By Jason Mosher

Choosing an optic for your firearm feels like picking ice cream at a store offering 100 flavors. You think it would be more fun, but you’re soon overwhelmed, confused, and questioning your choices. And even when there are more choices than there are stars in the sky, we always seem to want more, don’t we?

So here is another optic to ponder, to debate, and maybe to attach to your next project…the one you didn’t tell your wife about. I’ve been using the Advocate for a few months now and I’m liking everything about it so far. It’s a pretty cool compact green dot optic for a rifle, PCC, or sub-gun from Gideon Optics. It’s technically a 1×20 prism scope or sight, and it has both an illuminated and etched reticle.

The Advocate Green Dot Prism Sight

The Advocate compact micro prism sight from Gideon Optics is designed for shooters who need — or just prefer — a compact optic. They’re also a good choice if you have astigmatism as they usually don’t flare or blur like reflex sights do. I decided to mount the Advocate on my B&T because I was wanting to replace the old one that I had on it. I specifically wanted something that was smaller overall, while still providing a good-sized field of view.

Measuring a modest 2.5 inches in length, the Advocate weighs about 8 ounces. A riser came already attached to the Advocate, which I liked so it was ready to mount right out of the box. With the riser, I measure about 1¾ inches from the rail to the center of the glass.

This 1×20 prism sight by Gideon Optics is a compact sight that’s perfect for AR’s, PCC’s or sub-gun sized weapons.

Gideon provides a killflash anti-reflection attachment for those who like to use them. I don’t go out of my way to purchase a killflash for my optics, but I’ll use one if they provide it.

Powered by a CR2032 battery, the Advocate has a battery life of 30,000 hours on its medium brightness setting. That’s a great lifespan for a rifle optic and CR2032 batteries are inexpensive and easy to find. I order mine on Amazon and keep several of them on hand because I have multiple optics and watches that use those batteries.

Reticle, glass, housing

The glass is crystal clear and the etched reticle (more about that below) is easy to see during the day. The green light makes for great illumination during day or nighttime hours.

The reticle itself is a classic circle-dot configuration…except Gideon used a small triangle instead of a center dot. It’s also noteworthy that the lenses are the multi-coated which helps with light transmission and clarity.

The etched reticle is illuminated with a green light when it’s turned on.

As for the housing, Gideon used a 6061-T6 aluminum chassis. The optic is IPX7 rated and they say it’s shockproof up to 1000Gs of force. It is parallax free out to 100 yards with a 79-foot field of view when looking through the prism sight.

Advocate Specifications:

• Length: 2.5 inches
• Weight: 8 ounces
• Reticle: 100 MOA circle and center triangle (etched)
• Illumination Color: Green
• Battery: CR2032
• Battery Life: Up to 30,000 hours
• Lens Coating: Multi-coated
• Construction: 6061-T6 Aluminum
• Adjustments: Windage and Elevation 1 MOA per click
• MSRP: $299 (about $229 retail)

Why an etched reticle?

I don’t need an etched reticle in my rifle sight, but it’s sure is a feature I appreciate. Most of my career, I drove around with a rifle in the back of my vehicle. I tried to keep the battery replaced, but you know how that goes. I’d forget every now and then.

On one occasion, we were chasing an armed suspect who shot the windows out of a deputy’s patrol car during a traffic stop. Once he fled his vehicle, I grabbed my rifle as I got out of my car. I didn’t noticed until the ordeal was over that my optic was dead. That’s because it had an etched reticle in it, so I was able to use it anyway. If it had been a standard reflex sight, it would have been a different story.

I like optics with etched reticles. The green illumination is perfect for nighttime shooting, although it can make the reticle more visible even during the day.

Because an etched reticle is physically carved into the glass of the optic itself, it’s permanently visible. Of course, it’s not much use at night, but it can be a lifesaver during daylight hours.

The Advocate has an automatic off feature after four minutes, so that helps extend your battery life (as long as it’s not bumping around in the back of your car).

Mounting, shooting, and evaluating the Advocate

When mounting the Advocate, Gideon recommends torquing it to a value of 22 in-pounds. The windage and elevation dials are 1 MOA per click and you’ll need a small screwdriver, a cartridge case, or a coin when sighting it in.

I sighted in my B&T at 25 yards using some Maxx Tech 124 grain FMJ provided by AmmoToGo.com. Once I was sighted in, I ran some drills using metal gongs and the Advocate and B&T combo made it a blast. Okay, shooting most guns on the range is a blast (both literally and metaphorically), but the optic worked well, and it was nice to shoot my B&T again.

The Advocate sight came with a riser mount installed. A low-rise mount is available from the company.

During my first few trips to the range with the Advocate, I made a point to turn the power off and use only the etched reticle. Even on overcast days, and with the killflash installed, the reticle is easy to see. It was only when the sun went down that I had trouble finding it without being illuminated. The Advocate micro prism would make a great sight for an AR-15, PCC, or any type of compact or sub-gun.

The controls are located on top of the Advocate making it easy to turn it on as you pick up the gun.

The power buttons are located on top of the optic so they’re easy to find and hit when you need to adjust brightness. The only thing I found that I didn’t like is you need to hit the plus button in order to turn the optic on. That’s getting pretty picky, but I like being able to hit any button as I grab the gun during an emergency.

Of course, you can leave the illumination on and it will turn on when you pick it up, so it’s not an issue most of the time. But for those who plan to keep it in your car and power it down, you’ll have to make sure to hit the right button. Other than that, the Gideon Advocate micro prism has been a great optic so far. I’ll continue using it and track my ammo count for an update down the road.