Anybody still use an Aimpoint Micro for Open Pistol?

[gdboytyler]

I"ve been shooting the occasional 3-gun match in open class. For pistol, I've been using a STI in 38 Super with an old Tasco ProPoint red dot.

I've got an Aimpoint Micro H1 and a Micro clone (by Primary Arms) available for use. I'm seriously thinking about replacing the Tasco RDS with the Micro and a Double Alpha mount.

I've read the older posts regarding the Micros, but most are close to a year old.

Anybody still using the Aimpoint Micro or clone for open pistol? What's your opinion? If you had the opportunity to switch to a C-More for free, would you do it?

[Hi-Power Jack]

If you had the opportunity to switch to a C-More for free, would you do it?

I've been using C-More for four years - excellent.

Heck, I'd pay for a C-More - in fact, I did pay:)

But, I haven't compared it to anything else.

I haven't noticed ANYONE shooting anything other than

C-Mores at matches I've attended.

Jack

[BritinUSA]

I still have a micro on my open gun using the DAA mount.

[hax]

C-mores are trash, you should send it to me so I can dispose of it properly

On a serious note I have not used either, yet...

Thank you

Edited February 17, 2012 by hax

[RH45]

A bunch of guys around here are running Burris Fastfires but I haven't seen any Aimpoints around here.

I have a C-More on one gun, and an OKO on the other. I prefer the OKO. It is brighter, clearer, and has a bigger window.

I see that OKOs are being imported again, but, it seems they are a lot more expensive.

[Kasteel]

If you were going to run a red dot slide ride style, I can see the aimpoint having an advantage in terms of durability. Bigger than the JPoint and trijicon RMR style, and can't say as I've seen anyone running an aimpoint micro like that, but I have one of the discontinued R-1s and it surely seems durable enough for slide ride duty, and I believe the H-1 is more robust than the older R-1.

[Kasteel]

That DAA set up looks slick. I'll be interested in updates if you decide to go that direction.

[gdboytyler]

I decided to get a Tactical Solutions .22 conversion kit for some cheap live-fire practice instead of upgrading my red dot. I'll upgrade to a newer red dot when the Tasco dies.

[ncopenshooter]

Played with an open gun by Predator Tactical with an Aimpoint on it on their mount. It was waaaaaay nicer than I thought it would be. I'd definitely consider it on my next gun.

[gdboytyler]

<br />Played with an open gun by Predator Tactical with an Aimpoint on it on their mount.  It was waaaaaay nicer than I thought it would be.  I'd definitely consider it on my next gun.<br />

<br /><br /><br />

I put the Aimpoint Micro on my TacSol 22 kit and mounted it above the ejection port. I immediately had problems losing the dot on my draw. I hardly ever lost the dot on my Tasco. The small lens on the Aimpoint made the fudge factor much smaller; my draw had to be almost perfect or I'd lose the dot.

My TacSol upper has a rib, so I was able to move the Aimpoint about 1.5" further back, where the rear lens was almost above the rear iron sight. Moving the Aimpoint further back solved my problem with losing the dot. However, none of the Aimpoint frame mounts that I've seen will allow the sight to be positioned that far back.

I then tried a cheap BSA C-More knock off on the TacSol. I was amazed that my transition drill split-times and draw times improved with less than 1 hr on the new sight! I'll be joining the crowd and finally put a real C-More on my open gun.

[bigstick0000]

I have a c more on my 38sc open guns, a cmore on my 22 rimfire pistol, and a cmore on my 22 rifle. I love em without a doubt. That being said, Paul stated he shoots with a micro and he shoots it great so they must work pretty good. I understand the batteries are better in the micro so they don't burn out as quick, might be wrong on that though.

[kmca]

Tried the C-More several times on my open gun. I keep going back to the old Tasco. I understand they are supposed to break with continued use, so I bought several for back ups. Haven't had to use one yet. I do have a C-More on my rimfire and it works well, since I don't have to find the dot from a draw. It's probably just a matter of practice. If I go try to go to the "open" type red dot, instead of the tube, I'll probably go with the OKO.

[gdboytyler]

Tried the C-More several times on my open gun. I keep going back to the old Tasco. I understand they are supposed to break with continued use, so I bought several for back ups. Haven't had to use one yet. I do have a C-More on my rimfire and it works well, since I don't have to find the dot from a draw. It's probably just a matter of practice. If I go try to go to the "open" type red dot, instead of the tube, I'll probably go with the OKO.

My Tasco has lasted close to 10,000 rounds and still going strong.

The Tasco measures about 1.3" above the centerline of the bore. The BSA C-More knock-off that I was trying out measures 2" above the bore and I didn't have any problems finding the dot, but the BSA does have a 33mm lens which makes finding the dot pretty easy. From my testing, I'm definitely faster with the single lens type vs the tube sight.

I ended up ordering one of those C-More clones on EBay for $50. The EBay clone supposedly matches the real deal in everything (including interchangeable dot modules) except for reliability. I'll also order a Burris Fastfire clone to test out. Once I test out the different clones on the TacSol22 kit to find my favorite, I'll order the real version for my open gun.

[D__]

I use and like my T1. Used a borrowed gun from Badkarma at the Hawaii state match last weekend and really liked the Cmore with a sideways mount that it had. Liked it enough to change? Not really. You are stuck with a 4moa dot on the Aimpoint however. Wish they would make a 7.

[gdboytyler]

When I first started testing the open style red dots (Cmore/Deltapoint) on my TacSol .22lr kit, I showed a marked improvement in my transition drills. So, I was all set to switch from a tube style (Tasco/Aimpoint) to open style (Cmore/Deltapoint). See link for detailed review on Deltapoint http://www.brianenos.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=136695&st=25

Then when I switched back to the Tasco for comparison, the performance gains I got with the open style red dots, transferred over to the Tasco.

Because of my interest in testing out red dot sights, I was dry-firing and live firing more than ever, which improved my shooting no matter which red dot I used.

So I decided to try out the Aimpoint again on the Tac Sol, mounted above the ejection (like the DAA mount). At the beginning, this set up gave me problems with losing the dot on the draw and weak/hand strong hand index. On the second round of testing; no problems.

With the .22lr at least, my draws, transition drills and Bill drills with the Aimpoint were inline with the other red dots. Enough practice mitigated the smaller window on the Aimpoint.

So I ordered the DAA mount and should have it mounted on my newly upgraded 9major open gun by this coming weekend. I decided to go with Aimpoint instead of Cmore because the Aimpoint will be MUCH easier to adjust the zero when changing between 9mm major to minor to .22lr.

With the 4moa dot on the Aimpoint and brightness set to a dim level (made the dot look smaller), I was able to shoot tighter groups than with the other red dots. With the Aimpoint dot set to a bright level, I could shoot just as fast as with the other red dots.

I also found that with the small, bright dot on the Aimpoint, I was able to call my shots a lot better. I was also better on the long/tight shots.

Because of the Micro’s small window, the fudge factor is smaller. So, if I screw up my draw, it is easier to lose the dot. But with practice, that’s been a rare enough occasion.

Since my shooting performance is about the same, no matter which red dot I use, I’m going with the best built, more robust, easy to zero red dot (plus, I already owned the Aimpoint).

Thanks to Cabela's excellent return policy, I won't lose any money on the Deltapoints I had bought (3.5 and 7.5 moa versions).

I’ll give an update when I actually get the Aimpoint Micro mounted on my Open gun and shoot some matches.

[BoyGlock]

I broke 2 Cmore STS' in just a few thousand rounds in this set up, afterwhich I decided to go w/ the Micro.

[Xdmeister]

Yes a few people do use them as the dot is closer to the barrel which means the differene between shooting ten feet and a hundred feet is not that different.

[yuthh]

I had R1 (Silver) on my full size Bedell .38 sc .I shot one stage at DT match last year with no dot.The dot was gone after the first round. I ended up the stage 14 Ds with no miss . Sent it back to Aimpoint USA . Wait for almost 3 months before I got it back ( They shipped it back to Sweden ). Just my experience .

[BoyGlock]

I broke 2 Cmore STS' in just a few thousand rounds in this set up, afterwhich I decided to go w/ the Micro.

I also broke this Micro in just 3 mos. light usage, the dot gone

[gdboytyler]

I got my Aimpoint Micro R1 mounted on my open gun last month and have shot about 1000 rds of 9mm major since then. So far so good. Sorry to hear about the other guy's bad experience with the Aimpoint Micro.

So far, my only complaint is that the rear lens will get dirty and need cleaning after about 200 rounds. The gunsmith could have mounted it about 1/2" further back and maybe mitigate some of the smoke getting on the rear lens. But at least it couldn't be mounted any lower that where it's at. The DAA mount is really solid and gets the big knob out of the way.

Edited July 20, 2012 by gdboytyler

[BoyGlock]

I broke 2 Cmore STS' in just a few thousand rounds in this set up, afterwhich I decided to go w/ the Micro.

I also broke this Micro in just 3 mos. light usage, the dot gone

An update and to be fair, Aimpoint replaced this w/ a new unit w/in 2 days they got the old one w/out any question. But due to my location in a far far away land, the replacement got to me more than a month after I sent the old one.

[BoyGlock]

I wish Carver would make a mount for the Micro sans its oem mount for weaver (ala DAA) so it sits lower than this.

[D__]

I liked the Micro on my Millennium open gun but use a Cmore now - it's just plain old faster.

The Micro is an improvement in almost every way except where it counts for picking up the dot. field of vision, size of dot....

[BoyGlock]

I dont have much difficulty finding dots either in Micro or the Old Cmore slideride. I have both in each of my open G17s. I practice and use them often. Transitioning from one to the other is not a problem to me. What concerns me most is the reliability of the dot sights. In my part of the earth their prices are 2x the US price. And their warranty service is non existent here. If repair is needed, I have to ship it out and when shipped back in I had to deal w/ govt permits and customs fees. W/ 2x the price, the fees are not cheap. So you guys are really lucky.

Edited September 13, 2012 by BoyGlock

[Jim O'Young]

For over 15 years, I had used a Tasco PDP4 (the big 45mm “beer can”) w/ a 15 MOA dot mounted on my Briley steelgun with a Briley mount, which accommodated the PDP4’s integral Weaver clamp.

Even though the scope was over 8 oz. and sat at a significantly high distance over the bore axis, it served me well for many years and I was able to achieve some level of success with the system.

About 4 years ago, I got an itch to try something different and 3 WEEKS BEFORE the Steel Challenge, I took off the Tasco and clamped an Aimpoint Micro directly to the Briley mount on my steelgun. Like others have commented, I was initially concerned with the Micro’s smaller field of view and the 4 MOA dot size.

This was all a moot point as the first time out with the Micro, I shot my FASTEST TIME OF THE YEAR. Needless to say, I immediately switched to the Micro and haven’t looked back since.

Here are some of MY observations, YMMV:

1. The Micro’s smaller FOV is a non-issue. Dry fire and range time will naturally adapt your point of aim and index. If you do your job & look at the target, the dot will find your eyes. I was able to make the change from one of the biggest sights to one of the smallest w/ almost zero transition time.

2. Related to #1, the lowering of the dot to the bore axis does give a more natural point. Briley now has a mount specifically designed for the Micro, where the Picatinny clamp is eliminated and the dot sits about 3/8” closer to the bore axis.

3. I absolutely prefer the 4 MOA dot to the 15 MOA for steel and all other shooting. It allows me to shoot more precisely and has the added benefit of making the plate look bigger. Aimpoint’s incredibly bright dot makes it easy to pick up, even on a white plate in the direct sunlight at Piru.

4. The weight of the Micro and Briley mount is around 4 oz., half that of the Tasco, and w/ significantly less bulk.

5. My experience is that the Micro has been extremely reliable, especially compared to the Tasco. I have far less anxiety worrying about an intermittent dot or flameout (but out of paranoia and ingrained habit, I still keep my fingers crossed).

6. The Micro holds zero well and adjustments are easy and repeatable. 5 clicks up, 5 left, 5 down and 5 right puts you back in the same place. When arriving to a match after airline travel, I always check zero and have never found any shift.

The bottom line is that I am VERY happy with the Aimpoint Micro and also use the sight on my Model 41 and Tactical Solutions X-Ring rifle for steel shooting and rimfire matches. I also have to mention that I am currently sponsored by Briley and Aimpoint. As with the products of all of my sponsors, I honestly believe in them and have purchased them BEFORE I received their support and will continue to do so if I ever retire from competitive shooting.

Jim