Let us begin with the history of RDS and shed some light on their evolution and how they function. A little-known fact is that the original RDS were prismatic and came about in World War II. The Nydar Model 47 prismatic sight used a prism to flip and focus the image seen down the scope. The reticle was etched onto the glass and could also be illuminated, so they were referred to as red dot sights.
As technology advanced over the years, similar systems were used in anti-aircraft guns in the 1970s, then later in ‘heads up’ sighting systems in aircraft. In 1975, Aimpoint invented the first of what we could call the modern generation of electronic RDS, the Aimpoint Electronic which had a closed tube design that could be mounted similar to a telescopic sight on a rifle.
Following on from this, legendary IPSC World Champion Jerry Barnhardt was the first to figure out how to use a subsequent model on a handgun in 1990. He showed up at the 1990 USPSA Nationals with a RDS and beat everyone so badly it was embarrassing. Two months later, Doug Koenig mounted
