I'm going through the optics dance like everyone does with a new build.  This time its a 11.5" 1:7 5.56 pistol build.
Really like the TA44 ACSS Trijicon because of all the obvious Trijicon reasons but mostly eye relief and weight with the TA44.
Trying to make this pistol my go to weapon for target shooting, home defense and hunting.  Range will vary from 0 to ~400yds.

The other obvious candidates at play are the Trijicon Accupower 1-4 and Steiner p4xi 1-4.

I have a Sig Sauer Tango4 1-4x on my SPR and can easily hit targets at 350yds with it but it makes pistols top heavy at 21oz.
To my aging eyes and astigmatism, using a RDS or 1x past 150yds is not optimal.

The hard decision is weight/bulk vs. usability.  The TA44 with a magnifier thought floated through my head and I'm curious if its a viable option since I haven't seen anyone talk about it.
It would be similar weight if not slightly more than a LPVO but the magnifier is removable.

Thoughts?

Educate me O' hive mind.

Ive seen guys use an ACOG as a magnifier for a red dot, but never a magnifier behind an ACOG.

Why not get the TA31 with ACSS reticle? Could snag one of the lighter weight mounts. Sounds like a much better option to me, and only thing You're losing out on is some of your eye relief

Believe me, I love TA31's because my eyes feel like they have super powers, but 4x is a bit to much magnification for 50yds or less.

You cannot use a magnifier with a scope of any kind...

Not even a 1x prism scope... Nothing with an etched reticle will work with a magnifier.

You can't use a magnifier in front of any optic either... And while the TA44 has longer eye relief than other ACOG models, it still needs to be very close to the rear of the receiver... I have mine butted against my MBUS Pro, which is a small compact rear sight, and it works, but isn't ideal for my typical cheek weld. I had to collapse the stock a notch from my typical spot, to make my natural hold fit properly to the eye relief of the optic.

Another thing... Making a single rifle try to fit into several roles is generally a bad idea.

It just never really works out well. It becomes a compromise in every role, and you will wish the rifle was set up specifically for the current role you are using it in.

You can set up a rifle for HD use, and still use it for general plinking on the range, but you can't set up a rifle for mid range work, and expect it to be great at HD too.

For hunting, you have to think about what you are hunting and the typical ranges you would be hunting at, and set up accordingly.

If you want a low power variable... The Primary Arms 1-6x gen III is light weight for the type, at 16oz...

My suggestion is pick a role for your rifle and stick with the best optic for that use.

Hard to argue with that logic.  I will set it up for mid range usage using a LPVO.  I have another gun that can fill the home defense role.

I've played with mounting an RMR in front of my TA44. It kinda worked as far as co-witnessing and giving me a much brighter (although 1.5X bigger and blurry) aiming point for CQB indoors.

I mainly tried this to "zero" the TA44 to an upper that already had the RMR zero'ed. It worked as far as getting me on paper at 50 yards.

It's fun to play around but nothing like this is very practical. Two magnified optics in line with have all kinds a focus and parallax issues.

I would just go the red dot magnifier route.

IMO you're better served with one the big 3 acogs.

ta11, ta33, ta31

If you have to shoot up close just use BAC and accept the parallax error.

TA33 will do what you want.

Didn’t the Israelis use to use non-reticled TA-33’s as a 3X magnifier for awhile? That’s the closest I’ve got to this. I’d use a RDS w/magnifier, or a scope by itself. Magnifying a scope seems like a recipe for all sorts of POI shift and other undesireable quirks.