By joesnuffie
Published: 7 December, 2003
Aimpoint History
For more than 25 years, Aimpoint has been making red dot scopes. They've been used by hunters for ages, and for 15 years used by military and police all over the world. In 1997 the US Army awarded them the world's first contract for red dot sights. In 1999, France awarded a similar contract. Aimpoint is located in Sweden and a quote from their website says, "Some companies test their products in the most extreme conditions. We live there."
The Samurai Red Dot Scope is a replica of the Aimpoint CompC. A rugged red dot sight geared towards the competition shooter and military / police applications. The real Aimpoint has 9 brightness settings and uses a single lithuim battery for a running time of between 1000 and 10,000 hours, depending on brightness settings. It's waterproof to 2 meters and has an optional 2x magnification lense, which I would like to see on the replica.
Here's a link to the real steel user manual. The first section applies to the CompC.
The Samurai
After buying my SIG SG552, I noticed that the top of it looked empty. After a few minutes of thinking, I realized that it needed an Aimpoint replica to fill in that space. I checked all the US retailers and realized that I couldn’t afford what I wanted (Remember me? I have a wife, daughter and a baby on the way and I look for DEALS!). To get what I wanted, I would need to purchase the Aimpoint replica $80, a scope ring $20 - $40, and the SIG scope rail $25. Then you have to add shipping to that $8 - $20 in the US. $145 is a good estimate of what I would pay in the US. I then remembered that someone once told me UNcompany had great deals and service so I headed over there. Here’s what they had:
- Marui Mount Base SIG 552
- $22
-
- Samurai Red Dot Scope
- $63
-
- Marui SIG 220R
- $32
-
-
- Total Price: US$ 117
- Paypal- Less 3.00% : US$ 113.49
- Shipping Cost: US$ 21.00
- Total Amount: US$ 134.49
Well, for about the same price as buying the scope stateside, I was able to add a high capacity magazine to the order. I went for it. I paid on a Monday and had the items in my hands on Saturday. Superb work on the part of UNcompany!
First Impressions
When I opened the package, I saw my magazine, SIG scope rail and two boxes containing the Samurai scope and ring. The boxes look nice and have a nice picture on them.
When I opened the boxes and took the scope and ring out, I realized that I had gotten a lot more than I expected. For the price, I thought I might be getting a plastic scope and ring, but my face was covered with a smile when I felt the cold of metal. The scope is metal and so is the ring. They also included a Torx wrench and a lens cloth. And, to top it all off, the ring base has Knight’s Armament trademarks and BATTERIES ARE INCLUDED!
Build
As I stated, above, the scope and ring are entirely made of metal, except for the lens covers. The scope appears to be milled aluminum and the ring feels like steel. The finish is a very nice powder coat on the scope and bluing on the ring. The ring is advertised as a quick release, but isn’t what you would expect. Instead of a lever to tighten and loosen the ring to the mount, there’s an easy to use thumbscrew that makes putting this scope on and taking it off much easier than standard scope rings. There are 6 Torx screws holding the scope tight, so there won’t be any wobble here. Everything on this scope is sturdy and top quality. The lens covers are the type you would expect. They snap on, with a good amount of pressure, and I have no fear of them falling off or being knocked off. The lense covers are spring loaded, and when you open them they stay opened until you close them.
The batteries are 2 1.5v LR-44 type, the typical ones found in laser pointers and hearing aids and are inserted opposite the brightness dial. To replace the batteries, you will need to loosen the torx screws and rotate the scope in the ring so that the battery cap will clear the ridge on the ring. Be careful not to dammage the o-ring when opening the battery compartment or closing it. It isn't flimsy, but I noticed that it can become offset so that closing the cap too tightly might scar or cut it. I'm not sure if this o-ring is for waterproofing or just to secure the screw-in cap.
In Action
After securing the SIG scope mount, I attached the Samurai. I placed it as far back as I could, which is where it seemed best for me. I went outside, turned the dial to the right brightness and aimed at my 50 foot target and proceeded to zero my new toy. It didn’t take long to get it right. A penny was used to turn the adjustment dials and they have a very satisfying click when you turn them.
This scope clears the front sight, perfectly, and you have a great view of the target. Finding the target is easy and I found it very comfortable to use both eyes. The lens is clear and doesn’t distort the view at all. There is no wobble from the scope or the ring, and the mount on the SIG is rock solid, too.
There are 5 levels of brightness and they work well in anywhere from bright sunlight to the dark of night. While many red dot scipes have 11 settings, I have found no advantage that my BSA, with 11 settings, has over the Samurai as far as brightness, unless you really need a dim light. The Samurai is brighter than the BSA, and I really have no preference in the number of settings between the two, but I do think 5 settings is as few as should be available. During the day, with the sun as bright as can be, I was able to use the second highest brightness setting and see the dot clearly. At night, while shooting targets in my back yard, I used the lowest brightness setting and the dot was just right.
Pros and Cons
The pros are just about everything. The build quality far exceeded my expectations, and it just looks great sitting there on top of my baby. It’s sturdy, goes on and off in a snap, thanks to the pseudo quick release ring, and is, by far, the best deal in Aimpoint replicas.
The only con I can think of is that the red dot is a little hard to see when I use my goggles with the red lense.
Conclusion
What more could a guy on a budget ask for? This scope has it all – great looks, great functionality and a great price! This is the only Aimpoint I came across that had the ring included, and it was cheaper than every other Aimpoint I saw without the ring. I have to say that this scope is great for anyone, not just someone on a budget. If you are in the market for a quality Aimpoint replica, this is for you.
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