There are a lot of reflex and reflex style sights available on the market today. A wide variety of styles, features, reliability and usually price points to back them. Aimpoint is one of the most trusted names when it comes to optics and the Comp M4 is one of their heavyweights. Rugged, Sealed and simple with one of the longest battery lives on the market.
The first thing most consumers are going to most likely look for is the actual pricepoint. Let’s just get that out of the way. This is a big boy pants and big boy budget sight at over $700. If you are shopping for a budget optic then this is not for you. If you are shopping for an optic based on the needs of who this sight is made for, then price isn’t what we are looking at.
The first thing most in the field are looking for is weight, ruggedness/reliability and accuracy. Now the average consumer may have those wants and needs as well but the priority list shifts drastically between target shooting at the range or reliability on the “two-way range.” I am sure Aimpoint is not trying to exclude one group from the other by pricepoint since they make many optics that are more affordable with the same quality you expect. The CompM4 is an uncompromising beast that can withstand impact, deep water, sand, dust, dirt, mud, bitter extreme cold as well as the hottest temperatures on the planet. This isn’t an ad for Aimpoint, this is the reality. You should know what you are getting for that price tag and it isn’t just a name.
This sealed reflex sight has a 2 MOA (Minutes of Angle) dot that on it’s lower settings can actually be pretty precise at and over 100 meters. When you ratchet up the brightness it is way larger to the naked eye than 2 MOA and also creates a nice big ring around where the tube meets the glass which is almost unnoticeable when you are really going at it, but definitely noticeable on focused groups. There are also 7 brightness settings for Night Vision and 9 levels of brightness for daylight. One of which is the “Extra Bright” setting which literally, turns it into a 40mm red light in your face.
The sighting in is easy once you get the sealed covers off the windage and elevation. Full gaskets and anodized aluminum cover the 1/2” at 100m adjustments and they are not hard to get off with or without gloves, but are on strong enough where you do not have to be concerned with them winding themselves off. There is no parallax or eye relief to worry about so you can be assured, if the dot is on it, it gets a hole when you pull the trigger. The battery compartment is also full anodized with gasket and has a life expectancy per AA battery of 8 years. Yes, 8 (eight) years.
My personal favorite feature is the mounting solution. Aimpoint uses their QRP2 mount which is a quick release mount that, as the name implies, is pretty quick. This is not a lever operated quick release but a screw down mount with a heavy oversized ratcheting knob. When the mount is tightened onto a rail and it reaches significant resistance it will “click” so as to not over tighten or strip the mount. I have never had this thing “fall off” as some other sights do under stress fire or magazine dumps over extended periods and I have confidence when it is on, it is staying on.
At the end of the day, I am positive that this is more optic than I would hopefully ever need. If you are looking for features like multiple reticles, multiple reticle colors, integrated laser, lightweight and inexpensive…this is not your sight. If you want simple, rugged, reliability through the most adverse conditions imaginable, this is your optic. There is no doubt in my mind that for a range diva like myself this is a luxury item. Aimpoint makes many more affordable models for people like me to get similar quality with less price tag so it is not an exclusive brand out of reach for people like us. This is what warfighters and SRT/SWAT use, not schmucks with a blog like me. I will never give it away though, you can bet on that. [Aimpoint]