New 60mm Mortar Sight for Handheld

Rifles, Machineguns, Mortars, etc...
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Mike11C11B
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New 60mm Mortar Sight for Handheld

Post by Mike11C11B »

I came up with something similar on a deployment in early 2002. It was mounted on the upper saddle with a range scale for charge 0 & 1 with a PEQ-2 or similar laser and a back bubble, very close to a M203 quad sight. I still have the "blueprints" somewhere. I hope it's durable. Shoulda got a patent, trademark, copyright...something! Ha!!

http://m.phys.org/news/2013-11-sight-so ... -60mm.html
1/75 Mortars 1999-2002
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IEDmagnet
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Re: New 60mm Mortar Sight for Handheld

Post by IEDmagnet »

That's badass. Wish I'd have thought of it or had one in '07.
A/3/505 PIR, 82nd 96-98
B/2/121 Inf, 48th BCT Iraq 05-06
B/1/118 Inf, 218th BCT Afghan 07

I'm not stupid, I'm crazy...there is a difference.
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Mike11C11B
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Re: New 60mm Mortar Sight for Handheld

Post by Mike11C11B »

I was trying to decrease the L/R error in handheld, since range add/drop was easier to fix by a decent gunner, but L/R was always tricky. The red dot sight is a good idea for daytime. The back bubble was needed for cant of the barrel. You could have the laser on target, but the barrel angled to one side. The sight should allow for charge 2 if not all charges as it could take over for direct lay and emergency handheld at charge 2. The only roadblocks were durability, having a "zero", and ergonomics. Afterwards I saw the new PSQ-18 laser on the M203s, and nobody liked them. That justified not doing anything with my plans. Who would listen to a damn mortarman anyway?
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Mike11C11B
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Re: New 60mm Mortar Sight for Handheld

Post by Mike11C11B »

By the way, does anyone know what the highest charge the small baseplate (M8) can take? We always wondered if the ammo bearer didn't make it to the firing point or lost his baseplate on a jump just how much charge the small one could fill in for during conventional mode (besides charge 0 & 1 handheld). Rumors, tested it, heard about it...anything.
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IEDmagnet
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New 60mm Mortar Sight for Handheld

Post by IEDmagnet »

Never thought about it because we stowed ours in the vehicle with the full size base plate close by and M8 attached. All I've ever heard was the 0/1 rule.

We always operated close to our vehicles, I guess that was a "joy" of being in the big Army. Note sarcasm. So we sort of planned for direct lay for accuracy. I think we only fired handheld eight or nine times. The rest of the time we had contact and immediately mounted mortar.
Last edited by IEDmagnet on November 18th, 2013, 5:25 am, edited 1 time in total.
A/3/505 PIR, 82nd 96-98
B/2/121 Inf, 48th BCT Iraq 05-06
B/1/118 Inf, 218th BCT Afghan 07

I'm not stupid, I'm crazy...there is a difference.
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rangertough
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Re: New 60mm Mortar Sight for Handheld

Post by rangertough »

Mike11C11B wrote:By the way, does anyone know what the highest charge the small baseplate (M8) can take? We always wondered if the ammo bearer didn't make it to the firing point or lost his baseplate on a jump just how much charge the small one could fill in for during conventional mode (besides charge 0 & 1 handheld). Rumors, tested it, heard about it...anything.
It strikes me that should be in a TM somewhere. I know that's not much help. If my memory serves we didn't shoot anymore than 0/1 on ours but that was 20 years and 3 dets ago.

Tough

Tough
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VIPER--00
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Re: New 60mm Mortar Sight for Handheld

Post by VIPER--00 »

rangertough wrote:
Mike11C11B wrote:By the way, does anyone know what the highest charge the small baseplate (M8) can take? We always wondered if the ammo bearer didn't make it to the firing point or lost his baseplate on a jump just how much charge the small one could fill in for during conventional mode (besides charge 0 & 1 handheld). Rumors, tested it, heard about it...anything.
It strikes me that should be in a TM somewhere. I know that's not much help. If my memory serves we didn't shoot anymore than 0/1 on ours but that was 20 years and 3 dets ago.

Tough

Tough
You cannot shoot with the M8 baseplate above charge one with the exception of shooting something like an IR ILLUM round on charge two under the circumstance that you have the range scale super imposed and the cannon is on the drop fire, otherwise you will literally break your trigger firing hand or some other catastrophic event will take place.

Would the baseplate break on a charge two round with something like BA17 HE? Probably; if not on the first round, then on some round after it.

Would you ever shoot that handheld even with a super imposed scale? No, how would you be able to see that far considering that it is a line of sight weapon in that mode and max range for standard HE is around 1300 meters on charge one in the handheld, so anything farther than that would have to be in conventional mode anyway.

Just my two cents on that. It might not be fact but it is just from my experience.

--

About this handheld sight, which is important to me because I have used it. The sight works great at night. My personal thoughts on it, are that it is not needed because if you train to standard you should be able to shoot the mortar correctly without it, in my eyes it is just another laser being blasted around on the objective.

Day time shooting with this thing is garbage, that is all.

The main reason I do not like this thing is because when a 60 team runs up to a firing position, or the support by fire or wherever they are going, they are generally smoked. So what do they do, they will throw there mortar pack on the ground and then this expensive sight that is on the cannon will get smashed and break, or the boresight will at the least, be thrown off. THE END.
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Re: New 60mm Mortar Sight for Handheld

Post by Baseplate »

Will you fuckers stop talking about me like I am not here?
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hang it, FIRE!!!!

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Mike11C11B
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Re: New 60mm Mortar Sight for Handheld

Post by Mike11C11B »

Baseplate wrote:Will you fuckers stop talking about me like I am not here?
"The M8 is great because it's LIGHTWEIGHT"...um...yeah...so we are definitely NOT talking about you. Go A.D. your IR laser or something.
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Re: New 60mm Mortar Sight for Handheld

Post by Baseplate »

Mike11C11B wrote:
Baseplate wrote:Will you fuckers stop talking about me like I am not here?
"The M8 is great because it's LIGHTWEIGHT"...um...yeah...so we are definitely NOT talking about you. Go A.D. your IR laser or something.

Somehow I knew you would make a fat joke. I hate you.
HHC 1/75 mtrs Apr 2000- dec 2003
hang it, FIRE!!!!

"I feel sorry for anyone who is not an alcoholic---How would you like to wake up every moring & know that is the best you will feel all day?" W.C. Fields

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Mike11C11B
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Re: New 60mm Mortar Sight for Handheld

Post by Mike11C11B »

Well at least I don't have bad hair.
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Re: New 60mm Mortar Sight for Handheld

Post by Baseplate »

But you did get fired for jerking off at work. So at least you got that going for you.
HHC 1/75 mtrs Apr 2000- dec 2003
hang it, FIRE!!!!

"I feel sorry for anyone who is not an alcoholic---How would you like to wake up every moring & know that is the best you will feel all day?" W.C. Fields

1st Ranger Bn...We may not go down in history but we will go down on your sister
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IEDmagnet
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Re: New 60mm Mortar Sight for Handheld

Post by IEDmagnet »

Baseplate wrote:But you did get fired for jerking off at work. So at least you got that going for you.
Bwahahaha!


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A/3/505 PIR, 82nd 96-98
B/2/121 Inf, 48th BCT Iraq 05-06
B/1/118 Inf, 218th BCT Afghan 07

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Re: New 60mm Mortar Sight for Handheld

Post by mortar_guy78 »

Baseplate wrote:jerking off at work.
Who hasn't?
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Mike11C11B
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Re: New 60mm Mortar Sight for Handheld

Post by Mike11C11B »

Baseplate wrote:But you did get fired for jerking off at work. So at least you got that going for you.
Only time in my life I've ever been caught. I'm getting too old.
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