Originally Posted By: Steve_in_PAWhat are your intended plans?
I have an Eotech 512 on my AR (Bushmaster), but it's not used for hunting. My usage is LE, self-defense, tactical and general plinking.
With that said, I've had it on my rifle for several years and have no complaints or issues. Some people wil complaint it eats batteries and that is shuts off after 4 or 8 hours. I run lithiumm batteries in my Eotech and they last all year. As for not being able to leave it on like an Aimpoint, I never found a need for that.
Personal preferance.
The first generation of Eotech were terrible on batteries even if the optics were off. The new versions don't have that problem anymore. Both optics are top notch. I myself prefer the Aimpoint. I don't like the 65mm ring around the dot. Also the battery life is night and day between the two. Eotech can't even come close to the Aimpoint battery life. I run an Aimpoint ML2 on my duty rig. The battery life is 10,000 hours on one battery. The M3/ML3 series are 50,000 hours, and the TI series is 70,000 hours. That is 5 years without every turning it off. I have had Eotech optics on a couple of my rigs, and they ran great. I'm sure your be happy with either.