There was a time, not long ago, when many officers considered red dot sights on handguns and things like flat triggers to be “the latest fad.” That outlook kept a lot of officers and agencies from even evaluating or experimenting with the newly developed tools for handguns. And, honestly, it cost a lot of officers unnecessary aggravation. The new tools were created as a resolution to identified challenges.
This article appeared in the July/August issue of OFFICER Magazine. Click Here to subscribe to OFFICER Magazine.
Aimpoint is a company with a long history and strong reputation in the firearms sights industry. Having marketed their first red dot sight almost 50 years ago (1975), the company obviously has the advantage of time; the lessons learned, feedback received, design improvement in parallel with technology growth and more. The nearly 50 years of red dot sight design and manufacture puts them head and shoulders above a company that came into the market in more recent history, and, ironically, that newer company would be leaning on the history of Aimpoint, as they design their products. If your “competition” depends on your work and history to be successful, they are, by definition, not competition.
We recently had the opportunity to field test and evaluate the Aimpoint Acro P-2 3.5MOA Red Dot Sight, and we came away impressed. Let’s take a quick look at some of the specifications, and then we’ll get into the testing process and our results.
First, as noted, the dot is 3.5MOA. Many “experts” have argued that the smaller the dot, the greater the accuracy potential. That’s a great argument if you’re selling an RDS (red dot sight) with a 1MOA dot. That 1MOA is the equivalent of 1” at 100 yards. Therefore a 3.5MOA dot is the equivalent of 3.5” at 100 yards. We’re talking about an RDS on a handgun. Do you need, and more importantly, are you capable of 3.5” groups at 100 yards? Very few people are and we’ve yet to meet an officer who is. Most sights and handguns are better than those holding them today, so let’s set aside any argument about whether a 3.5MOA dot is “too big.”
Second, with a weight of only 2.1 ounces, and measuring a mere 1.2” wide by 1.3” tall (the 1.9” long doesn’t affect overall size form of the handgun), the Acro P-2 is pretty small, especially when you consider the .6” square viewing window. Some officers object to an RDS because they perceive it as “making a big gun bigger.” It’s time we all stop thinking about the handgun as a single item no matter what accessories are on it and we start talking about weapon systems. The duty handgun today, with a mounted duty light and an RDS or other optic is a weapon system. Third, there are a few of characteristics of the Acro P-2 that most officers won’t ever need to pay attention to. The 50,000-hour constant operation rating; the 10 different settings that include four night vision settings; the fact that it’s submersible to 35 meters. Most officers won’t need to pay attention to those design features, but if they ever need to, then knowing them is good.
To test the optic, we did what it was designed to do. We mounted it on an FN-509 handgun and took it to the range. We zeroed it for 7 yards and put several hundred rounds through it. The optic held zero without any issue (even when we banged it against the barricade). The 3.5MOA dot is easily visible even during bright daylight hours and wasn’t so bright that it washed out visual details through the viewing aperture in less lit areas/hours.
Overall, the optic performed very well and did everything / took all the abuse you’d expect from such a product. Aimpoint has certainly earned our Tested-Field Rated certification for the Acro P-2.
Find out more information at officer.com/55019675
