A week and a  half ago I ordered an EOTech 552 replica from Tactical Gear Depot (which at the time was on sale for $54 shipped) and it arrived today.  Initially I was going to put it on the Echo1 SAL but decided it would be better suited on the M249 Para since using the iron sights are near impossible with a goggles on. That and it looks a lot cooler on the M249. 😀

The EOTech 552 Replica comes with an instruction poster, a micro cleaning lens cloth and two AA batteries.  The replica will mount on any 20mm picatinny rail but make sure you have enough space because the sight is quite long.

Here are some left/right pictures of the EOTech 552 replica and it looks pretty close to the real thing. The RDS reticle is adjustable well to a point, the windage settings are pretty good and you should be able to sight your gun well left and right.  Height options are a lot more limited and if the replica sits high up on the weapon you may have difficulty getting the reticle low enough.

The front lens of the EOTech replica is very shiny, almost like a mirror and the glass on the back is also very glossy.  The rear lens is also tinted brown, in low light you may have difficulty seeing through the optic (yes I know that sounds ridiculous but that’s how mine is).

On the rear pressing up or down activates the EOTech replica and it will remain on for two hours before automatically shutting off.  There are 20 brightness level settings and pressing up and down will allow the optical sight to scroll through the various settings.  Pressing the circule NV button on the back changes the reticle from red to green (and vice versa), when the red reticle is selected there’s slight ghosting even at the dimmest setting.  There is no problem when the RDS is set to green.

To insert/change the battery, lift up the lever at the front and slide the battery compartment out.  Insert ths two AA batteries, reinstall and you’re set.

As mentioned earlier the EOTech 552 replica fits just fine on 20mm picatinny rails and there were no problems putting the optic on both my PTW and M249.  I’ve read quite a few instances where the rear window cracks (an issue that seems to plague many different replica EOTech sights) after a bit of use, I guess we’ll have to see if it happens to me too. Still if it does it’s only $54 US so that’s not the end of the world.

I guess that’s it for now and as usual when there are updates, I will post them. 🙂

May 18, 2009 edit: I forgot to update this post but I have since sold the EOTech 552 replica because I found it doesn’t suit my needs.  Height was not adjustable enough to use with the M249 and I find it’s easier to sight things with my aimpoint on the PTW.

As an accessory for looks the EOTech 552 replica is great but in terms of usefulness on the field, it’s just not there for me.