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IN THE UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE

In re U.S. Patent Application of THOMAS et al. Application Number: 10/347,372 Filed: January 21, 2003
For: A MIL.Dor RETICLE AND METHOD FOR PRODUCING THE SAME

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Unit 3641 Examiner Buckley, Denise J,

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Attorney Docket No. PREM.0001 Honorable Assistant Commissioner for Patents Washington, D.C. 20231 DEC.ARATIQN OF ONE _SKILLED IN THE ART )

UNDER 37 C.F.R.g1.2
Sir: I, Mike Miller, an expert in the field of the invention claimed in the above identified application, and hereby declare as follows: * I currently work as a Police Sergeant, for The BART Police Department in California * My duties are that of a Tactical Team Leader and Firearms Instructor. * I have more than a decade of working as a sniper on SWAT Team and approximately twenty years as a Tactical Team Member. * I have been certified by the FBI in basic and advanced SWAT Sniper abilities and as a Firearms Instructor. * I have instructed at the USMC Scout Sniper School, Camp Pendleton California and many other sniper schools around the country. * I teach Police and Military snipers * I have been a guest instructor in sniper techniques, to the USMC Scout Sniper School at Camp Pendleton California and the California US Army National Guard Snipers at Camp Roberts California. e I have instructed Police Officers from several states in sniper techniques. * I have been certified as a Firearms Expert in Superior Court, County of San Francisco, State of Califomia * I have been the long range/sniper instructor for The American Shooting Academy for four years. * I am a POST (Calif Police Officer Standards of Training) Certified firearms instructor. * I am the winner of both.Gold and Bronze medals in the California Police Olympics for long range high power rifle shooting. * I have written subject of sniping. These articles include many on sniper rifle scopes and reticles. * I am the inventor of several products for snipers and some of these inventions are in use

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by snipers of the free nations around the world .and been published on both national and international levels on the I have been recognized by many sniper instructors as an expert in sniper techniques and equipment. These include non commissioned officers from US Army Special Forces, Navy SEALS and various NATO Sniper Instructors. The comparison of the original Mildot Reticle and the Generation Two Mildot Reticle is liking a comparison of the Flint Lock Muzzle Loader to a MI6 Rifle. Both are capable of good use but the later is so far superior in ease and accuracy of use, No one would consider them equal in actual application. I have used and taught with the original Mildot Reticle for many years. I have found it difficult to get students to get less than 10% errors on ranging with the original Mildot design without many hours/years of application and instruction. In contrast, students taught the new Generation Two Mildot get better than 10% errors on ranging within a few hours of instruction/application. I found that the very first time I used the Generation Two Mildot I was more accurate in ranging and quicker in my range calculations, with the Generation Two Reticle than the original Mildot I had used for years. . Testing with one govemment employee who trains both Law Enforcement and Military Snipers, the smaller error and quicker rangingofCeeration Two-Mildot allows-the user to-be more accurate and quicker in response to a threat than before. This in turn will save lives. As of this date, in my opinion, the Generation Two Mildot reticle is the best reticle for military and

police snipers.
The Generation Two is superior than the original mildot design in many aspects as described ip the attached one of my articles titled "Premier Reticle's Generation Two Mil-dot Reticle: Something New Something Old" published on October 28, 2002. In particular, "the spacing line is .1 Mil In length. The dots are .20Mil In diameter. They stillhave 5 mils from center In all directions broken down into .Smil spacing but have added additlonal 5mil lines (2Mils long) In the heavier post reticle area." Although I have never seen the Klein reticle, by looking from the print-out of the commercial ofSchmidt & Bender on Soldier of Fortune November 2002, the Generation Two is different and superior. The biggest advantage is the size of the Generation two reticle itself The hash marks, i.e., crosshairs, of Klein are thinner such that they will cause problems under low light and low powers. This is something I have worked with Horus on as several of their reticles suffer from being too thin. Not having any 5nil hash mark on the posts is also a big problem of Klein The post hash marks of Gen 2 do more than allow ranging on bigger targets. They also assist center the eye for aiming quickly. The Klein hash marks on the primary lines being .4mil are too long and clutter the field of view those of the Generation Two Mildot. I, Mike Miller, hereby declare that all statements made herein of our own knowledge are true and that all statements made on infornmation and belief are believed to be true; and further that these statement were made with the knowledge that willful false statements and the like so made are punishable by fmine, or imprisonment, or both, under Section 1001 of Title 18 of the United States Code, and that such willful false statements may jeopardize the validity of the abovecaptioned application and any patent to issue thereon. Respectfully submitted this 13th day of October, 2003

Mike Miller