Trigicon ACOG, 5.5, Busnell HDMR, Nightforce. March 1-8 im quite sure they will all work.
Let me be real blunt. BUIS is not a consideration at all for me the concept is borderline insane. Scopes, with Red Dot Co-alligned, BUIS Etc. This is a precision rifle not a entry weapon. I have yet in now 25 years of Miliraty and LE experience ever heard of anyone having to strip a scope that went down and go to a BUIS system to finish an op.
Or better yet Imagine being in a gunfight or in a doorway and trying to implement a switch to backup irons.
In almost 20 years of competition shooting the only scopes I ever saw go down were a shift in impact or a knob freeze. in both these cases the reticle can be used in a hold off manner to get the job done. Hell at RO a guy sheered a windage knob off we duct taped the knob back on and he finished with his reticle using holdoffs.
Im sure someone will say that BUIS look cool. or they use them all the time. But for this Weapon System/Precision Rifle/Target rifle its a non issue to me. Id venture to make a heavy wager that 95% of the guys with BUIS on their rifles have never even zeroed them.
Open question to all the US Army Snipers. Other than in Sniper school when they made you guys put them on how many of you guys ever had to switch to irons during an actual op on your M-24 SWS.
Did I tell you guys how much I like the word BUIS???
George, as a customer of yours over the years, I'm confident the attention to detail that you and your crew put into your work will be more than satisfactory, and I think it's very cool that you have opened up the input into the new handguard to one of the main areas of your target market.
I'm with you on the TWS clip-on, space for the large objective bells, and disdain for the insane rail-mount trends. The few shooters that actually use TWS, Clip-on NVD's, and IR pointers are covered with the tasteful use of rail space already provided.
As to your question about iron sights, the only time I used anything other than optics on the M24 was during the first few days of a SOTIC MTT Course run for us by 1st SFG. We pulled the M3A's, attached the Palma sights, and focused on fundamentals/grouping exercises out to 400m with that configuration. This block of instruction used to be in the SOTIC POI, but is no longer there, according to what current SF Sniper Instructors have related to me. It would be interesting to hear from the guys who are using M110's what the marksmanship POI is like with that system.
Operationally, I can't think of an instance, even with the SPR's, where irons were used, and we had guys even doing controlled bursts on packs of dogs at night co-witnessing with the PVS-14's behind the Leupy MR/T's, suppressed. It wouldn't surprise me if someone has a freak horror story though.
Edit: Looks likes some horror stories appeared above. I know of a few M24's that were abused in ways that people may find hard to believe: slipping out of a M-1950 WPNS case on a jump before they were using the modified cases, getting run over by a Bradley, and falling out of a Blackhawk. The one that fell from the M-1950 on a jump still had the same zero after the "owner" recovered it from the DZ on Fort Lewis, where it was buried almost buttplate deep in mud!
For the GAP-10, I know for me and the crowds I shoot with, I would never expect to see someone with a BUIS on a GAP-10, especially with the elevated rail height. It's a precision semi-auto that is meant to be complimented with a higher-end, quality optical sight to match the capabilities of a 1/2 MOA or better rifle system at extended distances, or precision fires for the LE Sharpshooter within common Special Response scenarios.
I have noticed that with heavier-barreled AR's, a lightweight, rigid rifle-length handguard goes a long way in balancing the system, as well as helping with handling. You have already added the QD slots, which would have been my only request. Thanks again for your excellent products and down-to-earth approach. I'll be playing with my .260 Rem AR you built for me this week out to 1200yds. It's boringly accurate.
