Aimpoint Optics: 50 Years of Red Dots and Bright Ideas

Following the end of World War II, homeowners began to rely more and more on electronics. Television, washing machines, toasters and most every other aspect of modern life at that time moved along to the hum of an electric device. The world was learning to run on electronics, and that set the stage for Aimpoint to develop the world’s first popular electro-optic.

The concept of the Aimpoint electro-optic didn’t begin in a lab. Instead, it started in a bathroom. Swedish inventor and technician Arne Ekstrand was freshly out of bed and, as he stood shaving and staring into the mirror, he noticed the light reflected on the wall behind him remained stationary even when he moved his head. A seemingly minor observation in the wee hours of the morning sparked an idea in Ekstrand’s mind that would forever change firearm optics—all presumably before he even had his first cup of coffee for the day.

Ekstrand didn’t have to look far to find a tool with which to build his prototype sight. Using an empty toilet paper roll, he began devising a small optic with a central aiming point that would improve accuracy on moving targets. However, a toilet-paper-roll prototype is far removed from a high-tech electro-optic, and if Ekstrand’s bathroom brainstorming session was ever to produce an actual prototype he’d need cash. For that, he turned to investor Gunnar Sandberg. Sandberg bit on the idea of a non-magnified electro-optic and provided the capital required to fund the project. He also offered Ekstrand a workspace in a building on Malmo’s harbor where Ekstrand could refine his toilet-paper-roll optic. In February of 1975 Ekstrand’s idea for an electric powered reflex optic was patented and Aimpoint AB was officially founded.

Aimpoint: The Original

The first optic released by the company was the Aimpoint Electronic. It was a simple affair with a side-mounted battery and a main tube, but it was the first commercial red-dot sight. And it worked. In fact, there are Aimpoint Electronics still in use in various corners of the world. The initial version became known as the G1, and that was followed by the G2 and G3 versions. In 1987, the Aimpoint Electronic series was shuttered in favor of the new 1000 series which offered a smaller form factor and better battery life.

Aimpoint optics were originally designed with hunters and sport shooters in mind, but in 1991 General Norman Schwarzkopf visited the Saudi Arabian city of Riyadh accompanied by a special forces team who carried carbines equipped with Aimpoint 5000 optics. Those images prompted militaries around the globe to add reflex optics to their weapons. In 1997 Aimpoint won a contract to produce 100,000 CompM reflex sights for the United States military, and the sights worked so well the U.S. military set out to procure 565,000 red dot optics in 2007. Not surprisingly, they turned to Aimpoint to provide those optics.

When the military adopts new firearms technology the shooting world takes notice. Hunters began to take a closer look at Aimpoint products, and many were surprised to learn that these optics that suddenly appeared on so many military weapons were actually developed with hunters in mind. Aimpoint’s popularity increased among hunters when the company released their Micro reflex sight in 2007 and updated that optic with a second-generation version in 2014. Suddenly red-dot optics began appearing on more rifles in the hunting field.

A Practical Hunting Tool

Aimpoint has always had a loyal following in Europe. Aimpoint president Lennart Ljungfelt recounted to me how his father was an early adopter of the company’s products, using them to improve his accuracy while hunting running boar in the Scandinavian forests in the 1970s. But American shooters were accustomed to magnified optics and the concept of a sight with 0x magnification seemed foreign to many.

Ljungfelt explained to me that red-dot optics offer several advantages that hunters may not appreciate until they have experienced hunting with a reflex sight first-hand. For starters, the battery-powered LED aiming point is parallax free, so you do not have to be directly behind the optic to make an accurate shot. Red-dot sights also offer far more eye relief than traditional magnified optics. If you’re shooting a hard-kicking magnum rifle, an Aimpoint red dot virtually eliminates the risk of the optic slamming into your forehead, which is an unpleasant experience to be certain.

“One benefit of red dots for hunting is the ability to make moving shots,” Ljungfelt told me. There’s a reason Aimpoint red dots have become standard optics on driven hunts where shots are quick and the target is almost always on the move. In forests and thick cover an Aimpoint sight is a fantastic option. However, this doesn’t mean you can’t stretch these out a bit over open ground.

“You can also shoot accurately at greater distances than you might imagine with a red dot,” Ljungfelt told me. I’ve found this to be true. An Aimpoint optic with a 2 MOA dot is easily suitable for hunting out to 200 yards or more depending upon your skill and eyesight.

With parallax-free aiming, a wide field-of-view, and a dot that is visible in any light conditions, Aimpoint optics are ideally suited for eastern whitetail hunting as well as black bear over bait. Their two-eyes-open design, coupled with unlimited eye relief, also make them superb for any situation where fast shots at moving game are required, including the pursuit of dangerous game and wild hogs.

The Current Lineup

Aimpoint currently offers a wide variety of optics for nearly every hunting application. The company’s Micro H-2 2 MOA red dot remains a popular option for modern hunters because it weighs just 3.3 ounces without mounting hardware (4.6 ounces with rail mount) and offers 12 intensity settings and a 50,000-hour battery life. The optic is fully enclosed and submersible to 15 feet, so it goes without saying that it is rugged and reliable. It’s also light enough and small enough that it works great on most any gun, including modern lever-actions. My PH in Africa a few years ago, the late Cornie Coetzee, carried a Blaser rifle in .416 Remington Magnum with a Micro H-2 set in a Blaser saddle mount. He found that rifle and optic to be the fastest and most reliable solution for stopping dangerous game in its tracks, and it always worked—including in one instance when a wounded lion burst from cover almost on top of Coetzee and his client.

Aimpoint also offers their Acro C-2 with 3.5 MOA dot and an Acro S-2 shotgun optic with a 9 MOA dot. I have a fair amount of experience shooting and hunting with the Acro S-2, and I’ll be the first to say that everything that applies to Aimpoint optics on rifles is also true on shotguns. The Acro provides a large red aiming point that makes it easy for shooters to determine lead. I had the opportunity to shoot two rounds of Crazy Quail using a Benelli M2 with and without the Acro S-2 in place. I would have wagered that I’d break more targets with a traditional front bead than the S-2, but I would have lost.

If red-dot sights interest you but you want something that looks and feels more like a traditional scope, you should check out the Aimpoint Hunter H34S. The H34S looks very much like a low power variable optic but it offers the parallax-free fast-handling attributes of a true 0X red dot. Additionally, it mounts on rings like a traditional scope. If using an unmagnified optic is still unnerving for you, Aimpoint also offers 3x magnifiers that can be tipped out of the line of sight when you need the red dot’s fast handling.

A Brilliant Idea Ahead of Its Time

With the current popularity of red-dot optics, and so many options on the market, it may seem hard for the new generation of shooters to believe that at one time red-dot optics were considered radical. Over time, though, Arne Ekstrand’s toilet-paper-roll prototype helped spark a revolution that would forever change optical design.

Magnified optics were around for many years before they became widely popular in the years between the First and Second World Wars. That was roughly 50 years before the invention of the Aimpoint Electronic, so could it be possible that we’re entering an era when electro-optics become standard on all firearms? Time will tell. There’s no question, though, that Aimpoint has helped kickoff the current red dot revolution, and I’m excited to see what’s in store for the next five decades.

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