Visiting Aimpoint Optics in Sweden

By Eric R. Poole

The red dot was invented to support the hobby of a Swedish engineer named Gunnar Sandberg more than 40 years ago. He was the owner of GS Development, whose primary business supported the medical industry, but his personal time was spent moose hunting, where he desired a faster optic.

Gunnar discovered that if he could keep both eyes open, the red dot aiming point appeared on the target. A simple zero-magnification lens arrangement meant there was also no parallax. If the red dot was sighted in and on target, a hit was guaranteed regardless of eye position.

Magnified optics have their role, but as it turns out, a red dot is hard to beat for multiple targets, moving targets and targets positioned within 100 yards.

Aimpoint’s first red dot sight hit the European market in 1975. It was called the Aimpoint Electronic. Four years later, the second-
generation (G2) model made its way to the U.S., with some needed improvements. Although created for hunting, it was competition that put it on the map, starting when pistol champ Joe Pascarella won Camp Perry with one in 1981.

Subsequent models were improved to address battery life, mounting options and durability under recoil. The U.S. Army’s …Read the Rest

Source:: Guns and Ammo