Gunsmoke & Mirrors
New sighting devices that let operators safely cut corners in the kill zone!
Versa-View mirror sight can be used with an Aimpoint or EOtech device. It allows operators to safely engage targets from a fully concealed position.
Throughout the history of warfare, soldiers have striven to engage the enemy without allowing the enemy a chance to shoot back. Effective use of cover and the availability of indirect fire weapons have given infantryman an advantage over their enemies, but inventors have also searched for a sighting device that would allow the infantryman to use his standard rifle or carbine without exposing himself. In World War I, for example, the U.S. experimented with the Springfield ’03 Trench Periscope Rifle that incorporated a device which allowed the soldier to raise his rifle above his trench and engage the enemy using a periscope and supplemental trigger. Similar devices were used on both sides for light machineguns in WWII.
Heads up! The Aimpoint CEU (Concealment Engagement Unit) works especially well for overhead shots since it can be rotated through 260 degrees.
More recently, video technology has been used to allow an infantryman to fire around or over cover without exposing himself. The Israeli CornerShot employs a frame with a rifle stock to which a pistol, a 40mm grenade launcher, or other weapons may be mounted. The front portion containing the attached weapon is hinged and may be used around or over cover with a video camera and screen allowing the user to acquire the target.
Video-based weapons such as the CornerShot rely on an LCD display, which may actually expose an operator because of its glow. They are also relatively complicated and expensive. For use by individual operators on the battlefield, a compact, non-electronic device for target acquisition around corners is more desirable. Two devices have been tested extensively and lend themselves to tactical use in special circumstances, normally by police tactical units or military special ops units.
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