Merit Optical Attachment
PRODUCT REVIEW
Merit Optical Attachment
OK, I’ll admit it. I’ll always prefer iron sights and I’ll always think of red dots as an aberration to competition shooting. I’ve never had a hard time seeing my Bowmars in bright light, they’ve never fogged up, and not once have the batteries ran dry during a 2700. And honestly, I feel better about myself when I shoot irons … iron sights don’t have the need to constantly remind me of my wobble area. I know I have a wobble area, I know it’s manageable, and I can accept that. I don’t have the need to chase a red dot every time it decides to pull out of the ten ring, at that point I have a hammer I’m trying to drop without disturbing the sight picture … I just don’t need the added aggravation.
With my rant behind me I’d like to further admit that, like most folks of my vintage, the eyes aren’t what they used to be and I can use a little help … and that’s how I view the Merit Attachment.
The Merit is a rather ingeniously designed little devise which is essentially a small precision aperture that fits on your shooting glasses via a suctio
n cup. Photography buffs will immediately appreciate this devise as it relates to the f-stop on a camera … the higher the f-stop the greater the depth of field. Or more simply the smaller the aperture opening the more elements in the foreground and background come into focus. The manufacturers recommend the following to better demonstrate the concept.
- Make a fist, put it up to your shooting eye, and look through the tunnel formed by your fingers. By manipulating your fingers, you can adjust the size of the hole.
- Hold a pencil out at arm’s length; the point represents your front sight. Pick out a distant object to be the target.
- Sight through your fist, adjust the hole to the right size, and you will be able to focus on both objects near and far.
For Bullseye Pistol Shooting this translate very well. You’re able to maintain focus on the front sight, and the rear sight and target are still within usable focus. Prior to using the Merit I found myself reverting back to an old habit common among new shooters, which is constantly changing focus from the front sight to the rear sight and to the target … I suspect it was a natural compensation as the rear sights and target were essentially getting to be undefined blurs rather than the haloed silhouettes that I used to see.
There are a number of other aperture devices on the market for shooters as well; some more expensive, some less. I’ve tried most and prefer the
Merit without doubt. It’s mechanism is very smooth and precise. And though the s
uction cup may seem a little precarious it does offer many advantages to the other designs, most of which are flip-down eye patches with an iris in the center. The Merit is small and allows plenty of light in; a benefit to aging eye on an indoor range. The suction cup also allows for placement anywhere on the glasses, meaning it will work with bi-focal and tri-focal lenses. Similarly you can position the devise so it works well with your stance and preferred head position.
In general I find the Merit to be an extremely well designed and crafted product and highly recommend it to anyone wanting to milk a few more years out of their irons sights or even those shooters looking for that little extra edge.