When was the first reflex sight made

For accuracy and quick target acquisition, red dot sights are superior to iron sights and magnified scopes in several ways. There are different terminologies when it comes to red dot sights. A "sight" is an optic without magnification while a "scope" is an optic with magnification. But the word scope is commonly used in the US instead of the word sight. So, it is not unusual to see the terminology red dot scopes. With iron sights, shooters must align the rear sight with the front sight, which can add time to target acquisition.

Magnified scopes require closing one eye to acquire a target, therefore losing situational awareness. I, received my first Naydar sight from my father, mounted on a 12ga single shot long Tom.

This has sparked my interest , and I have six now. I love these old sights for what they are. I have picked a few up and even learned how to replace the mirrored film on the inside lens. Once cleaned and new film applied they have a really good image. Does anyone have the drill guide for the model 12 version of this sight? From what I remember, they did become popular, especially with the skeet shooters. The article stated that the sight was so good that if someone showed up with one on there shotgun for a skeet competition, they were given a handicap.

What they did was to adapt WWII reflex sighting for large guns that they made for aircraft and navel guns like the anti-aircraft 20mm Oerlikon. When mounted properly. From what I understood, this sight was not fragile. They just adapted the design by making it smaller. Remember, the original sights were made for some big weapons, like the 20mm navel guns to shoot down aircraft.

They were made to survive the firing and recoil of those weapons. Also in that article they stated that the mount was also what adjusted the sights aiming point. It was made for both shotguns and rifles. So you could have one Naydar Sight and several guns with the mount on them.

It said that you could take the sight off of your shotgun and put it on the rifle and it was already sighted in to shoot. This sight was also suppose to be good in low light conditions, but not good in the dark.

Much better in low light than iron sights of that time, like in a heavy forested area, but about the same as iron sights at night, useless. I guess people today can look back and laugh or think of it as being silly or stupid with what we have today.

But it had a back back similar to the radio pack, except it was full of a battery just to power that scope. By Vietnam we had the Starlight, better but not much smaller. Today we have night vision that we wear on our heads that take a couple of coin batteries and small electronic sights, small enough to mount on pistols. Great post however , I was wanting to know if you could write a litte more on this subject?

Many thanks! Hi, Neat post. IE still is the market leader and a good portion of people will miss your excellent writing because of this problem. I found one of these at my local shop. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Notify me of new posts by email. Site developed by Cardinal Acres Web Development. Contact Ian.

Bullseye-style reticle pattern sorry for the dust The reticle looks better in person; it was a bit tricky to get a photograph of it. Share this: Reddit Twitter Facebook. Previous 2-Gun Match: Chinese 7. I wonder how those sights were adjusted when they were being set assembled. The steel ring which holds the lens is eccentric, that raises the possibility of getting the flat on its base in the wrong place, and putting the centre of the lens eccentric to where it should be.

I hsve one of these…model You don't need a prism read: no expensive lens for this, but one that is beveled and projects the point into the image plane. That is why these models are cheaper, but not less qualitative. To the contrary. With reflex sights the answer is: "With two eyes open". It all sounds simple, but what happens very intuitively for some users becomes a real problem for others. Especially those who have been using a rifle scope for years or right-handed people who have a left-dominant eye have to get used to this change.

To get used to a reflex sight, you can train with a covered or taped exit lens, for example. As a shooter, you initially only perceive the outside environment and the red dot in front of a dark background. After a while you get used to the perception and can clear the front lens again. The idea of a reflex sight was born in The telescope manufacturer, Howard Grubb, registered his invention for a patent No. In the Second World War it was used in various artillery and anti-tank weapons.

Unfortunately, there was a lack of small, powerful lighting elements, which is why passive light sources were needed. It wasn't until the mids that the Swedish company Aimpoint achieved the decisive breakthrough: the developers were able to use the bundled light beam of an LED as a light source for the reflex sight. This technology also made it possible to build much smaller reflex sights and thus also made it possible to use them on handguns.

Reflex sights are - depending on the model - small, light and quite handy. They are ideal for quick sighting over short and medium distances, as both eyes can be open, and, depending on the distance for example in combination with a magnifier , form a noticeably inexpensive alternative to classic rifle scopes. As already mentioned above, the biggest advantage over a classic open sight is that it makes target acquisition easier: the rear sight, front sight and target no longer have to be brought into one optical axis; with the reflex sight only the luminous point and target have to match, and with reflex sights they lie in one plane.

When using reflex sights with both eyes open, the so-called tunnel vision, which one is used to with telescopic sights, is eliminated and both spatial and peripheral vision are completely preserved. Thus target acquisition can be accelerated enormously by catching most, if not all, aiming errors such as tilting. The biggest disadvantage of the reflex sights is the luminosity of the red dot at night. Depending on the brightness setting, it may overlap the target.

For this reason, you should pay attention to sufficient day and night vision levels for brightness control. Reflex sights can fog up in the event of sharp temperature fluctuations or condensed breath. Openly constructed models in particular are very susceptible to moisture, rain or dirt.

So if you want to aim under extreme conditions, you do much better with closed reflex sights container designs. Another disadvantage, which does not only affect reflex sights, is the possible reflection of sunlight through the front lens.

Although short to medium range use can be a great advantage of reflex sights, it can be a disadvantage for some who like to shoot over longer distances. If you don't want to part with your reflex sight despite the distance, you can always mount a magnifier with optical magnification and diopter adjustment in front of it.

Before buying a reflex sight, every shooter should know what performance he or she expects for the given price. There are countless suppliers with an unmanageable number of models and features, so you should always think about what the sight should be able to do before buying. In general, it is always advisable to look at prices, equipment and if possible place of manufacture.

Visier magazine writes the following:. Japanese manufacturers, on the other hand, are professionals when it comes to the quality of optical lenses and electronics, and deliver both at comparatively lower costs. Do you prefer green reticle color or gold due to the weakness in red-green vision? You should ask yourself these questions beforehand.