Apparently Trijicon Still Hates The Common Man

BY Herschel Smith
2 years, 6 months ago

TFB.  They’ve released the new compact ACOG.

  • Model: 1.5x16S (TA44 Series)
  • Magnification: 1.5x
  • Objective Lens: 16mm
  • Eye Relief: 2.4 in. 61.0mm
  • Exit Pupil: 0.42 in. 10.7mm
  • Field of View (in degrees): 7.4°
  • Field of View: 39.0 ft.@ 100 yds. 12.9m @100m
  • Adjustments (Per in. @ 100 yds.): 2 clicks
  • Dimensions (L x W x H) w/o Mount: 4.0 x 1.6 x 2.1 in. (102 x 42 x 53mm)
  • Weight w/ Mount: 5.1 oz. (144.5g)
  • Illumination Source: Fiber Optics & Tritium
  • Reticle(s): Circle Dot, RTR .223 Reticle, RTR 9mm PCC Reticle
  • MSRP: $1,357

I put the MSRP in bold.  Yes, you read that right.  They’ve released an ACOG that doesn’t have the magnification of the classic ACOG, and increased the price.

Ha!  And I had the audacity to recommend to Trijicon that they consider their pricing and whether they really want a share of the American market!

Why on earth would anyone buy this for $1357?  It isn’t a 1X so both eyes open downrange will see some oddball things, and it isn’t powerful enough to really be an LPVO or legitimate prism scope.


Comments

  1. On June 5, 2022 at 9:16 pm, Some guy said:

    (I) dont believe it’s JUST greed on Trijicons part. Oh yeah they want Profit, without a doubt.

    But what does it take NOW, in this Day…
    To Actually Produce that Sight or any of there Products.
    Calculating ALL the costs. Seriously.
    I am not poking anyones eye OR Defending the Pricing.

    My own experience with Trij.. There stuff takes Brutal Stupid Abuse and keeps tickin.

    American Labor ain’t Cheap.
    I mean 15$ hr to flip burgers and serve coffee and doughnuts? And some of these politicians are now shooting for 20$ and more MiNIMUM? Madness!!!!!

    If your paying that for those items, dont expect me or anyone in there right mind …to bulid High Quality Optics of amy sort for the same labor rate. IMO.

    One other Item…
    Which would hold up better in …more than Backyard Ballistics Scenario?
    With all the Talk of CW2, Economic Collapse, WROL, Anarchy…whatever ya wanna call it….
    A True Nasty Combat Enviorment, Whose optic will last longer even just from Backyard use?

    Trij?
    Holosun?
    Eotech?
    Amazons 69.99 dots?
    Ameriglo?
    Sig?
    The Dog eater 39.99 dots?
    ……
    ………
    ………….

    Some dont Care for electronics for whatever reason. Cool.
    My wife doesnt care for them. But fact…she’s FASTER pressing with them than Without. And she’s a good shooter either way so lets not do that argument.

    I get it, it’s nuts!!!! And your right they Are Not Worth it. 1300$ ??? Just Crazy!

    And a damn Uzi isnt worth $12,500, but thats just what I sold mine for to A Class 3.
    So whats he gonna put it out at???

    NOTHING , NOTHING, is worth what we are paying for it.
    Less maybe….YOU NEED it or will in 5yrs, 10yrs.
    Then what will ya pay?

  2. On June 5, 2022 at 10:26 pm, Herschel Smith said:

    I’ve got all of that.

    I believe Holosun’s are now made in the Philippines. As long as they’re priced better than the RMR, for example, I’d have to go with that.

    And Holosun makes a decent Prism scope from what I understand.

    Every CEO makes hard decisions. Cost cutting is always hard. Their CEO has apparently made the decision not to do that. So their products are out of reach for most people, me included.

    Unless of course they want to send me one for review at TCJ. Then I can see for myself how much better Trijicon products are.

    But I do honest reviews.

  3. On June 5, 2022 at 11:15 pm, George 1 said:

    I had the opportunity to try out one of the 1.5X TA44 ACOGS about 2 years ago. It is actually a pretty good sight. If your eyes aren’t perfect enough to see a red dot clearly they are a great substitute for a red dot. ACOGS also bring a level of durability to optics that is hard to match. The TA 44 is a do all optic that is not great at anything in particular but good enough to do almost everything IMHO.

    However they are at this point being overtaken by the competition. $1300.00, is too much at this point. They should make this optic with battery illumination and a lower price point. If they did that the TA44 would sell like hotcakes.

  4. On June 5, 2022 at 11:59 pm, Dan said:

    Buy American isn’t cheap. Hasn’t been for a long time. And Trijicon DOES make extremely durable products along with having in my experience decent customer service. Are they for everyone? Of course not. But they are a quality product made in America.

  5. On June 6, 2022 at 4:31 am, Old Bill in TN said:

    Trijicon has the quality. I’ve seen and used them in uniform, and they hold up. Fine. They are also ridiculously over-priced for what they are. IMO you pay for the name because they got a MIL contract early on.
    Cost to produce? Yeah, US labor is more, but you’re not moving product half way around the world either. I have developed new products from idea to market, and the production cost of what I see in an ACOG is NOT a tithe of the msrp. You’re paying for the name and the look.
    Face it, the gun community is the biggest fashion/fad driven bunch this side of a prep-school prom. There’s also the crowd that believes they are the best because they own “the best”, all the better if it costs too much for Average Joe! Trijicon knows this, and charges accordingly.
    They make a good product. I would not turn one down if it were given to me. Their reputation for ruggedness is deserved. Not a bad choice if Uncle Sugar is paying the bills. ME? I’d rather pay for an optic I know to be rugged, and a case or five of ammunition to practice with.
    My opinion; YMMV.

  6. On June 6, 2022 at 8:56 am, HouseWolf said:

    I own numerous Trijicon products, and I have always been pleased with them. Yes they do cost.
    I recently sent my oldest AGOG back to them for tritium replacement, and for $188 I was returned a completely refurbished ACOG, just like new. How many of these other outfits will provide that type of service?
    Of course at some of the price points you probably just toss it out and get another, but that cant continue, and probably wont much longer.
    That said I recently purchased one of the Primary Arms SLX 3x micro prisms and must admit its a very functional little sight. Being a prism its reticle is etched, and very clean and precise. And it has illumination as well, if you wish to use it, including night vision compatible settings.
    At less than a third of the price of an ACOG, its affordable, relatively, and under 8 ounces helps too.
    We’ll have to wait a couple decades to see if it ages as well as the ACOG…

  7. On June 6, 2022 at 12:33 pm, =TW= said:

    A compact 4X scope is mounted on my AR in decent QR mounts. With it I can engage anything I expect to encounter. The AR is configured as a general-purpose carbine.
    For about half the price of an ACOG, I might consider a 1-6X w/Fire Dot or Pig Plex. Someday.

  8. On June 6, 2022 at 2:10 pm, Bones said:

    Two words: Government Contract.

    The USG is a significant purchaser of these optics.

  9. On July 11, 2022 at 12:16 am, Georgiaboy61 said:

    @ Bones

    Re: “Two words: Government Contract. The USG is a significant purchaser of these optics.”

    “Bingo! Give that man a cigar!” as Groucho Marx used to say… well, I’m not quite that old, but seen the reruns, know what I mean?

    Trijicon’s breakthroughs were legitimately paradigm-changing back in the late 1970s and 1980s, when their first ACOGs hit the market. Bindon Aiming “Both Eyes Open” concept, battery-free illumination during the day and tritium by night, rugged construction, useful ranging and other features in the reticle, etc. These represented a new way of equipping and using military rifles, in particular battle carbines and assault rifles such as the M-16 and M-4 family of weapons issued to the U.S. Army and Marine Corps.

    These optics were so effective that at one point during the GWOT (global war on terror), Judge Advocate General Corps personnel were investigating claims that U.S. infantry were killing Iraqi insurgents, execution-style, with shots to the head of bound targets at close range. Those claims were fabricated, but Marine and Army grunts were making an unusual number of head-shots at extended ranges in comparison to historic norms. Eventually, the reason was isolated: The ACOG sights being used conferred a degree of precision and accuracy heretofore unavailable to the ordinary rifleman.

    Trijicon charged as much as the market would bear once they were established as a going concern with multiple long-term U.S. government contracts with military and LE agencies. And they have kept on doing that long after the exclusivity and innovation of their products warranted doing so. In short, they got fat and happy on the taxpayer’s dime.

    Moreover, Trijicon did so well with mil.gov contracts that they dismissed the civilian market as being beneath their concern and unworthy of their time and effort. That dismissive attitude came back to bite them, however, when they lost their long-held contract to supply optics to the Army, who went with Sig-Sauer last time a bid was let.

    Trijicon’s ACOG patents, I believe, either have expired or are due to expire in fairly short order. It will be interesting to see if their prices for the ACOG return to earth, or whether competitors will force them to market the optic for less, or what.

    I have started to see more Trijicon ads in civilian FA trade publications, but I pay them no mind. Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me. Once around the merry-go-round for me with those guys was quite enough.

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You are currently reading "Apparently Trijicon Still Hates The Common Man", entry #30565 on The Captain's Journal.

This article is filed under the category(s) Firearms,Guns and was published June 5th, 2022 by Herschel Smith.

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