Today I headed to the monthly 2-Gun match (which is rifle-only for this month) with a semiauto Galil R5 clone outfitted with an Armson OEG (Occluded Eye Gunsight). This particular OEG has a base specifically made to fit the Galil gas tube, and should be a really interesting experience to use on the clock in a practical match. The stages this month consist on a round of Rifle Burpees, a long range stage with targets at 150 and 200 yards, and a V-Tac barricade.
This turned out to be a really interesting experience for me. The long range stage was where I expected to really fall apart, but the OEG was able to make the hits, much to my surprise. The dot is about 12 MOA, and covers most of the target at long range, but it was well enough zeroed that I could hit. As the stage progressed, I lost some focus, and it got harder to get a proper superimposed dot/target sight picture.
The most unexpected part was the third stage, with the V-Tac barricade. The potential problem of not being able to see the target through a barricade had not occurred to me, but it sure made itself clear when I started shooting. Normally, one need only get a sight picture with one eye – a line of sight from eye to sights to target and you can make a hit. With an OEG, you need to see the red dot with one eye, but you also must be able to see the target with the *other* eye. On the bottom level of shooting ports, I was unable to find a position where I could see the target with my non-shooting eye, and timed out.
It did not even occur to me until after getting home that I had not considered allowing the optic to be obstructed by the barricade. With normal optics, obviously, the optic *must* have a clean line of sight to the target. With an OEG, however, the optic’s only job is to give an index to where the gun is pointing. As long as the muzzle was clear, the OEG could have been obstructed and still would have worked fine as long as my other eye could see the target. Ah, the eccentricities of odd gear!
May I suggest, fellow readers, since we already know the outcome of the match b/c Ian spilled the beans above, that you watch the video on 2X speed? Watching Ian dance around and talk like a rabbit on meth is rather amusing. Slow it down at the end after the final buzzer sounds.
Ian, we appreciate you taking one for the team there. Now that you’ve realized a workaround, will you give it another go at an upcoming match?
You sir have opened my eyes to an entertainment option I never knew existed! I will now watch the Brutality matches at high speed.
Woking, in Surrey, in England, is the town I hate most in my country, for at least 3 good reasons; but it did have the only South African delicatessen I have ever found. It had a big fridge of beer and 2 and a half walls of biltong. No dried meat product I have since eaten has been even half as good.
Next, run this course with a good high-number Lee-Enfield using wartime sights. You might be surprised at how many 200-meter hits you get. Then run it again with almost any Model 70 and a 6x scope, allowing, of course, time for reloading. There’d be less bad language at the barricade, I reckon. (Ian is a good boy scout out loud, but we know what he’s thinking.)
When Ian used the mag for a monopod, I tensed up waiting for a feed failure. But nope, it worked. That’s a good endorsement of the weapon right there.
Ian, that sling on your Galil looks nice, what is it?
Details on the rifle build…
i have a marlin 336 in .30-30, and the only sight on it is a cheap chinese laser. one eye only (right eye, i am right handed), and you cannot see anything cuz the laser is in the way. both eyes open, and your left eye sees the laser “striking home,” and your right eye sees what it sees, and your brain puts it all together quite nicely, w/ absolutely no confusion.
for a house gun the laser is accurate enough, and who needs a “tacti-cool” system of lights, lasers and dots, when your brain functions as it does.
try it, you’ll like it.
One thing I’ve read that you can try, is to zero the scope using the TOP of the dot, rather than the center.
Since its location never changes, you can aim at the farther targets without coveting them up.
The Armson OEG on that rifle was mounted too far forward. I’ve seen those Armson OEG sights mounted on AK-47s for use by the army and they were mounted right at the back. I’ve also used those sights and still consider them to be the best combat sights there are. Another thing is that my generation and those before us learned to shoot with both eyes open, since that was appropriate in big game hunting. In those days many of us aspired to do big game hunting at least once in our lifetime.