Trijicon provided the author with a loaner RCR for this review.
A multi-platform mounting system makes melding the RCR with a superlative pistol like the Springfield Armory Echelon super easy.
[Dont miss Massad AyoobsSpringfield Echelon 9mm reviewfor additional information about this amazing pistol.]
Nowadays, we take red dot sights for granted.
They are background clutter atop pistols employed by military, law enforcement and civilian users.
Such an optic enhances precision and speeds up engagement time.
For those of us at a certain age, it also helps compensate for high-mileage eyes.
Be sure to read about thebest pistol sights for old eyeswritten by Justin Opinion.
How we got here is an interesting tale indeed.
The United States lost 116,516 dead during 19 months of combat in WWI.
A further 405,399 Americans fell in four years during WWII.
By contrast, Vietnam claimed 58,220 G.I.s over the course of a decade.
Vietnam was our first serious jet war.
It also saw the advent of guided weapons and night vision systems on a scale without precedent.
One of the more revolutionary examples was low-light tactical gunsights on individual combat rifles.
All that really began with the Son Tay raid.
Details
The technical appellation was Operation Ivory Coast.
The shooters were drawn from American Special Forces operators with extensive combat experience in theater.
The raid was ultimately a flawlessly executed failure.
It was simply that the POWs had been moved to a different facility immediately prior to the operation.
However, the U.S. military still learned a great deal from the experience.
For starters, Son Tay represented a whole lot of jointness.
Troops from various services were forced to work together to synergistically integrate their disparate skills and capabilities.
That spirit thrives in the Joint Special Operations Command today.
Uncle Sam bought 49 examples for $49.95 apiece.
The Son Tay operators had to reinforce the mounts with electrical tape to ensure they were adequately robust.
The Singlepoint OEGs were lyrically successful.
A large part of that success was attributable to the rarefied low-level gear the assaulters had at their disposal.
Modern red dot optics fire off the gamut from dirt cheap to rarefied with everything in between.
The new Trijicon RCR reflects the current state of the art.
Trijicon RCR Details
The RCR is the ultimate result of generations of mechanical evolution.
Patented capstan screws allow easy and secure mounting without a separate mounting plate.
The RCR uses a standard RMR mounting footprint.
This bit is actually really cool.
The sight is designed to co-witness with your irons.
Elevation and windage adjustments require nothing more complex than a small coin or cartridge rim.
External controls and internal electronics are designed to survive in the harshest of environments.
The reticle is a standard 3.5-MOA red dot.
The all-up weight of the sight is less than two ounces.
On a superlative chassis like the Echelon, expect no degradation to reliability or performance.
Zeroing the sight can be done in your living room without firing a shot.
Point the gun in a safe direction and adjust the dot until it overlies your iron sights.
As the dot co-witnesses, there is no optical offset.
The RCR works by projecting a red dot aiming point onto a spherical mirror.
With both eyes bring up the dot hovers over your target no matter the circumstances or range.
The RCRs generous field of view makes dot acquisition fast and easy, even under pressure.
That really is about all there is to it.
Operation is intuitive and stupid-proof.
The end result will cut your times on the range and enhance your survival everywhere else.
With an MSRP of $849, the new RCR is hardly cheap.
However, Trijicon is a foundational name in modern combat optics.
Trijicon just makes consistently awesome stuff.
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