Second Hand Focus: Single Point red dot sight

This little slice of optical history came about when I was looking for some scope mounts in my gunroom. Funny thinks I, what is that compact scope?... digging it out all was revealed as it was a SINGLE POINT, probably the first post-war red dot system. I cannot even remember where I got it. Made in Britain, I believe the design first appeared in the mid 1960s and is best described as a non-powered, occluded eye gunsight (OEG). Technically it’s a collimator as opposed to a reflector system and a far cry from the powered, variable brightness red dots we know today.

BETTER THAN IRONS?

Its appearance caused a deal of controversy in the government and with the military as it effectively dispensed with the traditional iron sights then used on rifles. Non-powered it had a rounded, clear, polycarbonate objective cover that housed a day glow orange prism that was illuminated by ambient light. Looking through it with one eye shut showed a black circle with the red dot on it, but opening the other eye gave the optical illusion of the dot on target. Apparently at the time the Marines and Paras were very interested as a replacement for irons and questions were asked in the House.

It was used by US forces in the 1970 Son Tay raid in North Vietnam where they went in to get US POWs from a prison camp near Hanoi. I have also seen them on individual rifles in Northern Ireland in the mid 1970s, doubtless put there by the user unofficially. Back in the late 1970s when I left the army and got into shooting they seemed quite the wonder kit and I always wanted one for my practical shotgun but could never afford it.

OPTICAL CONFUSION

The layout is like a mini scope with a non focusing eyepiece and separate adjuster turrets with rubber covers. The body tube is 1” diameter and crackle-finished aluminium, the unit is about 6” long. Funny thing is though having seen them I had never used one so I thought I’d see if what I lusted after back then offered any real advantage?

I fitted it up to my trusty S&W M&P 15-22 semi-auto rifle and tried it out. Unlike a modern reflector-type red dot that you can see through the SINGLE POINT really does create an optical illusion and it’s very easy to lose the dot if you do not get your head position right. Worse still is the size of the dot, which subtends 16 MOA @ 100m that’s over 16” wide! It near obscures the top half of a Fig 11 target at 100m, if your target was kneeling or prone I doubt if you would see it at all!

It was however interesting to try it out, but and like many ideas throughout history, it was never that good to start with and soon superseded by better designs as the generic red dots of today attest to. But in its day it was doubtless a radical concept!