Battlespace Editor Julian Nettlefold travelled up to Lincolnshire to see the Aimpoint Acro™ Red Dot Sight put through its paces at the Hobson ballistic facility. Peter Hobson established the Lincolnshire firing range and test facility to allow him to develop and test advanced ballistics, ammunition and weapons along with sights and other systems in private without interference from ‘prying eyes.’
In May 2021 Aimpoint®, the originator and worldwide leader in reflex sighting technology, has once again advanced the standard for pistol mounted optics released the next generation Acro™ red dot sights. This second-generation sights incorporate an improved LED emitter coupled with a higher capacity CR2032 battery to provide five years (50,000 hours) of constant-on power while getting you on target faster and more accurately. Designed to endure the physical forces generated by semi-automatic pistol slides, the Acro™ series was the first pistol sight to offer a fully enclosed optical channel to protect the LED emitter. Built to exceed the requirements of the users, the Acro series sights has been tested and proven to withstand the extreme shock, vibration, temperatures, and material stresses generated by firing over 20,000 rounds of .40 S&W ammunition.
The new high efficiency LED emitter provides a crisp 3.5 MOA dot. Protective clear front and rear glass lenses protect the advanced reflective lens system. The new digital intensity adjustment keypad provides a more distinct tactile feel when adjusting the dot intensity, and these controls are now placed next to the battery compartment to help protect the power adjustments against unintentional changes. The recessed edges of the housing at the front and rear of the sight allow for additional flip-up lens covers when mounted on a rifle or shotgun. To stand up to the high expectations of professional users such as the Law Enforcement market, the Acro P-2™ is built and tested to withstand extreme environment stress while the Acro C-2™ is an alternative for the commercial market.
The mounting interface for the next generation Acro is the same as its predecessor with a one-piece adapter plate for mounting directly to the optic-ready pistols. The sights can also be mounted on Weaver and Picatinny rail interfaces with a quick detachable mount available in various optical-axis heights. And several adapter plates are available, including a plate for Micro™ mount interface, allowing compatibility with all Micro™ sights mounting solutions. Specialized accessories such as mounts and flip-up lens covers are available for a wide variety of hunting rifles.
“Aimpoint engineers more than tripled the Acro next generation battery life and managed to fit a larger battery into the sight while keeping it accessible to the user and maintaining the exact same compact footprint as the Acro first generation, a daunting task that only our engineers could achieve,” said Erik Jeppsson, Sales & Marketing Director for Aimpoint AB.
Primarily designed for use on handguns, the Acro next generation can also be mounted on carbines, shotguns and hunting rifles or utilized as a backup sight on magnified scopes and thermal imagers. These versatile optics are night vision compatible and are the ultimate solution for extremely low-profile, compact sighting needs.
The Editor first test fired Aimpoint’s products during a visit to Malmo in 2009 at the Swedish Police range. During the trial it became clear that one of the key benefits of the Aimpoint red dot sight system was the ability to shoot with both eyes open; this allows the user to swing through targets at greater speed and accuracy and speed to engage targets quicker.
Peter Hobson chose the Heckler & Koch G36 (Gewehr 36) to carry out the trial, the current issue weapon for the UK’s anti-terrorist forces.
The Heckler & Koch G36 (Gewehr 36) is a 5.56×45mm assault rifle designed in the early 1990s by German weapons manufacturer Heckler & Koch as a replacement for the heavier 7.62×51mm G3 battle rifle. It was accepted into service with the Bundeswehr in 1997, replacing the G3. Since then, it has also been a popular export, and the G36 has seen active service in military and police units in several countries, including Germany, Spain, and the United Kingdom. The G36 is gas-operated and feeds from a 30-round detachable box magazine or 100-round C-Mag drum magazine.
Entering the Hobson ballistics’ range sound proofed tunnel, equipped with state-of-the-art recoding and filming systems, Peter put the target at a 30 meter range, loaded the weapon and fired ten shots over 5 seconds. The results were impressive as was been seen from the target ; a nice pattern round the bull.
Peter’s observations about the Acro™ Red Dot Sight:
- Ease of fit to the weapon.
- Battery life, the sight was left on for five months and still showed on full power.
- Shape of the optic aperture makes it easy to sight the weapon with or without a gas mask.
- The red dot makes it easy to acquire the target.
- The rugged manufacture was proven by drop tests.
- Ease of cleaning. The sight was wiped off and ready to fire in seconds.
Peter Hobson said, “I have used Aimpoint products for many years in competitions and Bisley and at my range testing sights for military applications. The Acro™ Red Dot Sight is a step ahead in the next generation of red dot sights, particularly its long battery life.”