Magnifier goes where?

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  • erwos

    The Hebrew Hammer
    MDS Supporter
    Mar 25, 2009
    13,866
    Rockville, MD
    So, it's looking like I'm FINALLY finishing off my AR-15, courtesy of a forum member's upper. It has BUIS, but I'm a red dot kinda guy, so I want to go with a red dot + magnifier + cowitness setup.

    My question is, where does the magnifier go - in front of the red dot or in back of it? I've seen it both ways, but I don't know which is optimal, if it even matters.
     

    SCARCQB

    Get Opp my rawn, Plick!
    Jun 25, 2008
    13,614
    Undisclosed location
    Erwos.
    This picture may help.

    This is exactly what you are looking for. I have an Eotech 552 mounted in the forward third of the flat-top, followed by an Aimpoint 3X magnifier / Larue FTS mount, then a Matech 600 meter Flip up BUIS. When the magnifier is flipped to the side, the BUIS can be raised up and is in perfect co- witness to the Eotech. The center dot of the Eotech reticle sits right on top of the front sight post when viewed through the rear sight. There is also enough space between the Larue mount and the Eotech 552 to manipulate the rear buttons.
     

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    MrWhiteRabbit

    Firefighter Gone Awry
    Sep 23, 2007
    1,122
    Scar's got the right idea. It'd be tough to see the magnifier recticle if it was on the other side of the EOTech's battery compartment.
     

    erwos

    The Hebrew Hammer
    MDS Supporter
    Mar 25, 2009
    13,866
    Rockville, MD
    Scar's got the right idea. It'd be tough to see the magnifier recticle if it was on the other side of the EOTech's battery compartment.
    I'm confused - I thought that magnifier didn't have a reticule, and just magnified whatever went through it? I mean, doesn't putting the magnifier first wind up making the dot bigger, too?
     

    SCARCQB

    Get Opp my rawn, Plick!
    Jun 25, 2008
    13,614
    Undisclosed location
    You cant mount the magnifier before the red dot. Since the magnifier is really a magnified scope , you need to worry about eye relief. Mounting it in the front will not work. If you mount it in the front, your eye will be beyond the eye relief range and will simply result in a dark image.
     

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    Redneck

    Ultimate Member
    Jan 29, 2007
    7,547
    Sparrows Point
    I know that the only way to run my Burris Tripler is to run it behind my xts 135. The eye relief is about 1.5 inches so if you run it in front, you wouldn't be able to see out of it.
     

    MrWhiteRabbit

    Firefighter Gone Awry
    Sep 23, 2007
    1,122
    I'm confused - I thought that magnifier didn't have a reticule, and just magnified whatever went through it? I mean, doesn't putting the magnifier first wind up making the dot bigger, too?

    Yes, it magnifies whatever goes in, but it focuses that image at a point that's 1-2" behind it. If you've got 3" of battery compartment + 2" of EOTech + your eye's natural distance from the EOTech, you're way out of focus there and like the other guy said, you'll just see black or a big blur.

    Trust us or try it. Pick one.
     

    erwos

    The Hebrew Hammer
    MDS Supporter
    Mar 25, 2009
    13,866
    Rockville, MD
    No, no, I trust you guys, I'm just trying to understand the "science" behind it. I had not considered the eye relief issue, which makes perfect sense.
     

    JMintzer

    Hoarding Douche Waffle
    Mar 17, 2009
    6,298
    SW MoCo/Free FL (when I can)
    You cant mount the magnifier before the red dot. Since the magnifier is really a magnified scope , you need to worry about eye relief. Mounting it in the front will not work. If you mount it in the front, your eye will be beyond the eye relief range and will simply result in a dark image.

    I have a very similar setup. From the stock forward, I have an Aimpoint 3X magnifier, mounted with a LaRue FTS, sitting in front of and on top of a Magpul rear MBUS. It sits almost flush against my EOTech 553. Just behind the gas block, on my Free float rail, I have a Magpul front MBUS.


    Jamie
     

    erwos

    The Hebrew Hammer
    MDS Supporter
    Mar 25, 2009
    13,866
    Rockville, MD
    Yeah, I was thinking that I would go with Primary Arms on this one, given that I've got a budget to keep within... they're not combat optics, but I do have high quality BUIS, so I'll survive.
     

    oather

    Active Member
    Oct 19, 2009
    721
    Yeah, I was thinking that I would go with Primary Arms on this one, given that I've got a budget to keep within... they're not combat optics, but I do have high quality BUIS, so I'll survive.

    I think most of their branded stuff is manufactured in the same factory as Aimpoint's products...
     

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