Introduction

Weapons sights come in all variants and forms, most commonly known are the standard iron sights and the telescopic sights. Less known but becoming increasingly popular are the laser sights and the so-called red-dot sights.

All sights have their own advantages and disadvantages, but for the all-around markmanship and the ability to shoot fast, a red-dot sight is an absolute must. Woo, wait you might say. What about lasers, they are fast too. Yes, a laser is fast and visible. But also subject to faxtors such as ambient light, weather conditions (try a laser in the fog), and more. The point with a laser is, it is light, and light refracts due to various external conditions. This makes a laser great for intimidation (you know someones aiming at you), but not for sharp and fast shooting.

Recently, Aimpoint won a contract with the US- military for the production of aproximately 84,000 units of the Aimpoint Comp-M (known in the military as the M-68 optical sight). The US military tried and tested several units in the most of extreme circumstances and found out what ISPC shooter knew all along: Aimpoint makes quality sighting systems. And this is what this review is all about, the Aimpoint Comp-M XD mounted on an AR15.

Mounting the Aimpoint

Now there are two ways we can accomplish this. The first is to mount the sight directly on the upper receiver(for flattop models). The second requires the use of Aimpoints forward carry handle mount, which places the sight above the handguard. Both work fine since a reddot sight has infinite eye relief, as opposed to a telescopic sight.

Shooting with the Aimpoint

So what is shooting with the Comp-M like, well it is fast and accurate. One can aquire the target with both eyes open, a major advantage since the shooter has now full awareness of his or her surroundings.



I found shooting with the Aimpoint very instinctive, it allowed for quick target aquirement. But yet also gave plenty of accuracy. The aiming dot remained very clear and visible troughout most lighting situations. One think though, when I feel I do not get enough ambient light, my trusty surefire sheds some light on the subject.

The Comp-M has 10 settings, 2 for use with night vision equipment and 7 different intensities. The tenth being the "off" position. The settings for night vision cannot be seen without that equipment. Those who Aimpoint comp-ML is a better choice (same specs except for the night vision settings). The lenses on the sight are paralax free. The housing is made out of thick aircraft aluminum. The sight is fed by a small lithium 1.5 V battery.

Being a battery sight I feel it is necessary to always have backup iron sights, with the forward carry handle mount this is not a problem since the mount fits on the carry handle of the weapon and still allows use of the original sighting system. For flattop guns, one has to look for another system that provides flattop mounting of the reddot sight and provides the shooter with iron sights. I think ARMS mounts provides several of those systems.

Conclusion