Aimpoint find, how'd I do?

[gun toting monkeyboy]

I went to pick up yet another toy at the local store today, and I saw some interesting boxes sitting on a back shelf. There were 3 Aimpoints, NIB, but the boxes looked a bit worn. 2 were marked AIMPOINT ELECTRONIC, and the third was an Aimpoint Mark III. Everything is there on them. Warranty card, original factory sticker on one end of the styrofoam container, the works. They were marked at $200-335 a piece. Of course the stickers on them were really, really old. The old guy that runs the place had dug them out from some stock he purchased many years ago from another store that had gone under in the mid 1980s. I did a bit of searching online, and found that they are usually going for $65-100 used. So I offered $200 for the lot of them and he said sure. The one that has batteries in it still works great. I would assume that the others do as well. They are all in mint condition. The original models were made from 1975-79, and the Mark III seems to have been discontinued in 1983. So, my question is, did I do ok, or did I pay way too much for some retro junk?

(edit)
Does anybody know what an early 1980's commercial AR-15 was set up with? Would that be more or less an A1? I was thinking it might be fun to put together a retro sporter with one of these.

[evidens83]

Got any pics? I didnt even know AP was around back then. Interesting find!

[teufeldoc]

@ GTM: Did you buy those from Dave? (I'm assuming you are in Fallbrook) I saw the three he had out and almost bought one. I'm curious about them as well.

[gun toting monkeyboy]

Yes, he had them just laying there, so I grabbed them. I'll post pictures as soon as I can. Here are some generic ones from Aimpoint's site:

http://www.aimpoint.com/o.o.i.s?id=46&prev_id=46&product_id=73

http://www.aimpoint.com/o.o.i.s?id=46&prev_id=46&product_id=76

It looks like the Mark III was made from 83-86. While it has the windage and elevation adjustments internally as opposed to on the mount like the original, it doesn't seem to have as clear of optics. I can't comment on it's function until the battery gets here. I have gotten to fiddle with them some, and they are pretty nice. The dot in the original model is just as clear, if not clearer than the ones in my new aimpoints. The objective lens is maybe 20mm. It is very small, but you can still use it with both eyes open and get a decent sight picture. I am SO going to build a retro civilian AR carbine to put one of these on. No Dak Spud, here I come.

(edit) I just realized that the originals are older than my first Atari 2600. That we got when I was in 1st or 2nd grade. 70's tech. How cool.

[jak77]

Thats way cool!! Good find

[gun toting monkeyboy]

I measured the optics, and they are closer to 13-14mm. I am going to see how well they line up on a detachable carry handle tonight.