The vector 10-40x56 sniper scope (moa/moa)

I got this scope as a package deal on my first sniper rifle. It is in the $400 price range, and is not a quality brand (no sugar coating here) mine came with flip caps and a six inch sunshade.

THE GOOD:

With 40x of zoom you never needed a spotting scope.

It passed the “shoot the square test” on multiple occasions.

It held zero through the 500 or so .308 rounds I shot with it.

It was great for shooting 100 yard groups (you could see every heart beat through the scope)

the parallax adjustment was great and easily tuned.

THE BAD:

The glass was crap and got down right horrific the farther you zoomed in.

It was HUGE!

Working the bolt was difficult because the scope was in the way.

I don’t like moa scopes, mil dots are easier to range with, and make more sense to me.

It didn’t have enough travel to get me past 750 yards. Then gun was good for tons more but the drop was insufficient. I could have compensated with a 20moa mount or rail but never got around to it.

Who needs a 6 inch sun shade, three inch would have been plenty.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

As a intro to sniping scope it did everything I needed it to do and for load development the magnification was very useful but in the scheme of things it was way more scope than anyone would even need. And with how blurry it got and how bad it sucked any time before or after noon, or when it was cloudy I would never recommend this scope to anyone.

The eotech 552 a65

This is the holographic sight used exclusively by the FBI, and countless swat teams and police departments all over the United States. The FBI’s use of it was the reason I bought one. I figured if it was good enough for them I too would love it. It uses a projector style screen but instead of a little light, it uses a laser diode to do the projecting. As a result you get a slightly fuzzy image that is really reliable. This comes with a built in mount. New eotechs cost $450-550 range but I have seen used ones for as little as $250.

To turn this sight on you push the up arrow if you want it to run 8 hours or the down arrow if you only want 4. To turn it off you push and hold both the up and down for 3 seconds, it has a bunch of brightness settings, but it takes a while (5-10 seconds) to get the one you want.

THE GOOD:

It was very reliable, it always worked perfectly.

I love that it took AA batteries, also it ran forever on two batteries, I never changed them in the 2 years I had the sight.

It had a great wide field of view.

It was water proof to 33feet, which meant that I was good if it started raining (I don’t scuba dive with my guns.)

You can co witness

THE BAD:

It was kind of heavy.

Adjusting the brightness is a rather slow process.

I got tired of turning it on and off. (Though it powers off by its self after 4 hours)

It is not a parallax free sight, but is still much better than most red dot type sights.

A65. Is the night vision mode designation and I don’t feel it useful at all.

I have heard ro

FINAL THOUGHTS:

I really liked this sight but the lack of a cost effective magnifier and the annoyance of turning it on and off coupled with the fact that I needed to turn it on to use it eventually disenfranchised me with this sight. If I were to buy a eotech (and I would buy one for a few applications) it would be the model 512 as I don’t own night vision goggles.

The trijicon tripower

This is a fiber optic/tritium/glow stick powered red dot that just works. It is submersible (for when you want to swim with your tactical rifle). It is not magnified and it shows a red dot wherever you go (as in you cannot turn it off) it was made to compete with aimpoint sights. For some reason they never really caught on in the US. If you find one expect to pay around $500 for it.

THE GOOD:

It is a very well made high quality sight.

For CQB it is hard not to like this.

Not ever needing to change batteries is a really cool thing (though the tritium will burn out in 12 years)

the glass is incredible.

THE BAD:

It has a very small tube and as such limits your field of view somewhat.

The dot is small and hard to pick up in full sun.

It is not a parallax free sight.
There are lots of knockoffs out there

FINAL THOUGHTS:

All in all this is a cool little sight, but it is also not quite as good as it should have been, I mean to say it had a lot going for it but it was missing that “x factor” and as a result I understand why it never really took off. These are still not common place, and they should have been.

The cabalas pine ridge:

This is a series of scopes marketed to hunters; it has a $150-$300 price tag. Mine was a 4-12x. They also have a 3x9 version. It has capped turrets, though they are marked on the inside.

THE GOOD:

The glass is clear, especially in lower light situations.

They stay put (held zero on my .223)

THE BAD:

It was bland, this is like your chevy cavalier, it works fine but it's never going to be something you can brag about with your buddies at the club.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

I wouldn’t buy one again. There are just so many better options in the same price bracket. It was a fine little scope. Two words, leupold rifleman.