Occluded shooting with Opticgard

[Serpico1985]

My department recently switched to Gen 5 17's. Only the cool kids got MOS glocks with RMRs, the lowly patrol officers and detectives were stuck with iron sights.

I decided to finally get into red dot training/shooting and wanted as much benefit transfer to my duty gun. So I bought a spare gen 5 17 and sent it to Agency Arms for their optic cut system and paired it up with a 6moa EPS.

Reading up on how to transition, I knew I wanted to lean heavily on occluded shooting to get started and train myself to keep both eyes open, something I have never done when shooting irons.

This lead me to Optic Gard for a EPS cover. It's a very simply two piece design, one part to cover the front glass and a rubber shell that slides over and lightly snaps onto the bottom of the optic.

With my iron sights in front I had to trim the Optic Gard to get it to fit and I thought this would mean that it would have issues staying on.

I'm pleased to say after at least 10 range sessions around 1k it has given me zero problems.

If you want to get into occluded shooting I think this is better than tape.

Just my $0.02.

Let me know if you have any questions.

[Erick Gelhaus]

What about it is an improvement over tape? Genuinely curious.

[JohnO]

There is rational for keeping your sight occluded at all times, even on duty! That way it will never washout in bright sunlight.

[Utm]

There is rational for keeping your sight occluded at all times, even on duty! That way it will never washout in bright sunlight.

I would not. There are probably some weird angles you could shoot from that an occluded dot would be much more difficult to use. Imo it should only be a training tool, not something I'm using in life or death scenarios.

[Utm]

What about it is an improvement over tape? Genuinely curious.

I have it, and have also used tape. Not really much of a difference imo

[Serpico1985]

What about it is an improvement over tape? Genuinely curious.

The ease of switching back-and-forth between occluded and non-occluded. I realize tape blocks the dot equally well.

I have other optics that don’t have this option so they have tape on them. I’m talking about ARs. If I need to re-zero, I’ll take the tape off and put it back on. It’s just leaves behind a lot of residue on the optic.

[Eric_L]

The ease of switching back-and-forth between occluded and non-occluded. I realize tape blocks the dot equally well.

I have other optics that don’t have this option so they have tape on them. I’m talking about ARs. If I need to re-zero, I’ll take the tape off and put it back on. It’s just leaves behind a lot of residue on the optic.

Use painters tape, the blue or green color. No residue. Or MINIMAL residue.

[Molon]

There is rational for keeping your sight occluded at all times, even on duty!

If you enjoy missing your target when shooting beyond CQB distances, then occluded-eye sighting is great.



The Effects of Phoria When Using the ACOG as an Occluded-Eye Gunsight






Phoria: the visual effect that occurs when one eye is blocked from seeing the same view of a target as the other eye; the blocked eye does not get the same sensory input as the other eye and can begin to wonder off, usually to one side or the other.

In an attempt to make my Trijicon TA-11 ACOG more versatile at engaging close range targets, I installed a Progressive Machine and Tool flip-down front lens cover. With the lens cover in the up position (blocking the view through the scope) the ACOG can function as a non-magnified occluded-eye gunsight; functioning more like a non-magnified red-dot sight, than a magnified scope. However, when the ACOG is functioning as an occluded-eye gunsight, the view of the target for the eye looking into the scope is blocked and the effect of phoria comes into play.











In order to determine just what the effects of phoria would be when using the ACOG TA-11 as an occluded-eye gunsight, I conducted a test comparing the accuracy and points of impact when shooting with the lens cover down (normal sighting) and the lens cover up (occluded-eye sighting.) Testing was conducted at a distance of 25 yards, the farthest distance that I would anticipate using the occluded eye-method of sighting.

Shooting off of sand bags, I zeroed the TA-11 for point of aim equals point of impact at 25 yards using the normal sighting method. I then fired a 10-shot group with the normal sighting method that formed a tidy group with an extreme spread of 0.56”.







Next, I placed the lens cover in the up position, transforming the ACOG into an occluded-eye gunsight. The left eye views the target, while the right eye views the reticle in the scope. The right eye is blocked (occluded) from seeing the target due to the lens cover. The impact of the initial shots using this method had such a large horizontal deviation to the left that they were off the targets that I originally was using. I had to change to a 24” wide target and aim at the far right side of the target to capture the impact of the rounds. The aiming point for this portion of the test was the numeral “7” on the target.

Using the occluded-eye method of sighting, I fired a 10-shot group. This group had an extreme spread of over 7” and the center of the group was 14” to the left of the aiming point!






….

[Tokarev]

If you enjoy missing your target when shooting beyond CQB distances, then occluded-eye sighting is great.



The Effects of Phoria When Using the ACOG as an Occluded-Eye Gunsight






Phoria: the visual effect that occurs when one eye is blocked from seeing the same view of a target as the other eye; the blocked eye does not get the same sensory input as the other eye and can begin to wonder off, usually to one side or the other.

In an attempt to make my Trijicon TA-11 ACOG more versatile at engaging close range targets, I installed a Progressive Machine and Tool flip-down front lens cover. With the lens cover in the up position (blocking the view through the scope) the ACOG can function as a non-magnified occluded-eye gunsight; functioning more like a non-magnified red-dot sight, than a magnified scope. However, when the ACOG is functioning as an occluded-eye gunsight, the view of the target for the eye looking into the scope is blocked and the effect of phoria comes into play.











In order to determine just what the effects of phoria would be when using the ACOG TA-11 as an occluded-eye gunsight, I conducted a test comparing the accuracy and points of impact when shooting with the lens cover down (normal sighting) and the lens cover up (occluded-eye sighting.) Testing was conducted at a distance of 25 yards, the farthest distance that I would anticipate using the occluded eye-method of sighting.

Shooting off of sand bags, I zeroed the TA-11 for point of aim equals point of impact at 25 yards using the normal sighting method. I then fired a 10-shot group with the normal sighting method that formed a tidy group with an extreme spread of 0.56”.







Next, I placed the lens cover in the up position, transforming the ACOG into an occluded-eye gunsight. The left eye views the target, while the right eye views the reticle in the scope. The right eye is blocked (occluded) from seeing the target due to the lens cover. The impact of the initial shots using this method had such a large horizontal deviation to the left that they were off the targets that I originally was using. I had to change to a 24” wide target and aim at the far right side of the target to capture the impact of the rounds. The aiming point for this portion of the test was the numeral “7” on the target.

Using the occluded-eye method of sighting, I fired a 10-shot group. This group had an extreme spread of over 7” and the center of the group was 14” to the left of the aiming point!






….

Do you have eye convergence issues? Maybe try some Brock string exercises and see if those help.

Sent from my SM-S901U using Tapatalk

[GJM]

I believe occluding the red dot has morphed from something good, which is to help you learn to target focus, into something dumb. Occluded is not how your eyes and the optic, not to mention the BUIS, were designed to work. Of course we could probably end up with cheaper optics if we didn't have to worry about the display quality and performance in adverse sun angles.

I wonder if LE departments have figured out that an occluded optic can be a major liability in a shooting gone bad and written policies prohibiting their use. I am sure the jury will be impressed by that optic with tape over the front of the lens.