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Oversight Shooting Technologies in Blackfoot, Idaho — yes, the town boasts more than just the Idaho Potato Museum — is making a new gun sight. More than that, actually; it’s a new kind of sight. The See All Open Sight looks and feels like an advanced optic but it’s really more of a unique lovechild between a red dot-like optic and traditional iron sights. You can’t actually see through it and it doesn’t modify your vision in any way, but it’s much easier to see and to “align” than irons. A little explanation is needed here, so make the jump to learn more about the See All . . .

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TD26TzO8IvY

EDIT: See All graciously provided TTAGers with a coupon code for approximately $15 off when ordering. If you like what you see here, check the the “Specifications” section at bottom for the code.

The See All Open Sight is a very small and light weight machined aluminum job that slides onto a picatinny or weaver rail and is held in place with two set screws. At the front of the sight a glass lens is set into the aluminum chassis. This lens magnifies the reticle, which is a decal on the large slab of green fiber optic edge-glow material at back. The reticle consists of a black triangle with a line across the top; sort of like a simple scale.

150 inches of windage and 150 inches of elevation adjustment is available at 100 yards with the use of the included hex wrench, and the concept is quite simple: align it so your bullet impacts at the tip of that triangle. In the photo above — and click any photo here to see it full size — the camera is farther away from the See All and the triangle is larger than in the photo below with the camera closer. The lens magnifies the reticle more as its distance from your eye increases. You can see this (and the lack of parallax) from the shooter’s POV in a dynamic way in the video above.

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See All mentioned to me that newer versions do not have the “See All” logo on the reticle. I didn’t personally find it distracting but I know some folks felt differently. In general, my preference was to have the sight closer to my eye. Although it works just fine on a pistol, I found the size of the reticle to be a little large for me at full arms’ reach. With the triangle bigger and filling up more of the lens, alignment of your eye becomes more critical so sight acquisition slows down a little bit. It wasn’t really slower than the iron sights that I’m used to, though, and with practice I think it could end up being faster. On a rifle I was just fine with it being farther away (e.g. the scout scope location on my Mosin Nagant build) and that’s likely due to the consistency of having a cheek weld.

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Sight alignment is really where this thing shines. Unlike iron sights where your eye must be in perfect alignment with the sights, and unlike scopes that suffer from parallax error — with the gun totally still, the reticle can actually move downrange if your eye moves — the See All is parallax free and offers quite a bit of forgiveness in lining up your eye behind it. Again, I’d have to say check out the video to see that happen in real time, but See All also has this handy gif on its website:

Image from seeallopensight.com

That’s faithful to real life, with the exception that in actuality the fiber optic is much brighter. It seems to gather a lot of light and the green color really grabs the eye. It remains bright and visible even in low-light situations. Basically, if you have enough light to see your target you have plenty of light to clearly see the reticle. See All is looking into a tritium or other illumination option, but I certainly hope it continues to sell this version. One reason I wanted to try it out was because of its simplicity — no batteries, no settings, and a sub-$100 price point.

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It’s mechanically uncomplicated and it’s also very straightforward to use. I really like it on my Mosin and I think it has a permanent home there, but now that I’ve been using the See All for almost 6 months I think where it really shines is with new shooters. There are few things easier than explaining that the bullet will hit right on the point of the triangle, and knowing that will be the case no matter where the triangle actually is within the lens. It takes a lot longer for new shooters to really figure out iron sights and become consistent, and even scopes can frustrate due to parallax and eye relief errors. I’ve also seen enough folks get scope tagged — one incident cutting the shooter near the eyebrow bad enough to bleed quite a bit — and that’s absolutely not something I would want a new shooter to experience. A basic red dot like a Bushnell TRS-25 may be the only simpler-to-use option, primarily because you can see right through it. Of course, that adds batteries and settings and such back into the equation.

Height comparison photo (Magpul MBUS rear sight, See All, TRS-25):

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You can see the results of accuracy testing in the video, but suffice it to say that the See All is plenty accurate. I was better with it than BUIS (back up iron sights) and about the same as with my 3 MOA dot size red dot. You can expect it to perform equivalently to most other zero magnification sight/optic choices at any range.

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Machining, fit, and finish are all very nice. Everything is done very cleanly and the anodizing is flawless. Mine is more of a semi-gloss but new ones are matte black. No issues in 6 months and a few hundred rounds through a few platforms that I’ve shot the See All on. It works as advertised.

If I were to make any changes to the product, there are two that come to mind:

First, I’d prefer if it mounted more like that TRS-25 and most other optics (and most BUIS) where a bolt goes under it, through a slot in the pic rail, and the bolt clamps a sliding section into the rail to squeeze it solidly in place. Not all rails are machined exactly the same and sometimes coatings add thickness. As mentioned, the machining on the See All is very precise, and it was too tight to fit on the rail of one of my firearms and I had to beat it on with a hammer on another gun, while it slid on perfectly in a handful of other cases. An expanding rail groove that’s clamped down with a bolt solves this, and is also nicer than set screws for multiple other reasons.

The other thing I’d change, which I’m not sure is even possible, is just generally shrinking the height of it. That POV picture of it on the Mosin (2nd pic up near top)? Basically get rid of as much of the black aluminum space under the lens as possible and shorten the whole thing. It’s super tiny for an optic of any sort, but it does block your view just like iron sights do. It really isn’t an issue with irons and it isn’t an issue here (although people just accept it on irons while seemingly expecting this to be more like an optic), but it would block less of your down range view if it could be shortened in height.

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Specifications:

Length:  2.2 inches
Width:  1 inch
Height:  1 inch
Weight:  1.8 ounces
Eye Relief:  Basically unlimited
Adjustment Range:  100 inches elevation and 150 inches windage at 100 yards.
MSRP:  $98.95 + shipping & handling
COUPON CODE:  TTAG  …makes total $95 including S&H. Expires on May 15

Designed, manufactured, packaged & shipped 100% in U.S.A.

 

Ratings (out of 5 stars):

Function: * * * * *
Ease-of-use is off the charts. It works exactly like it’s supposed to. Flexible eye relief and no parallax are awesome. Works on shotgun, pistol, rifle, air gun.

Reliability: * * * * *
Simple and rugged. I know the lens looks exposed, but it’s thick as heck and it’s a little lower than the aluminum on the sides. No issues in hundreds of rounds and it held up 100% to a pretty serious beating from a hammer to get it on and then off of one of my guns. It worked fine for me in the rain and the snow. No batteries, no switches, no settings.

Installation: * * *
So I’m knocking it here for the aforementioned set screws. No, it never worked loose or wandered on me while shooting. But set screws mar the finish on your rail and I found the fixed rail grooves to be problematic on some guns. Adjustment and side clamping would be strongly preferable.

Cost: * * * 1/2
I think the cost would be quite a bit lower if it were being produced on a larger scale. However, fit and finish are great and it’s made in the U.S. so I think it’s fair. Compared to decent back up iron sights and halfway decent optics, the value is there.

Overall: * * * *
Top notch teaching aid. Fun to use. Quick to acquire. Rugged and simple. Very light weight. It might actually work well in 3-Gun style competition mounted at 45 degrees on a side rail. I think it would be great on a shotgun for sporting clays, trap, and hunting. I enjoy it in that scout scope location on my Mosin Nagant quite a bit. Minus one star because, in most cases, I still prefer shooting with a red dot — of course, I have many thousands of rounds more through a red dot so there’s some familiarity bias here. Bottom line is that the See All delivers on what it was designed to do. It’s a unique new idea and it’s kind of cool, but it’s more than just a novelty.

 

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62 COMMENTS

  2. Not sure the I like the sight picture. Appears that the sight blocks a lot of the target which could be deadly in a defensive situation. Need to see first hand.

    Looks large and awkward on a handgun. Might to easy to bump. Looks better suited to a rifle. Again, need to see first hand.

    • It does block about as much of the target as AR-15 style back up iron sights do. A rear sight like the Magpul on the AR-15 photo above is about the same width but is actually taller than the See All (with the riser seen in the photo, the See All ends up just a little bit higher than the BUIS when up).

      When you shoot a handgun, everything from the top edge of the iron sights on down is blocking your view of the target. You focus on the front sight and put it over the target, but the sights block your view and the handgun blocks your view and your hands and arms block your view. This is no different. Your eyes are aligned at the top of the sight and everything under is the same as it would be anyway. Just instead of seeing sight posts you see a green triangle. Does this make sense? The top of it aligns in your vision just like the top of iron sights do. You can’t see through anything under that whether you’re shooting normal iron sights or this thing.

      It’s definitely awkward on my handgun, but I was using that ridiculous “tactical rail” adapter I picked up on Amazon for $14 just to test the See All. I sold my 22/45 last summer so no longer had a pistol with a rail on top. It looks more at home when it’s mounted directly on the pistol like in the pics on See All’s site. Just like a red dot or reflex sight on a pistol.

      • It is very easy to see around and through AR sights. The photos show a large area blocked by the green component. Perhaps the eye can see around what the camera cannot. Like I said, I would need to see it for myself in person.

      • Wonder if in later production run they could offer one with either an empty triangle or simply a inverted ‘V’

        Anyway, this intrigues me… and the TTAG discount code was enough to tip-me over and oder one! Thanks.

      • “Just instead of seeing sight posts you see a green triangle.”

        I think you meant to say black triangle.

    • Presumably one would aim with both eyes open, so the weak eye can see around the optic effectively ghosting it’s silhouette. It’s a lot like that trick where you use a cardboard tube against one eye to see through your hand. I haven’t seen the optic in person though, so I have no idea how well that would work.

    • Yeah it seems like it would be ideal. No worries about electronic components taking a beating. Price is okay too. Might get one for an AK build as well. Hmm.

  5. Geez, look at the height of the See All sight on that pistol…

    It’s what every pistol needs, 2.5 inches of extra height on the sights.

    I know you have to clear the can, but damn.

  7. My father is from Blackfoot, Idaho, and I still have family that lives there, he’ll get a kick out of it when I show it to him. We’ve been looking for a sight attachment for his Beretta U22, I bought a red dot sight for him, but we haven’t had the time to have it sighted yet. If that doesn’t work out for us, I might look into it.

  8. If they could integrate the pic rail into the base to bring the overall height down an inch…maybe.

    I guess I’d have to try it, but you’d think a micro version for a pistol would be more appropriate.

    • An inch high on a pistol does seem awkward. It’s not clear that it actually has to be that high.

      How’s the repeatability in taking it off and putting it on multiple times? Does it wander?

      Do the screws for the windage, elevation, and friction mounting hold tight with heavier recoiling stuff (like a shotty with good turkey loads or buck) or do they need a little loctite on them?

    • Wyatt — Not 100% sure what you mean. You may want to check the pictures on See All’s sight since I realize I didn’t take one of it not mounted on something. The overall height of the entire sight is only an inch. I’m using a riser on the AR and the Tavor to bring it up higher. The sight itself does have rail grooves machined into it and it slides right onto any picatinny or weaver rail. If you do that then the top of it is less than an inch above the rail. EDIT: here, added a new photo so you can see how short it truly is http://truthaboutguns-zippykid.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/20140408_101617.jpg

      Gene — I think all add-on sights are awkward looking on a pistol. The smallest of the reflex sights less so, then this thing and red dots more so, then actual scopes are just ridiculous looking. But they all serve a purpose and plenty of people run an optic of some sort on a pistol. I’m not much of a fan of any of these things on a pistol, honestly.

      See All advertises that it’s extremely stout and will not shift zero if it’s dropped (or the gun is dropped & lands on the sight) or banged around. I put 120 rounds through my Mosin with no shift in POI at all and about 100 rounds through the Tavor and a few through my short stroke piston AR, plus a bunch through my 9mm pistol and it never wandered even a little. I didn’t specifically test removing it from something and putting it back on. That would mostly depend on how snugly it fit on your firearm’s rail, and in most cases for me it was tight fit with zero wiggle room whatsoever.

  10. Okay, I could see trying this out versus iron sights or a cheaper red dot on a closet gun. Probably easier to acquire than the former and more reliable than the latter.

  12. Call me a nerd, but that GIF in the middle is the coolest thing I’ve ever seen on this site…

  13. I’m near sighted and as I enter my late 50s, my closer vision is going too. I’ve been contemplating getting some prescription shooting glasses, but they’re pricy and you can’t really try before you buy.

    This might be a good compromise, and much less expensive and smaller than a RDS.

    Great review Jeremy.

    • Yeah, I’ve been finding that getting a good sight picture with bifocals is tough. Sucks getting old! And my birthday is this week, so that number is kicking over again. I’ve been kicking around the idea of getting a pair of glasses with the right eye set up for short vision (what I use currently for sitting at the computer) and the left eye set up for long vision (probably without the bifocal part, to reduce costs).

      This sight might just serve instead. I guess one question I’d want to know is how hard it would be to move from rifle to rifle, maybe making a note of how many clicks of adjustment are needed for each.

      • Should be easy to move, but swapping the zero back and forth for different guns is tougher. There are no “clicks.” Windage adjusts like windage on most rear sights, by turning an internal screw that moves the sight left or right, and elevation is adjusted with a set screw that moves it up and down. There are clock-like lines around both screw heads so you can more easily keep track of how many degrees you’re turning either adjustment, but there are no actual clicks. If you pay close enough attention though you could remember something like 3/4 turn up on elevation and 2 turns right on windage to go from gun X to gun Y.

  14. I have a brand new flat top AR with empty railspace that needs sights. I am very, VERY tempted.

  15. Jeremy, what’s with the Magpul sights on the Tavor? Doesn’t it have built in flip ups? Or is that just for comparison?

    • Just for comparison since the Magpul is such a known quantity.

      Plus the Tavor rear sight is super thin viewed from the side so it would hardly show up in the photo. The fact that the See All is only slightly taller than the MBUS when it’s folded all the way down should be a solid visual (I didn’t take a second photo of that but you can tell from this one).

      In the video when I was actually shooting, I decided to just grab those sights off my AR since I’m a lot more used to them. I’ve barely used the Tavor ones and didn’t want to figure out the hold on them for a quick 5-shot group on paper. When I got the Tavor over a year ago I made sure they were relatively on target but haven’t used them since, and they align differently than these other ones with the KNS ball post on the front.

      Naturally for those groups I regret not using quality ammo and no silencer just to reduce variables. The groups are definitely indicative of the differences between the sights/optics, but they’re larger than they should be due primarily to the cheap reloads. Next time something like this comes up it’ll be factory ammo for sure. These groups make me and the Tavor look bad haha

  16. I just ordered one to use with my 9-year-old and his Scout-sized CZ452. He’s had trouble resolving the rudimentary iron sights and has gotten frustrated. This might lead to earlier success and then I can move him back to irons before a scope.

  17. Hmm.. First thought was duck hunting. Second thought was, why put a “value” optic on a 2k gun?

    • If it works it works?

      I do realize that expensive optics are better but nothing wrong with cheap optics (I doubt that the shotgun is going to be used at long range).

      Main problem (for me due to me liking the PSO-1 reticle) is the fact that high-end optics have less usefull reticles (like Zeiss or Swarovski).

  18. Can the “SeeAll” text be seen in your sight picture? I am thinking about one of these for my shotgun and am a bit hesitant about that text.

    • I know I kind of blather on, but that’s mentioned in the write-up above ;-). See All changed the reticle and removed the logo from it. New ones haven’t had it on there for a while.

      …but also check out the 2nd photo compared to the 3rd photo (don’t count the embedded video), because whether or not you see the logo depends on how far your eye is from the sight and therefore how ‘zoomed’ the reticle is. Right after the 3rd photo there is the mention about the logo 😉

  19. I’ll give it a try. I just ordered one and a medium riser from Amazon for mounting on my .300BLK AR-15. Should make for quick shots in the under 200yd range.

  20. I like mine quite a bit, if you are complaining about any low light ability with this (mostly full dark, the fiber optic really gathers the light), then just put some of the strontium aluminate glow tape on the inside of the frame next to the fiber optic block. This is a real interesting sight as with the lack of parallax, you essentially have a sight that is bore sighted to the arm it is affixed to. Anyone picking it up and placing the aiming point on the target will hit it with no adjustments, unlike iron sights with a cheek weld…… To me the price is right for what it is, try buying a peep sight or a set of tech sights for less than the See All….

  23. No thanks, it doesn’t even look like a weapon, give my sicom .308. Beware my M14 looks like it can shoot and can shoot! I can close my eyes and it’s a true weapon in my hands, even if I am left handed. It’s my baby and I trust her as she is so real! I’ll keep my sights and even the iron ones when it needs be. Watch out for the shadows and keep cool.

  25. It does need some refinement- i agree the profile needs to be slimmed down. I havent used it, but i also wonder if an outline of a triangle would be a better “post” than the solid black.

    But as a reliable, battery-free “optic”, it’s VERY impressive and innovative. For all the SHTF-ers, there’s also no risk due to EMPs. Aside from helping beginners, i think it would also be a great aid to those with weaker vision or aging eyes.

    One to watch, and a company to support for sure. Keep it made in the USA!

  26. I agree with your comments about side clamping, Jeremy.

    I got one for my AK, mounted on a side mounted rail above the receiver. The only problem was the rail has a channel to enable you to see irons under the mounted optic, and the set screws aren’t long enough to reach the bottom of the channel, plus that would defeat the purpose of having it in the first place. So I ended up adding a 1/2″ riser to the rail. It actually works fine, but it would offer more flexibility if it had side mount screws, rather than the set screws holding it against the top of the rail.

  28. Based on a friend’s recommendation, I got one for my Kel-Tec Sub 2000, .40 cal variety. I just shot it at an indoor range yesterday (25 yd max) and couldn’t be happier. It was easy to zero in and the last two 3-shot groups were 1 1/2 and 2 inches. That may not sound impressive to you heavyweight shooters, but when you consider that I’m 78 and these old eyes can barely see the black on the target at 25 yds, I was pretty damn pleased. The SeeAll was NOT visible on my unit and adjusting it was a breeze using 3-shot groups to watch the progress. All in all, I like it.

  31. Love that a photo is on a Tavor, because that is what I want it for, however, nothing in the article about using on the Tavor. I would really like to know it you can use it without the riser AND if you had to fiddle with the as delivered verticle adjustment to sight it in? Lot of difference between the rail and the barrel on the Tavor.

    Thanks

  33. Got the Tritium Delta version on my Sub2000 and I love it, crazy fast target acquisition and always dead on. Works amazing in the dark.

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