Aim point Micro

First topic message reminder :

If you go to Face Book Bullseye, you will find a very recent post by Brian Zins basically stating that," the Aimpoint Micro is the best optic presently available for bullseye.." I rest my case..

When you buy for this sport the old saying is true "buy the BEST equipment you can afford" not buy the most EXPENSIVE equipment you can afford.Two things are what your after, the best reputation of accuracy and reliability of a product. everything else is up to you. Ultradots have served many well and have been used to win many national championships and countless other matches. Aimpoints as well have done the same imo the aimpoint is better quality but it has a higher price so its up to the buyer as to what he wants to invest his hard earned dollars in. Ive used UD's  over the years with very few issues. I am now slowly moving to the aimpoints  mostly because I find it hard to see the UD dot in the very bright sunlight on the two ranges I shoot each month. The micro has a super bright setting that's much brighter than any on any model of UD as I have tried them all with the exception of the UD micro. However the aimpoint micro has its drawbacks, many want to add sun shades if shooting outdoors and if put on a slide mount 45 then the mount screw or the whole mount needs upgrading aimpoint took notice of this and the new H2 has upgraded mount screws. UD and Aimpoint are the best for bullseye that's a proven fact.

I have UD Matchdot (30mm), UD Matchdot II (30mm), and AimPoint H-1 micro.  What's "best" is what makes you happy. Here are a few observations:
UD adjustment clicks are not consistent.  AP clicks are very precise. Generally, this isn't an issue in our sport since we have 25yd and 50yd settings verified and marked.
UD comes with tubes and you can easily & cheaply add extensions.  AP needs tubes.  AP tubes are available but add cost and are not really for user installation. (Press fit) There are weather and lighting conditions that make tubes & extensions necessary.
UD has 48 index marks on their sight adjustments. AP has no index markings at all. If you shoot multiple calibers with one sight, you need a reliable way to make necessary adjustments. 
UD has multiple dot sizes. AP has a single dot size. Some folks change dot sizes going from 50yds to 25yds.
UD batteries fade/die during a match.  AP batteries don't.
UD uses rings which can be bought for non-Weaver/Pic rails.  Mounting an AP H-1 on nonstandard rails can be very challenging & expensive.
UD (many; not all) exhibit negative magnification. AP scopes don't.  Of my three UDs, two have very noticeable and one has slight negative magnification.

Complaints regarding dot shape for either brand are almost always vision issues. People don't like to hear that and I have no intention of arguing the point beyond the following. (Rotate scope - distortion rotate?; Switch eyes - distortion identical? If comparing UD vs AP, identical dot brightness?)

I hope this information that isn't obvious from marketing material helps you pick the red-dot "best" for YOU.
Glen

HD Micro is not great same thing happened to me. At that price point Primary Arms is better.

carykiteboarder did a great job summarizing pros and cons and I agree with him on dot shape being a vision issue.  Never had a battery in a UD die on me during a match but I know it has happened to others.  I bought the tubes for the Aimpoint and had them press fitted on by gunsmith.  During a sanctioned match, the rear tube come off and hit me in the face during a rapid fire string (scope is mounted on a .45).  I had the gun smith re-press fit the tube.  Next match, the tube came off and hit me between the eyes during rapid fire.
 
p.s. My Aimpoint is a 4MOA H-1 and the only UDs I have are Matchdot IIs.

did he put a few drops of red locktite on it before pressing them on, that will keep them in place

DavidR, I don't think he did, but I hope to see him next week on some other things and we will try it again.  --Thomas

All the ones I have pressed on took an act of God to put on. Guess I've been lucky.
Jon

I'm surprised the shades came off. They are normally pretty tough to press on. We're they all the way on to start?

Yes, the shades were all the way on and the gunsmith used a press to put them on.

They come off , not a big deal. I use a wood vice to reinstall. I tried using a Little blue locktite I will let you know how it works out.

They come off , not a big deal...

unless they hit you right between the eyes during a match...

I have had seven Ultra Dots through the years and have been pretty satisfied. Granted I have not tried anything else. When I had a problem I sent it to Larry's Guns with $5 and everything was taken care of no questions asked. Now that Larry no longer does warranty work on UD's they have to be sent down to Florida. Now here is the rub. The lifetime warranty has to be backed up with a proof of purchase. I don't know about you guys but I don't save every receipt. Since I didn't have proof of purchase I had to send $25 plus $12 for return shipping to cover my lifetime warranty. I decided then I would try Aimpoint. Yes I was looking for a deal on an Aimpoint because they are expensive. I have bought two used. I have gotten great service out of one the other was abused before I got it. Dot faded. Sent it in and was repaired no questions asked. Then the rheostat went south and mounting threads striped out. Aimpoint seams to have a policy that if you send the same unit in twice they replace it with a new unit. I was shocked! I have never had customer service like this. I will never buy another UD product and since Aimpoint backs their units 100% they will have my business from now on.

I have two H-1 2moa Aimpoints and love them, especially the concise dot (no flair unless lens is dirty). But, the Aimpoints have, IMHO, two big flaws (or areas for improvement): 1) They don't come with threaded sunshades (like Ultradots). Ever shoot in the rain without the sun shades; nice scope becomes quickly useless (an argument for iron sights). The press fit sun shades can and do pop off, which is most irritating, especially given their cost and they aren't easy to pop back on; and 2) Aimpoints don't have an elevation adjustment that can be unscrewed and set to zero. I use this feature with my Matchdot II on a Pardini SPBE, which allows me to change elevations settings between 22 at 25 yds (zero) and at 50 yds (+3 clicks); and the 32 at 25 yards (+8 clicks) and 50 yds (+13 clicks). It all re-zeros consistently.

I confess that I haven't put my 45 with the Aimpoint in a Ransom to see if it will shoot square, i.e., shoot, move up, right, down, and left same number of clicks to see if it returns to zero. It may well be possible to adjust the elevation knob as I do on the SPBE, but without reference marks on the frame, what happens if I forget to re-zero after last match or practice (and that would always involve counting clicks from some reference). This may seem like a trivial complaint, but correcting it would really improve the utility of the scope.

I think foreign companies benefit from the experimenting done by American shooters with their products. Just look at what as been done with the 32 ACP Pardini in just a few years: shooters designed bullets and excellent loads that rival accuracy of top target pistols. Cheers, dipnet