What about red dots?

[lovedogs]

The thread about Hawke scopes got me to wondering what some folks think about red dots. I've never been thrilled with the idea of some of the real expensive models, Aimpoints for example. I'd love to try one but can't afford one. I tried a few of the cheaper ones, Tasco and Bushnell. They weren't that good. I tried three Bushnells in a row and they all failed. The dot wasn't clear and defined, either. They flared out. Then I tried a very economical TruGlo. The plain $50 30MM model. It was the only one that I could find that had a lifetime warranty and at that price I figured I wouldn't lose too much if it didn't work. It worked perfectly and is still doing so seven years later. Between the wife and I we have five of them now and they all work just fine. One had a loose feeling adjustment knob. It still worked but it had slack from one click to another. I called TruGlo and they told me to take it back where I purchased it and they'd exchange for a new one. They did. No questions asked. I've had them on several real kickers, too. I had one on a Contender .45-70 and one on a .45-70 rifle. No problems. For my money they are a good product. They're guaranteed to stand up to anything up to .50 caliber and have a good lifetime warranty. What's ya'all's experience?

[popper]

Got a BSA RD30 for $15 @ WW for my markIII and took it off. Wondering about a bushnell fastfireIII holo. Does truglo have a holo with MOA aperature? Thinking it would be good for a slug gun or my lever 336 for piggies & such.

[ole 5 hole group]

Red dots are here to stay. The red dot sight is a means to make a poor shot into a much better shooter. The red dot will however, dumb down a lot of shooters, if they don't become proficient with iron sights first, so at least they'll understand how iron sights work. You'll find the red dot to be just a tad faster than an aperture sight and accuracy is a given.

As far a quality red dots?? Well, they have come a long way in the last couple of years and most out there now that cost between $150 and $700 will stand up to heavy recoil and won't lose adjustment settings - of course, someone will still get a lemon but overall, they are extremely reliable.

Battery life varies from several months to maybe a year and a half, so if you keep a set of batteries handy when out and about you'll always be good to go.

The mounting systems are still in their infancy stage but I think the gun manufactures will probably start altering their frames somewhat to accommodate red dots, like they do scopes now - we'll see as time goes on. The mounts out there right now has the red dot up higher than the iron sights on revolvers and pistols and it does take a little time/practice to learn to get a fast sight picture. With a 1911 pistol you can have the slide milled but it is an extra expense running around the $200.00 mark. Now with the AR platforms, rifles and shotguns the mounting systems are about the same as normal scopes, so there's no learning curve there.

[gwpercle]

I had given up handgun shooting because to repair the detached retina's in my eyes the doctor had to remove the lens ( an implanted new lens was not possible ) . But a red dot sight on a Ruger MKII got me going again. Picked the rig up at a gun show and was looking at it when the dealer said a " all you got to do is put the dot on what you want to hit and squeeze the trigger. He was right...No trying to focus on rear, front and target through tri-focal lenses in my glasses. Just look through the distant part and put the dot on the target. I don't really care for them on handguns but it beats sitting home and watching junk on TV. The sight is a Millet 1 inch SP-1. Going to get another for my model 64 S&W 38 spcl. Have a Tasco 30 mm but it is too bulky, like the 1 inch millet better. 5 hole is right , mounting the thing is the hardest part and you have to look long and hard to find one if you don't want to drill holes in you gun.
Gary

[popper]

Got that clamp-on Holo aimpoint sight for my 308 AR. Put ~50 rounds of fast cast through it, still keeps the zero. Hope it lasts, worked pretty good.

[KYShooter73]

I have had several. Eotech, Atn, several cheapies. Vortex sparc is my favorite. LaRue also has a mount for it. Vortex falls in the midrange price. Less than Eotech and Aimpoint, more than most others. An Aimpoint would be nice for the extreme battery life.

[Epd230]

It depends on your application. If you are doing slow, target shooting, it might not be worth the investment.

On a firearm that needs quick acquisition, they will excel, if it is on.

I think that iron sights will beat a bedside deployment, but when trouble comes knocking and you have a small amount of prep time to turn on the sight, then you will discover why they are popular.

Pay for quality. I started with a first gen Propoint. It was nice and would compete with the expensive EOTech. I just feel better with the design of the EOTech on a firearm that may take a beating in the trunk of a car prior to use.

Just my opinion.

[Springfielder_45IL]

I bought a BSA red dot for under $50 after I built my first AR. The scope was junk but I had a feeling when I bought it that it was junk.
Then I bought the Vortex Strikefire 4moa, the scope cost a little more but a great scope non the less. The scope is tough, water proof, and just looks cool.
Until I used my buddy's AR with the 2moa Aimpoint.

The moral of the story is you get what you pay for.

[ole 5 hole group]

As far as AR's are concerned - it can get expensive in a hurry. I've got the Aimpoint micro T1 with 2moa dot. I picked it up at a fair price - $510.00 with shipping, if you want to call that a fair price. That is a lot of money for a red dot and then you need a riser, which goes between $100/200 depending upon your style. Some metal adjustable flip-up sights for those puppies cost $200!!

The AR red dot suits me just fine now that I have it paid for but when I mess around with load development I have to take it off and put on my 30X "custom" Leupold in order to get down to business, as the high magnification scope will cut my group size by at least half - usually a lot more than that depending upon the range.

With an accurate load you can dump a fox or coyote at 250 yards off-hand with those compact red dots a lot easier than you can duck honey-do projects with the war department on the war path and that fox is mighty small at that range.

On revolvers/pistols I find that they are the cat's meow either target shooting or in the field - but again, I use the Leupold DeltaPoint, which is extremely light and when using the tip of the delta - it's like shooting an eighth inch MOA dot and that's about as good as it gets for a sight picture - then it's up to the shooter to get that deltapoint tip on target at the very moment the shot breaks.

[gwpercle]

I had given up handgun shooting because to repair the detached retina's in my eyes the doctor had to remove the lens ( an implanted new lens was not possible ) . But a red dot sight on a Ruger MKII got me going again. Picked the rig up at a gun show and was looking at it when the dealer said a " all you got to do is put the dot on what you want to hit and squeeze the trigger. He was right...No trying to focus on rear, front and target through tri-focal lenses in my glasses. Just look through the distant part and put the dot on the target. I don't really care for them on handguns but it beats sitting home and watching junk on TV. The sight is a Millet 1 inch SP-1. Going to get another for my model 64 S&W 38 spcl. Have a Tasco 30 mm but it is too bulky, like the 1 inch millet better. 5 hole is right , mounting the thing is the hardest part and you have to look long and hard to find one if you don't want to drill holes in you gun.
Gary

I got another Millet SP-1 for the model 64. The first Millet, that came on the Ruger MKII was purchased 13 years ago , used...I don't know how old it really is. The new one cost $60.00 from Midway...mounted on the 64, at shooting range , windage was correct and a small elevation adjustment had me dead on the bullseye. Can't beat the price and so far no problems from either. The Ruger MKII was dead on when I got it and has held it zero now going on 14 years. I have never turned either of the adjustment knobs.
Gary

[jmort]

This is the one that gets the buzz as the most red dot for the $$$

https://www.primaryarms.com/Primary-...se-p/md-07.htm

[white eagle]

try a Ultra dot well worth it