Leupold Prismatic Riflescope

[gfjcarolina]

Looking for a scope for my Beretta CX4 Storm carbine. This is a a close quarters carbine. Accordingly, I have considered an EoTech 552. A vendor on this forum suggested looking at the NEW Leupold Prismatic instead of the EoTech 552.

http://www.leupold.com/tactical/prod...illum-reticle/

I can't find any info/reviews on this new Leupold on Google or other forums. This Leupold is more compact and can be used even if the batteries die. I want to be able to shoot an optic with both eyes open. I would appreciate your insight. Thanks!

[Bartholomew Roberts]

The Leupold Prismatic sight is basically a 1x scope. It works without batteries because it uses an etched illuminated reticle much like many scopes. It doesn't have the advantages of a typical red-dot like the Aimpoint or Eotech (unlimited eye-relief, parallax-free, no cheek-weld necessary).

The battery life on even the M2 Aimpoints is something like 10,000 hours and that model is now obsolete by two generations. The current M4 gets something like 80,000 hours on a single battery and the T1 Micro gets a mere 50,000 hours. The Eotech, which has much more demanding power requirements due to the use of a laser instead of a diode reflected on the glass, gets around 1,000 hours and shuts off automaticallly at eight hours.

In the event electronics fail, both the Aimpoint and Eotech can be used at close range like a giant ghost ring sight and this will let you make hits at shorter distances if there is not time to deploy the iron sights.

Leupold essentially took their CQT scope, removed the option for variable magnification and marked down the price to $500. Why they did that I couldn't begin to guess. If you are really concerned about batteries/electronics, I think there are better options in the same price range. I am sure there is someone out there for whom the Leupold Prismatic is a perfect match for their needs. I just can't think of who it is. My guess is if you have to ask if the Leupold Prismatic is for you, then chances are very good that there are a half-dozen sights that would serve your needs better.

Heck, even if you were dead set on a $500 or less, Leupold-only optic, that you could use with both eyes open, you could get a Leupold 1-4x Shotgun scope for $200 and have an optic that would be Leupold, both-eyes open, and no batteries. It would also be very rugged and have magnification when you needed it.

[Wildalaska]

In the event electronics fail, both the Aimpoint and Eotech can be used at close range like a giant ghost ring sight and this will let you make hits at shorter distances if there is not time to deploy the iron sights.

Of course, that wont work at 50 yards will it

Leupold essentially took their CQT scope, removed the option for variable magnification and marked down the price to $500. Why they did that I couldn't begin to guess.

Becasue thats what end users wanted (military and police) I know of at least 12 combat vets going over again taking them......

My guess is if you have to ask if the Leupold Prismatic is for you, then chances are very good that there are a half-dozen sights that would serve your needs better.

Which one at that price point?

WildevidentlyyouhaventusedoneAlaska TM

[Bartholomew Roberts]

Of course, that wont work at 50 yards will it

Depends on the size of the target and whether you have a cowitnessed front sight post up; but with the Aimpoint, I can do 50yds on an IPSC target and I don't consider myself especially remarkable. Using only the dead optic as a rough guide, you have to be much closer - say 10-15 yds.

Becasue thats what end users wanted (military and police) I know of at least 12 combat vets going over again taking them......

Good for them. Doesn't suit my needs and I don't want one. My point being that these end users know what their needs are and why they chose the Prismatic. Your average shooter would probably be better served with an Aimpoint for the reasons I've already outlined.

Which one at that price point?

I already named one, and from Leupold no less. Add to that list a long line of 1-4x variables that all do the same thing the Prismatic does; but add magnification. The only edge I see the Prismatic having is ruggedness; which is nice; but even though my ACOG is much more rugged than the guy next to me with the Leupold 1-4x shotgun scope, I notice his scope is still running quite well despite going through all the same stuff my ACOG has.

WildevidentlyyouhaventusedoneAlaska TM

I have used the CQT, which is a more flexible/better optic than the Prismatic, and I don't care for it either - and the 1x was the best part of the CQT (Another "end-user" designed optic by Leupold that strangely enough, hasn't caught on much with end users).

Bartholomew Iguesswedon'tneedtoaskwhichvendoronthisforumwaspimpingthePrismatic Roberts

[Wildalaska]

(Another "end-user" designed optic by Leupold that strangely enough, hasn't caught on much with end users).

Actually, I have a bunch of them going to Afganistan too. But what do they know

Bartholomew Iguesswedon'tneedtoaskwhichvendoronthisforumwaspimpingthePrismatic Roberts

Pimping? Pimpin? I happen to sell all of the optics mentioned including but not limited to Aimpoint, Trijicon, Leupold, Zeiss, Eotech, etc and try fo find a match for the particular users needs. I don't appreciate you attacking my integrity and rep on this forum, join my limited ignore list, you can be snide behind my back.:barf:

WildlifestooshorttodealwithfolkslikeyouAlaska ™

[Bartholomew Roberts]

Let me expand on my rationale a bit more clearly. First, let's look at the respective benefits of various sights, followed by my explanation of why I think that is important.

Red dots
1. Illuminated reticle - Not only provides better contrast for fast targeting; but allows reliable use in low light environments as well.

2. Parallax-free - Unlike a scope that is very demanding about cheek-weld in order to get consistent hits, a red dot is very simple. See where the dot is? That is where your bullet is going. It doesn't matter if you have a different cheek weld from the guy who zeroed the rifle. It doesn't matter if you don't even have your cheek on the stock as long as you can see the dot. This allows for a huge-range of unconventional positions that let you do everything from return fire from your back to shoot around corners with minimal exposure. It also simplifies parallax error in targeting by removing it.

3. Unlimited eye-relief - Also unlike a scope, you have literally unlimited eye relief. A 1x scope, no matter how nicely executed and how long the eye relief is, will still have a particular range where your head has to be in order to be effective.

4. Target and reticle are both in the same plane - Lining up multiple items in different sighting planes (example: rear sight, front sight, target) is much slower than having the reticle and target in the same plane. However, any type of optic has this advantage so it doesn't really count for an optic comparison.

5. Battery life - OK, even if you are in a demanding environment where your batteries die 10 times faster than published data, that is still 8,000 hours (333 days) of battery life from the latest Aimpoint. All you need to do is change your battery once every six months and even in an environment that drains the battery 10x faster, you will still never see any dead batteries. At this point in technology, if you have a dead battery it is operator error as much as anything.

6. Electronics - You can make electronics crazy rugged; but they are still going to fail from time to time. Because a red dot uses projected red light in order to have the advantages we discuss above, that means it is going to have to generate light and project it, whether by red diode reflecting off a coated lens (Aimpoint) or laser drawing a pattern on a lens (Eotech). This reliance on electronics (with a few exceptions)* means there is a potential for these electronics to fail and because the sight is projected light - that means no sight if they do. This is a concern but can be dealt with by back-up sights, failure drills and training.

Prismatic

1. Illuminated reticle
2. Target and reticle are both in the same plane

OK, these are both the same and thankfully the Prismatic has done away with the amber-orange illumination from the early CQTs. So same principles apply.

3. Limited eye relief - for a 1x scope, the Prismatic has very generous eye relief (3-5"); but you still need to have your head within that spot to use it.

4. Etched reticle - Here is both the plus and the minus of the Prismatic. Because the reticle is etched in glass, it can't do all the nifty things the red dot can do. On the other hand, it is always there whether the batteries or electronics are working or not.

5. Battery life - you'll be grateful for that etched reticle; because I guarantee you the Prismatic has nowhere near the battery life of either the Aimpoint or Eotech. You are going to kill the battery on this one at some point. Good news, you still have a reticle (provided it isn't too dark and/or you have a light).

6. True 1x - Personally, I feel this feature is overblown; but it is tough to find a true 1x scope that isn't really 1.1x or 1.25x. Some people who do both eyes open, close-range, dynamic shooting really like true 1x because they find the other stuff slightly disorienting/problematic.

6. Rugged - There is no question the Prismatic is one tough as nails sight. Hell, it is a 1x scope that weighs in at 12 oz. For that amount of weight, you could mount three Aimpoint T1 Micros and have two backup Aimpoints in case the electronics on one dies. Now you are going to have a hard time killing an Aimpoint; but if you take a hammer to both, the Prismatic will probably make you work harder. The question then becomes, how much ruggedness do I need? To give an example, the Aimpoint would be the off-road packaged SUV that will probably never leave pavement. The SUV isn't as rugged as a Unimog; but you probably won't notice the difference if you never do anything that stretches the SUV.

*Exceptions

There are red dot sights that do not rely on batteries such as the Trijicon Reflex II, Trijicon Tripower, and Meprolight Reflex. These sights use fiber optics and tritium to gather ambient light and project it on to a lens. They have their own drawbacks though - typically they require fairly dark polarized lens in order for the reticle to be visible and because they rely on ambient light, the reticle is sometimes too dim (shooting from covered range to bright sunlight for example). I am even less of a fan of these sights than I am of the Prismatic; but if you are battery/electronic phobic and really want red-dot speed, they are an option.

So that is what the different options bring to the table. My feeling is that the red dot will not only be the most effective option for most people; but at the distances where defensive shootings are most likely to occur, you can easily solve the problem if you win the bad luck lottery and the electronics fail.

Edited to respond to post made while I was typing the above:

Originally Posted by WildAlaska

Pimping? Pimpin? I happen to sell all of the optics mentioned including but not limited to Aimpoint, Trijicon, Leupold, Zeiss, Eotech, etc and try fo find a match for the particular users needs.

Then why aren't you explaining these differences to your potential customer instead of me doing it for free?

I don't appreciate you attacking my integrity and rep on this forum, join my limited ignore list, you can be snide behind my back.

O woe is me. Please don't throw me into that ol' briar patch Brer Bear! Your integrity and reputation speak for themselves. I don't think my joking comment is going to change anybody's mind one way or another; but feel free to sulk about it all the same.

Bartholomew Someonecan'ttakewhattheyliketodishout Roberts