By: popnfresh wLcH
Published: April 2005
Introduction to the Hammer 2x Red Dot Scope
Yea, you heard me right, this is a red dot scope that has a detachable 2x magnification lens, kind of like real steel aimpoints, but for a LOT less money. Like a lot of things I get for my guns, this particular piece came from the sinland of fraud: eBay.
Because my other red dot sight was discovered to have an appetite for small uninsulated wires, it found its way to the scrap bin, and I found this little doozy. At first, I was thinking "how is this possible? A 2x red dot?" but it was to be shown that such was not only possible, but so incredibly simple.
Initial Reactions and the Tedium of the Taped Cardboard Box
As soon as I received this sight, claimed to have unlimited eye relief, 7 settings, and all the other perks of normal red dot sights, I was in a state of surprise. It looks like your everyday Walmart red dot, nothing really out of the ordinary.
The sight has two parts: the 42mm red dot sight with no zoom and a screw-on attachment that carries the 2x capability. After looking it over, and turning the setting knob to the various settings, I found that the highest setting is incredibly bright and would only find effective use in a bright, sunny environment. Ths actually isn't all that uncommon where I live, in warm, sunny, and gusty Southern California. The windage and elevation adjustments are made so that you can only use a coin or screwdriver to adjust the sight's dot alignment. You can use your nail, but you'll just mess up that 50 dollar manicure your girlfriend made you get for her.
The 2x Lens Attachment
If you thought adding one of these things was going to ruin your target acquisition on the battlefield, think again. The 2x lens does not make anything more blurry, unfocused, or shifty. It makes the picture bigger without all of those eye relief problems usually associated with "sniper" scopes. To those who dont know, unlimited eye relief is the concept where you can hold your eye as far back as you want behind the scope, but still retain a usable picture. With zoom scopes, there is usually a set distance you have yo hold your eye back for optimal picture, but with almost all red dots, this does not apply. Yes, I'm just as surprised as you are, but somehow the attachment is designed to retain that quality of a normal red dot sight. The attachment actually isn't all that complicated; it's a simple screw-on doohickey with a few concave lenses inside.
The attachment actually has an attachment port for scope extensions, that I was planning on picking up, but decided against it because it would make the sight more into your average sniper scope, just with a larger tube. Besides, I thought it would look really goofy that way mounted on my M933 the way it already is mounted.
Target Practice
One great, albeit little perk of 2x magnification that I discovered during my first shooting session was that the 2x enabled sight noticeably magnified only targets father than 30 ft from the shooter. What does this essentially mean to you? Those nearby targets won't show up overly large to distract you from making that perfect headshot 100 ft away. It is reminiscent of movie cameras, where when two actors are having a conversation, one appears clear to the viewer, and the other seems blurred due to a special lens that can determine what is focused and what isn't. However, I was a little ticked at the whole screwdriver/coin adjustments, but its just a small price to pay for this scope/red dot hybrid.
Skirmishing
This was my major high. The sight was almost my best friend on the battlefield, besides for my gun. You can almost use it as a spotting scope, since battlefields in airsoft aren't normally miles wide. If you ever wanted to "snipe" to the best capability of your weapon, but without that huge goofy lookin' scope on your G36C, here you go, plain and simple. If needed for action, the regular ironsights are not blocked nor do they appear blurred or fuzzy through the sight, allowing the user to use them with or without the sight.
Of course, it doesn't have the zoom capability of a "sniper" scope, which can easily spot targets and help you put plastic to an enemy's head, but it gets the job done. It retains its normal red dot capability when assaulting in a CQB environment, remember, it loses the magnification under 30 ft or so, and when you get outside, that guy hiding behind a hill is easily spotted and taken down.
The only thing I'm worried about is the structural integrity of the lenses. They look nice and thick, but that doesn't usually mean much when a BB comes smashing through at 350 fps, and I'm considering buying a scope shield to protect the lens.
Anything Wrong?
There are cons to everything; some things have more cons than others, but luckily there aren't that many things wrong with this sight.
I suppose for people with low set rails and a normal flattop on an M4 variant, this sight is mondo low to the rail and would need a little boost to be used appropriately. The other major setback is the adjustment knobs. It just doesn't work with coin adjustments; finger adjustments are much better on the fly anyway. Those set aside, there really isn't much else wrong. It retains the same qualities of your normal red dot sight, but screw on that little attachment and what you can do on the battlefield is dramatically multiplied.
Ending Comments
Of course, there are people who feel a 2x lens wouldn't really help them that much. Either they like the classic counter-terrorist scenario in a buliding, which involves room clearing and no real need for magnification, or perhaps they always feel their engagements are at a short distance. For many airsofters who want to break from the monotony of Aimpoints and BSAs, here's the way to do it without spoiling looks or sacrificing functionality, but adding that edge to your gun and having that simple yet effective advantage over Mr. Aimpoint behind that tree. Drop 50 dollars or so, and you can add this little bundle of joy to your arsenal.
Pros
- It's 2x!
- Retains all of your basic red dot qualities
- Unlimited Eye Relief
- A red dot to mark your targets
- Seven settings
- Elevation + windage adjustments
- Much better aiming capabilities compared to ironsights
- Can still use iron sights effectively if necessary
- Looks like a zoom scope and a red dot hybrid
- 2x lens is blessedly clear for that blessedly clear shot
Cons
- Coin adjusted
- You have to clean 2 lenses now
- May not give you THAT much of an advantage, depending on where you play
- A wee bit expensive (50 dollars), but compared to Aimpoint replicas, it's quite inexpensive
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