ACOG - worth it?

Exspiravit

Exspiravit

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I have for whatever reason never held, used, or owned one of these things.
But I have a Colt AR15A4, and....

Pros? Cons? Average price I should be looking for and which model?
 
At Frontline Defense another member had one on his rifle, WOW, super clear glass, you get what you pay for.
 
Pros: durable in the extreme,
Cons: terrible eye relief.

The ACOG is optic designed to survive combat, and personally unless your planning on treating your gun to combat conditions its not worth it.

Spend the same amount of money on a LPVO and you will probably be happier.

I've seen TA31s NIB during sales go for about ~900, They pop up used for less than that quite often. Just be careful as they are a common item to walk off military bases, and if it breaks and you send it in to trijicon you wont get it back.
 
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Have one and like it. Would replace it in 10 min if it was stolen.

Edit, bought it used, think I gave $600.
 
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Follow up question. How easy are they to sell if I don't like it?
 
Not bad. They pop up on EE and R/GAFS pretty often.
 
@11B CIB has a couple. I have shot his rifles with them and they are awesome. Very clear glass. Just wish I could afford them!

If I remember correctly he shot a "known distance" Appleseed with the fixed 4x ACOG and was crushing it out to 400 yards.
 
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This is the deal, the 4x32 acog is horrible on eye relief. So I avoid them.

It has been my experience that the best buy in the ACOG market is the TA 11 with a green donut reticle.

All BDC's on ACOG's are in meters, so a 200yd zero = 18o meters. This will serve you well in the zero process. I zero on the 200m hold point at 6 0'clock and use an 8" bull for x ring hits.

Bullet drop tracks to at least 700m.
 
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I prefer a low power variable for a couple reasons:
More flexible
More magnification
True 1x- can be used like red dot- where it lives 90% of the time, this is most important reason for me.
For my use, it does everything an Acog can do and much more.
Fixed mag is a deal killer.

Downside is weight. Just my opinion.
 
I was issued one for years and have used it on multiple deployments; they’re great, rugged optics with excellent glass. That said, I would take a LPVO any day over an ACOG.
 
Derek8404 said:
I was issued one for years and have used it on multiple deployments; they’re great, rugged optics with excellent glass. That said, I would take a LPVO any day over an ACOG.
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For me, depends on the carbine. If we are talking rack grade M4, ACOG all day. If its a custom build with not FSP, I will entertain a LPVO more. But a LPVO on a carbine gas, FSP setup is a bitch in many uses
 
I got one from John for my Colt A4. Love it. She drew blood 10 minutes after I put it on. Mine was purely for a clone build but I’d agree with the others that there are better options. But I do love the ruggedness of the ACOG.
 
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Lots of great info guys. Seems love it or hate it.
I'm going to get hold of one and see it in person, but I think LPVO might be the way to go with this rifle.
 
I’ve got several and some of Trijicon’s 50mm scopes. I love mine! Out to 300 meters, I can drill beautiful holes with them, no problems. Try Trijicon’s Accupoint and Accupower scopes.
 
Been using the ACOGs since 95'. Used the TA01NSN model for about 15 yrs in the Army. Solid, clear and compact optic. Got a TA31 on my personal M16A4 clone at home. Took two NC whitetails using that scope on my M4A1 clone.

TA01NSN
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TA31
ARs mine.jpg


CD
 
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JBoyette said:
This is the deal, the 4x32 acog is horrible on eye relief. So I avoid them.

It has been my experience that the best buy in the ACOG market is the TA 11 with a green donut reticle.

All BDC's on ACOG's are in meters, so a 200yd zero = 18o meters. This will serve you well in the zero process. I zero on the 200m hold point at 6 0'clock and use an 8" bull for x ring hits.

Bullet drop tracks to at least 700m.
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This ta11 green donut..comment..spot on, after much consideration is what sits on one of my SHTF rifles, no complaints
 
I bought a 3x acog with green horseshoe reticle a few years ago. The reticle was too small, and for other reasons NKD mentioned, so I went back to my Accupoint TR24G.
 
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88Mustang said:
I have 2 of the a GenIII ACSS (5.56 and 7.62x 35/39), Primary Arms packs a lot of value.
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I got a Primary Arms model ACOG TA44 1.5x from @Pbj ak a couple months ago to add to the TA11-J (.223 crosshair 3.5x35) that I already had. I love the ACSS reticle it’s got

To the OP:

The traditional 4x32 ACOGs get a bad rap from people for eye relief because they’re set up with 1.5” eye relief, and the military generally trains NTC shooting for consistency, and based on the ocular lens-to-iron sight line up, the system works as designed. Now, if you aren’t used to shooting like that, it’s a big adjustment which is generally where the complaints come in...and I understand why if that’s not someone’s normal shooting style. The TA11 and 33 models have MUCH better eye relief (TA11 has an inch more and the -33 has half an inch more)

There are things that fixed power optics can’t do that a LPVO can, and in the ACOG price point you can get an optic with clear 1x with little to no distortion. That is appealing BUT then we need to talk about what you’re using the optic for. Mine aren’t for say 3 gun competition, but as I was making 600yd hits last weekend with it, I’d feel comfortable using the TA11 in a medium range (0-4/500) teamed event as a secondary shooter. I primarily use my ACOGs as home defense optics (the 1.5x works better in this role but I have a lot of time invested in point shooting and shooting with both eyes open), I’ve hunted with my TA11 and harvested several deer using it, pest control on farm land, it’s really a do-it-all optic.

The glass is crystal clear (it should be for the price) but fixed power isn’t for everyone. I’d suggest seeing if anyone in your area has one they’d let you try out at the range for a few hours, preferably a range that has distance targets AND a <50yd range that you can try some closer shooting drills with. Anyone who gets behind my rifles at the range are immediately making first round hits on steel from 200 to 500. They are simple and effective.

TL;DR: they’re great optics, I love mine. Not for everyone and they’re not for every situation, but don’t discount their practicality, ease of use, and quality. I also like LPVOs...have owned them, currently own them, and want to own more (of both :) )

veD2cYB.jpg
 
Well, I'm waffling on the ACOG. I bought a cheap Burris AR-536 off another member just to try out fixed magnification/etched reticle on a rifle, and it worked really in every situation I've used it in the last two days. Eye relief is probably about the same, weight wasn't really noticeable on a 20 inch rifle. Actually balanced it out a little better.

I think I'm leaning towards the TRI100218. I pick up green dots better than red outdoors. I also prefer the less busy chevron reticle.
 
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