Trijicon ACOG TA-33-8

Trijicon ACOG for the .223

   For some time I’ve wanted a high quality optic for my AR15 carbine. After my recent purchase of the CMMG carbine it was time to pick one. Of course there are a good number of optics out there for the AR platform such as the Aimpoint, Trijicon and Elcan . I’ve used Aimpoints and Trijicons before and they each have strong points. After going over all the attributes of each and how I use my AR I decided on the ACOG TA-33 in 3X with a red chevron reticle that is calibrated for the .223 out to 600 meters as seen below. I contacted the good folks at Mounts Plus and purchased this ACOG as well as a fiber optic front sight to replace the stock front BUIS standard sight. Mounts Plus makes this fiber optic and the package includes a front sight tool, a wrench to help adjust the sight once installed it co-witnesses with the ACOG and the front sight jumps out at you and is very easy to see. The package also includes several colors of fiber optic rods so you can change them out or replace worn out inserts. The replacement front sight included in the package is well made and has positive clicks when adjusted. A red tube is installed when you recieve it.
  Bindon Aiming Concept Explaination:

   Human vision is based upon a binocular (two eyes) presentation of visual evidence to the brain. The word binocular literally means using both eyes at the same time. We most often associate this word with binocular instruments such as field glasses or a binocular microscope. These instruments specifically strive to present the object to be viewed the same way to both eyes.
   Vision research material was examined for its assistance to understand the optically aided weapon aiming process. Three major types of optical enhancement were compared. There are strong customer preferences in reticle designs, some simple reticles enhance the speed of target acquisition, others allow for greater precision in a given time limit.
    The simple substitution of a bright red dot for the usual cross-hairs makes it very easy to keep both eyes open. Just as in the Single point or Armson O.E.G. sighting, the brain merges the two images. During dynamic movement, the scene through the telescope blurs because the image moves more rapidly due to magnification. The one eye sees the bright dot against the blurred target scene, so the brain picks the scene from the unaided eye. The shooter swings the weapon towards the target while perceiving the dot indicating where the weapon is pointed. As soon as the weapon begins to become steady in the target area, the brain switches to the magnified view.
  A long search was made to try to combine the speed and non-battery features of the Singlepoint or Armson with the precision of the telescopic system. This discovery was made several years ago. Trijicon has sponsored research in the field of human vision to better understand this generic phenomenon. Although the study concentrated on the Armson O.E.G., some aspects are applicable also to the Bindon Aiming Concept.
A short video on this concept: Link

   With the extended eye relief this optic works at CQB ranges as well as very useful for medium range targets. Sighting in is done at 25 meters or a little over 28 yards. After this is done your good out to the max range. Of course you need to check the calibration at 100 yards. Minor adjustments are made and that pretty much sets the scope out to 600 meters with no need for any further adjustments. The aiming point is at the top point of the chevron. The ACOG comes with a Pelican hard case to protect the sight when not installed on your rifle. Also included is a cleaning Lenspen which one end has a brush with the other end a soft round buffing piece. This model ACOG uses no batteries which is a big plus. During daylight use the fiber optic rod on top of the sight gathers light for a nice clear sight picture. In total darkness the Tritium ampule kicks in and maintains a bright red chevron. The sight is very precise with super clear glass with no distortions at the edge of the field of view which is often seen in less well made optics.
   I’ve used it up close as well as out to 200 yards and found it performs very well. I am very pleased with this setup and plan on using this optic for many years to come. No doubt it will stand up to hard use. It’s also waterproof to 66 feet. It’s also the newest model Trijicon makes and was designed for Law Enforcement and Military use.

Mounted and ready to go:-)

   The people at Mounts Plus were very helpful in my decision and even added a few goodies with the package. I’d sure recomend them to anyone looking for an optic as well as mounts and other tactical accessories. Please contact me if you have any questions about this superb sight system.

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Novak Custom Springfield Armory 1911-A1

Springfield 1911-A1

   I was in my new favorite gun shop the other day and ran across a Springfield 1911that caught my eye. What I noticed was it had some features that were not stock for the period this 1911 comes from. As it turns out the person who traded this one in sent it off to Novaks for some custom work then pretty much stuck it in a gun safe and left it there. It’s had about 100 rounds fired through it since it was purchased in April of 2000. The information came from the previous owner who lives close by. He had Novak put some of the standard Novak sights which are the best sights you can have on about any pistol. They also did a complete reliability package and trigger job which measures 3 1/2 pounds. I bit light for carry for some folks but it’s just about right for my preference. It sure is smooth and crisp and just feels great! The trigger as well as most of the internals were changed and fitted with precision from they way they look. Novak also added a beavertail grip safety and a match trigger as well as an extended thumb safety. A full length two piece guide rod was also installed. Basically they did the works on this pistol to make it an ideal carry piece. The trigger feels as good as some $2000 full custom 1911’s i’ve shot.
  The markings on this one have 1911-A1 on the left side with Springfield Armory on the other with the company logo in the opposite location from where they place them now. I contacted Springfield who as always was very helpful and by the serial number dated it’s manufactor date to January of 2000. The way it came from the factory it had GI sights and hammer and just pretty much a plain jane 1911. This early model also is pure series 70 without the series 80 safety system which is another reason the trigger job turned out so well. This is one premium 1911 and yes it came home with me:-) These days if you wanted to have this much work done on a 1911 it would cost you darn near $1000 just for the custom work so for $600 it’s really a bargain especially since it’s almost new from a use standpoint.

   As many of you know I used to buy all my guns from Cott firearms and had a link up for them. Well as things often happen the owner decided it was time for a change and moved very far away closing the shop. The new shop is in Cairo,Missouri and is owned by a very nice couple named Ron and his wife Konda. Their shop is called K&R firearms and I couldn’t recomend them more. They also order guns for customers and will do transfers to you FFL. I’ll create a page with more details later. The best part is they have very reasonable prices unlike many shops these days. They can be contacted at 660-295-4446. Besides they can’t be bad folks they both carry 1911’s at the shop when they are working!
   I’ll be posting some targets from the range shortly but right now a few mags is about all I can handle with 12 degree temps. My range session started at 7 yards to establish a point of aim point of impact to ensure the sights were adjusted correctly. The sights were right on the money so with that done I backed up to the ten yard line well at least as close as I could since the yardage markers are under 8 inches of snow:-) My first mag resulted in a group of 2 inches with subsequent mags reducing the group size to 1 1/4 inches. Not an easy task for me when wearing gloves. I backed up to 15 yards and fired two mags which gave me groups of right at 2 inches again with the gloves on. I’m sure when it gets warmer and I can shoot without gloves I can reduce the group sizes especially the way this 1911 is tuned.

   I’ll be posting additional information and range results hopefully next week. As always if you have any questions or comments feel free to comment and I’ll respond right away.

Update:
As promised here is an update from my range session yesterday. It was a bit more comfortable outside and the results showed it. Novak did in fact do some accurizing on this pistol. I set the target and backed up to the 10 yard line. My very first round obliterated the red dot bullseye of this 5 inch Birchwood Casey target. It couldn’t have been more dead center if I had measured it. The second round went perfectly into the first with the third round doing the very same! I’m impressed! I backed up to the 15 yard line and you can see the results below.

After these very pleasing results I moved back to the 25 yard line and fired two mags of Winchester 230 grn. flat nose target loads. Here are the results below.

This the most accurate 1911 I own now or ever really. It just goes to show what a person who knows what they are doing and does what is really fairly minor fitting can achieve with a 1911 platform:-)

  

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