The idiot's guide to the AR-15 rifle (or an idiot building one)

Does anyone have any opinion on the Aimpoint H-1 vs the EOTech XPS or EXPS? I can get an EXPS for a pretty tempting price, if I jump on it pretty quick.
 
wintermute said:
Does anyone have any opinion on the Aimpoint H-1 vs the EOTech XPS or EXPS? I can get an EXPS for a pretty tempting price, if I jump on it pretty quick.
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I like EOTechs for their reticle. I prefer the 65 MOA donut with the 1 MOA dot over the dot reticle of the Aimpoint. However, this simple dot reticle makes the battery life of Aimpoints infinitely longer than that of the EOTech. If you can get a really good price on the XPS, I say go for it. Between the XPS and the EXPS and the T1 and H1 Aimpoint, if you don’t need night vision compatibility (I don’t) save yourself the money and get the non-NV version of either.

The Micro Aimpoints are very popular, but they’re just the newest and bestest optic to the AR market. People will be using something else in 2 years, just like it’s always been.
 
adaman04 said:
I like EOTechs for their reticle. I prefer the 65 MOA donut with the 1 MOA dot over the dot reticle of the Aimpoint. However, this simple dot reticle makes the battery life of Aimpoints infinitely longer than that of the EOTech. If you can get a really good price on the XPS, I say go for it. Between the XPS and the EXPS and the T1 and H1 Aimpoint, if you don’t need night vision compatibility (I don’t) save yourself the money and get the non-NV version of either.

The Micro Aimpoints are very popular, but they’re just the newest and bestest optic to the AR market. People will be using something else in 2 years, just like it’s always been.
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Yep. Dont listen to the tactical ninjas who seem to be all aimpoint fanboys. Eotechs are Awesome. Aimpoints are too, but the are for different purposes. if you want to leave your optic on 24/7 and plan to use it for only man size targets and have a fat wallet, go for aimpoint. If you dont mind the extra 1 second it takes to turn on your optic when you need it and want man size and a bit more pinpoint accuracy, go eotech.
 
EOTechs have come a long way. The new models are a huge improvement over the older ones that I had in terms of battery life and size. I still generally prefer the Aimpoint but the EOTech reticle is excellent.
 
I think I've now built up 5 AR's from stripped lowers and complete uppers. I have two lowers, one still waiting on inspiration (I think it will ultimately be a Recce/SPR-ish build with optics). It was going to be a 20" coyote gun (had the RRA stainless upper and scope) but the coyote hunting never materialized, and so that upper turned into another fly rod. :)

The AR I have done now is below:
AR_build.jpg


This is a lower that a local custom shop has rollmarked for them by Sabre (or so I was told by the shop). The stock is a VLTOR Emod (like it very much). Upper is a Rock River midlength. I intend at some point to mount a short-range optic on it, but for now I'm using the rifle to get my skills back together. It's been a very long time since I shot much rifle at all, and it is a skill that atrophies. So far I'm a little over a thousand rounds in and I'm loving the rifle.

One of the things I'm doing now is "taxing" myself every time I go into Gander Mountain. They have this huge display of XM-193. If I go into the store, I have to walk out with two boxes. These are going into longer-term storage as SHTF-fodder and so I don't get bit again like I was during the election runup. Most of what I'm shooting now is handloads in LC brass with the 55gr Hornady softpoint bullet over 25 gr of Benchmark. Cheap, accurate enough for me, and fun to shoot.
 
Jake Bauer said:
Yep. Dont listen to the tactical ninjas who seem to be all aimpoint fanboys. Eotechs are Awesome. Aimpoints are too, but the are for different purposes. if you want to leave your optic on 24/7 and plan to use it for only man size targets and have a fat wallet, go for aimpoint. If you dont mind the extra 1 second it takes to turn on your optic when you need it and want man size and a bit more pinpoint accuracy, go eotech.
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<-- Tactical ninja I guess? Both can be great optics for most, but I went Aimpoint.

When I bought mine, I picked it for being the more durable of the two. I've seen four Eos stop working for different reasons at both carbine courses and also just sooting at the range. The battery life of the unit is a plus but not a deal breaker. But 10,000 (ML2) vs 600 (XPS2), there is a win here by a landslide. That being said, mine don't just sit on all the time.

I do not think I have ever found anyone that can shoot an Eo better than an AimPoint just because of the dot size. There are alot of guys that like one over the other, train wit it, and become proficient with one optic platform. At that point they would shoot one better than the other. When your precision shooting with a red dot, you shouldn't be looking at the dot but the top edge of it. If your trying to hit at 300 with a 4 moa dot by covering the target, you might have some problems. Between the 2 and 4 moa dots between the ML2 and ML3, you should not have any difference in accuracy by using the top of the dot. I have found anymore that I really don't look at the dot, but the top edge. Until you back the optic up with a quality magnifier to make consistent hits at extended ranges, the larger dots have never bothered me.
 
59Bassman said:
Most of what I'm shooting now is handloads in LC brass with the 55gr Hornady softpoint bullet over 25 gr of Benchmark. Cheap, accurate enough for me, and fun to shoot.
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ditto on reloading. i find it very therapeutic given the small margin of error...and i like telling my friends that it's pretty much a hand grenade waiting to happen for the careless. i like to maintain my image as the freak of the bunch :p


CLICKBANGBANG said:
The battery life of the unit is a plus but not a deal breaker. But 10,000 (ML2) vs 600 (XPS2), there is a win here by a landslide. That being said, mine don't just sit on all the time.
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yup, battery life was the biggest issue i had with my eotech and that's why i sold it (to jake bauer actually). after a few range trips the constant worry in the back of my mind of how much battery life is there left exactly and whether or not i'd have enough if/when i'd actually need it became too much.

my routine was to put fresh batteries on it and only turned it on a few seconds every night for function check but use a different set of batteries for range trips...but that constant swapping was a hassle.

my ml3 is on 24/7 for about two years now (battery life is ~5 yrs so i'm changing it every 3 yrs just in case) :D

not sure if pat rogers was the one who suggested that someone run 100 yds as fast as they can, wait 10 or so secs to catch their breath and try and hit a man-size target at 50 yds while standing up...that's more like the real world use. i laugh when people talk about 1" groupings with red dots since they're most likely sitting on a bench instead of what pat suggested.

as for the reticle, i went with the 4 moa...if i can hit a man-size target at 100 yds or less every time then i'm happy. red dots are close-quarter optics...beyond 100 yds is not what they're designed for. also, another tip i was given was put a cover on the front of the optic...if you're using it right (focus on the target instead of the reticle) then you'll still see the reticle "magically" superimposed on the target...aimpoint vs. eotech reticle shape is a moot point to me.
 
Here's the latest. Most likely done with it. Dont think I'll be putting anything else on her.

IWC Mount-n-slot QD slot:
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IWC 1" TMC OD Light mount:
IMG_6799.jpg

IMG_6800.jpg


IMG_6801.jpg


IMG_6797.jpg


The sling is a Vickers Blue Force Gear VCAS 2 point sling.

Slung:
IMG_6806.jpg


I really like the Mount-n-slot stuff. It's awesome. The light mount takes my light up off the side of the rail and is more natural to use my thumb to activate the light. The QD slot is very solid too. Service was great too. Got the light mount in 2 days using standard ground shipping. the sling and QD slot I got for Christmas.
 
Nice Jake. It must be a sad day for you. Wept because there were no more lands to conquer, eh? I did wind up picking up the EOTech EXPS for my AR. I mounted it and played around with it but haven't had a chance to get to the range (aka Ice Station Zebra in this weather) with it. One thing that I did notice, and I don't THINK it's a big deal is that my front sight base is slightly canted (say maybe one degree) compared to the bottom rim of the EOTech's window. Now all I need is that IWC light mount and a VTAC or VCAS sling and I'll be done myself (then I'll start bunkering spare parts).
 
wintermute said:
Nice Jake. It must be a sad day for you. Wept because there were no more lands to conquer, eh? I did wind up picking up the EOTech EXPS for my AR. I mounted it and played around with it but haven't had a chance to get to the range (aka Ice Station Zebra in this weather) with it.
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lotsa ARs / 16s in Ice Station Zebra! :D

ice_station_zebra_ver2.jpg


icestationzebra.jpg
 
Aimpoint are really great, I have a ML3 and really Like but I may sell and replace it with a vortex sparc. Very sweet optic and comparable to the H-1 not battle ready but seriously? Most of us are range ninjas and hunters. The 1-4 pst looks like it will wind up on one of my ars as well. If you want to really save some money primary arms has good stuff but I only use their stuff for my 22s.
 
finally! ordered my upper receiver last night. bcm midlength. should be here monday, hopefully my handguard will be here soon...
 
I worked a swinging deal with Saber Defence on a complete upper . M4 Flat top, folding F/R sights 16" 1:7 5.56 chrome lined complete with BC/CH ready to mount & shoot at employee pricing, made a contact at Shot show...prolly order it next week ,it is a fantastic set up & well made unit sku # 40062 in catalog.
 
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