Aimpoint's Hunter H34S

Every time an Aimpoint product is featured on Real Guns®, some folks will email us to advise that they can get the same thing for a hundred dollars. That’s correct, the hundred dollar equivalent red dot sights are on the shelf right there next to the box marked “Free Money”. The appropriateness of the term “same thing” begins and ends with an enclosed tubular sight that projects a red dot, of sorts, as an aiming point. Most folks understand that the performance of a rifle scope is dependent upon the quality of design, materials and assembly of the device’s optical and mechanical components. They know that a one hundred dollar scope and a one thousand dollar scopes are worlds apart in performance. Yet, the same people often have a difficult time understanding that a red dot site is also a sophisticated optical device and that the old adage, “You get what you pay for” clearly applies.

Features that matter…

The optical elements for red dot sights  are as critical as they are for a conventional scope. Light from an LED is projected onto a front lens and then projected back to the shooter’s eye. The lens is selectively reflective as all but the LED light passes through the lens, which allows the view beyond the sight to appear transparent to the shooter, with the exception of a red dot. In fact, in the opening picture of this piece, the lens appears quite orange and reflective. Yet to the right, when looking straight into the objective lens, it is transparent with no trace of color.

The tiny LED that forms the red dot is mounted inside the sight’s body, just forward of control housing, angled toward the center of the sight’s front objective lens. Most budget red dot sights use a single element objective lens that reflects light back to the shooter at an angle near opposite the angle of projection. The farther the red dot is viewed from the center of the eyepiece, the greater the angle of the reflected light, the greater the disparity between point of aim and point of impact – parallax. By utilizing a two element objective lens, Aimpoint eliminates this problem.

The light from the Aimpoint’s LED projects through the first objective lens element and is reflected back by the second. As the light reflected by the second lens passes back through the first lens, refraction straightens the light and makes it parallel and central to the sight’s optical axis. So no matter how or where the red dot is viewed in a properly zeroed Aimpoint eyepiece, point of aim is always in alignment with point of impact. No red dot sight company that sells a single element objective lens product can claim that it is parallax free or that the shooter’s eye can be misaligned with the center of the eyepiece and the red dot will still represent point of impact. This makes the Aimpoint one of the fastest sights on the market when it comes to target acquisition.

No blue bunnies…

Low cost red dot products use cast glass or plastic lenses, rather than lenses made of ground optical glass. Aimpoint utilizes ground optical glass lenses that are multicoated to increase contrast and clarity of image and to transmit nearly 100% of all light wavelengths. If you’ve done any shooting with a low end red dot sight, you’ve probably noticed the image has a distinct blue color cast and elements at the perimeter of the image are often oddly colored. This is not the case with the Aimpoint Hunter where the image color is natural. Additionally, the LED’s image is clean and sharp contrast makes the LED visible, even at very low intensity settings. In budget priced red dot sights, use of lower quality optics cause the LED, at high intensity, to often look like an oddly shaped blob.

Battery life…

Low current draw circuits that promote exceptionally long battery require quality components. Aimpoint’s acronym for their low current draw circuit is ACET, Advanced Circuit Efficiency Technology. A single CR2032 lithium battery provides nearly 50,000 hours of operation, or over five years of continuous use at the higher end of the intensity scale. Switched off, the battery’s typical life is 500,000 hours. The typical battery life for lower end red dot sights, under $250, is 150 – 200 hours. As a guy who owns several lit reticle scopes that have the battery life of a cheap flashlight, this low power draw circuit – long battery life feature is greatly appreciated.

Mechanical design…

Extruded and machined aluminum case, fog proof, water proof, shock and vibration proof suggests quality design and quality materials. The bright orange multi tool, included with the sight, opens the battery door, turns the adjusters and tightens ring fasteners. Aesthetically, the Hunter is a very good looking sight would compliment any quality firearm. No giant red-green labels and logos, no shiny plastic parts. The Aimpoint Hunter is a tastefully understated accessory.

Hunter Series Options

There are four Aimpoint Hunter Models that vary in two essential ways. There are long and short action versions, defined by maximum ring spacing and there are 30mm and 34mm tube versions with proportionally larger optics. The larger tube versions gathers more light and is potentially faster on target.  Typically, all are sold for the same price so selection can be based purely on personal preference rather than budgetary consideration.

The compartment that houses the five year battery is conveniently located on the side of the sight. Easy to get to, but still out of the way. The ocular lens is capped with a soft ring to prevent scratching shooting, sun and eye glasses or creating an extra eyebrow when pulling the trigger on a nifty magnum lightweight rifle. The manual excludes the use of the Hunter on S&W X Frame 500 and 460 magnum revolvers with the issue being extreme recoil and frame movement that dictates special ring and mount consideration for these revolvers.

Elevation and windage adjustments are respectively under the top or right side caps on the objective bell. The Hunter is shipped with the red dot preset to center. I do not know why spanner head adjusters are used as this is typically a security measure. The multi-tool supplied with the sight includes a mini spanner, but the adjuster caps are pinned to serve the same function. They do look nifty.

There is one more slightly larger access panel on the lower portion of the bell that no tool fits… a mystery. My guess? A time-space continuum portal, or perhaps access for more rigorous factory maintenance and disassembly.

34mm tube, 34mm rings… funny how that works out

The Aimpoint Hunter is supplied with a quality set of rings, Weaver style with cross locks to prevent them from moving around under recoil and fastener heads that match the driver on the multi-tool. They are compatible with any Weaver type base. Again, very nice looking set up..

In this case, the Aimpoint Hunter H34S is being mounted on two firearms, a Remington Versa Max Tactical Shotgun and a bolt or lever action rifle intended for woodland hunting. At that time we will be able to comment on the Hunter’s performance in a field and live fire setting. For further information, visit www.Aimpoint.com.