Protecting an Eo Tech from rain?

M

MTT TL

New member
I hunt with an AR style rifle with an Eo tech and a X4 magnifier.

Last Monday I lost a good opportunity on a nice buck. I was stalking and it was raining pretty heavy. I spotted him about 100 meters off standing just outside the wood line in a big grassy field. I raise, fire... a miss. The buck just stood there.

Kind of stunned that I had missed at that range I verified range, dropped the magnifier and fired again. Complete miss. He stands there.

I look at my scope and notice it has a coat of water all over the front and back lenses which is causing major warpage to the sight picture. I have nothing dry to dry it off with. Now the buck notices me. I try a finger smear and one more shot and a miss....

With the magnifier down I bring up the BUIS. Blurry and smeared through the scope is still blurry and smeared with a BUIS. I don't have a shot and realize I am being stupid by plugging away.

and he goes...

It occurs to me in three years of carrying a rifle in the Middle East I had never had to deal with the rain even one time on a dismounted patrol. In the past when hunting with a scope I simply did not hunt in the rain or stayed in the stand nice and dry.

What I need is a good way to protect the EOtech and magnifier from the rain and still have it on the ready in case a target of opportunity presents itself suddenly. Ideas?




BTW, the story did have a happy ending. On Wednesday it was not raining and I spotted him at about 200 meters in an adjacent field. Same rifle, clean scope, one shot standing off hand to the neck and he was DRT. He dressed out at 84 pounds of meat. I need a better answer than "Don't go hunting in the rain".
 
T

tirod

Moderator
It's a single lens reflex, right?

Rain of the front of the lens, rain on the back, too. Yep. Ugly sight picture, and the red dot projection from the back of the scope gets distorted shining thru a puddle of water, if any, on that lens.

I've got a cheap reflex and when I heard the first day of the season would be wet, that possibility occurred to me.

Pull off covers for dirt tracking are just that - you peel them off and discard the dirt. In a pouring rain that would last about two seconds, much less the motion startling the game.

I'm thinking a long rain shade similar to what a sniper uses to keep the sun off the lenses. Which would shield most of the scope from getting splash back under it onto the lens from both sides. Like, an inexpensive sheet of styrene model car plastic. Easy to bend, some duct tape, it's done. Thin enough it doesn't distort your view thru the lens, and shaped the same.

It's no different for a two lens scope type red dot - same problem in the rain, splash on the lens distorts your view. It's not something commonly observed by a lot of American hunters because they stay home those days.
 
M

MTT TL

New member
I though EOTechs were supposed to be waterproof?
Click to expand...

They are. The issue is the water on the outside of the glass.

I see several good ideas here.

It's no different for a two lens scope type red dot - same problem in the rain, splash on the lens distorts your view. It's not something commonly observed by a lot of American hunters because they stay home those days.
Click to expand...

I noticed this "staying home" phenomenon too. It sure makes finding the animals easy on those days.

I'm thinking a long rain shade similar to what a sniper uses to keep the sun off the lenses. Which would shield most of the scope from getting splash back under it onto the lens from both sides. Like, an inexpensive sheet of styrene model car plastic. Easy to bend, some duct tape, it's done. Thin enough it doesn't distort your view thru the lens, and shaped the same.
Click to expand...

This is what I was hoping for. I did find an air soft insert but it is NOT waterproof nor really suitable. I would have though paintballers/ air softers would have come up with something by now.

http://airsoft-club.com/shop/aiming...53-dot-sight?gclid=CNTjxvignLsCFSEV7AodP3kANQ
 
M

MTT TL

New member
They do but it is opaque and requires opening both ends. Also the flaps would interfere with the magnifier.
 
R

rep1954

New member
It's a single lens reflex, right?
Click to expand...
.

No the EOTech is not a projected reflex sight. It is a holographic sight and will still work with the glass busted out. Also it is water proof to a depth of 30 feet.
 
L

L2R

New member
Curious

that such a common issue hasn't produced a simple solution.

Seems like a post above describing a clear cover would solve all but rain blowing sideways. In which case, I would be inclined to wait for a better day. :)
 
B

barnbwt

New member
Might I suggest a rag? :confused: Anything else besides having the rifle or optic under a large awning (i.e. no rain to keep off) will also get covered and distort the picture.

This raises an interesting point about the conventional wisdom of co-witnessing. Why back up a sight that way, when the sight plane itself may be what fails (in this case because a bunch of water beads are in the way. Especially when getting rain on the EOtech is so easy to do (it's one of the first things I thought about when I purchased my surplus EOtech; what if grease gets on the lens?) If you'd had a simple set of irons above or to the side of the EOtech zeroed to the same location, the problem would've been a mere nuisance.

TCB
 
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