a question about red dot sights

i just got this sight (NcSTAR D4B). I really, really like it.
I have a question though. Will a direct hit to the lens destroy the sight?
If so, does anyone know of a good way to protect it?

a hit will more than likely knock it off your zero point.

oh really? I know I am very new to paintball, but I do have those red dot optics on other things, if you hit it hard enough, say at the speed of a paintball, it will through of the point of aim. even if it is mounted to a Picatinny rail. care to tell me why?

why a direct hit on an optic won't disrupt it's point of aim and impact?

You may have to make your own and shim the bottom or the rail, not the optic or it's mount.  You can find shim stock steel at home depot, hardware store, or a local sheet metal supplier.  use 0.005" steel or brass.

You may want to use your red dot like a shot gun mount.  Rather than point of aimpoint of impact.  Zero it so it hits an area, say 8-10 diameter at a given distance. How much have you adjusted your windage? is it maxed or do you stil have some play?  When optics get mounted to a rifle or shotgun, bore sighting is involved.  Without bore sighting, it is a lot shooting and adjusting. You might be able to find a bore sight kit (Walmart, Dick's sporting goods, Sport's Authority) that will fit into the muzzle of the barrel. One problem, $$$$$$.

You are realizing the problem of sights in paintball.

It can't be sighted accurately enough to be relied upon.

Not to mention though, you will not be able to see the path of the ball most of the time so you won't know if it is hitting a branch or something.

Walking in your shots is the tried and true method of aiming.

carl_the_sniper wrote: You are realizing the problem of sights in paintball. It can't be sighted accurately enough to be relied upon.

Actually, they can; as long as the user remembers a few basic things:

• The trajectory of paintballs is more susceptible to environmental influences.  This means two or three shots should be fired at ranges that would only require a single shot from a real gun.
• Non-backspin barrels produce an arced trajectory.  The user must chose where in that arc he/she wants the red dot to intersect the target.  (I.e. if the sight is zeroed in at a short range the dot will be higher than the strike of the paintball at longer ranges.)
• Sights are very handy (when properly set up) for getting quick initial eliminations during ambushes.   Once the element of surprise is lost, the value of the sight can diminish rapidly.
  

Should have four choices... small dot, large dot, cross hairs and dot-within-circle.

I had one just like it mounted on my AR15 for a short while... and I'll probably end up mounting it on the Ultimak rail of my M1 Carbine. Nice small, inexpensive sight.
Handled the recoil of 5.56 just fine. I wouldn't say it's as nice as an EOTech or Aimpoint... not even comparible... but it does the job so long as you keep in mind how much you paid for it.

As for protecting it from a paintball hit... not sure of an effective way. To be honest, I'd be less concerned with the actual lense and more concerned with goo getting into the internals. It's not an all-weather sight by any stretch.
Impact-wise... it seems like it would easily handle any direct paintball hit.

Please post on how it works on your M1 carbine.  I'd like to see how it handles.  I had on one my AR and it worked great to 100 yards.