Home Forums Hunting & Shooting AR and Tactical Rifles Question on optics: what’s the deal with Eotech?

Looking at putting a dot on my AR to help our 7 year old grandson enjoy it. Have not had the need for fifteen or so years to look at AR optics. Eotech used to be the 800 pound gorilla back then but now no one has any interest in them. I asked this at my lgs last week and all I got was “Ehh….they’re not ‘all that’ anymore…”. Nothing specific, it seems they’ve just fell out of favor or what?

You guys have forgotten more than I know about all things AR…what say ye?

Used one in the past with an M4, thought they were good quality. My right eye is weak but no glasses, so it would blur the red crosshair, not adjustable focus like a scope with low magnification.

EOtech got in trouble with their military contracts and some POA shifting issues that didn’t end well for them. They had some of the issues spill over into their commercial sales and ended up offering some form of a “buy back” for their civilian market as well.

I’m hazy on the details as it’s been a few years - but you can Google it up.

They work for my needs, but a Holosun or Burris Fastfire for your grandson would work well for what you need for him. Save the extra money for more ammo for him.

Nothing at all “wrong” with EOTech. I use several, and have for over 20 years

POI shifted with temperature changes, evidently enough to upset some in DoD. I have no idea how significant the issue really is or was, but everyone seemed to quit talking about Eotech after that.

The issue was rectified AFAIK, and some later tested showed they were very good for minimal shift and minimal parallax vs other stuff. Wish Trijicon would get their MRO parallax better.

IIRC, ODAs we’re seeing change in POA of 4-5 mils between a below freezing morning on a mountain, and the 80+ degree afternoon in the valley and were a bit upset.

I’ve used various models since and had no issues. They’re good sights, but I’m not sure they’re ‘better’ than some other options these days.

I had one. I never noticed a POI shift but they sent me an email saying it could happen and offered a refund so I took'm up on it. The only thing I didn't like was it "going to sleep" after a certain length of time. If I was in the market today, I would probably get a Holosun.

We have a AP R1 Micro on a 10/22 used at youth events. It is very, very popular with kids. The AP dot is more useable in very bright conditions than the Eo ring of death. Supposedly, the Eo has less of a parallax potential.

Above are expensive approaches for a trainer. In truth, a $50 Tasco is plenty good enough. Before we got the R1, that's what was on the gun.

My main objection to Eo-s is poor battery life, requiring a kill-switch. Don't mind it on a $50 Tasco. Deal-breakers for me with anything dedicated to defensive readiness.

I have a couple of 512s and they have been rock solid. i'm not a fan of LPVOs on social rifles, just my preference. I also have a

I have had an Eotech 552.A65 for something like 15 years and it has been rock solid.

Something like the Sig Romeo 5 would probably work well.

https://www.sportsmansoutdoorsuperstore.com/products2.cfm/ID/206595

I had one, I thought it was easier to hit with at 100 yards due to the seeming dot resolution, and faster at close range. It was a bit bulky and I felt like I always had to turn it off in order to save battery life. EOtech has some plusses and minuses. I am not sure that optic would be warranted on a starter rifle, maybe one of the primary arms prism optics like the 1x job.

Mostly just a matter of still cranking out essentially the same design they were 15 years ago and calling it good. Markets changed, they haven't. If you're just looking for something to throw on for the grandson, Sig Romeo 5

Lots of spec-ops guys still running them and won't have anything else.

But I understand that grandson is not a spec-ops guy.

Agree, have a few on ARs and they work fine and easy to get behind.

Had Eotechs in the past and they worked as designed. But I switched over to this on two ARs and love them - https://www.opticsplanet.com/burris-ar-332-3x-32mm-prism-red-dot-sight.html

That's what I was thinking when the OP mentioned a red dot for a young person. Very easy to find the dot in these.

Put a dot on a 22 for our girls, all 3 of us preferred a peep or normal scope.

Both my brother and I had the Reticles go South on ours. I really need to contact them about repair. My guess is that they will want way more to fix them than I think they are worth.

Bob R