No battery optics

[Waisting lead]

Has there been any advancement on the tech that was used for the Nydar sights developed after the second war to "end all wars" . They were based on sights developed for aircraft.
they were a dot sight that uses no batteries just ambient light and a prism to cast the "dot".

 

[BigBL87]

Well, you have ACOGs which use both tritium and fiber optics to illuminate the reticle. Thats the closest thing I can think of.

 

[Waisting lead]

Not familiar with that letter salad.
But I have seen what your talking about.
It's quite different because it works just like a red dot in as much as , just put the dot on the target, and it's quite visible. But it's also very fragile because of the glass used.
In other words DON'T DROP IT or it's toast.

 

[dogtown tom]

Not familiar with that letter salad.

ACOG is likely the most used telescopic sight in US military history.

 

[Guy48065]

I have a Mepro m21 on my AR. Tritium optic popular with the Israeli army with a reputation for being reliable & indestructable.

 

[Ohen Cepel]

SeeAll makes some interesting sights which don't take a battery for a reasonable price. Not in love with them but they are an option for some uses.

SeeAll - Tritium Gun Sights – SeeAll Open Sights

 

[P Flados]

I just recently got a SeeAll. It is a true optical open sight. The "optics" give you an aim point that you place just below your target. You see the target over the sight without looking through a lens. I hope to trying it out for IHMSA. I can still shoot iron sights accurately, but the eye strain of 40 shots per round of IHMSA at targets from 50 to 200 meters is such that I loose the ability to focus after a few rounds. I also want to see if it will improve my ability to hit targets from the standing position (where I currently shoot very poorly). As a downside, the adjustments use a small allen wrench and the sight does not have any "clicks" or any visible reference to show where you are in the adjustment range. I will be using my flatest shooting gun (7TCU) to minimize then need for sight adjustments going from one distance to the next.

 

[CapnMac]

Battery life in red dots (and some holo sights) has become immense. Long enough to just leave the things on, in some cases.

In other words DON'T DROP IT or it's toast.

ACOG (Advanced Combat Optical Gunsight) is a rugged bit of kit and will withstand being dropped out of hovering helos. The 4x version is common military use is nearly E-4 proof (nothing is actually E-4 proof).

Those old aircraft sights, were fragile for having cut glass prisms and glass tubes. They had a failing of needing ambient light to "power" them, too. They were reasonably safe on computing sights (sights mounted remotely to the guns).

I'd like to get some time in with the 1x ACOGs out there, just have not been motivated to spend the asking price for one.

 

[rabid wombat]

What @Guy48065 and @CapnMac said!

I have both an ACOG and the Trijicon version of the Mepro M21. As above, both are stout. I bought the “M21” Trijicon with the hope of using it on the home defense shotgun. In the light, it works great. At night, it works great. It does not work well in a dark room illuminated by the reflected light of a weapons light. The aiming triangle washes out - not dark enough for the tritium, no light enough for the fiber optics.

At the time, powered red dot sights did not have the battery life that some have today (as @CapnMac said above). I believe some are reaching 50,000 hours of life (setting dependent). Turn it on, and replace the batteries when you do your smoke alarms...and still have battery life left over.

 

[Waisting lead]

Battery life in red dots (and some holo sights) has become immense. Long enough to just leave the things on, in some cases.

ACOG (Advanced Combat Optical Gunsight) is a rugged bit of kit and will withstand being dropped out of hovering helos. The 4x version is common military use is nearly E-4 proof (nothing is actually E-4 proof).

Those old aircraft sights, were fragile for having cut glass prisms and glass tubes. They had a failing of needing ambient light to "power" them, too. They were reasonably safe on computing sights (sights mounted remotely to the guns).

I'd like to get some time in with the 1x ACOGs out there, just have not been motivated to spend the asking price for one.

Thank you for the clarification, I've been shooting since I was five but that doesn't mean I know all the abbreviations for everything.

 

[herrwalther]

It's quite different because it works just like a red dot in as much as , just put the dot on the target, and it's quite visible. But it's also very fragile because of the glass used.
In other words DON'T DROP IT or it's toast.

I have seen soldiers bounce their faces off their ACOGs and red dot optics taking a header in a ditch while rushing to cover. Usually end up with a broken nose and a bloody but still working optic. Have seen rifles bounce against the ground when a soldier hits the lands from a helicopter or parachute jump. I have never seen the glass on one break. Worst kind of failure I have seen on the red dot besides a dead battery was a seal partially fail and they get foggy. You get what you pay for on durability as long as you are getting a genuine one, as there are tons of fake ACOGs out there.

To comment on battery life, I know plenty of soldiers that have left their optics on over the course of 12-14 months or longer using the Aimpoint CompM4 models. And these aren't super endurance batteries like 9V. These are off the shelf AA that you can get anywhere.

 

[Waisting lead]

If you're wondering WHY, as far as I know none of the commercially produced "dot" sights are "hardened".
One EMP and they're gone. I know it's a worst case scenario,but I was a scout.

 

[gotboostvr]

Keep a spare red dot in a Faraday cage if that's your concern.

Otherwise the Trijicon ACOG is the biggest game in town. Trijicon has a few other lines with similar features and there's more and more options on the market.

What you're looking for is "prism sights". The Bushnell "Lil P" is pretty new on the market. Very compact, nice reticle good price point. I would like to try one out.

 

[PhatForrest]

In the spirit of the Meprolight m21, Trijicon makes thier RX series sights that are tritium/fiber optic red dots. I really dig my rx01nsn.

 

[Trent]

Has there been any advancement on the tech that was used for the Nydar sights developed after the second war to "end all wars" . They were based on sights developed for aircraft.
they were a dot sight that uses no batteries just ambient light and a prism to cast the "dot".

PS90's gen1 and gen2 optics are both set up similar to this. The Gen2 optics are lightyears better than gen1.

Even in incredibly minimal starlight the PS90 passive gathering works fantastic. As you go from day to night, the reticle changes from black to red, making it easier to see at night.

 

[herrwalther]

If you're wondering WHY, as far as I know none of the commercially produced "dot" sights are "hardened".
One EMP and they're gone. I know it's a worst case scenario,but I was a scout.

Everything I have that has a red dot, also has backup sights. EMP is far down the rabbit hole of possible reasons for a sight to stop working. Battery failure, breakage are worth more concern.