- This is a separate class of optical sights for installation on military, hunting and sporting weapons. The collimators have a magnification x1, which eliminates the distortion of the target size, and an unlimited field of view. Even with the active movement of the eye relative to the center of the sight, due to the rapid alignment of the luminous mark with the target, the aiming speed is several times higher than with other devices. The luminous aiming mark is clearly visible both during the day and in relatively low light, and if there are several interchangeable reticles, you can change them depending on specific conditions. Some models are combined with a laser designator for aimed shooting from any position.

A reflex sight is considered the best choice for shooting at short distances (100-150 m) at moving targets of medium and large sizes. These red dot sights can be mounted on a variety of firearms, but they are most popular with airgun enthusiasts. Along with this, collimators are great for pistols, bows and crossbows. These scopes usually have built-in mounting brackets, so when buying, you need to make sure that the device is compatible with the weapon you are using.

TYPES OF COLLIMATOR SIGHTS:

Active and passive. The first type of sights are battery operated, so their aiming mark is constantly visible. In passive sights, the mark glows only when there is a sufficient degree of external illumination.

Open. The simplest in design and affordable sights, designed for standard shooting conditions. Open sights are also called single-lens sights, since they have only the front lens in the frame. Due to the fact that these devices are less protected from atmospheric precipitation, it is not advisable to use them during rain and snow, as drops can fall on the glass and distort the brand. At the same time, unlike closed sights, open sights are much lighter and more compact, therefore they do not block the view with their body and allow you to aim with two eyes. Their advantages include a clear, unobstructed field of view. Open sights are the most optimal solution for small-caliber carbines.

Closed. Models in this category are a shortened version of the optical sight, where the optics are located in the spotting scope. In closed sights, in addition to the front lens, there is also an eyepiece lens. They are better protected from external factors, therefore they are all-weather devices, but they are characterized by shading of the aiming zone. Closed red dot sights are larger, but due to the robust body they can withstand more recoil. If you install a special optical attachment, you can double the magnification of the sight and, accordingly, its range. Closed sights are usually mounted on long-barreled weapons of medium and large calibers.

Holographic. Devices of this class are of the open type, so they do not block the view and allow you to aim with two eyes. The main feature of holographic sights is the presence of a flat hologram with an aiming mark, which is visualized by a laser beam. Both standard reticle and 3D reticle are applied to this transparent hologram. They are perfectly visible in any light and are always located in the center, regardless of the angle of view of the shooter. Holographic sights, as well as closed-type models, have proven themselves well when used with shotguns. Their cost is higher than other types of collimators, since the process of making a hologram is complex and expensive.

BEST ROLLIMATOR SIGHTS:

SIGHTMARK LASER DUAL SHORT SIGHT SM13002

The SightMark Laser Dual Short Sight reflex sight with a laser pointer is a hunting model of a well-known American company that is part of the Yukon concern. This is an open sight with an integrated laser designator, designed for use with smoothbore weapons up to 12/70 caliber and has proven itself well during hunting from ambush and roundup. The device demonstrates impressive results when shooting at moving targets, including in dense thickets. You can buy a sight not only for hunting, but also for sports shooting.

The optics of the SightMark Laser Dual Short Sight sight with a laser pointer is a 33x24 mm lens and lenses with an anti-reflective ruby ​​coating. Good visibility is provided both in bright sunlight and at dusk. The model has a red aiming mark of 4 modifications and a 7-step brightness adjustment. The brightness switches, as well as the battery compartment, are located at the top of the case. Common characteristics for collimators also include 1x magnification and unlimited eye relief.

The body of the SightMark Laser Dual Short Sight red dot sight is shockproof, waterproof and made of anodized aluminum alloy. The model does not need zeroing after dismantling and re-assembly. For fastening, a Weaver / Picatinny strap with a seat size of 17-23 mm is used. The instrument runs for two hours on a CR2032 lithium battery and weighs 162g.
AIMPOINT MICRO H-1 COMPLETE 2MOA

The Aimpoint Micro H-1 reflex sight is a representative of the Micro compact series, in which the manufacturer has introduced a full-size aiming system. The scope, designed for hunters, is marketed for use with shotguns, rifles and handguns up to .500 Nitro Express. Possessing increased reliability, typical for all products of the world famous company Aimpoint (Sweden), these are the lightest closed collimators in their class. Thanks to this, sights can be installed on light weapons, as well as on hunting revolvers, crossbows and bows.

The lens of the Aimpoint Micro H-1 collimator sight has dimensions of 21x15 mm, and all lenses are double-sided Anti Reflex multilayer coating. In addition to high-quality optics that provide a clear image, a large field of view allows for effective offhand shooting at short distances. The model has a red reticle 2 MOA with a mechanical intensity switch. The ability to use the sight day and night is provided by a 12-step brightness adjustment of the mark.

Aimpoint Micro H-1 red dot sights are available in an aluminum waterproof case - the device does not fail even when immersed in water at 5 m. This model has protective rubber covers and a patented mount to the body that reduces recoil. For installation on weapons, the manufacturer recommends using the brackets of the German company Frank Henneberger. Due to Acet energy-saving technology, the sight is able to operate on one set of CR2032 batteries up to 50,000 hours (about 5 years). Together with the mount, the device weighs 105 g.
EOTECH EXPS3-2 HOLOGRAPHIC SIGHT

Holographic sight EOTech EXPS3-2 is a popular model of the EXPS line for aimed shooting at short and medium distances. The device differs from the XPS series in improved body protection, the presence of quick-release brackets for the Weaver bar and side buttons for switching modes. The sight allows you to detect a target at a distance of up to 280 m and can be fully used on light weapons - carbines, semi-automatic and automatic rifles. The design of the device was developed with the involvement of representatives of the US Army special forces and professional shooters.

The EOTech EXPS3-2 holographic sight is equipped with anti-fog optics with anti-reflective coating and no parallax effect. This model can be used with night vision devices. There are 10 levels of reticle brightness adjustment for night mode, and 30 for standard conditions. EOTech EXPS3-2 is compatible with G33.STS magnifiers from the same manufacturer, which have a magnification of 3.25x, which allows you to switch from short distances to medium distances. The A65 / 1 2-dot modification is used as an aiming network - a circle with a diameter of 65 MOA and two dots (1 MOA) for ballistic corrections. Like regular red dot sights, holographic sights also have 1x magnification and unlimited eye relief.

Hunting scopes EOTech EXPS3-2 are open type and are made in a sealed case. Full water resistance of the internal optics allows the device not to fail when submerged to 3 m. Installation of the sight on the weapon is greatly simplified by quick-detachable landing bases. This model is powered by a single lithium battery that provides up to 600 hours of battery life and weighs 317 g.
ELCAN SPECTERDR 1-4X CX5396 7.62 RED DONT SIGHT

The Elcan SpecterDR 1-4x CX5396 7.62 riflescope is a representative of the SpecterDR series, which includes the world's first dual field of view combat riflescopes designed for shooting at short and medium distances. All models in the line are rigorously tested to meet the standards of optical instruments developed for the US Army. This is a pancratic sight with a variable magnification of 1-4x, allowing you to easily switch from far to near targets with a constant eye relief (70mm). The aiming range is 100-600 m, and in terms of the angle of view at a magnification of 1x, this is one of the best models in its class. The device is designed to be used with weapons of various calibers, including large ones (.300, .308), as well as to work together with high magnification sights and collimators with the Docter landing base.

The optics of the Elcan SpecterDR 1-4x CX5396 7.62 scopes have a multi-layer anti-reflective coating that provides a detailed picture and clear color reproduction. The model has a 32 mm objective lens and an optimized light beam transmission system. The reticle uses a double thickness crosshair with 5 brightness levels: you can set the device to a crosshair or only to the central red dot. The size of the stamp at a magnification of 1x is 6 MOA, at 4x it is 1 MOA.

Elcan SpecterDR 1-4x CX5396 optical sights are produced in an anodized aluminum alloy case, which is most resistant not only to weather factors, but also to falls, shocks and immersion in water up to 10 m. The devices have a quick-release landing base with a special patented mechanism , which eliminates the failure of the aiming mark settings. The device weighs 660 g and can work up to 3000 hours on one 3V lithium battery.
DOCTER SIGHT II+ 3.5 ROLLIMATOR SIGHT

The DOCTER Sight II+ 3.5 red dot sight is an ultra-compact open-type red dot sight from the German manufacturer Analytik Jena AG, specially designed for dynamic hunting, especially for snap shooting. Thanks to the mounts, which are purchased separately, the device can be installed on different types of small arms (rifled, smooth-bore, short-barreled) and conduct aimed shooting at short and medium distances. Models of the Docter Sight series have no caliber restrictions - the sight has a very high resistance to recoil (1000 g).

The optical system of the DOCTER Sight II+ 3.5 red dot sight consists of two glued lenses. The observation range without parallax is 40 m. A 3.5 MOA red dot with automatic brightness control is used as an aiming mark, covering a 5 cm zone at 50 meters. The dot is clearly visible in any light, both in complete darkness and during the day. Effective shooting is also ensured by the possibility of aiming with two eyes. Like all collimators, the magnification of DOCTER Sight II+ 3.5 is 1x. This model does not have a separate switch: the device operates in energy-saving mode and turns on after installing the protective cover.

All elements of the DOCTER Sight II + 3.5 red dot sights, which carry the main load, are made of stainless steel and anodized aluminum alloys. The device is fully used in a wide temperature range (from -25C to +40C) and is moisture resistant, but not waterproof. For power supply, one CR 2032 lithium battery is provided, which can not be changed for 2-3 years. The sight has ultra-compact dimensions and light weight - only 25 g.
HAKKO BED-35 PANORAMA MR-02 ROLLIMATOR SIGHT

The Hakko BED-35 Panorama MR-02 red dot sight is a Japanese-made multi-purpose open red dot sight, which is very popular with hunters in different countries. Of the entire series, this model has been the undisputed leader in sales for more than one season. Despite the low price, the sight belongs to the professional class. Zeroing takes only a few minutes, and the results of the device are stable both at short and medium distances. The manufacturing company gives a lifetime warranty on these sights, regardless of the caliber of the weapon with which they will be used.

The Hakko BED-35 Panorama MR-02 red dot sight is equipped with a 33 mm lens and multi-coated lenses that completely eliminate any distortion in image transmission. The observation range without parallax is 50 m. The device has 4 types of 4 MOA luminous aiming mark, which can be changed using a switch, and a 7-step brightness control. The brand is perfectly visible even in clear sunny weather. Like all collimators, this model is not critical to eye distance and has a magnification of 1x.

The Hakko BED-35 Panorama MR-02 collimator sight is produced in a sealed case and is installed on any weapon with a Weaver base and on guns with a side mount through an adapter bracket. The sale of the sight is designed for owners of rifled, smoothbore and pneumatic weapons, as well as carbines and pistols. The model does not need zeroing after removal and reinstallation. The device is powered by a single CR2032 battery, which provides operation for more than 100 hours, and weighs 112 g.

FEATURES OF COLLIMATOR SIGHTS:

It is believed that collimators increase the weight of the weapon, although even when using closed-type sights, the weighting is not so significant. In addition, the installation of any optical sighting devices, one way or another, affects the total mass of the weapon, but this does not mean that its balance worsens. Red dot sights (especially open sights) clog quickly, but regular cleaning or protective caps on the lens and eyepiece will reduce the chance of dirt getting in. There is an opinion that at low temperatures the battery life of active collimators powered by alkaline batteries is reduced to a minimum. However, as practice shows, even with a decrease in capacity at sub-zero temperatures, alkaline batteries are able to provide several hours of full-fledged operation of the sight. Along with this, you can always have a spare kit or use lithium cells that are less sensitive to cold.

Using an open sight, the shooter achieves the location on one line, called the sighting, of three objects: the target, the front sight and the rear sight. Since, according to the laws of optics, it is impossible to simultaneously keep three objects in focus at once, it accommodates the eye to a point located on the front sight-to-rear sight segment and dividing this segment in a ratio of approximately 2:1. By this, he achieves approximately equal clarity of observation of both the front sight and the rear sight. The target is clearly visible. A variation of the open sight for hunting life-threatening animals, providing faster aiming. A V-shaped slot is used in the rear sight and a large front sight with a bright color dot, which is “stowed” into the slot at the time of aiming. Due to the large front sight, it is difficult to aim at a target beyond 200 meters and therefore is not used in military weapons.

closed sight

There are several types of such sights, structurally united entirely in the form of a disk, located in the immediate vicinity of the shooter's eyes, with a hole-aperture.

Annular- with this sight, the shooter, as it were, directly looks through the aperture at the front sight, combining it with the target and instinctively aligning the aiming line with respect to the light spot projected by the aperture onto the eye. This type is in many ways superior to the open one: higher aiming speed due to the simplification of the procedure for aligning the front sight with the whole (the eye intuitively finds the position at which the front sight stump is aligned with the middle of the ring), a large sighting line provides higher accuracy (the rear sight of an open sight must be located from the shooter’s eye at a significant distance, otherwise, when aiming, it blurs, which forces it to move forward, sacrificing the length of the sighting line - the ring, on the contrary, should be located in close proximity to the eye, so a weapon with a ring sight gets a longer sighting line), more convenient to point with a lack of lighting; the disadvantages include: the rear sight partially overlaps the visual field, the time for transferring the sight from one target to another is often higher, in addition, this type of sight tends to become clogged. It should be noted that in the domestic literature this type of sight is often referred to as "diopter" - in fact, such a definition is erroneous due to a completely different optical principle used in it.

ghost ring- a kind of ring sight for use in smoothbore weapons, a very large aperture and a thin rear sight rim. Provides the highest aiming speed at the expense of some loss of accuracy, which is not a critical moment in this type of weapon.

Dioptric- a special kind of aperture sight, in this version, the rear sight completely blocks the view of the eye from the front, and the aperture itself of a very small diameter (with a human pupil) works like a camera obscura, projecting an image onto the shooter's pupil with greater contrast. This type of sight gives the highest accuracy of all possible mechanical sights, the payoff for this is a long aiming time and difficulties with aiming in twilight and night conditions, it is for these reasons that this type of sight is practically only used on rifles for target shooting at long distances, and also requires a particularly correct way of aiming.

Holographic sight

The holographic sight belongs to the open sights, so the shooter does not have to close the other eye while aiming. A large field of view allows the shooter to use peripheral vision and instantly respond to an emerging threat. The hologram forms an image of the aiming mark and acts as an aspherical reflector, like a lens in a conventional CP. The holographic aspherical reflector provides parallax errors that are significantly smaller than a conventional thin spherical lens, making the sight very compact. As a rule, HPs are significantly more expensive than their collimator counterparts, since a hologram can be obtained as a result of an expensive and complex technological process. If technical requirements are not met, a hologram can distort and decompose bright objects observed through it into a spectrum. It should be noted that the aiming speed with a holographic sight is much higher than with a closed collimator or optical sight, so it is often used when shooting at moving targets.

Recently, there has been a tendency to change sights on a smoothbore gun. Standard sights, still installed on most serial hunting rifles around the world, appeared at a very early stage in the development of firearms, and if we talk about breech-loading weapons, then simultaneously with the advent of breech-loading double-barreled shotguns, i.e. over a century ago. And a significant number of shooters use such sights to the present time quite successfully. However, recent trends say that much has changed in this matter, and the sights of a modern gun should differ from the standard adopted a hundred and thirty years ago.

Traditional sights

Traditionally, the sights of a shotgun were only one front sight, usually cylindrical-spherical (European tradition) or spherical (American tradition) in shape. In Russia, guns are produced with cylindrical-spherical front sights (i.e. a full or flattened sphere on a cylinder or cone). In this case, the gun, as a rule, also has an aiming bar. Double-barreled shotguns - almost always (with extremely rare exceptions), and self-loading and magazines - mainly from the end of the Second World War, although they were produced with a bar before that time. Single-barreled guns most often did not have an aiming bar.

The rib is a very important element of sights for most shooters. With a conventional front sight, only a few shooters do not experience discomfort when shooting a gun without a rib. The bar and front sight, against the front sight alone, significantly increases the convenience, speed and accuracy of aiming.

The rib may taper towards the muzzle (as it does on most horizontals, and on a few verticals), or it may not have a narrowing (as it does on almost all verticals). The bar can be narrow (6-7 mm) and wide (9.5-12 mm). Wide slats are mainly used on sporting guns, and such slats also often have a white or red narrow strip or groove in the middle.

Domestic shotgun MP-233 has a wide bar and is equipped with two front sights

My opinion: the width of the bar is who is used to it. Personally, I don't like wide bars, with grooves, stripes or without, but I like a narrow bar. However, this opinion is subjective and, most likely, within the framework of sporting disciplines, such wide bars really give an advantage, since almost 100% of sporting guns are equipped with them.

The bar material is traditionally steel or, more recently, carbon fiber. Plastic is good because it is lighter, and, being not soldered along the entire length of the barrel, does not change its geometry when the barrel is heated from intense shooting. But its minus is fragility, therefore it can be used on a hunting rifle mainly on "sterile" hunts, without tearing through the thickets and other Russian attributes of running hunting.

The first step towards changing the sights was expressed in the fact that two front sights were installed on the gun - a small one in the middle of the bar and a large one at the end. When aiming, they needed to be combined. Such a system has become widespread mainly on American self-loading and magazine guns, Mossberg especially liked this idea, but other companies (Benelli, Remington, etc.) also produce guns with 2 front sights. The idea is not bad, but it really does not have any advantages over one front sight and bar, neither in speed nor in pointing accuracy. Although many users find this system very convenient for themselves. The first domestic shotgun that leaves the factory with 2 front sights is the MP-233.

But a qualitative step forward made it possible to make new materials for the manufacture of sighting devices.

What was the main disadvantage of the traditional front sight? Low contrast against the background of the forest. They fought against this by making a fly from brass (yellow), ivory, painting it white with paint. But these were all half measures. The real breakthrough came with the advent of a special plastic that had the properties of an optical fiber, i.e. was able to direct most of the light flux incident on a cylinder (or parallelepiped) of such plastic from all sides, only along the axis of this cylinder. Because of these properties, flies made of such plastic are called light-collecting and retroreflective, although the latter definition is incorrect, since it refers to products that are capable of directing a light flux back to its source. An example is retroreflective blocks on cars.

An "intermediate" option is flies made of ordinary bright plastic. Recently, very often such flies are put on sporting guns. They are usually made in the form of a parallelepiped about 20 mm long, with a truncated end facing the breech. For daytime conditions for the shooter, they differ little from fiber optic ones, and they don’t practice shooting at dusk according to the rules.

Fiber optic flies are produced by TRU GLO, HIVIZ and others. They differ mainly in length and method of attachment.

Option 1 - a small (7-10 mm long) red plastic cylinder, located horizontally at the end and held by a small metal clip. It is screwed in instead of a regular front sight. The projection shape is a circle, the diameter can be different - from 2 mm to 4 mm. Such flies are installed on many sporting guns.

The front sight on the MP-233 is made of ordinary plastic

Similar flies are also installed on the Russian IZH-39 and MP-233, but the plastic used in them does not have the properties of an optical fiber.

The second option is a cylinder or cone elongated to 30 mm, often made with interchangeable flies of different colors. The base of the fly is made of metal or plastic. With a metal base, they usually have the ability to align, but are usually designed to be installed together with the whole.

The third option is a long, 60-80 mm cylinder, mounted on a guide, almost always made of plastic.

There is a front sight of this type and domestic production PKF "Efkon". It is called "Cat's Eye" and costs 3 USD in Moscow. It is a plastic parallelepiped, mounted on a steel rail with U-shaped holders. The front sight is fastened with a screw to a regular place. The projection shape is a square. The original version was designed for the bar 8 mm (TOZ), later they began to be produced in 2 versions for the guns of the Izhevsk and Tula factories.

The flies of the second and especially the third type (long ones) look noticeably brighter than the small ones, and allow successful aiming in low light conditions. In general, the longer the fly, the more it is able to collect light, and the brighter it will be and the lower the light level at which the fly will be visible. The longest and brightest are visible almost at night, as well as in moonlight.

All fiber optic front sights allow you to immediately, even when throwing up a gun, unlike collimators and ordinary flies, subconsciously focus attention on them. Thus, the process of aiming with light-gathering front sights begins even when the gun is raised. The high contrast and accuracy of identification make it possible to aim much faster than with a conventional front sight.

What are the disadvantages of fiber optic sights? The main problem of such flies (of the second and third types) is their mechanical fragility and attachment to the weapon. The flies of the first type are made of much more durable plastic, less light-collecting, and are firmly embedded in a metal clip. Since they are fixed in place with a standard screw located at the bottom of the clip, such a front sight has no problems with strength or installation height. When shooting in the daytime, such flies are practically in no way inferior to flies of the second and third types.

The fragility of longer flies is due to the significant length and material of the front sight, as well as the material of the guide, which in the vast majority of cases is made of plastic. However, if the gun is handled carefully, then the front sight does not create any problems.

The second problem is the installation of a front sight on a gun that was not originally equipped with such a front sight. The thing is that the standard front sight is usually very small, and the fiber optic, in addition to being often larger than the regular one, is also mounted on a guide. The guide is almost always made of plastic. Since this guide has to be made of sufficient thickness to ensure strength, all together this leads to the fact that the fiber-optic front sight that is independently installed on the gun turns out to be much higher than the regular one, and the gun starts to lower, often quite noticeably.

From these shortcomings, flies installed at the factory are practically free. They are mounted with U-shaped holders directly to the aiming bar, without a guide. Or a "dovetail" is milled in the bar under the front sight guide. Thus, their height coincides with the height of a conventional fly. In addition, a fairly large number of holders are used, literally every centimeter, and these holders are made of steel, not plastic. This significantly increases the strength of the front sight, and, at the same time, reduces, if not virtually eliminates the visibility of the side surface of the fiber optic insert with the left (non-dominant) eye. And this increases the convenience of aiming.

Fastening the front sight of the second and third types, sold separately, can be on a magnet and using a special plastic clip, pre-installed on the gun rail, gluing with double-sided tape. Almost all of them have a hole in the front for fastening with a screw screwed in place of the standard front sight. However, due to their length and the plastic used as a guide, it is impossible to securely fasten such a front sight with only one screw.

The magnetic mount, if not duplicated by some other attachment, can easily go astray when the front sight touches the branches. Therefore, such flies, as a rule, are fixed with a screw.

The plastic clip, pre-mounted on the gun, makes it easy to change the fiber optic inserts while maintaining the sighting of the front sight. The fiber optic insert on its own guide is fixed simply by friction.

Both the magnetic mount and the plastic clip have the significant disadvantage that they change the shape of the projection of the front of the bar. Aiming becomes somewhat less convenient due to the fact that at the end, in the place where the front sight is attached, an extension is obtained that does not fit into the projection of the breech of the bar. As a result, time is wasted for this combination. And with a high height of the front sight, resulting from the clip + guide, the rib practically falls out of the aiming tools.

The method of attaching to double-sided tape is simple, but requires extremely careful installation, since if the front sight is skewed and corrected when peeling off the adhesive tape, it can tear and stretch, while losing its adhesive properties. In addition, double-sided tape very quickly (a year of operation, or even less) under the inevitable influence of oil and water loses its properties. The author is aware of a case when a front sight glued to a double-sided adhesive tape that came with a TRU-GLO front sight fell off and was lost on the third day of hunting, which greatly upset the owner of the gun, since the front sight was not cheap, the hunt had not yet ended, and the regular front sight was in advance dismantled. You can glue the fly with any durable oil and waterproof glue. At the same time, it should be remembered that domestic adhesives made on the basis of rubber (Moment and Super Moment glue) are able to firmly fix the fly for no more than a couple of years - in the future, under the influence of oil, the glue loses its properties. It is best to use epoxy resin. It will hold very firmly, and neither the shots nor the operation of the gun will change the position of the front sight. No doubt, the connection does not have such a strength as soldered, but with normal handling there will be no problems. When gluing a new front sight, I recommend leaving the factory one. The advantage of a glue fit is that it is much easier to align the front sight when gluing, since it is allowed to move during the glue hardening. Also, the adhesive fit is lower than on double-sided tape, which is also important. Naturally, before sticking it is required to carefully degrease the surface.

It is by gluing that it is better to install on any gun the domestic fly "Cat's Eye" produced by the PKF "Efkon". Thus, regardless of the purchased version for the IZH (6.75 mm) or TOZ (8 mm) bar, you will best fix the front sight on your gun, while the projection shape of the front of the gun will not be changed. We do the following: remove the fiber optic insert itself from the metal guide, and simply glue it with epoxy directly onto the bar. When using epoxy resin, the effect of changing the color of the fly is noticed - the yellow modifications acquire a greenish tint.

Front sight "Cat's eye", glued to the bar of the gun Rus. Effective and inexpensive

At the same time, the height of the front sight almost coincides with the height of the standard one, only aiming will be carried out not at the target, but at the target itself (i.e. the projection of the front sight is the center of the scree). The front sight is held very firmly, since the shape of its projection is a square, and the surface area under the glue is quite large. The fiber optic part itself is made of a more durable plastic than TRU GLO and HIVIZ front sights, and can withstand even mild hammer blows without consequences. It is, of course, noticeably less bright than imported flies, but its brightness is quite sufficient for instant identification. It can be seen until the very late twilight, when hunting is generally possible. I note that Blaser began to install a front sight made of such plastic as a regular one on a part of rifled weapons (say, R93 in the Off-road modification). They are about 20 mm long.

I recommend such a "bare" "Cat's Eye" front sight for domestic double-barreled shotguns with horizontal barrels. The concave shape with a tapering bar on domestic horizontals creates serious problems when installing imported long flies. None of the fasteners, except for gluing, is suitable here. Due to the relatively wide guide with a concave strip, gluing with double-sided tape gives a very strong decrease in the center of the scree. Landing on the glue reduces the drop, but you still have to aim at the open bar. True, as for me, I did not consider this a disadvantage, since it turned out that it was more comfortable and faster for me to aim from a horizontal line with an open bar. This is because I’m used to verticals, so even after training I don’t feel the difference in aiming vertical and horizontal, but still, aiming at an open bar (so the view is much larger, the trunks cover a smaller area) from the horizontal is more comfortable for me. The "Cat's Eye" front sight, being freed from the steel guide and easy processing of the lower part with a needle file for better mating with the concave shape of the bar (however, this can not be done), sits perfectly on the glue and holds firmly, while its height is equal or almost equal (if without modification) to the regular front sight! In addition, the price of such a fly at 3 USD is much more suitable for owners, for example, of a trigger gun or IZH-58, than Truglo for 40 USD. The latter is often equal to the cost of another gun. When installing, I recommend keeping the old front sight in its place.

The TRU-GLO front sight on the IZH-54 gun is glued to the bar and additionally fixed with a screw

TRU-GLO is very bright, but installation height is too big

The fiber front sight can be made independently using a ruler or other product from the appropriate material from the stationery store. A similar plastic or a fluorescent one close to it is also often used to make toys and various objects. It only takes care when cutting so that the edges of the front sight are perfectly even. However, the brightness of such homemade flies will still be inferior even to the Cat's Eye fly, not to mention TRU GLO and HIVIZ.

Fiber optic front sights are available for installation on single-barrel guns that do not have an aiming bar. They have a semicircular, in the shape of the trunk, guide, glued to the trunk. Such a front sight is shown in the photo for the third type of fiber optic front sight, photo "c".

The "Cat's Eye" front sight is also easy to mount on such guns by spreading the ends of the U-shaped rail slightly apart to better mate with the barrel and reduce the height of the front sight, and fixing it to the barrel using "cold welding" (high strength epoxy resin).

Long front sights somewhat reduce the aiming line, but with a barrel length of 700-750, reducing the line by 80-90 mm does not have much effect.

Often fiber optic front sights are sold as a front sight + rear sight. The rear sight is also made of fiber optics, and most often has a different color or projection size to improve identification.

This is good when firing a bullet, as it allows you to increase the accuracy of shooting. The aiming speed with a fiber optic front sight and rear sight is faster than with a conventional rear sight and front sight. A rear sight is not needed for shot shooting, although with some getting used to it does not interfere very much, while maintaining a constant ability to shoot a relatively more accurate shot when firing a bullet. However, it should be noted that such sights do not provide high accuracy of combat, due to the round shape of the front sight and the edges of the rear sight, as well as the visible distances between them. When aiming, strict uniformity is not obtained, which leads to a significant shift in the STP. To put a rear sight or not - there are more arguments "against" than "for". The rear sight, although it allows you to eliminate the drop in the point of impact when installing a non-standard front sight, but at the same time practically removes the aiming bar from the aiming process. Its installation is partly justified if you often have to shoot a bullet from a gun. But the best solution in this case would be to install a collimator sight, which is both much more accurate and more convenient in aiming.

Thus, we have already touched on another type of shotgun sights - the usual open sight, equipped with a whole and a front sight. Such sights are installed on shotguns designed primarily for firing a bullet, the so-called. "deer" guns ("Deergun").

It can also be seen on some police shotguns (for example, Benelli M3T with a folding stock). The barrel of such shotguns is shortened, without an aiming bar. Often such American-made shotguns are equipped with a fully rifled barrel. For shooting a bullet, an open sight is very well suited, since it is possible to adjust along two axes. Especially for such guns, fiber-optic front sight and rear sight have been developed.

The front sight is usually about 20-30 mm long. Both the rear sight and the front sight have a steel high base and the possibility for adjustment. If a fiber optic front sight is not used, then white dots (paint or plastic inserts) are usually applied to the rear sight and front sight. In view of the already aforementioned low accuracy of fiber optic sights, it is recommended that when choosing an open shield sight, give preference to a conventional model with a rectangular front sight and a U-shaped metal whole.

Note that the trend is the complete rejection of conventional sights on guns designed to fire a bullet. Such guns are equipped with a rail for the installation of an optical or collimator sight and have a stock shape adapted to such a sight.

Diopter sights

Another type of sight that has firmly taken its place on military and police shotguns is the diopter, or, as it is called in the USA, the "ghost ring" (ghost ring).

As an example, the SDASS TACTICAL pump-action shotgun (see photo).

Diopter sights on shotguns, of course, have an enlarged aperture compared to rifle scopes, about 3-3.2 mm, for the fastest aiming. Such a sight is often called a ring sight, although the only difference is precisely the size of the hole. The advantages of such sights are an increased aiming line, which is especially important for short shotguns, which are used for combat purposes, as well as the exclusion of one element from aiming - the rear sight. The shooter is only required to align the front sight with the target, since the even holding of the front sight in the visible ring is instinctive. The sight, unlike the traditional rear sight, closes the target much less, since the shooter sees only one front sight on the target (which is usually performed high). In a conventional sight, the entire bottom of the target is completely closed. That is why open sights are often shot "under the target."

The canonical drawback of the diopter is a small light threshold, which is of little relevance for sights on shotguns. Indeed, the use of a rifle diopter with a very small aperture (1-1.78 mm) in low light conditions is very problematic. However, on smoothbore guns, the hole has a diameter of about 3-3.2 mm and in low light conditions it is not much inferior to a conventional fly bar. Greatly helps the convenience and speed of aiming and the installation of a fiber-optic front sight. Of course, this is not a sight for night shooting, but it is quite possible to shoot until late twilight.

In general, the sight is good, but it is of little use for a feather hunter, since it is designed for shooting at large-sized, not very fast-moving targets, and quick aiming at a flying bird from it is difficult, although it is possible after developing the skill. Therefore, diopter sights have found their niche on smoothbore guns designed for firing a bullet and tactical shotguns.

A conventional front sight still provides greater aiming speed and ease of tracking a moving target.

Diopter sights are now increasingly using bright plastic or fiber optic front sights.

ring sight

A very exotic design, borrowed from anti-aircraft machine guns. It consists of several concentric semicircles (usually 3) connected by 3 radial lines (one vertically, 2 horizontally. The total size of the sight is 20-30 cm. It is made of wire with a diameter of 2-3 mm. It is attached to the end of the barrel. Ring sights, mainly home-made, often sold in shops, and thought to be good for teaching beginners how to take the correct lead, however, its size and obvious inconvenience to use prevent this type of sight from spreading.

A "reduced" version of the ring sight is manufactured by RUEB (see photo).

RUEB "S SHOTGUN SIGHT for 7.75 USD

Reflex sights

Another type of sights has appeared very recently, but already claims to take place on a significant number of shotguns. This is a collimator sight (hereinafter referred to as KP for brevity). In Russia, the main popularizer of this type of sights is the Chief Editor of the magazine "Russian Arms Magazine - Shotgun" A. Vasiliev.

Consider this type of sighting devices.

Collimators are divided into:

  • Active (powered by batteries, the aiming mark is visible around the clock) and passive (do not require external energy, but the aiming mark is visible only during the day and at low twilight). The aiming mark of the passive ones is very dim and low-contrast.
  • Through (light passes through the body or meniscus of the sight, you can aim with one or two eyes) and blind, they are also called "stereoscopic" (they project only a mark for the right eye, nothing is visible through the sight except the mark, aiming is carried out only with two eyes)
  • Open (one lens) and closed (several lenses, similar to optical, only shorter).

View through an open-type collimator sight. Aiming mark type "dot"

The principle of forming an aiming mark for collimators can be LED (the image is formed by illuminating the photolithographic plate with an LED) or holographic (the mark is recorded in the form of a hologram and illuminated by a laser).

Collimator sights provide quick aiming at the target. Due to the lack of magnification, they practically do not limit the field of view, since aiming is done with two eyes. An additional undoubted convenience is that a gun with an installed collimator sight fully retains the ability to shoot shots at a bird in flight. For some closed-type sights, optical attachments are available with magnification up to 2.5x.

Advantages of collimators.

1. Significantly simplify and speed up the aiming process, since there is no need to align anything, just combine the mark and target, while eliminating the problem of different focusing of the eye on the target and mark, which is very important when using conventional sights, where either the target is visible blurry, or fly. Adding a rear sight makes aiming even more difficult. This makes CPs especially attractive to those who do not have much shooting experience. The speed of aiming and the effectiveness of shooting when using a collimator is noticeably increased, this is especially noticeable for beginners.

2. They increase the accuracy of shooting a bullet, especially for people who do not have much training. They allow you to shoot a gun with a bullet with a significant shift of the STP - the sights are adjusted over a wide range. Which is completely inaccessible to the front sight and is often very difficult or also inaccessible in open metal sights on a shotgun (often they are made unadjustable).

3. Corrects deficiencies in gun application, balance, pitch angle, etc. in the usual hunting sense.

4. The reticle does not cover the target.

5. They allow for aimed shooting in low light conditions, up to complete darkness, as long as the target is visible. Only a night sight or special optics is better, but they have their limitations.

6. Facilitate aiming for people with insufficient visual acuity in the right eye (for example, astigmatism, myopia). If the left eye sees better, then it really becomes the leading one, the right eye is "leading" only by psychological habit, and this becomes especially noticeable when throwing up the gun, when after a moment the sights are already seen by the left eye. KP, unlike the front sight, allows you to neutralize this drawback, since the aiming mark is not visible with the left eye. When applying a gun, the right eye, although not the leading one, will see the aiming mark, and the surrounding reality will be visible to the left eye. For the shooter, it will be enough to combine the brand with the aiming point to produce an accurate shot. The shooter actually faces an alternative - whether he learns to shoot from the left shoulder or whether to make a box with an outlet for the left eye or purchase and install a CP. I note that in not very difficult cases, when the right eye still sees quite well and initially retains the properties of the leading eye, the situation can be corrected by installing a fiber optic front sight, the brighter the better. In this case, the shotgun can be thrown with the left eye closed, and only by putting the gun to the shoulder and catching the front sight with the right, the left eye opens. However, the problem is most effectively solved with the help of CP.

Disadvantages of collimators, real or attributed:

1. They increase the mass of the gun and change its balance (the latter, however, usually for the better), not by much, since the collimators are very light. In the best models, this increase is very small and, with fairly heavy weapons such as Saiga semi-automatic weapons, is almost imperceptible.

2. Not cheap (140-150 USD good domestic, 300-500 USD good imported). Especially the roads are holographic.

3. Clogging. Any optic requires careful handling, if possible, protection from debris and periodic cleaning in compliance with the rules (you can’t use your finger). Closed collimators can be fitted with transparent caps on both sides to protect the eyepiece and objective. They can be cleaned with your finger. Alas, aperture ratio, they, of course, noticeably reduce. Pollution is especially relevant in winter, when literally one cannot step a step so that snow does not fall from the trees. Note that the developed visor in good open collimators (rather than just a reflector rim) protects the sight from clogging quite well, while at the same time making it easy to clean the sight. Open sights are also sealed, so there is no big advantage for closed-type collimators.

4. Parallax. Any optical system has this phenomenon to varying degrees: if you take any optical or collimator sight, point it at some fixed target (it is better, of course, to fix it), and then, without touching the sight, move your head, i.e. look at the lens from different angles, the sight will point to different points on the target, remaining stationary relative to it. In practice, this very unpleasant property of optics means that with different stances and ways of holding the weapon, the weapon will be aimed at different points. Parallax is inherent in almost all scopes, cheap and expensive, and the only thing you can do is to choose a scope whose relative error is not very noticeable, i.e. will be within the desired accuracy of shooting. Thus, when choosing optics, one should pay attention to how stable the position of the head is relative to the sight, and what error at the required distance will give the usual movements of your head relative to the sight. Since the shotgun is predominantly shot with shotguns, the problem of parallax is completely irrelevant, and when firing a bullet, the distance is limited to 100 m, and a good sight at such a distance does not give a significant shift, and the spread of hits is a consequence of other factors to an incomparably greater extent. The parallax of a good collimator is 1-1.5 arc minutes, i.e. 3-4.5 cm at 100 m, and with the same hold of the weapon, it is equal to zero, so when choosing a sight for a shotgun, you can ignore parallax.

5. Alkaline batteries lose capacity at low temperatures. It is not recommended to turn off the sight in the cold in winter. It is rational to carry a couple of spare sets of batteries in winter. Good sights have automatic brightness control not only depending on the ambient light conditions, but also on the degree of battery discharge, so the complete discharge of the batteries does not occur suddenly, but will occur gradually, reducing the brightness of the aiming mark, which will allow the user to notice it in time and replace it in a timely manner batteries. Lithium batteries are much less sensitive to frost, so even in severe frost (down to -35 C) they will last for several days of hunting. In any case, a couple of spare sets of batteries are inexpensive and quite solve all the problems associated with the cold.

In my opinion, the advantages of collimators far outweigh the disadvantages, but, of course, it is up to the user to decide, since a good scope does not cost that little. However, all the shortcomings turn out to be surmountable, and the additional features obtained after installing the sight can bring an extra trophy.

There are also features inherent in the installation of collimators on smoothbore guns.

Shotguns, especially domestic ones, simply do not have places to install collimators. For imported guns, there are both those with regular seats with a Picatinny rail (Vivera) (Benelli M1super90 Practical, Benelli M4), and removable lining on the receiver (aesthetically unattractive) or a spare barrel with a welded Weaver rail (for Mossberg, Remington and Winchester) . Of the domestic guns, only the Saiga models have a standard side bracket so far. However, let's hope that soon the guns of the Izhevsk Mechanical Plant (MP-153, MP-133, maybe even IZH-94 and IZH-27) will be equipped with a side bar already at the factory.

The problem of mounting the sight is easily solved by installing a side bracket on the side surface of the pump box, semi-automatic, single-barreled or double-barreled-vertical straps. The work is very simple, and can be done independently. You can install a side bar on almost any gun. On guns with a horizontal arrangement of trunks, installing a gearbox is difficult and requires a non-standard approach, but it is possible.

Too many manufacturers do not pay enough attention to the high optical axis in their sights. Meanwhile, this significantly changes the position of the head relative to the gun, forcing the shooter to tear his cheek off the butt and completely straighten his neck. Often the high optical axis of the sight itself is exacerbated by the type of bracket used, which further raises the optical axis. As a result, the stock (and this is still an important shotgun sight) ceases to participate in the aiming process, and the process itself loses its naturalness. Too many manufacturers of sights and brackets do not pay attention to this problem. This indicates a lack of understanding by manufacturers of the needs of shooters.

An example of a completely incorrect location of the gearbox is shown in the photo. The shooter even got a bruise on his chin due to the poor applicability of the weapon with this arrangement of the collimator.

An example of incorrect sight installation (OKO) - the head of the shooter is in the air, touches the butt only with his chin

However, there is a collimator sight with the lowest possible optical axis - OKP-1.

An example of the correct installation of the sight (OKP-1) - the shooter's head takes a natural position, the optical axis of the sight is low

On hunting or competitions it is necessary to keep the scope switched on at all times. Batteries for most scopes are inexpensive, and it's okay to carry a spare set with you. Just remember to turn off the scope when the gun is not in use. In good sights, the ability to see regular sights through the reflector of the sight is realized, which, in case of failure or forgetting to turn on the collimator, will allow you to quickly hit the target from the standard sight.

Through the OKP-1 reflector you can clearly see the standard sight

What should be considered when choosing a collimator?

The most optimal for smoothbore guns are active open type sights.

Although closed sights can be better protected from clogging by installing transparent caps on both sides, and they are usually made completely sealed, such features of closed sights as significant coverage of the sight body by the body of the sight, lower aperture and high mass of such models will only be justified when mounted on rifle. The above disadvantages are very significant, they significantly change the picture of the sight and instead of just an aiming mark against the background of the terrain achieved in the best open models, especially those with a removable protective visor, we get a clear view through the sight, with part of the field of view covered by its body. In addition, due to the significantly greater mass, the balancing of the weapon changes. For effective shot shooting at a fast-moving target, a better picture and a lower weight of an open sight are preferable.

What requirements should a modern collimator meet:

1. Service strength and tightness. No matter how much we all love our weapons, it always has a chance in the field to plunge into water, snow, sand, or just get a strong blow. Therefore, any optics must be (+ this must be guaranteed by the passport) sealed and, if possible, shockproof.

2. Resistance to recoil. Cheap collimators (up to 50 USD) usually cannot withstand the recoil of calibers 20 and above. However, more expensive sights usually do not have any problems associated with recoil (with a single exception - no one is immune from marriage). It is only necessary to fix the sight on the weapon well.

3. Convenience and clarity of sight alignment.

4. Minimum parallax.

5. The lowest optical axis.

6. Small weight of the sight.

7. Sufficient reflector size (>30, and much better than 35 mm) for comfortable shooting.

How to attach the selected scope to your weapon.

1. The strongest and best fastening is on the side bar. And fixing the sight is simple, and when removing / installing, the zeroing point does not change. The aiming line of ordinary sights in the best sights does not close. In addition, this method is the most affordable and can be produced on almost any gun.

2. You can install a weaver bar or a regular dovetail on top of the box. In this case, it is easy to mount the collimator, but with such an installation, it is impossible to see a regular sight, even if it is an OKP-1 under the Weaver bar. The optical axis with this installation will inevitably be higher than with the side.

3. No collimator sights can be mounted on the aiming bar, except for the Docter Sight alone (it weighs 25 g) - a sufficient number of cases of bar separation have been described.

Attaching the side bar to the box can be done on almost any gun. In the photo - MP-153

The bar has a low profile and does not interfere with the use of the gun with the sight removed.

Collimator on a smooth gun in relation to types of hunting

Hunting is different. And it is incorrect to talk about the suitability of a collimator for hunting "in general".

Consider the following options - running hunting for upland and swamp game, hunting for waterfowl from an ambush (with stuffed animals), for waterfowl on a flight (ducks and geese), for an animal in a round-up, for an animal in an ambush, for an animal in stealth.

It is obvious that the conditions of shooting and the actual hunting are very different here, different weapons and ammunition are required. Accordingly, the suitability of the KP will be different.

Running hunting for swamp game - the collimator allows you to successfully shoot on these hunts, but increases the weight and dimensions of the weapon. Since lovers of swamp game prefer the lightest guns possible, and even with horizontally located barrels, the KP most often simply has nowhere to put it and it will add mass. Therefore, it is usually not put on such hunts, except in cases where there are problems with vision. It seems that on a light semiautomatic device, the use of a CP would be quite appropriate, although the prey from this on the hunts in question will not increase much due to the "fidgetiness" of swamp game.

Walking hunting for upland game. Since many prefer to use medium weight weapons or even 12 magnum cartridges on these hunts, the increase in mass is not so noticeable, which makes the reflex suitability high. An undoubted essential convenience is the possibility of an accurate shot of a bullet, since such a need sometimes arises in upland hunting. The collimator, improving the applicability of ordinary domestic rifles and having instant identification of the aiming mark against the background of the forest, allows you to shoot faster. Closed collimators are of little use, because they do not give a sight picture convenient for a shotgun. To the greatest extent, the spread of collimators for these hunts is hindered just by the banal lack of seats on double-barreled shotguns. But on double-barreled shotguns with a vertical arrangement of trunks, you can install the bar yourself or in the workshop, thereby significantly "correcting" the shortcomings in the applicability and ergonomics of the gun.

Hunting for waterfowl (ducks and geese) from ambush, with stuffed animals and in flight. In view of the lack of need to walk and often twilight shooting, it will be very useful to have a red dot sight on the gun. At the same time, it should be especially noted that it is under these conditions that a collimator is preferable to the best optical fiber flies. A feature of waterfowl hunting is that shooting is mainly carried out at dusk, and the target moves in the direction of the shooter. A good fiber-optic front sight is visible, of course, in open space until the very late twilight (although it depends on the position of the gun, besides, the domestic "Cat's Eye" fades faster), but the bar becomes invisible much earlier! There is a way to rub the bar with chalk, but this helps very little, and rather hinders than helps - a clear view of the bar becomes impossible, you have to shoot with an "open bar". You can only shoot at one front sight, not seeing the bar well, only with a 100% butt gun, while having a very developed muscle memory. However, does everyone have such a gun and such training? Skeet shooting sportsmen - yes. And the rest? But this is not all the difficulties. Most often, the shooter on the flight is positioned so that the game flies high (and fast) in the direction of the shooter. Therefore, in order to ensure a hit, you need to take sufficient lead. Taking a lead in such a flight of a bird will only work if you completely close it with gun barrels! Thus, aiming at a flying bird is hampered by the removal of the aiming point without visibility of the aiming point and the target at the same time. The collimator, which has an aiming mark "hanging in the air", does not cover the field of view at all and is completely free from this drawback - the removal of the aiming point in the direction of the bird's flight in no case shields the target with a gun, allowing you to choose a completely correct lead and even correct a sudden sharp maneuver game (this sometimes happens when a flying bird sees the movement of a shooter raising a gun). Plus, the collimator brand is highlighted and visible, thus, even in absolute darkness. At the same time, a good collimator has automatic brightness control, which will allow you to shoot effectively with a sharp change in the direction of fire - missed the bayonet - shoot for theft (in one of these directions relative to the other, lighting conditions due to the moon / sun or sunrise / sunset can be very differ significantly). Manual brightness control can be an obstacle to this.

On the beast (on a round-up, ambush, stealth) - the use of a command post is highly desirable. On a bear on oats - great, only a night sight or special twilight optics is better.

It can be noted that the KP is best suited for those hunts where magazines and self-loading can be successfully used, but it will not be superfluous on a double-barreled shotgun. The KP is the best choice for a combination shotgun, since it is impossible to shoot from a smooth barrel with an optic. The gearbox will allow you to accurately shoot a bullet from a rifled one at a distance of up to 100 m, and at the same time it leaves the opportunity to shoot in flight at a bird from a smooth barrel.

KP for magazine and self-loading guns

Russian classic-style guns (MTs21-12, TOZ-87, IZH-81, TOZ-94, MP-133, MP-153, Bekas and Bekas-auto) are best suited for mounting collimators on the appropriate bracket on the side rail. With such a bar, you can also use an adapter bracket for the Weaver bar, to which the sight itself will be attached directly (if you have just such a sight). Installing the rail is simple and can be done by yourself or by a gunsmith.

Only the Saiga and Bekas-Avto models have regular seats (on the Saiga it is a side bar, on the Bekas there are grooves on the receiver, and the box is made of aluminum alloy). At Bekas-Avto, a special bracket is required for installation on regular seats.

The bar does not interfere with the use of a gun without a collimator, and when removing / installing, the alignment of the sight is maintained. In the photo - the MP-153 gun

Of the models of collimator sights integrated with a bracket for the side rail, two can be mentioned - OKP-1 and Cobra. The sights are the same in terms of reliability, and have no problems with recoil. The Cobra sight is made with interchangeable sighting marks. However, the Kobra has a smaller meniscus, a noticeably worse sight image due to the thick meniscus frame and, most importantly, a very high optical axis height, which requires a high cheekpiece.

Family of collimators Kobra

The OKP-1 sight has recently appeared on the market, but it can be safely called an excellent sight.

Sight OKP-1 on MP-153

This is an open-type sight with active brand illumination, which is integral with the bracket for the side rail. Removal / installation of the sight occurs without violating the alignment. The main advantages of the sight are the minimum possible height of the sighting line, the ability to use conventional sights, regardless of whether the sight is turned on or not. Very high luminosity and a good case design, practically dissolving the lens against the background of the terrain. The visor, which covers the meniscus well from clogging, is removable, and in some models - quick-release. The aiming mark is made in the form of a circle with a dot. A simple and convenient solution to two problems at once - accurate shooting (requires a small brand) and fast shooting (requires a large brand). Dot size - 3.76 MOA. The low position of the sighting line - and there is currently no sight of a similar design on the market - is a significant advantage, as it preserves the natural vskid of the weapon and the use of regular sights. It does not require the installation of a high cheek. Automatic brightness control.

OKP-1 sight on Saiga-12

The sighting mark in the OKP-1 can be changed at the shooter's request (ring with a dot, enlarged ring with a dot, dot, square). The base brightness of the brand can also be adjusted (for shooters who have not very sharp eyesight).

For Bekas-auto, it makes sense either to purchase a closed-type gearbox and not remove it again, since you will have to re-shoot the sight every time (Bekas's aluminum box is unlikely to be able to withstand repeated alternation of installation and removal of the sight), or simply put a side bar.

Optical sights on a shotgun

The specifics of firing a shotgun bullet is such that, as a rule, the maximum firing distance, with rare exceptions, is limited to 75 meters (and most often it is 20-40m), and the target moves quickly. Under such conditions, an optical sight with a high (above 4) magnification is not even useless, but simply harmful. The best effect is obtained by using sights with variable magnification from 1 to 4 with a lens diameter of 20 to 26 mm, called the "Safari" class or sights for driven hunting. These types of sights have a minimum magnification of 1 (Leupold and Docter) - 1.1 (Zeiss) - 1.25 (Shmidt & Bender and almost all others) and are often equipped with an additional projected red reticle (so-called Flash Dot).

Zeiss 1.1-4x24T Varipoint VM/V

Such a sight from brands is not cheap (about 600-800 USD), for mid-range optics (Tasco Titan, Bushnel and Burris) they ask for around 350 USD.

In the minimum magnification mode (1-1.25) and with the backlight turned on, the optical sight will work almost like a collimator, but with the peculiarity that its exit pupil is not very large and has a fixed distance. So the image in the right eye, even at 1x, will be different from the image in the left. It takes getting used to, but even after it, the convenience of shooting is noticeably inferior to a collimator, especially an open type. True, sights without a projected brand do not require batteries, and the possibility of magnification up to 4 times will allow you to conveniently shoot at a distance in the region of 100-120 m. It should be remembered that bullets from a smooth barrel usually begin to significantly round the flight path after 70 m, so must be shot with the type of bullet used at such distances. A shotgun scope does not need a large magnification (more than 4x at maximum), but it is useful to have the widest possible field of view.

The disadvantages against the collimator are obvious - a much larger mass and cost, a significantly smaller size of the exit pupil, the presence of a fixed value of the eye relief versus unlimited, which greatly affects the speed of the first shot, a picture that is noticeably different for both eyes, due to both the properties of the optics and the closure of the body review sight. The collimator will not hit the eye with strong recoil (it is farther away) and, when applied to smoothbore guns, it easily allows you to shoot shots at flying birds, which is not available to optics. All this leads to the fact that a driven sight is inferior to a collimator in terms of speed and ease of shooting at a moving target, and in terms of versatility and range of application - a class 1.5-6x42 sight. The magnification of 1-1.25 in terms of accurate aiming gives very little, and it is not due to the task of bringing the target closer, but to align the image for the right and left eyes as much as possible.

Thus, when waiting for an animal on the number, if the sight is set to the minimum magnification, then a collimator would be better, as it is more convenient, fast and light, and when set to a magnification of 1.5 and higher (i.e., for more distant targets ) it is more convenient to shoot from a class 1.5-6x42 sight.

Sights of constant magnification (2-2.5x) have some use, but this solution is inferior to driven class optics (only cheaper) and collimators.

Laser pointers

A type of sight made popular primarily by Hollywood action films. It is a source of laser radiation, fixed parallel to the barrel of the weapon. A red dot is displayed on the target, where, in theory, the projectile should hit. Instills unnatural aiming skills - instead of actually aiming, the shooter cranes his neck and tries to make out a tiny dot on the target. On feather hunting, its use is practically excluded. It can find some use when firing a bullet from a storehouse, in addition to the main "normal" sight, if the shooter is sure that this will not frighten away the beast (although the beam itself is not visible, the included sight from the side of the emitter is noticeable from a long distance in the dark).

In conclusion, we note that despite the fact that the stock still plays an important role in aiming from a shotgun, new technologies can significantly replace the traditional sight. Collimators, significantly improving the convenience of aiming a shotgun, allow you to shoot faster and more accurately, while expanding the capabilities of the shooter at dusk. For shooting a bullet, the advantages of collimators are obvious. Thus, the well-established type of sights on a shotgun - the front sight - although it remained as a regular one, but a new generation of sights - collimators - are increasingly finding their place on guns, and we add, quite deservedly.

Mikhail HORNET (c)

2002-2003

Which reflex sight to choose for a 12 gauge smoothbore weapon? Fans of 12-gauge smoothbore rifles sooner or later face the choice of a high-quality and reliable sight.

It makes no sense to install a large and bulky optical sight on a smoothbore and is useless for several reasons.

Firstly, the firing range of a hunting rifle is small, a fast-moving target is clearly visible through conventional optics, and even better with the naked eye.

And the second point is the mass, with its weight it introduces an imbalance to the weapon. Therefore, the choice of amateurs and professionals stops at collimators.

It is light in weight, ideal for close range targets and quite comfortable to use, unlike a mechanical one.

It's important to know: basic models of collimators withstand 3800 J, with a muzzle power of Magnum 4500 J and smoothbore weapons 12 gauge 4200 J.

Advantages


The main advantages include:

  1. Aiming speed. Compared to open, where three marks must be aligned for an accurate shot, in collimators, the rear sight and front sight are already aligned, so the time to aim is reduced and it is easier for the eyes to focus.
  2. Misrepresentation error. The lenses on red dot sights are simply concave to reflect light, so distortion is minimal. Almost all models on the market do not have a magnification effect.
  3. Wide view. When aiming, there is no need to cover the second eye, which is undoubtedly very convenient.
  4. Due to its low weight it is very easy to use.

Kinds

All collimators can be divided according to the following indicators:

  • on energy consumption;
  • by type of hull;
  • by projection;
  • by type of fastening on the bar;
  • by functionality.

Now let's look at each classification in more detail.

By energy consumption

The most common type of device is battery operated. Many have the ability to remove the battery without removing the sight itself, without losing the target, which is very convenient.

Self-powered devices are much higher in price and are not intended for hunting, but rather for the army. They have a built-in battery with a large margin for several years of use. Many devices are designed for use in difficult climatic conditions.

From the type of body

Closed models are installed on large and medium caliber, have several lenses.

They look like a shortened version of standard optics, they work in any weather.

Good in their own way, but quite bulky, weigh more than their open counterparts.

Open type collimator. In everyday life they are called "single-lens" because of the number of built-in optical elements.

The size allows not to cover the sight with the body, they are light in weight. A very common type of device, due to its budget and functionality.

By projection

  1. Diopter. Thanks to the simplified front sight and aperture alignment, the holes have an increased aiming speed. The large aiming line guarantees the accuracy of the shot.
  2. Holographic. Used in the open type. It is characterized by the presence of a hologram with an applied reticle, which is visualized by a laser beam. Reticles are always visible and do not depend on lighting. They have a high price range.
  3. Collimator. The simplest type of device and in its own way reliable.

By type of fastening on the bar

According to the method of mounting on the bar, collimators are:

  • weaver;
  • "Dovetail";
  • ventilated bar.

By functionality

According to the functional purpose, there are:

  • tactical (with magnification);
  • with the ability to change aiming marks;
  • 3With the presence of laser pointers.

Expert Tip: powerful recoil also plays an important role in the life of the collimator. Based on this, the purchase of a sight should be approached more consciously so that the chosen model will last a long time.

Any type of collimator sight is suitable for a smoothbore, not necessarily good optics will cost a lot of money.

The market of optical sights is presented in a wide range.

Among the proven brands, you can find inexpensive models of Russian or Chinese production, inexpensive models of Russian or Chinese production, which will adequately show themselves in the “battle”. Basically, sights are produced with a bracket for mounting on the aiming bar. Watch an overview video about the HAKKO BED5 collimator on IZH-27 and IZH-58 guns:

Collimator sights for smoothbore weapons in our country are used very actively. The thing is that they have compact dimensions, light weight, bright aiming mark. In this case, parallax is usually absent. So this is the position in our catalog that deserves your attention.

Why should everyone have this device?

A reflex sight for a shotgun is an element of humane hunting. Agree, is it much more correct when the game dies in a matter of seconds, without experiencing prolonged torment? This is possible due to the increased accuracy of shooting. After all, the hunter can aim and follow the game with both eyes at once. Even if it is not in a static position.

Principle of operation

The collimator sight is complemented by a smoothbore gun according to the principle of collimation of light rays. A beam of rays, located in a parallel plane at a far distance, repeats the object of observation. The lens is thus a telephoto lens. It has a dot, called an aiming mark. It glows and allows you to draw the correct conclusions about the location of the object.

Collimator sight mount type

Remember: the best reflex sight for smoothbore weapons is the one that fits you perfectly. Therefore, initially pay attention to the type of bracket. It must match the design of the gun in the arsenal. If you have chosen a model without a bracket, you can easily buy it separately.