesser degree, aimpoints failing. The bottom line is that these are both man made objects and can fail on you at inconvenient times.

The cost depends on which BUIS you choose. Weight is negligible and really adds nothing to a gun.

Assuming the carbine is meant as more than just a range toy, I see no reason to not have irons on a carbine with RDS, and a whole lot of reasons why you should.

I go back and forth with this scare tactic stuff. There is merit to this mindset, but its sorta like telling someone to avoid all trees because of lightning strikes... its not a real situation unless you are in a lightning storm.

You can pretend and play make-believe fantasy all you want, but even LEO SWAT team members are not going to be in this situation...its so remote of a chance its not even funny. The apocalyptic SHTF/WROL is pure fantasy... the actual chance of it happening is extremely remote at best and if it does the chance of your optic dieing is even more remote.

Looking at military operations requirements is not the best for civilian prepping...its not even close..no matter how much the cool guys here or on the zombie websites tell you...its all fantasy bullcrud.

I agree there is an increased chance of a $9.99 optic failing...big time. The chance of a C-More, EOTech, Aimpoint, Trijicon, or other high end optic failing during a life and death situation is very very remote...in fact its a nearly unheard of outside of the military. We are talking about 1:100,000 chance of something like that.

Older EOTechs failed all the time, Older Aimpoints failed all the time, Older C-mores failed all the time, Older Trigicons failed all the time,..ect ect ect. Due to the public having faster and greater media social coverage of these things, manufactures have stepped up the QC.

Case in point, within days of a Youtube video showing a magpul Stock failing at the range, the owner of Magpul contacted the person, gave them a new stock and from what I am told redesigned the locking release arm. There is nothing wrong with the old one, but a defect was noted and a change was made...within days of a single incident.

[223556]

It's more like batteries going down in the field. BUIS need very little maintenance to run reliable if any.
I run a A2 front base with 24/7 Night sight and Daniel Defense A1.5 Rear sight. I love it, works perfect and probably will never fail.
Yes, most RDS and mil-spec scopes are built though, but glass breaks, buttons wear out, batteries die, water kils it ( if optic is already compromised).
ALL reasons why I would have BUIS on.
Range toy is another story.....

[SuperSet]

I agree with you. They aren't necessary but a nice to have. A pair of MBUS are cheap and light weight so why not?

[Clee]

BUIS are a necessity for fighting gun. I had a catastrophic fail with my T1 during my class at CSAT. The front lens popped right off during our sighting is session. Without my BUIS I would have been screwed. If that were a gunfight, I'd probably be dead.

BUIS are relatively cheap and light so why not just have them on. Optics fail even high quality ones, I wouldn't take the chance if that weapon is one you plan on picking up when you going to fight. If its a range gun or fun gun then I say you can leave them off.

[SKSer]

Its better to have them and not need them then to need them and not have them. I also love having BUIS too in case i take off my optic and put it back on, I can re-zero, right then and there. also vice versa with the Iron sights, i can take them off and then re install and verify Zero right away. Last time i was at the range I zeroed in my irons and then zeroed in my Optic. When i got home I realized my optic was a little crooked and the mounting nuts were loose, i must not have tightened them down all the way. when i re tightened down, When i cross verified, the red dot was a bit over to the right. if i was shooting at 100 yards it would have been off by about 12 to 14 inches. now without the BUIS, i would have to wait to get to the range again to re dial it back in. I just flipped up my rear sight clicked the dot back over to dead center on the front sightpost and 30 seconds later i was re-zeroed.

Although it may be a rare occasion that the RDS fail but it is absolutely possible. If it did, and you had iron sights, you could put your new or fixed optic back on and re-zero it right away. If its just a range gun then who cares if you have them or not. If you think there is ever a possibility that you would need to rely on it for real defense then BUIS are a cheap insurance. I used to have a stevens 200 in .308, and i remember when i first got it it didnt have a scope mounted on it, i remember thinking how worthless the gun was without it. After having it for awhile I used to think "this thing is awesome with the scope, but it used to drive me nuts thinking of if I was depending on it and the scope broke, it would go from a tack driver to a extremely short range .308. That and I also got bored with the killer accuracy, ha ha. I sold it and replaced it with converted Saiga .308. I love the fact that i have the scope on the saiga, and shoot it mainly with that for long range, but if anything happened i could take the scope off and have a perfectly functioning battle rifle with irons.

[dieselpower]

BUIS are a necessity for fighting gun. I had a catastrophic fail with my T1 during my class at CSAT. The front lens popped right off during our sighting is session. Without my BUIS I would have been screwed. If that were a gunfight, I'd probably be dead.

BUIS are relatively cheap and light so why not just have them on. Optics fail even high quality ones, I wouldn't take the chance if that weapon is one you plan on picking up when you going to fight. If its a range gun or fun gun then I say you can leave them off.

Yup, it happens to be sure...its just rare.

[stphnman20]

BUIS, although rarely used, it's better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.

[LAKings22]

I usually shoot with my Eotech and switch and shoot with my MBUS. I actually like shooting more with MBUS, it's more challenging and it makes me feel better when i hit the medal targets @ 200

[VictorFranko]

I'm not going to risk my life on a couple dollars worth of batteries.......

[SuperSet]

I'm not going to risk my life on a couple dollars worth of batteries.......

Brother, what do you think are in those SureFire flashlights?

[ExtremeX]

Brother, what do you think are in those SureFire flashlights?