Duty Optic discussion

Tarowah

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Hey all I wanted to discuss optic choices for a patrol AR I am building for my nephew, it’s a gift and he knows nothing about the build so I can’t get his input on what optic he might like.

I am pretty much set on either an Aimpoint Pro or the MRO patrol but I have reservations about the MRO since I haven’t ran one myself.

I own a Pro and I think it is about as solid of a red dot you can get but it’s big and heavy, the gen 2 MRO appears to have everything I’m looking for without going up to a T1 or T2.

Do you folks think the MRO is proven enough to put on a patrol officers AR or should I stick with what I know and get a Pro?
 
In short...yes. I think the MRO has much more going for it than the PRO:

-smaller footprint
-1/2 the weight
-almost double the battery life
-more common battery

I’d own 2 MROs, if I didn’t already have T2s. There’s a number of police depts using the MRO I believe. I’d just make sure to get one with a serial number greater than 89k.

The PRO is a fine red dot optic, but it’s bulky and priced to similarly to the MRO, which has the above advantages IMHO, making the Trijicon the clear winner at the ~$400 price point.

Now if you get to the $600-$700 price point, the T2 is the cream of the crop. Since I splurged and got my pair of T2s, I think I’ll have a hard time accepting anything less than an Aimpoint Micro for a red dot optic for my hard use /AKA zombie/ AKA North Korean invasion rifles.

However, when it came down to pulling out my credit card to pay for the T2s...it was painful.
 
I would without a doubt trust my mro as a duty optic. I actually got rid of my pro after getting the mro.

Edited to add mines in a battle arms development mount and I love it. Rock solid and lightweight.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
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I like the MRO, I use the PRO. If I swapped out for the MRO I wouldn't lose sleep; I'm just an Aimpoint guy. For getting the job done with quality, neither will disappoint. You don't need an ACOG or >$500 Aimpoint to have a quality RDS.
 
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Thanks everyone for the input so far, I’m not going to send this kid out into harms way with a budget anything if I can help it and that’s why I asked here, I knew the community wouldn’t steer me wrong.

My nephew is a father of 2 young kids and his wife is a stay at home mom so his disposable income is zero right now, that’s why I’m doing this for him, my wife isn’t very pleased with me at this point, without sounding like a bragging asshat I’ll say this, it’s a complete BCM build so it’s getting real spendy real quick haha.
 
Call the department and speak to them first. One, they can tell you what is more popular around there and ; Two, the department may have rules on what they will allow for optics.
 
Call the department and speak to them first. One, they can tell you what is more popular around there and ; Two, the department may have rules on what they will allow for optics.


I am in contact with their lead armorer and he said as long as it isn’t magnified it’s gtg, he said “a red dot” is allowed.
 
What about a rifle from Sionics Weapons Systems? I’m certainly not arguing against a BCM rifle, but Sionics rifles are in use by quite a few LE depts. They cater to the LE community, and their product is certainly top shelf judging from my few dealings with them.
 
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Honestly Spockrock I have never heard of that company, I was going to build off of an Aero upper and lower but I got a good deal on the BCM components so I went that route.
 
I used to have a couple PROs. They are great, but like you said, bulky/heavy. I run an MRO on my truck/go-to SBR now. I've beat it up pretty good on the range at in competition with no issues. I really like it and think for the money it's about the best red dot out there...
 
Ive always shot EOTech. Never had an issue with them. Ever. I like the looks of the MRO. Id try one of those, or any Aimpoint product for that matter.
 
I would take an MRO over the PRO any day; the MRO is my favorite red dot on the market right now. I can’t fathom why someone would spend as much as the T2/T1s cost when the MRO will do everything they will do, and better IMO, unless you just perfer the look of the aimpoint. I would have zero reservations about using one for duty, hell, I would have gladly used one on my issued rifle in Fallujah if they had been around when I was there.
 
Ive always shot EOTech. Never had an issue with them. Ever. I like the looks of the MRO. Id try one of those, or any Aimpoint product for that matter.

The EOTechs I have used as a civvy have been flawless. The first one I was issued wouldn't stay zeroed for squat, and was always hazy. I know there are lemon with every product. That said, I don't know that I would have an issue using another.

Per @Derek8404 , now I might have to see if I can trade the ol' PRO for a MRO and give it a shot....
 
I just wanted to say thank you to everyone, I just ordered the MRO a bit ago and got a pretty dang good deal on the optic and an absolute co-witness mount for $379 plus shipping, I was going to order the Patrol version but meh, the extra $100+ bucks didn't seem worth it for what you get, if my nephew wants lens covers, he can get them later.
 
Outstanding job and gift Tarowah! I've been using Aimpoints since 97' and have a Comp2M on my HD gun at home. They can take a beating.


CD
 
I just wanted to say thank you to everyone, I just ordered the MRO a bit ago and got a pretty dang good deal on the optic and an absolute co-witness mount for $379 plus shipping, I was going to order the Patrol version but meh, the extra $100+ bucks didn't seem worth it for what you get, if my nephew wants lens covers, he can get them later.
For anybody interested, GrabAGun had them in an email today for that price:

https://grabagun.com/trijicon-mro-1x25-2-0-moa-ill-rd-fcw-mt.html

IMG_1594.PNG
 
I actually got mine from Grab A Gun, couldn't pass on that deal.

As to why no magnification on their rifles, I am not sure what the thought process is there, I can only assume that they may feel a red dot is better suited for QCB situations which is most likely what the officers would face.
 
just wondering why no magnification?
NCHP has or had the same the policy, I think it's probably common. I could guess at reasons but don't know, the trooper that told me didn't either.

Pretty cool he gets use of a personal rifle so such a gift can be made.
 
As a reminder he can always put on a magnifier behind the red dot when using it for personal use then take it off when back on duty.


CD
 
Outstanding job and gift Tarowah! I've been using Aimpoints since 97' and have a Comp2M on my HD gun at home. They can take a beating.


CD

I use a CompM2 myself....if I ever replace it (more likely if I move it to another rifle...it ain’t gonna wear out) I’ll probably give the MRO a shot. Longtime Trijicon fan.

I actually got mine from Grab A Gun, couldn't pass on that deal.

As to why no magnification on their rifles, I am not sure what the thought process is there, I can only assume that they may feel a red dot is better suited for QCB situations which is most likely what the officers would face.

Probably some old school thinkers. Equipping the rifles with 1.5, 2, or even 3x ACOGs with horseshoe or ACSS reticle, and teaching reflexive fire and two eyes open for close quarters along with the added benefit of magnification for weapon ID (cell phone vs weapon, etc) would be a huge plus
 
Hey guys, I got the MRO in today and mounted it on the rifle, the mount is actually decent and pretty light weight, I was kind of expecting the mount to be a bit of a turd since it was part of a package deal.

While I haven’t shot with it yet I really like the clarity of the glass and sharpness of the dot, I’m sure my nephew will like it a lot, if he ends up going with another optic of his choosing he can give me the MRO and I’ll run it myself ;)
 
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Hey guys, I got the MRO in today and mounted it on the rifle, the mount is actually decent and pretty light weight, I was kind of expecting the mount to be a bit of a turd since it was part of a package deal.

While I haven’t shot with it yet I really like the clarity of the glass and sharpness of the dot, I’m sure my nephew will like it a lot, if he ends up going with another optic of his choosing he can give me the MRO and I’ll run it myself ;)
I'm sure he will love it. I bought mine without the mount and put it in a Battle Arms Development mount thats a bit lighter than the standard mount. I love these sights and will probably have a few more as I build out some new rifles this year. Keep us posted on the progress, his thoughts and yours.
 
Just a quick update.

My nephew made the trip up this past Saturday and he ran 300ish rounds through his AR, the MRO was fantastic and I found it to be much better than my Aimpoint Pro over all.

I’ll replace the Pro with an MRO at some point but I doubt I’ll give up the T1, but if I need another optic of the same quality it’ll be the MRO for sure, for me the T series Aimpoints are still on the top of the RDS food chain but the extra $300 over the MRO isn’t worth it imo.

I will add that the new improved EOTech sights are looking very, very nice, a friend of mine picked up a new XPS and has been very pleased with it and has had zero POI shifting, I’ve seen pictures of the green 65/1 MOA objective and it has my interest peaked.
 
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Another update.

My nephew messaged me yesterday and he qualified with his AR with a 95.8% and passed on his first attempt, for a guy that hadn’t owned or shot an AR before our first training session, I find that extremely impressive, I’m very proud of him for putting in the work to pass and feel much better now that he has access to a rifle when he is on patrol.

He said the MRO held zero perfectly and made shooting the course of Fire very easy, once he was done shooting a few of the other officers and his training Cpl & Sgt asked to take the optic for a spin since everyone else there was running Aimpoints or EoTechs, only one guy said he still preferred his Aimpoint over the MRO for one reason or another but most of them said they plan on adding one to their collection at some point.

A big thank you to again for all of the advice and input.
 
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