Shield Mini Sight

In the sports shooting world red dot sights have always been associated with Action/Practical disciplines. With no eye relief or focus problems and a x1 magnification they allow fast target acquisition and both eyes open use. Back in the day most were tube bodied types so a bit big and clumsy, that was until Jeremy White (Shield) came along with his Mini Sight.
This tiny, all-polymer and lightweight reflex-style (L-shaped) design was radical for its day, as it is now and included an automatic adjustment mode to compensate for all lighting conditions. The spec is minimal - weight with battery 0.5oz, dimensions 1 x 1.7x .9”, power a 3V Lithium CR 2032 cell with an average working life of 2 to 3 years. It certainly lives up to its name and description – the world’s original, smallest, lightest, toughest mini day/night sight for all military, law enforcement and sporting small arms. It has had good success and is also supplied to UK MOD FIST (Future Integrated Soldier Technology) programme.

Today

Bang up to date the red dot sights is still popular in the UK shooting scene, though this time on 22 rimfire semi-auto, lever-action and hunting rifles, long barrelled pistols and shotguns. With the Shield model still at the cutting edge, I asked Jeremy if I could have a look at one. He obliged with three and an assortment of mounts.
Different is the fact that the sight has no ON/OFF switch, so as soon as the battery is inserted into the base it’s on, but with a two year+ (working) run time that’s not an issue. Its small size means some compromises on controls. To change the battery you have to remove the sight from its base (two screws). There are no turrets; instead tiny Allen-headed screws do the job. This then means an Allen key with a slide-on plate (Minidial) so you can see which direction and how much correction you are laying in.
All you do is to slack of the lock screws and zero, all instructions/notations are on the Minidial. Adjustment range is 120 MOA in both planes. The sight fits to a series of bases, the majority using a Weaver/Picatinny-type interface. There’s a basic low profile, a standalone with protective side wings and an offset/angled 45°. This I understand is all the rage with Action shooters these days as it allows the Mini to be mounted off to one side and in conjunction with a scope offers twin sighting systems. Finally a ring mount to fit a scope’s body tube that puts the Mini up at 12 o’clock.

Practical Piggy Back

I tried the various mounts on my S&W M&P 15-22 (what else) as you can see. For my needs the ring mount on my S&B 1.5-6x42 Zenith is ideal. In this mode I use the rifle for rabbits and with the Mini on top if I get close in runners it’s quicker and easier to go both eyes open than squint down the tube, even at x1.5!
Like most red dots the Mini offers a number of dot sizes in MOA depending on role. The trick here is to know your subtension values for example at 100-yards 8 MOA will cover a massive 8” (4” @ 50). A 2 MOA means 1” @ 50 and 2 @ 100. I was sent 4 and 8 MOA and for my needs I found the latter best.
It’s tough too! The electronics are fused onto a miniature ceramic substrate, waterproof encapsulated onto a stainless steel carrier with gold plated stainless steel, spring battery connectors.  The polymer composite body is stronger than aluminium and gives superior performance and resilience under all conditions. The lens is a clear polymer and formed to a 1 micron tolerance. This allows it to withstand 10 times the shock load (5,000G) than a comparable glass optics. A phototransistor senses target light level and controls the light output of the LED to give optimum visibility.  This provides compatibility with in-line night vision (image intensification) and thermal imaging systems.

Testing, Testing

I put the Mini on a series of firearms, 22 and fullbore rifles and a pump-action shotgun, with no ill effects. The automatic illumination adjustment works too. Most apparent and pleasing is the lack of weight and size as what it adds to the gun is negligible. To fine tune the mounting position you can also get 1° shim plates that fit between the sight and the base. The sight comes from the box with a clip-on cover, with the various mounts and a clear cover as extra.

PRICES:
£185
Mounts (Special offers on all mounts when supplied with Mini Sight)
Weaver Mount Adapter £16.50
Wing Mount £29.53
Wing Mount / Weaver Adaptor £65.00
Various Pistol Mounts £45.00
45° Offset Adapter £45.00