Today I headed to the monthly 2-Gun match (which is rifle-only for this month) with a semiauto Galil R5 clone outfitted with an Armson OEG (Occluded Eye Gunsight). This particular OEG has a base specifically made to fit the Galil gas tube, and should be a really interesting experience to use on the clock in a practical match. The stages this month consist on a round of Rifle Burpees, a long range stage with targets at 150 and 200 yards, and a V-Tac barricade.

This turned out to be a really interesting experience for me. The long range stage was where I expected to really fall apart, but the OEG was able to make the hits, much to my surprise. The dot is about 12 MOA, and covers most of the target at long range, but it was well enough zeroed that I could hit. As the stage progressed, I lost some focus, and it got harder to get a proper superimposed dot/target sight picture.

The most unexpected part was the third stage, with the V-Tac barricade. The potential problem of not being able to see the target through a barricade had not occurred to me, but it sure made itself clear when I started shooting. Normally, one need only get a sight picture with one eye - a line of sight from eye to sights to target and you can make a hit. With an OEG, you need to see the red dot with one eye, but you also must be able to see the target with the other eye. On the bottom level of shooting ports, I was unable to find a position where I could see the target with my non-shooting eye, and timed out.

It did not even occur to me until after getting home that I had not considered allowing the optic to be obstructed by the barricade. With normal optics, obviously, the optic must have a clean line of sight to the target. With an OEG, however, the optic's only job is to give an index to where the gun is pointing. As long as the muzzle was clear, the OEG could have been obstructed and still would have worked fine as long as my other eye could see the target. Ah, the eccentricities of odd gear!