The ARD: Invention through necessity

If you've ever had a hobby you'll know that often many elements combine to make sure one is able to engage with it effectively and efficiently; Sure, it's not always the case, however if there's a technical aspect to the hobby or task then there's like to be a few different elements involved.

This is certainly the case in some of the hobbies I engage in and definitely in respect of long range shooting which I have done for many years. It's a skill that requires discipline and constant effort plus a lot of stuff

Many skills have to combine to be an effective long range shooter and there's a lot of equipment required also. Of course one simply needs a rifle and ammunition to shoot in its most basic form. However to impact targets at ever-greater distances with higher percentage of hit-probability modern long range shooters develop and employ specific equipment to increase effectiveness; As you can imagine much of this equipment is developed for military and law enforcement use then filters into the civilian world. It is one such item I'll talk about today - It won't be technical and I'll keep it simple as always.

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Invention through need

It's not often I talk about the military aspect of long range shooting and very rare for me to use the word sniper in print although in this post it will be relevant. Snipers have played a vital role in military operations for many years and effectiveness has improved with technology as one would expect. But what drives that development? Well, need does.

With the advent of the rifle scope snipers quickly became brutally efficient and incredibly deadly; Shots became more accurate, hit-probability increased as did the range at which a sniper could operate. The scope brought the target closer and provided adaptable reticles which, at present, do more than simply give an aim-point. There is a downside however as the optics, the glass lenses, permit reflection, usually called glint, which could give away the sniper's position and offer an aim-point for their opposing number. It also means an opposing force could call an artillery, mortar or air strike on an area to eliminate the sniper-threat. This is bad for the guy laying under a shrub in his ghillie suit of course.

A great example of this is the battle between two snipers being Soviet sniper Vasily Zaytsev and German sniper Major König during the Battle of Stalingrad. There is much conjecture about the actual course of events but essentially it is claimed König was slain by Zaytsev after the former was spotted due to the glint from his rifle scope during a three-day-long sniper-duel in an industrial area of the destroyed city. The Major was killed and Zaytsev's place in history was secure; The movie Enemy at the Gates starring Jude Law, depicts this battle. The point being though...Glint from the rifle scope is not good.

There are other examples such as Carlos Hathcock, one of the United States' most deadly and accomplished snipers. He actually shot and killed an opposing sniper in the Vietnam War through the snipers own scope after seeing glint off the objective lens. The kill was confirmed and Hathcock claimed the snipers rifle as a trophy. Fair enough too.

So, glint from a rifle scope can prove fatal to a sniper and measures must be taken to mitigate its occurrence whilst still permitting the sniper to operate effectively.

There's a few ways to do this including using a long tube, a sun-shade, that screws onto threaded end of the rifle scope at the objective lens end. It's similar to those used on camera lenses and simply blocks the sunlight from hitting the objective lens. Some drape camouflage mesh or some similar type of fabric over the lens but there's a better choice in my opinion.

The ARD - Anti reflection device

This remarkably simple device builds on the sun-shade concept but is more than a simple tube to keep the sun from reflecting off the objective lens; It screws onto the scope in the same manner however rather than just being a hollow tube it's inner area is filled with many small tubes set out in a honeycomb pattern as pictured above and below. The honeycomb pattern means the ARD can be greatly shortened as the length-to-width ratio required to eliminate glint is minimised through the design.

The KillFlash ARD by Tenebraex Corp. [as shown] is only about three or so inches in length and once screwed onto the threaded end of the scope the shooter doesn't even notice it is attached; It performs its job perfectly allowing no glint off the objective lens as the sunlight cannot penetrate the honeycomb system of tubes.

The ARD also shields the interior-optics from the sun which reduces internal glare leaving the shooter with a clearer view if shooting in up-sun conditions. They can also be used on other equipment like night-vision and binoculars.

Fitting the ARD will bring a slight light-reduction of some 12-15 percent however that is not too much of a problem in most applications and when more light is required, very dim days or operating at dusk or dawn, the device can simply be unscrewed and stowed - Most will just leave it on if the shot can still be made though.

Importantly the optical system will suffer no loss of resolution, or any loss is imperceptible, so very long shots where target-identification is critical are still possible. There is literally no distortion or shadowing either. It's a great system.

I fitted this device to my Kahles 624i(6-24x56) rifle scope and did a number of tests in varying light conditions and couldn't tell the difference except in very low-light conditions. I also tested it out on several other shooters and the same conclusion was reached - No visible difference.

I tried the same set of tests on my Nightforce ATACR scope and whilst the available light seemed just a little dimmer that's due to the optics on the NF scope not being as good as that on the high-end Kahles scope. Sorry if you're a Nightforce lover, it's just a fact.

Obviously the primary function of the device is to prevent glint which could, quite literally, be fatal to the sniper but the ARD has a secondary purpose also which is that it protects the objective lens from foreign objects.

High-end rifle scopes are precision instruments that cost a lot of money; Many thousands of dollars in fact. They are often very rugged being made for military applications however they have weaknesses too.

Several years ago I had to have Nightforce replace the objective lens on one of my scopes due to damage it sustained in the field. It is still open to conjecture as to how the damage happened however the objective lens was quite pitted and I was not in a good mood about it. Fortunately Nightforce stepped up and replaced it at no cost to me so yeah, it pays to have mates in the business; From that moment on I made sure I had ARD's fitted to all of my scopes.

Snipers are always looking for an edge; Better accuracy, hit-probability, a faster stalk, more effective ghillie suit, more accurate data, ammunition with a lower standard deviation, better scopes and reticles, bipods, ballistic-solvers and so on...One of the most critical edges a sniper can have is to be stealthy and remain concealed which is why devices like the ARD exist. Invention through necessity.