Hello all,
I had a demo with several local LE types over the weekend with gj's new mounting system that mounts the Optima 2000 atop the NSN. After talking in-depth with gj and Boland and after trying the proto unit, this is what the general consensus was with the LE boys.
Our first concern was the durability factor of the Optima 2000 in general. In a military environment, indeed this IS a concern; it has to be with only a plastic shroud guarding the optic portion. For LE applications, the concern was jarring into a wall, door jam, a bad guys head, etc. (No doubt if the weapon was dropped on top of the O2000, it would be lost, except for gj's fine mount and the NSN, these are going to have to take much bigger blows for failure). After several hours of room clearing drills and perimeter engagements, this sighting system became a HUGE hit! The perimeter position officers considered this a "must have" item with lightning quick transitions from NSN to DOT and DOT to NSN. The teams I worked with, MP-5's were the primary entry weapon with M4's as perimeter and backup clearing. The LE boys all agreed that the trend of M4's replacing the current MP-5's is real, but of course budget constraints will not see this turnover for a very long time.
The other MAJOR concern was the availability issues over the O2000. I had to break the bad news to everyone that these units were no longer in production and no word as to when and if future units would be manufactured. Doc Optics might be an alternative, but the current mounting system will have to be modified a great deal I feel.
The other highlight of this system was gj's mount. I have an old saying that MANY of you are familiar with here and that is "KISS", Keep It Simple Stupid". You know when you have a great mount when NO ONE even recognizes or acknowledges the fact! Gj's mount is simple, VERY durable and you do not even know it's there! It took all of 3 minutes to attach the O2000 and mount to the NSN. Sure someone can spend $200.00 and above to get something milled, but as I stated earlier, the O2000 will crush looong before this mount will in the event of a large impact. The current design is MORE than adequate for LE use. Military usage probably will dictate a milled mount, but the durability issue of the O2000 will be the biggest problem I feel.
Well that is all for now. I want to thank Boland and gj for their efforts thus far and I look forward to the final product from gj and further reviews.
Vic