PA MD-ADS User Review

[gatordev]

PART 1:

Sure enough, the mount for this thing came after my trip to the range today, so Part 1 will just consist of dot comparisons of the various PA generations and what the unit looks like installed. I'm sure Comp's photos are going to be much more professional, but I got what I could get today.

First up, I've owned and shot PA's MD-06 (side mounted power knob) and the MD-07 (top mounted power knob). Both have held up and the MD-07 ran for a while on a M1A Scout. Besides having much lower battery life than the new MD-ADS, I found the MD-07 dot to be much larger (I believe it's a 3 MOA dot).

While I'm not going to be able to actually test the 50K hour battery life of the -ADS, I'll at least let it run for as long as I have it. I turned it on on 1/20/15, and when I send it off, I'll have a note on there for the next person so we can see how long it goes.

So here are some pics of the optic and also how the dots compare. Please take note, the dot pictures are intentionally out of focus so that you can see what the dot actually looks like when focusing at a target. If you focus the camera on the optic, it makes the dot much larger than it is in real life. Also, I tried to keep all the dots at about the same intensity, as best I could, based off the ambient light outside and against a white door in my garage. All that said, to my eye in real life (not on a camera), the MD-ADS looks about the same as a Aimpoint 2 MOA dot as far as both size and crispness.

MD-06 Dot:



MD-07 Dot:



MD-ADS Dot:



You may notice the red glare from the -ADS. I'm not sure if that's just a reflection I couldn't get away from or if the coating creates more glare on this one. I tried shouldering the rifle and there was still some glare (but not as much), so this will be something I'll have to watch when shooting. Unfortunately it looks like there's a slight bit of blur in the photo. Blame me and not the dot.

And here it is on my (essentially) M4 MWS:



Part 2 will cover some reactions to using it while shooting, but that may be another week or two depending on work and domestic responsibilities.