Singlepoint sights

[trajectory]

Those of us who were young men in the 70's may remember this sight system. Some thought they were good for following moving targets like running wild pigs when I was in South Africa. Have they any value to collectors today? One is for rifle and the other for shotgun with larger red dot.

Baz

[IMG][/IMG]

I've seen a few of these about but always thought they were for rifles, I had no idea there was one for shotguns; are they marked up with the dot size or how do you tell them apart from one another?

Just wondering what anyone thougbt of them as a sighting option. I've tried dot sights on a pistol & gave up with them even with a fair bit of practice I preferred a blade & notch rear sight for speed or precision so I'd be interested to hear thoughts of these on a rifle by someone whos used one.

These singlepoints seem to be making quite a bit so someone must like them.

[harvey_s]

I think they were available with different dot sizes - they were marked on the box IIRC.
There were also day and night versions (I think maybe the night versions had longer fibres with a squared off end - but it could be t'other way round - if anyone knows for certain?)
They also did a light green/pale yellow dot version.
They also did a glue on shotgun sight.
And also a 'Speedpoint' budget version for Webley that worked on the same principle.

I posted this on an earlier thread about them for those unfamiliar with them...

They have an interesting history being used in the Son Tay raid to rescue american POW's held in North Vietnam..."In 1970 whilst training for the raid, Col. Arthur "Bull" Simmons was unhappy that even his best shooters were getting only about 25% of the rounds fired at 50 metres into torso-sized targets. This wasn't too clever when the expectation was to bring down the opponents with single well-aimed shots to avoid hitting the POW's. the story goes that one night Simons and his armorer were trying to solve the problem when they came across an ad for the Singlepoint OEG in Guns and Ammo. They ordered the nite versions and the results were amazing - even the poorest shooter could put all his rounds inside a 12" circle at 25m. with both eyes open, men could shift their fire from one target to another just as rapidly as daytime and with the same accuracy - the supply guys then went an bought enough to equip every raider with the sights"
https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/302796774930077465/

Here is a pic from the JFK Special Warfare Center Museum of an original Singlepoint in the mount:
http://www.usmilitaryknives.com/Son_Tay_raiderequip.jpg
I believe the ones used in the raid were anecdotally just taped onto the guns - but this shows a proper mount... Maybe they didn't want to appear 'unprofessional'

[andrewM]

I've seen a few of these about but always thought they were for rifles, I had no idea there was one for shotguns; are they marked up with the dot size or how do you tell them apart from one another?

Just wondering what anyone thougbt of them as a sighting option. I've tried dot sights on a pistol & gave up with them even with a fair bit of practice I preferred a blade & notch rear sight for speed or precision so I'd be interested to hear thoughts of these on a rifle by someone whos used one.

These singlepoints seem to be making quite a bit so someone must like them.

A friend of mine at the time had one on his BSA Mercury. I tested this and whilst it produced a better group than his open sights, it was nevertheless necessary to adjust the sights significantly between persons. He then had to re-adjust them again to hit the target in the centre. This was done at 25yds. The conclusion was that the sights had to be altered in large measure to accommodate each person's characteristics.

Rgds
A

[trajectory]

Interesting replies about these sights. They do seem to have good reviews for quick, reflex style shooting. The shotgun one seems to have been a simple, but effective bar or rod of material that appeared as a dot when viewed along the barrel. Which makes more sense as I imagined it as a 'scope like device fitted to the rib!

[Adam77K]

Dang, I had one just like those. Had a kind of powder coated finish a bit more like the left one, but more matt. It was unboxed and a bit battered but worked fine. I think I sold it for 15 or 20, should have hung onto it.

[ratbuster2240]

You have kept them in great condition they seem to have been fetching nearer £200 lately. It's intesting to hear the history of them.