I've been drooling over the ACOG for a long time now. The expense has always kept me at bay. The more I shoot, the more I realize that the expense of quality is almost always worth it.

There were aspects I don't like though:

• Fixed magnification. How would this affect me at close range?
• Eye relief. Red dots have unlimited eye relief. This makes them very quick to pick up. Magnified optics need the shooter's eye to be in the right place or they can't see through the optic properly.

And so the research began. I read about ACOGs, prism scopes, red dots with flip up magnifiers and scopes with variable magnification. There is an amazing array of optics out there and an equally large price range.

I actually settled on a 1-4x24 optic. I've been using it for a while and it works really nice. I actually won a couple of competitions using this scope. But it's large and heavy and I never take it off 4x. So, a small fixed scope would be better because it's smaller and lighter.

I finally got to handle some ACOGs at a gun store. The Trijicon ACOG (Advanced Combat Optical Gunsite) is a very nice optic and smaller than they look on the screen. The largest is the TA11 and it supposedly has the longest eye relief. But it is big and you can just go with a variable scope for that size. The TA31 is probably the most common. It has a 4x magnification and many different reticles to choose from. Lots of guys rave about the chevron reticle.

Then I got my hands on a TA33. This is a beauty of an optic. The glass is very clear. More than that, the eye relief is really amazing. Most scopes have a sweet spot that is just perfect. This little gem has an extremely generous eye relief. In fact, you can get right up on it and it is still very clear. This allows me to position it on the rifle in such a way that eye relief is not critical.

With all that in my mind, I still couldn't get past the price tag; these things aren't cheap. So, I scoured the classifieds and waited. Sure enough, I found a used one for a decent price and brought it home.

Because it has a built in mount, no need to level it. Mine has a LaRue quick detach mount. Couldn't be easier to mount. It also has the red chevron reticle:


Tomorrow I will zero it.

__________________
Freedom isn't free.

Congratulations.

It certainly seems you have done your homework before making the decision on what to buy so I think you will be happy.

Will be waiting for a range report! Good luck!

__________________
Hue 68 noli me tangere

Welcome to the other side my man. Now you understand 1st hand why the Trijicon ACOG, Aimpoint, Raytheon Elcan and such optics command a high price. There is no cheating with optics. You get what you pay for. When you buy a Trijicon, Aimpoint, Elcan, you only have to buy it one time. Over time, the firearm onto which you mount the Trijicon may change but the optic won't.

Kudos to you for being patient and locating a used Trijicon ACOG within your budget. So I can expect a new converted ally whenever the next optic thread pops up?

__________________
-John

Congrats, bud. You deserve it. I hope it proves to be everything you wanted.

__________________
642-1, M&P15 TS

The TA 33 will serve you well. I have been running Acog's on 308's and 5.56's for several years, along with Aimpoint T-1's and EO 552's. For me they all serve a purpose for specific applications. They will not replace my variable power scopes on my precision rifles, but my variable power scopes will not replace my Acog's or cqb optics. Just different tools in the tool box, all good for serious applications.
I have seen Acog's that looked like they had been drug behind a truck at high speed down the highway, and they still worked just fine. The Acog is battle tried,tested and proven. I run all of mine with Larue throw lever mounts.
And the observation from JaPes about buying quality optics is spot on, always buy the best optic that you can afford. Over the years I have seen a lot of agencies, individual shooters try to cut corners on optics, and it just ends up costing them more money in the long run.

Brother I have always been on your side when it comes to optics. I've bought cheap optics and have only been disappointed. I've also bought mid-range optics and been fairly happy. However, it's only with the really good optics that I've been really happy.

The two things that have stopped me from getting an ACOG earlier, were eye relief and fixed power. For some reason I just couldn't get it though my head that a fixed power would work for me. It wasn't until I got the 1-4x24 and left it on 4x all the time, that I realized that it would be just fine. Of course price is always a factor. At $1,300 and up, they just weren't in the cards no matter how good they are.

Eye relief is still an issue, but one that is overcome with practice and spending the time necessary to get the gun set up properly. Once set up, the gun snaps in nicely.



I got to the range early this morning to zero it in. Being the genius I am, I forgot the amount of movement per click. It turns out it's a 1/4MOA per click adjustment, but I didn't know that at the time and was just adjusting it by moving the reticle relative to the target. This is not the best way to do it, but it does work.

I did the adjustment at 50 yards, but did it with a 100 yard zero in mind. So, I set it to hit ~1" low at 50 yards. Whoever had this before me must have adjusted it improperly. It was hitting ~6" high at 50 yards. That means it required at least 48 clicks down. That's a lot of adjustment. I was afraid it was going to run out of room, it didn't. It was also hitting ~3" to the right. A bunch of clicks left cured that. Maybe too much left. I'll have to verify that again.

I'm not ready to call it zeroed. I need to do another trip to the range to verify the settings. I suspect I'll tweak it just a little more.

The reticle is supposed to be a Bullet Drop Compensator (BDC). This one is calibrated out to 600 meters. Personally I think that's a little wishful thinking. It has no windage markings on it and the adjustments are not finger adjustable. Sure, you could probably hit a target out to 600 meters on a day with no wind. However, add even a 3MPH cross wind and it would be easy to be off target at that distance.

Even so, out to 300 meters, the scope is fine. I find the 3x magnification is plenty for distances up to 300 yards/meters.


There is one drawback. The dual lighting system is too sensitive to ambient light. Even though I got to the range before the sun crested the hill, and I was under a cover that provided shade, the chevron was too bright. This causes some bloom on the chevron which makes it hard to make a really precise shot. The fix is to cover about half of the fiber optic tube with some tape. I don't like that solution; it's a band aid. I'm surprised that Trijicon hasn't come up with some integrated solution like they have on their AccuPoint scopes.

__________________
Freedom isn't free.

I think so. An optic is duty worthy or it is not.

I know. I was just ribbing ya a bit.

I've bought cheap. I've purchased mid-range only to realize that most of the mid-range are just the re-branded high-end cheap where the so-called mid range "brand name" is inflating the price.

It's always a kick in the nuts to buy an Aimpoint. It's a bigger kick in the nuts for an ACOG. The $$$ for something truly good isn't inconsequential to me. I have to wait for sales, discounts, and save. If I'm lucky, maybe I can find something used.

It's just taking that kick to the nuts that seems to be the sticking point for most. Once you get it over with, you'll be happy.

__________________
-John

Even though I haven't always agreed with you on this point, I've had my "ah-ha!" moment and agree with you now.

(For the newbies tuning in, I used to fight Phil on this point. I used to argue the so-called quality of the high end cheap / mid-range optics.)

__________________
-John

I had a friend give me one: I took everything else off the AR and never looked back.

__________________
Now go make God proud...

That's a good friend.

__________________
Freedom isn't free.

Congrats on the purchase, they are really worth it. I have the TA31F with the red chevron and it amazes me how well your brain can compensate with the fixed magnification. BAC really works.

__________________
Still carrying my S&W 642

Enjoy the ACOG. I like the ones I have had I the best but for me none of them stayed on the rifle for very long. They just were not the right tool for "my" jobs. LOL

I don't know which ACOG, (are there different ones?), but the Corps has boots qualifiying with these nowadays. No more qual with irons.
And yes, I visited with a real-life PMI at Edson Range and got this info.
It's a good rig. Enjoy it Rastoff!

There are many different ones. A common one in the military is the TA31- NSN:



The one I got is this one:


The TA31 is a 4x and mine, a TA33 is 3x.

__________________
Freedom isn't free.