Can’t say enough good things about it.
First, it’s on sale here for $199 plus shipping. http://www.botachtactical.com/nimodotsi.html But, they only have it in camo. The web page is wrong. Still a fantastic deal. I took a Sharpie to mine, so it would match the Sig 556 I mounted it on. It looks like hell up close, but better than it did IMO. The Sharpie gave it a funny purplish color. No big deal, function before form in my book.
Anyway, back to the optic itself.
Nitrogen filled, so no worries about it fogging up. Clear, quality lenses that you’d expect from Nikon that afford a wide field of view.
It’s advertised as waterproof and shockproof. Eventually I may test those claims. The 556 shoots pretty soft, so I'd have to drop the rifle or bang it in to something. From reading the reviews on this optic, most people seem to be mounting these on big bore magnum handguns, so it’s probably built well.
One of the things that sold me on this was the variable sized dot (VSD). Not many red dots out there that can do this. Simply twist the middle knob to get the size you want. I love the 1 MOA dot for precision shooting. It has a nice meaty 10 MOA for close up stuff, plus a 4, 6, or 8 if those are preferred. The dot has 11 different brightness settings, which is nice too. The manual states that the battery lasts over 300 hours if left on the “4” setting which is plenty bright for indoor shooting with the 1 MOA sized dot. It takes standard sized lithium batteries that can be found just about anywhere. I picked up a couple spares and stored them in the pistol grip compartment of the 556. Some other optics have a much longer battery life, but since these batteries are cheap and I can store a bunch in the pistol grip and/or the stock, it’s really not an issue for me.
Mounting is a breeze. It comes with an integral mount which is easy to work with and fits on Picatinny and Weaver rails. The screws have a hex head and it comes with the allen key to tighten them. Some type of quick release would be nice, but would add to the bulk. This mount is lean, but plenty sturdy. I don’t like the need for tools, but the allen key is easily stored in the pistol grip of a 556. YMMV.
Another nice feature, which is just pure dumb luck, is the fact that this optic would still work great as a peep sight if the electronics fail for some reason. What I mean is; when I flip up the factory front site, the tip of it perfectly touches the red dot. Bonus for 556 owners.
I’ve only shot the 556 once since I put the Nikon on, but so far, so good. Mount stayed tight and it seemed to hold zero fine.
This optic seems to be quality inside and out. All metal construction. Even the knobs and caps are aluminum. Comes with nice aluminum lens caps, but I’ll be replacing those with a bikini style cover because they are a hassle to screw on and off.
I’ll post some photos later.
First, it’s on sale here for $199 plus shipping. http://www.botachtactical.com/nimodotsi.html But, they only have it in camo. The web page is wrong. Still a fantastic deal. I took a Sharpie to mine, so it would match the Sig 556 I mounted it on. It looks like hell up close, but better than it did IMO. The Sharpie gave it a funny purplish color. No big deal, function before form in my book.
Anyway, back to the optic itself.
Nitrogen filled, so no worries about it fogging up. Clear, quality lenses that you’d expect from Nikon that afford a wide field of view.
It’s advertised as waterproof and shockproof. Eventually I may test those claims. The 556 shoots pretty soft, so I'd have to drop the rifle or bang it in to something. From reading the reviews on this optic, most people seem to be mounting these on big bore magnum handguns, so it’s probably built well.
One of the things that sold me on this was the variable sized dot (VSD). Not many red dots out there that can do this. Simply twist the middle knob to get the size you want. I love the 1 MOA dot for precision shooting. It has a nice meaty 10 MOA for close up stuff, plus a 4, 6, or 8 if those are preferred. The dot has 11 different brightness settings, which is nice too. The manual states that the battery lasts over 300 hours if left on the “4” setting which is plenty bright for indoor shooting with the 1 MOA sized dot. It takes standard sized lithium batteries that can be found just about anywhere. I picked up a couple spares and stored them in the pistol grip compartment of the 556. Some other optics have a much longer battery life, but since these batteries are cheap and I can store a bunch in the pistol grip and/or the stock, it’s really not an issue for me.
Mounting is a breeze. It comes with an integral mount which is easy to work with and fits on Picatinny and Weaver rails. The screws have a hex head and it comes with the allen key to tighten them. Some type of quick release would be nice, but would add to the bulk. This mount is lean, but plenty sturdy. I don’t like the need for tools, but the allen key is easily stored in the pistol grip of a 556. YMMV.
Another nice feature, which is just pure dumb luck, is the fact that this optic would still work great as a peep sight if the electronics fail for some reason. What I mean is; when I flip up the factory front site, the tip of it perfectly touches the red dot. Bonus for 556 owners.
I’ve only shot the 556 once since I put the Nikon on, but so far, so good. Mount stayed tight and it seemed to hold zero fine.
This optic seems to be quality inside and out. All metal construction. Even the knobs and caps are aluminum. Comes with nice aluminum lens caps, but I’ll be replacing those with a bikini style cover because they are a hassle to screw on and off.
I’ll post some photos later.
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