The Place:Tac-Pro Shooting Center - about the only public range in the DFW area where you can shoot rifles rapid fire on the move, go to a bench and shoot and then plink from 500yds all in one place.
The Shooters:Shooter 1 is me. I have been shooting ARs since 1988. I have several formal carbine classes under my belt and compete informally. I primarily use the TA11 ACOG as my main optic. Of the sights in use, I have the least experience with the Eotech. Eyesight wise, I tend to be nearsighted but have good vision for BAC and no color-blindness. I shoot both eyes open.
Shooter 2 was a military marksmanship instructor and competed on the Air Force marksmanship team. He has several formal training classes and trains regularly. He primarily uses a Leupold 1-4x shotgun scope. Of the sights in use he has the least experience with the Eotech; but like me he has used one before. Eyesight wise, he has a difficult time seeing things close in; but sees at a distance well and has no phoria or color-blindness. He shoots both eyes open.
The Sights:Irons: Troy rear folder with large same plane aperture and PRI front folder with 0.36" front sight post
Variable: Leupold 1-4x Shotgun Scope w/ parallax set at 75yds ($179)
ACOG: TA11 ACOG w/donut 3.5x35mm (~$850)
Eotech: 552 Rev E. (~$350)
The Rifles:In order to reduce the variables, each shooter would use the same rifle. However, we did get lazy and rather than remove the variable from the rifle it was already on and rezero it, we used an Armalite midlength 16" HBAR with muzzle brake for that portion of the test. The reminder of the test was conducted with
my 16" midlength rifle. The muzzle brake did give a slight edge to the variable; but I couldn't say how much of one it offered. It mainly made it easier to shoot with a sloppy position.
The Test:Our test would be a "box drill" from 15yds. For this test, two IDPA targets were set 18" apart. On the buzzer, the shooter would engage with two to the body of each target followed by one to the head of each target (making a "box" with the muzzle). This drill would be done stationary first and then with movement. Each shooter would get up to 30rds to familiarize themselves with the sight and then would execute three stationary drills followed by three moving drills.
We used
IDPA targets and the IDPA scoring system (no time added for hits in the center 8" circle or the 6" square head) - 0.5 seconds added for hits outside those areas, 1.5 seconds for hits on the very outer ring of the silhouette and 2.5 seconds for a miss). Raw time indicates the actual time spent shooting. Final time indicates the time after penalties for less than a center or head hit were applied. A very rough measure of accuracy will be the delta between the raw time and final time.
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The Results:Shooter 1 Irons
Avg. Raw Time: 5.19
Avg. Final Time: 6.52
Leupold 1-4x
Avg. Raw Time: 4.98
Avg. Final Time: 5.31
TA11 ACOG
Avg. Raw Time: 4.78
Avg. Final Time: 5.68
Eotech 552
Avg. Raw Time: 4.37
Avg. Final Time: 5.70
Best Stationary Raw Time: 4.50 w/ Leupold
Best Stationary Final Time: 4.50 w/Leupold
Shooter 1 Moving Irons:
Avg. Raw Time: 5.81
Avg. Final Time: 9.31
Moving Leupold 1-4x
Avg. Raw Time: 5.42
Avg. Final Time: 7.42
Moving TA11 ACOG
Avg. Raw Time: 5.39
Avg. Final Time: 7.05
Moving Eotech 552
Avg. Raw Time: 4.27
Avg. Final Time: 5.43
Best Moving Raw Time: 3.99 w/ Eotech 552
Best Moving Final Time: 4.49 w/ Eotech 552
Shooter 2Shooter 2 Irons
Avg. Raw Time: 4.26
Avg. Final Time: 4.76
Leupold 1-4x
Avg. Raw Time: 3.55
Avg. Final Time: 3.71
TA11 ACOG
Avg. Raw Time: 4.26
Avg. Final Time: 4.42
Eotech 552
Avg. Raw Time: 3.81
Avg. Final Time: 4.98
Best Stationary Raw Time: 3.30 w/ Leupold
Best Stationary Final Time: 3.30 w/Leupold
Shooter 1 Moving Irons:
Avg. Raw Time: 4.32
Avg. Final Time: 7.30
Moving Leupold 1-4x
Avg. Raw Time: 3.99
Avg. Final Time: 5.32
Moving TA11 ACOG
Avg. Raw Time: 4.06
Avg. Final Time: 5.90
Moving Eotech 552
Avg. Raw Time: 4.03
Avg. Final Time: 5.87
Best Moving Raw Time: 3.89 w/ Irons
Best Moving Final Time: 3.90 w/ TA11 ACOG
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So inn close-in dynamic shooting, there are some hard numbers showing what you might expect between the various sights.