Timothy Kraft, of the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Vision Science Research Center, is also a competitive target shooter, and he decided to develop a new gunsight that improves marksmanship with intuitive aim:
Opti-sight is a precision-milled half-triangle shape that replaces the traditional pistol gunsight. The design relies on subjective contours, an optics principle that explains how the subconscious mind fills in the blanks when the eye sees half of a familiar shape like a circle, square or triangle, Kraft says.
It looks a lot like the sights on Marko's Steyr pistol, which he graciously let me shoot earlier this year. I've never tried this one, and recall the old saw that fishing lures are designed to catch fishermen. Still, it's an interesting idea.
7 comments:
I must say Marko's Steyr points VERY naturally, and I found I could get up on target faster than even my 1911s.
What's scary is Glocks point the worst for me because my wrist naturally breaks the the muzzle up because of its difference with 1911s and similar pistols...but the Steyr has a simialr grip angle to the glock. I suspect the sights...
I saw this somewhere a while back. I actually went to UAB for a few years so it stuck in my mind. It is an interesting idea, and I'd wouldn't mind being able to test it out. Hopefully he's sounding out the firearms sight manufactures rather than hoping to push this via Olympic shooting.
Getting range time, with your gun, shooting accurately and correctly, is the only thing that will improve your shooting. As long as your weapon is operating correctly, spending money on newer, more expensive gear will mean that you shoot the same with newer, more expensive gear.
The easiest way for me to not get into thinking I need better equipment to be a better shooter is to ask myself this question:
"If Rob Leatham and I showed up at a match and for some reason had to switch guns before the match, would it affect the outcome?"
Eeeenteresting. I actually didn't find the Steyr sights remarkable, or easier to use, but then again I'm still a relative n00b -- I'm really only used to Sig sights.
Looks just like the sights on the WWII Japanese Nambu. Pistol that is
I have (and love) a Steyr M9 as well, and find the sights to be much easier to use than standard post sights.
Like it's been said, it's a poor craftsman that blames the quality of his work on his tools. That said, there are often little tweaks that can make for marginal improvements, make something easier, make it fit to the user better, whatnot. I'm skeptical, though, of radical improvements due to what is essentially a tweak.
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