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M21 Meprolight Review

_{a review past Mike Kupari}

Disclosures: For the by three years, I have been using and evaluating a Meprolight M21 reflex sight.  I purchased it in 2017, on auction from Brownells, and take no affiliation or relationship with Meprolight (nor any fiscal relationship with Black Sheep Warrior).

The M21 is an Israeli-made open reflector ("reflex") sight that utilizes dual illumination.  It has fiber optics to gather ambience light and a small tritium lamp to illuminate the sight in the absenteeism of it.  It operates on the same principles as the Trijicon dual-illuminated eyes, like the now-discontinued Reflex II sight, the ACOG, and the Trijicon Accupoint.

Eyes similar these were pioneered past Trijicon in the 1990s and offered several big (and relatively new) advantages at the time. This was obvious even earlier most users of such optics had fifty-fifty heard of the Bindon Aiming Concept or had heard the term "occluded shooting".  Before LED lights were brilliant plenty or reliable enough for weapons sights, fiber optics and tritium were providing both day and night illumination for them.  Even today, when some illuminated optics aren't really what y'all'd phone call "daylight bright", fiber optics take no trouble in this expanse.  In fact, some of them tin can be too bright; information technology wasn't uncommon for soldiers in Iraq to partially encompass the cobweb optics of their ACOG scopes with 100MPH tape to reduce the intensity of the illuminated reticle.

Such optics also practise not rely on batteries.  This is less of an reward today than it was 20 years agone; today, ruby dot sights with 50,000+ hours of useful battery life are common.  Still, the battery life in nearly LED-illuminated rifle scopes can be pretty limited, especially when compared to fiber optics, which will work for equally long as the sight is intact.  Tritium/Fiber Optic sights offer a level of simplicity and ruggedness in not needing batteries and not having any electronics.

Tritium, too known equally Hydrogen-3, is the simply radioactive isotope of Hydrogen.  Information technology has a half-life of 12.32 years.  Every bit Tritium decays, it emits beta particles (high-speed electrons ejected from an cantlet), a type of ionizing radiation.  While beta radiation tin be harmful, the particles are by and large unable to pass through most barriers and will travel merely about six millimeters in the air.  Human being pare will stop beta particles, as will the small-scale borosilicate glass vials that tritium lamps are contained in.  Tritium is generally only hazardous if information technology somehow gets into the man body through an open wound or ingestion.

Tritium gas itself does non produce visible light.  When the beta particles interact with certain phosphor materials they will glow, but only dimly.  Tritium/phosphor illumination past itself is not generally useful during the solar day or amidst typical indoor lighting.

The downside to Tritium illumination is that over a period of years, the tritium illumination volition begin to dim equally a result of radioactivity.  As Tritium decays, it turns into non-radioactive Helium-3, which does non emit beta particles and cannot exist used to create illumination.  When the one-half-life of the Tritium in a sight has passed, the illumination will be roughly half as bright, getting progressively dimmer until burning out completely.  Information technology's worth noting that the fiber optics of a dual-illuminated sight will still function and that the tritium lamps can usually be replaced past the manufacturer.

The Meprolight M21 has been in product for nigh two decades and was adopted en masse by the Israeli Defense Force (IDF).

While information technology probably wasn't fielded in the same quantities as the Aimpoint or the ACOG, it has nonetheless been proven and has been on the market long enough for any bugs to get worked out.  In iii years of using this sight on a PTR91 (G3 clone) burglarize, I have non had a single issue.

It works exactly as it's supposed to.

Meprolight M21 Functioning

The model I have has what Meprolight calls a "bullseye" reticle.  I purchased it thinking it would be like an EOTech reticle, but it's not.  It'due south more than akin to the donut-and-heart-dot reticles used on some ACOGs.  Amber in color, the center dot appears to exist 3.v-four.v MOA and is surrounded past a segmented circle.  The large circumvolve makes for a big, easy-to-spot aiming point for use in fast and close shooting, and the center dot provides a more precise aiming signal.

I have noticed, withal, that when shooting smaller targets or at longer ranges, the outer circle can sometimes obscure the target.  If you're concerned with this, you can get versions of this sight with other reticles.  Meprolight offers the M21 with a triangle reticle, a 4.3 or v.5 MOA dot, or an open Ten aiming point.

The bister illumination, while perhaps not quite as vibrant every bit red or green, is quite useable in all lighting conditions.  I've had no trouble picking out the reticle against backgrounds of any color.  That said, in that location are some limitations with fiber optic illumination of which you should exist aware.  The effulgence of the sight is dependent on how much calorie-free is shining onto the acme and sides of the sight itself.

If you're indoors, aiming out into daylight, or are using a brilliant weapons low-cal, the reticle may wash out against the background and be hard to pick upwards.  This is a downside shared past all cobweb optic illuminated sights (and some electronic ones with automatic brightness adjustment).  It's less of an outcome on a magnified optic with an etched reticle, but on a reflex sight information technology can be a problem.

The M21 comes with a manual, a neoprene cover, a lens fabric, and a cleaning brush with a squeeze bottle attached (so you can use puffs of air to clean the grit off the sight).  It came with an installed Picatinny-compatible base and features a throw-lever, quick-release mount.  The summit aligning knob is on top and the windage adjustment is on the right side.  The optic acme is well-nigh one.65", platonic for rifles like the M4.  It'southward piece of cake to attach and remove.  The only external controls on the sight are adjustment knobs.  Each click moves the reticle one-half of a milliradian or about 1.seven minutes-of-bending.

In testing, I constitute that the M21 is compatible with a Holosun 3X magnifier.  Co-ordinate to my postal scale, the sight and mount together weigh 12.9 ounces.

As you can see from the video, the 30mm lens has a blue tint to it, merely in my experience, this did not hinder shooting.  Later on a while, you don't even notice it.

Similar all open reflex sights, you have to take care to non things like dust or clay block the emitter, otherwise, the reticle will disappear.  Yous should also make sure that the fiber optics don't get covered, or else the reticle won't be equally bright as it should exist.

If the reticle is too bright, you lot can partially embrace the cobweb eyes with tape.

In 2021, when low-power variable scopes have been adopted for general upshot by both the US Regular army and Marine Corps, something as uncomplicated as a reflex sight can seem "retro" or even "quaint".  It'southward undeniably former technology, one that is being overshadowed past mod electronic sights and variable optics.

Yea or Nay on the M21?

Why use 1 now, when other options are available?

Personally, I got mine because it was on sale and information technology's been effectually long plenty to be of proven quality.  From the perspective of the Israeli Defence force, such an optic makes a lot of sense.  Similar all such optics, it is more often than not easier to utilize than iron sights.  Information technology provides for fast, both-eyes-open shooting at the brusque-to-medium ranges than an urban battlefield commonly offers.  At less than 13 ounces for sight and mount combined, the M21 is considerably lighter than most variable scopes and will be more durable.

When your forces consist of large numbers of conscripts who might lack the benefit of advanced training, a simple reflex sight, non requiring batteries, non needing to be fiddled with once zeroed, is a solid choice.

Where to discover the M21:

The Meprolight M21 reflex sight tin can exist purchased online for less than $500 at the fourth dimension of this writing.  It's not the latest or the greatest but information technology'll go the job done.

Amazon

MTG Tactical (Black Sheep Warrior's sister site)

Nearly the Mike:Mike Kupari is a former Explosive Ordnance Tech and GWOT veteran who spent several years as a PSC contractor at home and a PMC contractor abroad. He is a successful novelist and prolific freelancer, having written for a number of gun/tactical industry publications. Mike'southward previous books include the bestselling Dead Vi series (co-authored with Larry Correia), a sci-fi series (Privateer Andromeda), and his well-nigh recent yarn, a post-apocalyptic tale called The Family unit Business. You can notice his novels at Baen Books or online at Amazon.com.

mcbridebution.blogspot.com

Source: https://www.blacksheepwarrior.com/meprolight-m21-review/

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