In November 2015, the U.S. government sued optics maker EOTech. EOTech, who has made over $24 million in contracts with the government, settled the suit the same day it was filed.
I remember buying EOTech sights in the 90s for a tactical unit I was a part of. They were, and are still in my opinion, excellent sights, or rather, excellent “holographic weapons sights.”
The government’s problem with these products? Well, EOTech optics do have a flaw; it’s called “thermal drift” and it can cause the sight to be off as much as six to 12 inches at 100 yards. That’s enough to miss a human body no matter where you aim. But—and it’s what’s on the other side of the “but” that counts—the only time this phenomenon might occur—might—is when the optic is in an environment of negative 40 degrees or over 120 degrees (122 to be precise) for a prolonged period of time.
So, really, the only time you would need to look for another optic is if you are going to be (1) operating in these extreme temperatures all the time and (2) required to shoot at targets farther than 100 yards. The question that jumps to my mind is, do any holographic diffraction optics hold up to those climates anyway? Won’t they fail too? Frankly, I’d bet Aimpoint, Trijicon and other competitors don’t work perfectly under similar conditions, which is to say no optic is perfect.
This fact makes sense to me and it’s something I can accept, train and tactically prepare for. What doesn’t make sense to me is the FBI, the Denver police department, the Utah Highway Patrol, and no doubt other law enforcement agencies putting the kibosh to EOTech over fear of an isolated problem. Some are actually going to the extent of throwing away these optics. Really!?!
I strongly suspect that US law enforcement officers are more likely to experience a failure because of a poorly made, bargain AR-15 than thermal drift on an EOTech optic. Consider where you work or where you deploy, then consider all the factors of failure and you’ll see that a fear-driven move to push EOTech aside is ridiculous.
Here’s a short list of federal organizations that have used EOTech over the decades: FBI, State Department, Marines (actually every branch of service, including the Coast Guard), SEALs (including DevGru), and the Unit, you know Delta. They’ve used these optics for years and I don’t think it will be the expense alone that will keep these organizations from completely discarding their inventories of EOTech. If they are smart—and they are—it’s likely that they’ll hold on to the optics and use common sense because, in short, EOTech is still good-to-go.
The views and opinions expressed in this post are those of the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the position of Guns.com.
Safety warning: Jeffrey Denning is a long time self-defense professional and any training methods or information he describes in his articles are intended to be put into practice only by serious shooters with proper training. Please read, but do not attempt anything posted here without first seeking out proper training.
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