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Post by Stinger on Mar 9, 2015 12:03:05 GMT -5
I plan on getting a holo/reflex sight in the $100 range to replace the $30 airsoft repro reflex I'm using right now. I'm wondering how necessary it will be to protect the lens, and how I should go about doing that.
A teammate of mine had a replica EOTech with a protector mounted in front of it. The protector got shattered and then the lens was shattered in two separate engagements on the same day at Action Paintball last year. Both times were because of someone shooting far inside of their MED. Regardless, I just want to know what other people do and how likely it is for something like the above to happen.
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Post by Pagan on Mar 9, 2015 12:21:44 GMT -5
If you're not looking to use one of the ready made ones available from retailers, you can always purchase a sheet of lexan from a home improvement/hardware store.
You can cut it to rough shape then sand/file just enough that you can press it in front of the lens. Friction will hold it in place if you make it tight enough.
I've had two pre made ones cracked by shots ( one was a high fps replica, the other was a sub 350 fps shot that hit in just the right spot) I've still been using the one cracked from the lower speed shot for the past two years without any further damage.
It's a crapshoot if your optic is going to get hit. I've seen people with the HUGE tapsco red dots never take a hit in the glass, and I've seen two real EoTech get blown out. I believe in better safe than sorry. I'd rather slow the bb down with something other than my optic's lens.
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Post by luke213 on Mar 9, 2015 13:09:27 GMT -5
I've been thinking about this lately as well. Back in the day I just never saw an optic take a hit, how I have no freaking clue with as much shooting as I did. Heck I never even heard anyone mention it here on MIA, but now I've been reading about it and thinking about building something to protect the lens. Lexan would be my choice, decent clarity while still being tough. I would think lexan should hold up well to a BB strike even higher FPS since it deflects more than glass so it should flex some rather than cracking. That said I'm going to test the sheet I've got here before building a lens protector out of it. My plan is to cut it to shape sand it down so it fits snugly in front of the front lens then just put a little hot glue around the edge where it touches the body of the scope. That should make it easy to remove but plenty tough for normal usage.
Luke
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Snarf
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Post by Snarf on Mar 9, 2015 15:12:20 GMT -5
Don't get one of those plastic things that slide into the hood right up against the lens. It'll blur the image so much that it will render the optic useless.
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Post by Stinger on Mar 9, 2015 17:57:24 GMT -5
Don't get one of those plastic things that slide into the hood right up against the lens. It'll blur the image so much that it will render the optic useless. I don't know what you're referring to. Do you mean what Pagan was talking about, where you press a cut piece into the front of the sight? |
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Post by luke213 on Mar 9, 2015 18:00:59 GMT -5
I think he's talking about the prefab ones you can buy. I don't know what they use for the clear material but I think it's probably not good optical clarity. Lexan should be fine from that standpoint should be clear enough to have little effect on the optics, but that said the difference between cheap optics and expensive optics are often how much light passes through and anything in front of the lens will effect light transfer.
Same reason I used to cringe seeing people buy a thousand dollar lens for their SLR camera and buy a $5 filter to stick in front of it.
Luke
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Snarf
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Post by Snarf on Mar 9, 2015 18:23:10 GMT -5
I mean these things: www.evike.com/product_info.php?manufacturers_id=14&products_id=30559They're garbage. There's no use in protecting a sight that you can't use. When I had my ACM 551, I had one of those things and it blurred everything horribly; I couldn't see anything. It was twice as bad in outdoor light too. I know it's a clone sight and incomparable to real steel (though I doubt you'll buy one of those for airsoft) but really, those covers are bad news. I believe what Pagan and Luke are referring to is this: www.evike.com/products/30845/That one is acrylic. It looks pretty clear, but then again so did the one I had until I used it. I bet a lexan version of this^ type exists though. |
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Post by Pagan on Mar 9, 2015 18:31:17 GMT -5
I mean these things: www.evike.com/product_info.php?manufacturers_id=14&products_id=30559They're garbage. There's no use in protecting a sight that you can't use. When I had my ACM 551, I had one of those things and it blurred everything horribly; I couldn't see anything. It was twice as bad in outdoor light too. I know it's a clone sight and incomparable to real steel (though I doubt you'll buy one of those for airsoft) but really, those covers are bad news. I believe what Pagan and Luke are referring to is this: www.evike.com/products/30845/That one is acrylic. It looks pretty clear, but then again so did the one I had until I used it. I bet a lexan version of this^ type exists though. Yup, that's the one I have. My clear shield got blown out, but my yellow one is still going. |
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Post by luke213 on Mar 9, 2015 18:48:35 GMT -5
I'm actually just talking about buying a 1ftx1ft piece of lexan to the thickness needed then making one that fits right into the front of the lens area on the optic and gluing it into place. Should be enough lexan in a 1ft sheet to do just about all the optics any one person owns;)
I've got a partial sheet somewhere around here and one of these days when I get a minute I'm going to build out some to try out and see how they work. Since I suspect I've just been super lucky all the years I've played without one without getting anything shot out.
Luke
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Ajax
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Post by Ajax on Mar 9, 2015 19:15:01 GMT -5
Would a piece of plexiglass offer the same protection as lexan? With the same clarity?
I had thought about doing something similar for my optic (especially after both lens covers got shot off in one round by the same guy within 5 minutes of each other) but as my optic is relatively cheap, I've never gotten around to it.
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Post by luke213 on Mar 9, 2015 19:17:44 GMT -5
Well plexi is generally less clear than Lexan and Lexan is easy to pick up at the hardware store so that's what I would use. Actually I can't think of an application I wouldn't use Lexan in place of plexi anymore. Plexi was good back in the day because other options weren't available but now I'd use Lexan.
Luke
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Post by Stinger on Mar 9, 2015 19:47:48 GMT -5
I will probably give the Lexan a try first. I just hate those mount-on protectors.
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Snarf
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Post by Snarf on Mar 9, 2015 20:26:15 GMT -5
I will probably give the Lexan a try first. I just hate those mount-on protectors. Are you talking about the RIS flip up ones? I dislike those too, which is one reason why I got rid of my holo sight. I have a T1 replica as a place holder, but what I want is either an ACOG or a normal Aimpoint M2 with a killflash bb shield. Looks better and is more functional IMO. But if your fitted lexan cover works, I may have to get another holographic  . |
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Post by Stinger on Mar 9, 2015 20:27:39 GMT -5
I will probably give the Lexan a try first. I just hate those mount-on protectors. Are you talking about the RIS flip up ones? Yes |
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