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Old November 22, 2012, 08:25 AM   #1
dayman
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The down side to red dots.

Mine just died - or at least the batteries died. I can't seem to find the box I have the spares in. I do have a scope, but with only 3 more days in the season up here, I know both my neighbors are out in the woods too, and so I don;t really want to sight in a rifle and drive everything away.
So, in the spirit of the holiday, I guess I'm thankful that I have back up iron sights.
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Old November 22, 2012, 09:25 AM   #2
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They sell batteries at the store, shouldn't be much of a problem finding replacements.
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Old November 22, 2012, 07:44 PM   #3
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The upside to them, if you turn it off when not in use... The battery may last years
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Old November 22, 2012, 08:43 PM   #4
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Depending on the red dot, like the Aimpoint Micro series, the battery will last for several years with the unit turned ON.

Getting a battery(batteries) should be no problem.
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Old November 22, 2012, 09:33 PM   #5
ripnbst
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I don't believe the aimpoint has an off option. It's on 24/7 but still has a battery life of years.

Yeah you should be able to get a battery at an outdoor store like cabelas or bass pro, potentially Walmart.
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Old November 22, 2012, 09:58 PM   #6
Mr. Davis
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ripnbst View Post
I don't believe the aimpoint has an off option. It's on 24/7 but still has a battery life of years.

Yeah you should be able to get a battery at an outdoor store like cabelas or bass pro, potentially Walmart.
All Aimpoints can be turned off. Just roll the intensity wheel to zero.
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Old November 22, 2012, 10:07 PM   #7
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The real problem is, predicting when it will die. ..

Quote:
Mine just died
I don't know if I'd call it a negative for you know that it will happen. Just have no indication as to when. I always turn mine off and the batteries have lasted me through many seasons. .....

Then it happens when you least expect it. For that reason, I always carry a spare. One of my buddys, has a spare taped right on the top of the battery compartment. A bit extreme perhaps but that is how he deals with the potential problem. ....

Be Safe !!!
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Old November 22, 2012, 10:39 PM   #8
JohnKSa
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Quote:
I guess I'm thankful that I have back up iron sights.
To my way of thinking, BUIS are for when an optic fails right in the middle of a time-critical situation. For any other situation, having a spare battery on hand makes a LOT more sense than BUIS. Spare batteries are cheaper, smaller and can typically be switched out very easily.
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Old November 23, 2012, 07:34 AM   #9
Double Naught Spy
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Quote:
The real problem is, predicting when it will die. ..
I Sharpie the install date on mine. They use the coin-sized battery. On my HD Aimpoint, I change it every couple of years. It should go 5, but this way I am not worried about predicting which it will fail. It costs me a buck or so to make the switch.

The others will get changed around 4 years, though they will probably last beyond that given the units do get turned off once in a while. Once again, I should not have to predict when the batts will die since I will be changing them early.

For folks doing stuff like hunting, I don't see the problem in carrying a spare if it is a mission-critical item. I also don't understand the OP's comment...

Quote:
Mine just died - or at least the batteries died. I can't seem to find the box I have the spares in. I do have a scope, but with only 3 more days in the season up here, I know both my neighbors are out in the woods too, and so I don;t really want to sight in a rifle and drive everything away.
On what unit does changing the batteries require sighting in the red dot unit again?
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Old November 23, 2012, 08:14 AM   #10
Nathan
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I find a spare in my AR stock is good.

I might have to tape one to my shotgun stock!
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Old November 25, 2012, 06:41 PM   #11
Salmoneye
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It should be the same battery as the CMOS 3v Lithium on your motherboard...

Pull it from the computer...

But then it won't boot...

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Old November 26, 2012, 12:11 PM   #12
WV_gunner
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The red dot on my .22 uses the same battery as a GM key fob.
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Old November 26, 2012, 12:33 PM   #13
JimDandy
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The fact that you guys are pulling batteries from your key fob, and computer to power a hunting scope...
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Old November 26, 2012, 01:07 PM   #14
dayman
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I did have a spare battery, but I had misplaced it. I keep it with all my other assorted gun stuff at home, but it had apparently hidden it's self under a lens cover. All is well now.
This was year 3 on that battery, so I'd kind of forgotten that it might die.
As I generally hunt just out behind my house I prefer keeping spare parts in one place as apposed to making sure they're in the correct pants/vest every time I go out. But that only works when I can actually find stuff
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Old November 26, 2012, 01:12 PM   #15
rickyrick
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I left mine on lol, that's how I know. If I kept a spare I wouldn't be able to find it when the Time comes
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Old November 28, 2012, 11:23 AM   #16
bird_dog
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I've never had one die on the stand. Locked in a gunsafe in the 'on' position for a month, I had one battery go dead.

Regardless, my practice is to leave it off until I hear a deer approaching, or only turn it on at dawn and dusk. And always, always carry a spare battery, just in case. If you have one, you will never need it!
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Old November 28, 2012, 11:44 AM   #17
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Iron sights never need batteries.
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Old November 28, 2012, 11:53 AM   #18
Ricklin
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Whatever you do

Don't loose the original battery! It seems like there are a zillion and one different kinds of these coin cells. Most sights do not have an indication of what battery is right for them. It can be a real issue if you don't know the number for it's replacement.

I have a local store that sells big cardboard packages of assorted coin cells for a couple of bucks. So far so good. Sure beats 5 bucks ea. at wally world.
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