EYES ON

WE’RE EXTREMELY PLEASED TO BE JOINED AGAIN THIS MONTH BY ANDY N, ONE OF THE AA “ORIGINALS” WHO HAS BEEN WITH THE MAGAZINE ALMOST SINCE DAY 1! ANDY BRINGS A WEALTH OF KNOWLEDGE AND SHOOTING EXPERIENCE, GIVEN HIS TIME SPENT IN THE MILITARY AND NOW AS A CIVILIAN SHOOTING INSTRUCTOR. THIS MONTH HE DIVES INTO THE BENEFITS OF USING A “HOLO SIGHT” FOR AIRSOFT.

One of the most commonly used optics on carbines and rifles today is the holographic sight. It is also one of the least understood and its function and versatility is seldom used to its full potential.

The sight itself consists of a battery compartment and a red dot or symbol reflected on a screen; unlike a laser, the red dot is projected onto the screen and not onto the target itself. The use of the holographic sight far outweighs the use of the traditional tube or telescopic scope in an airsoft setting and it is also probably one of the cheapest sight options to purchase.

Because the holographic sight design is nonmagnifying, the shooter is relieved from any eye relief (that is the distance measured from the site to the operator’s eye) and for this reason, it can be placed anywhere on the top rail of the carbine or rifle. Holographic sight’s come in all shapes and sizes and prices to match, however, they all do the same thing and that is, once zeroed they put your BBs exactly where you want them.

Unlike conventional rifle sights, the holographic sight does not require the shooter to be directly behind the bore line. This makes it ideal for shooting in an unorthodox position, such as shooting around corners and also for cross-dominant eye shooting. The only downside to the holographic sight is the fact that they are battery-powered and they can get damaged just like any other sight. A damaged holographic sight can be backed up with pop-up emergency battle sights (or BUIS, Back Up Iron Sights, but they can be plastic too of course!) attached to the rifle but you should make sure that the sights are zeroed to the same distance as the holographic sight.

Make sure when you are using emergency battle sights that you are able to see the front sight and rear sight clearly through the holographic sight without having to take the sight off the rifle; this is known as “co-witnessing”, and it’s something that is near impossible to do with a traditional tube scope. Likewise if the battery power fails on the holographic sight the emergency battle sights can be used immediately without having to remove the holographic sight.

Both Eyes Open

The more traditional tube scope or telescopic scope tends to force the shooter to close one eye during operation, whilst the design of the holographic sight allows the shooter to keep both eyes open at all times and gives the shooter access to their peripheral vision and this is a massive bonus when shooting in a combative and defensive scenario.

In a contact where multiple targets are involved, peripheral vision afforded by the holographic sight will enable you to assess your immediate surrounding area for possible threats with ease. Faced with a standoff involving multiple threats, it is possible to train the holographic sight on one target and assess a second (and possibly third), while still keeping your point of aim on the first target using your peripheral vision. So long as you can see the red dot in the window of the holographic sight, when it is placed on your target it is possible to release the shot without bringing the rifle back in line with the correct stance and cheek weld. This is known as “adverted shooting”. This is often used when there is a potential threat that needs to be covered and marked and not an immediate threat that warrants shots to be fired.

The use of “adverted shooting” also comes into play when having to engage targets from around a corner; as the shooter peers around the corner (slicing the pie), unshoulder the rifle and place the butt into the bicep muscle. So long as the red dot in the window of the holographic sight is superimposed on your intended target you can guarantee a clear shot. It is not necessary for the red dot to be in the centre of the screen, the red dot can be placed anywhere in the window to be on aim with the target.

allow you to greatly reduce exposing more of your own personal target area to the enemy. Adverted shooting is not easy and it is something that needs to be practised as it feels alien when performed like all of the types of shooting skills, this needs to be practised on a regular basis to keep you in top form!

DOMINANCE?

The holographic sight is also an ideal choice for those that are “cross-eye dominant”. Just like we have a dominant hand, we also have a dominant eye. Cross-eye dominance means that the shooter has a dominant right hand and a dominant left eye or vice versa. In this instance it causes the right-handed shooter to crane their head over the top of the rifle stock and use their left eye to see through the sight and vice versa. This causes an unsteady shooting platform, poor aim, and bad recoil management.

To overcome this problem it is possible to place the holographic sight closer to the muzzle end of the rifle. The use of a full length accessory rail will greatly help in this respect. With the sight in this position the angle of the sight in relation to the bore alignment is greatly reduced, giving a better sight picture to the cross-eye dominant shooter. Experimentation with the correct placing of the holographic sight and practice is needed to get the correct distance and alignment for cross-eye dominant shooters perfect. With the holographic sight set correctly on the rifle and zeroed, it is just a matter of getting used to the position of the sight on the rifle and acquiring the correct sight picture.

Once set up correctly, for the shooter, the holographic sight is one of the best sighting systems available for the combative and defensive rifle. At close quarters during CQB scenarios, the holographic sight’s speed in target acquisition is simply going to be far superior than any other site. I have always used a holographic sight on my personal defence carbine and even have one on my handgun; this allows me to transition from one firearm to the other without having to look for a different site picture. The holographic sight is not to be ignored if you want to get up close and personal with speed! AA

“IN A CONTACT WHERE MULTIPLE TARGETS ARE INVOLVED, PERIPHERAL VISION AFFORDED BY THE HOLOGRAPHIC SIGHT WILL ENABLE YOU TO ASSESS YOUR IMMEDIATE SURROUNDING AREA FOR POSSIBLE THREATS WITH EASE”

THE L119A2 IS JUST ONE POPULAR EXAMPLE OF OUR CURRENT RECOIL MODELS, BASED ON TOKYO MARUI’S FANTASTIC SYSTEM - FITTED WITH THE ANGRY GUN RAIL SYSTEM AND REAL STEEL MAGPUL FURNITURE