Aimpoint Micro T-1: The Mystical Red Dot

Salty readers out there have likely learned to view the world through cynical glasses. “You don’t trust anyone.” My lovely wife has told me. I always took that as a compliment. When in comes to new, ghee-whiz gadgets or technology a lot of cops have the knee-jerk “it won’t work” reaction. When the subject of red dot or electronic optics comes up I have heard a chorus of skepticism from men in blue.

“When I need it the batteries will be dead” or “I won’t bet my life on something that uses batteries” are two of the most popular arguments against red dot sights. The other big one is “You can’t do anything with a dot scope that you can’t do with iron sights.”

I have been using red dot electronic optics from various manufacturers for several years now. As with any product, each company has their own twist on the idea. The basic concept behind the red dot optic is to give the shooter a highly visible aiming / reference point for rapid target acquisition in all light conditions.

This is where shooters get all bunged up. They look at red dot optics through the “square range” prism. If you are slow-firing on a sunny day at the target range you will very likely shoot just as well, or better, with your iron sights as you could with any red dot optic. The problem is the world we work in is not a square range. Bad guys don’t stand still on sunny afternoons while you take your time sighting them in.

The 1:1 electronic, red dot optics (they can’t really be called scopes) eliminate the need to align a front and rear sight. As they don’t magnify the target there is no parallax issue. It does not matter how close or far your eye is to the sight. Accurate shots can be placed at long distance using a properly zeroed red dot sight. At close range you can put rounds on target very quickly.

Recently a friend of mine introduced me to the new Aimpoint Micro T1. The T1 was designed to incorporate the positive features of the larger Aimpoint optics but in a more compact, light-weight package. The T1 optic weighs only 4 ounces. Like their popular CompM2, the T1 is a 1:1, zero-magnification electronic optic and it operates on a single 3V Lithium battery.

Thanks to the use of 21st Century technology, the T1 has a run time of 50,000 hours on a single battery. No, that’s not a typo, 50,000 hours. Basically you install the battery, find the dot intensity setting you like and leave it there. After four to five years you will need to put in a fresh battery.

As for the dot intensity, the T1 has a total of 13 settings; 6 for use with Night Vision Devices and 7 for low, normal, and bright light. Zeroing the sight is accomplished with windage and elevation knobs. Aimpoint had the foresight to build in a knob adjustment tool on the caps. You don’t even need a penny or dime to turn the knobs. Just flip the cap over and adjust the knobs with the dual nipples.

From the factory the T1 arrives with a Picatinny / Weaver-style low mount. A single Allen screw locks it in place. LaRue Tactical makes a quick-detach high mount for the T1 and it works very well. The high mount allows the shooter to “co-witness” the T1 dot with the iron sights on the flat-top M4/AR.

As to the durability question, Aimpoint has a stellar reputation among military personnel. The same friend that introduced me to the T1 related an incident that happened to him while on a mission. During a rapid insertion he was thrown from the vehicle and ended up on his back with his M4 underneath him. Atop the rail was a CompM2 Aimpoint.

My comrade related that he hit so hard that he initially feared the barrel on his carbine might have been bent. As you can’t call time out in the middle of a mission, he got up, checked his gear, and the team drove on and completed their assignment. The Aimpoint sight not only still worked fine, it didn’t even lose its zero.

A week or so back, I sat in on in Aimpoint demonstration. Freddie Blish of Aimpoint demonstrated and discussed their new products. Freddie zeroed a T1 to one of my teammate’s M4′s. He then took it of the rifle and tossed it across the room. You could hear the gasps from the audience as the red dot sight bounce on the concrete floor. We tossed it back to Freddie and he mounted it back on the rifle. Again the unit was working and the zero had not been lost. That’s toughness.

With 50,000 hours of run time I believe we have the battery question answered and Aimpoint’s track record of durability speaks for itself. If the worst happened and your battery did die or the optic quit, you could still make accurate shots on target by simply sighting through the tube.

If your target is at distance you can take a moment to flip up you iron sights. As for relying on something manmade to save your life; don’t forget that the rifle, sub-gun, or shotgun your sight is mounted to was made by the hands of men as well. Product mentioned in this article: Aimpoint Micro T1

Paul Markel © 2013
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2013-04-01 20:02:31

Source: http://www.StudentoftheGun.com/blog/113-aimpoint-micro-t-1-the-mystical-red-dot.html