Red-Dot Occlusion Training

From American Rifleman: "Red-Dot Occlusion Training: A Performance-Booster for You & Your Optic-Equipped Handgun." The idea here is to force you to shoot with both eyes open and focused on the target by covering up the front of your red dot. That results in you only seeing the red dot with one eye but only being able to see the target with the other eye. 

An occluded sight’s red-dot is still visible; the emitter beams the dot onto the lens and reflects it back to the shooter. Though the front of the sight is blocked-off, when aiming with an occluded sight with both eyes open (and a hard target focus), the human brain will automatically ignore the occlusion.

The author indicates that you can make this work using masking tape, but that "there are several companies that offer molded Kydex or polymer covers that snap on over the front of major red-dot sights." The one shown in the article is Arise Mfg.’s Occluder for its Aegis optics shroud. 

Cover For Khyber Optics Mini Dot Optic (MDO)

 

On Feb. 26 I had posted my initial impressions of the Khyber Optics Mini Dot Optic (MDO). I had noted that the optic did not come with a dust cover. I have used neoprene covers for other optics and decided to go that route. I bought a DAXISONN Romeo5 Red Dot Lens Cover from Amazon--it is a neoprene cover with a small loop for pulling it off--and it fits very well over the optic and its mount. I bought a black cover, but they also sell them in brown/FDE, a grey and brown woodland pattern, and a green and brown woodland pattern. There are a couple other sellers with similar products but without the small pull loop. I figured it was worth a few dollars more in order to easily and quickly remove the cover. I wish it were a little tighter fit, but it should be good enough for keeping dust off the lenses in storage or when taking it out to practice. The particular firearm on which it is mounted is only for home defense, anyway, and not a woods gun. 

Khyber Optics Mini Dot Optic (MDO)--Initial Impressions

Earlier this month, I happened across a review from the Tactical Hermit about the Khyber Optics Mini Dot Optic (MDO). I hadn't heard of the company before, but based on the Tactical Hermit's post and the website, it is related to NC Scout over at Brushbeater. It costs $199.99 and comes with a green reticle that can switch between a circle-dot, dot-only, or circle-only. I have a multi-reticle circle-dot from Holosun that I really like and that type of reticle has become my preference because it is quicker to pick up than a plain dot. 

    In any event, I was moving my Holosun HS515GM red dot to a different upper and was in the market for a new red dot. I had been looking at getting an inexpensive Holosun model for roughly the same price with similar features (i.e., green circle-dot reticle) to the Khyber MDO anyway, so I pulled the trigger, so to speak, and ordered the Khyber MDO. What tipped the scale for me on this one over the Holosun is that the Holosun model I was looking at has a small tray to hold the battery that uses a couple really small screws to hold it into place whereas this one has a large cap over the battery that can be unscrewed with a coin or regular flatheaded screwdriver, making it much easier to change batteries and less likely to lose critical parts. This model also had a significantly higher shock rating than the Holosun model. 

    I ordered it on a weekend, but the sight promptly shipped on the next business day which I appreciated and took roughly a week to reach me. (You would not believe the number of items I order where "shipping" just means that they printed the shipping label and then it sits for several days or more before it is actually shipped). The sight comes in a fairly sturdy padded plastic box (see below).

 

 

Inside was the optic with a large Khyber Optic logo on the top, already mounted on the higher riser; a battery; a lower riser for rifles or shotguns with traditional drop-comb stocks; a lens cleaning cloth; and a couple tools for mounting the optic on a Picatinny rail and adjusting the sights. There is also a small booklet with instructions and information on the optic tucked behind the foam padding in the lid. There is no cover for the optic. 

Here is a better view of the optic itself:

 

    As you can see from the photos, the optic is roughly 1.25 inches wide and about 2 inches long. 

    Although the website indicates that the optic is "IP67" I believe this might be a typo as the literature that came with the optic indicates that it is IPX7, meaning that it can withstand temporary immersion in water up to 1 meter (roughly 3.3 feet) for up to 30 minutes without sustaining damage. However, if the website is correct, a 6 rating for dust would be pretty good. 

    Many optics come with visible lens coatings, such as a ruby coating, for clarity and protection, but I could find nothing in the booklet about coatings and do not see any visible coating. I did note that looking through the optic that it can catch reflections of brightly lit objects from behind. 

    The controls work fairly well. To turn on the optic, you have to push and hold the + button for a few seconds. Pushing and holding the + button for a moment also allows you to cycle through the reticles. Pushing and holding the - button will turn off the optic. The + and - buttons will also increase or reduce the brightness of the reticle, respectively.

    Because it is  green reticle, it shows up better in bright light than a red reticle and does seem to work better for my slight astigmatism--red colored dots always seem to be slightly smeared in my vision rather than a crisp dot that most people see. The circle on this is much smaller than the Holosun circle-dot that I own. At first this bothered me, but then I realized that the circle was small enough to use by itself to aim the weapon. 

    Brightness is manually set only. I have a few other red dots that automatically adjust to brightness, but this is not one. It does, however, have a "shake-awake" feature that turns off the optic if it doesn't sense movement for roughly 220 seconds per the instructions. This feature is very sensitive. I had a hard time telling if mine was working correctly because just the vibration of opening the door to where it was stored or the vibration of footfalls was enough to light it up. I had to leave the door open and carefully walk up to it to spot whether the emitter had gone off. Whatever sensors it uses would be great for a perimeter alarm!

    The glow from the reticle or emitter is quite visible from the front of the optic. Khyber Optic lists a kill flash for the MDO, but it has been out of stock. If they get more in stock, however, I plan on picking one up. 

    I haven't had a chance to go out shooting and test this in the field. However, I did roughly zero it using the backup iron sights (which were already sighted in) and I have to say that the clicks for the adjustments were very solid and easily felt. 

    Now I just need to get something to keep dust off the optic. I've had to resort to baggy neoprene covers on a couple other optics, so that will probably be what I do on this one as well unless there is a tighter formed rubber cover that will fit. [Update: I bought a DAXISONN Romeo5 Red Dot Lens Cover from Amazon--it is a neoprene cover with a small loop for pulling it off--and it fits very well over the optic and its mount. I bought a black cover, but they also sell them in brown/FDE, a grey and brown woodland pattern, and a green and brown woodland pattern].

VIDEO: Review of DNT Hydra HS219 Thermal Scope

This looks interesting: a budget (~$700) thermal scope designed to be mounted to a weapon. It's obviously not going to compete against even mid-tier thermal units. But as the video's producer notes, it might be useful for the "68%"--the majority of preppers that don't have a lot of cash to drop on what would be, for most people, a very specialized tool. 

From my own perspective, there are a couple things that have held me back from night vision and thermal vision. First is the cost-to-value ratio: high cost but limited use to me in a suburban environment. A good pair of binoculars that can pull in the light works better for me in most circumstances because there is so much ambient light in my locale. And because I live in a suburban environments, I don't have livestock to guard or a large piece of property to patrol.

The second factor is that the few budget options available weren't really designed for mounting on weapons. This one, on the other hand, comes with a couple of mounts to attach it to a Picatinny rail: a more permanent mount and a quick release mount. The latter gives you more flexibility and allows it to be detached to use as a monocular. 

Unfortunately, there is little in the video as to its performance in the field.  I would like to see a real world review on how well it works at detecting a person or animal at various distances as well as battery life. 

 

 VIDEO: "Prepper Review: DNT Hydra HS219 Thermal Scope - Budget Option for the 68%?"
Mike Tango Whiskey (13 min.)