Aimpoint magnifiers and mounts

[m102404]

I've had plenty of aimpoints...but never a magnifier.

I skipped the 1st, 2nd, 3rd gen of the clone of the clones. The ones I saw when they first came out were not the nicest things to look through. The poor eye relief was probably the biggest issue.

With most of the ACOGS/ELCANS that I've tried, you've either got your lense touching or almost touching when using JT paintball goggles. Not so much issue with Bolle's, but we can't use them at all fields.

I've also heard that some of the flip to the side mounts are wobbly. Are the twist off ones rock solid, or better off with a different type of mount? I would like to be able to remove the magnifier relatively quickly...and return it without messing around with the setup.

So...from those who have them...what specific magnifier and mount would render usable eye relief (with JT paintball goggles at worst), clear picture and rock solid stability.

3x preferred...4x I think would be the max.

Or am I better off with a real steel scope with QR mounts?

[SnapBack]

I have the Huang Aimpoint with 3x magnifier FTS. The mount on the FTS isn't as 'rock solid' as other mounts I've used, but it's usable. It's pretty fast to flip out of the way (pull back and it moves to the side), but not as fast as the Eotech FTS(push a button and it flips by it's self). Never tried the twist off style.

As far as the eye relief goes, you have to be pretty close to the optic to get a full view through it. This might be a problem for some if you have to mount your optic far forward or if you don't have a collapsable stock.

I would say that if eye relief is a big deal a real steel optic might be a bit better for you. But if you can live with less than great eye relief then the replica's might be the way to go.

[ILLusion]

The replica Twist mounts are horrible. I wouldn't use it at all for any optics device... maybe just a flashlight at most.

The replica FTS mounts are a bit better - the Bomber ones being the most solid I've used, but still a bit wobbly.

If you want something absolutely solid, get something that has a replica ARMS flip mount on the base of a solid ring mount OR get a real steel twist/FTS. The clone FTS mounts pretty much eat poo, while the twist mounts eat massive piles of wet runny diarrhea if you want a solid mount.

As for eye relief... you're SOL if you want something long... even real steel optics don't have huge eye relief. A real ACOG has a very short eye relief, just like the replicas. My SpecterDR is only a tad bit better than a replica ACOG, but it's still not as nice as say... a dedicated 4-10x rifle scope.

[turok_t]

Hey im also interested, if i was to get a clone of the aimpoint 3x magnifier, which brand would be the best?

[ILLusion]

Aimpoint brand would be best.

IMHO, all the replicas are garbage. The build quality is generally pretty poor, although the device does somewhat do its job.