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  • onedash

    Ultimate Member
    Feb 24, 2016
    1,026
    Calvert County
    Just picked up my first red dot. It says unlimited eye relief. Is there a sweet spot for red dots in general?
     

    SkiPatrolDude

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Oct 24, 2017
    3,331
    Timonium-Lutherville
    Just picked up my first red dot. It says unlimited eye relief. Is there a sweet spot for red dots in general?

    Personal preference. Some like em up close some mount them far away.

    I generally put mine so the front of the mount is one or two slots back from the front of the receiver.
     

    spoon059

    Ultimate Member
    Jun 1, 2018
    5,335
    I'm thinking about getting one myself. How do you like it thus far?

    Sent from my SM-N970U using Tapatalk
     

    WildWeasel

    Active Member
    Mar 31, 2019
    468
    MI>FL>MD
    I'd look into something else. I love Leupold glass, but I emailed their customer service a few months after this was released about battery life; while it does have the motion activation, they said its battery life is only 35 hours. Aimpoints can be left on for years...

    Just to be clear, I don't have one, and trust but verify.
     

    spoon059

    Ultimate Member
    Jun 1, 2018
    5,335
    I'd look into something else. I love Leupold glass, but I emailed their customer service a few months after this was released about battery life; while it does have the motion activation, they said its battery life is only 35 hours. Aimpoints can be left on for years...



    Just to be clear, I don't have one, and trust but verify.

    My patrol rifle is aimpoint, the batteries don't last for years. First of all, during the day I can't see the dot until level 6 or 7. Second of all, my battery goes dead within a year. According to Leupold literature the battery should last much longer than 35 hours. Either way, this is going on my personal rifle which will only be on for short periods of time anyways. If your only gripe is the battery, I'm still thinking this is a good optic...


    Sent from my SM-N970U using Tapatalk
     

    onedash

    Ultimate Member
    Feb 24, 2016
    1,026
    Calvert County
    I'm thinking about getting one myself. How do you like it thus far?

    Sent from my SM-N970U using Tapatalk

    Just got it yesterday. It didn't come with the mount which it was supposed to have so I called Leupold and they shipped one. Since it's not attached to a rifle yet i can't say but definitely different than regular scopes. I was holding it in my hand and when the dot moves based on my head position I guess that's the equivalent of parallax? Or is it parallax? Do red dots have parallax? Again, holding it in my hand so i'm sure it was moving as much as or more than my eye. The dimmest setting looking out the window in the afternoon was bright enough to see but the max setting was super bright. Not sure when I would ever need that, maybe if i'm aiming at the sun.
    Don't forget to see if you are eligible for the Leupold VIP (free) program. About 45% off MSRP!
     

    woodline

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Jan 8, 2017
    1,947
    I don't personally own one and have not used one, but that is specifically because when I was shopping for red dots I researched it and wasn't too impressed. Outside of major media outlets, the reviews are not positive. Recent example:

    https://youtu.be/_DkALBk7bd8

    https://youtu.be/m5timDnYzQw

    If you search around on other forums you'll find reports of similar poor quality. My alternate suggestion for an American made optic is the Trijicon MRO, but not everyone likes those. Most other stuff in that price range is foreign made, though a lot of it is very good.
     

    Lloyd

    Ultimate Member
    Mar 20, 2012
    1,106
    FEMA Camp
    Just picked up my first red dot. It says unlimited eye relief. Is there a sweet spot for red dots in general?

    It's a personal preference, but if you're using NVGs I did notice the further up the better, because there is less silhouette. But I'm not sure if the Leopold is NVG capable or if you will run NVGs, so that may not even be an issue.



    .
     

    Pale Ryder

    Ultimate Member
    Jan 12, 2009
    6,234
    Millersville
    IIRC, all RDS are parallax free. Once you have sighted it in, where the dot is, is where the shot will go. That’s why they are so fast within 100 yds, you don’t have to have a perfect sight picture. I’m sure you can get hits further, but 100 yds seems to be around the limit of precision. When you take a 2moa gun and add a 2 moa dot you get around a 4 inch hit radius, add in offhand shooting and it gets worse.
     

    WildWeasel

    Active Member
    Mar 31, 2019
    468
    MI>FL>MD
    My patrol rifle is aimpoint, the batteries don't last for years. First of all, during the day I can't see the dot until level 6 or 7. Second of all, my battery goes dead within a year. According to Leupold literature the battery should last much longer than 35 hours. Either way, this is going on my personal rifle which will only be on for short periods of time anyways. If your only gripe is the battery, I'm still thinking this is a good optic...


    Sent from my SM-N970U using Tapatalk

    What literature? There's no battery life listed on Leupolds website. 35 hours was what they told me with no further information. To be fair, I'm sure aim points last the stated years on a low setting. I don't have one of those either... LPVOs or normal style scopes on my rifles. If the RDS works for you then it works for you.
     

    spoon059

    Ultimate Member
    Jun 1, 2018
    5,335
    What literature? There's no battery life listed on Leupolds website. 35 hours was what they told me with no further information. To be fair, I'm sure aim points last the stated years on a low setting. I don't have one of those either... LPVOs or normal style scopes on my rifles. If the RDS works for you then it works for you.

    https://www.leupold.com/scopes/red-dot-sights/freedom-red-dot-sight-rds-1x34mm

    "Battery Life at Brightness 4 of 8: 1000 hours minimum"

    Our department bought the Aimpoint PRO based upon their claims. Testing of the battery life proved that it was false. On low you cannot see the dot, and it still dies way earlier than they claimed. That said, the department still bought the optics because they were solid and dependable. Batteries are cheap enough that we are always issued a spare.

    If the RDS was the same, it wouldn't be an issue for me. Other responses about the quality of the optic are concerning to me though.
     

    WildWeasel

    Active Member
    Mar 31, 2019
    468
    MI>FL>MD
    https://www.leupold.com/scopes/red-dot-sights/freedom-red-dot-sight-rds-1x34mm

    "Battery Life at Brightness 4 of 8: 1000 hours minimum"

    Our department bought the Aimpoint PRO based upon their claims. Testing of the battery life proved that it was false. On low you cannot see the dot, and it still dies way earlier than they claimed. That said, the department still bought the optics because they were solid and dependable. Batteries are cheap enough that we are always issued a spare.

    If the RDS was the same, it wouldn't be an issue for me. Other responses about the quality of the optic are concerning to me though.

    Awesome. Not sure when they updated it, but that is considerably more detailed than even 6 months ago, and I see they updated the sight itself. Definitely competitive with the PRO on paper.
     

    onedash

    Ultimate Member
    Feb 24, 2016
    1,026
    Calvert County
    It's a personal preference, but if you're using NVGs I did notice the further up the better, because there is less silhouette. But I'm not sure if the Leopold is NVG capable or if you will run NVGs, so that may not even be an issue.



    .

    Nope, I didn't buy one when I worked at ITT and could have got great employee price. They just updated the delta point pro to be NV capable. Maybe these will be next.
     

    erwos

    The Hebrew Hammer
    MDS Supporter
    Mar 25, 2009
    13,866
    Rockville, MD
    This might make me a horrible person, but I would actually like to see Holosun do a version of this optic with the BDC turret. Make it 30mm, take Micro-style mounts, and then open-source the BDC turret spec so third parties can make custom ones. It would be pretty rad.
     

    spoon059

    Ultimate Member
    Jun 1, 2018
    5,335
    Awesome. Not sure when they updated it, but that is considerably more detailed than even 6 months ago, and I see they updated the sight itself. Definitely competitive with the PRO on paper.
    I was under the impression this was a newer optic... how long has it been out?

    Sent from my SM-N970U using Tapatalk
     

    woodline

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Jan 8, 2017
    1,947
    This might make me a horrible person, but I would actually like to see Holosun do a version of this optic with the BDC turret. Make it 30mm, take Micro-style mounts, and then open-source the BDC turret spec so third parties can make custom ones. It would be pretty rad.
    I think that would be pretty cool. I have one of the early Vortex Spitfire AR 1x prism sights with included BDC turret. It works great and is pretty popular in 2 gun.
     

    woodline

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Jan 8, 2017
    1,947
    folks either seem to love or hate the leupold red dot series vs the scopes
    As someone who looks for a good quality product that is preferably made in America, Leupold is usually a good choice. Even with their VIP discount price, I am unconvinced that their red dots are a good deal. Uncompetitive features, weight, and questionable QC are turn offs for me. But people pay $1000 for similar Aimpoint hunting scopes in Europe, so there's definitely a market. Personally I would pick iron sights over the last generation. Not sure what the new gen is going to be like. Hopefully it is good.
     

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