Traditional scope vs Red dot on a Ruger

[Biggin]

I don't want to hijack somebody else s thread so I'll start my own. I just bought a Ruger SBH hunter with the intention of mounting a scope on it for deer hunting. Now I see a thread about red dots on hunting handguns. I'm curious about the pros and cons between the two. I've hunted with handguns in the past but only with iron sights unfortunately I don't see as well as I did 20 years ago, go figure. I don't want to start a them vs us thread I just wanted to know what works for different hunters. Thanks biggin.

[Dan Cash]

Red dots are fast at close quarters but, due to the size of the dot, they will not provide the precise lay of the gun that is had by a telescope. My favorite telescope sight is an old Khales 2.5X on a M70 Win. That -06 has killed many deer for me over the years though I have migrated to an aperture sighted 1895 Win. At ranges over 75-100 yards, I find a dot sight provides a too coarse aiming point for a precise hit.

[Biggin]

Thanks Dan

[popper]

Red dots now are available with some (3x) magnification. Holo sights work well and are lighter. A red 'dot' will not cover up the 'deer' aim point at 100 yds. They also don't have any grads for range adjustments, but do you need them? Scopes don't need batteries.

[Biggin]

Haven't thought about the battery issue thanks

[Biggin]

Haven't thought about the battery issue thanks

[Lloyd Smale]

battery issues are a big concern unless your buying a cheap sight. My aimpoints can be left on for 5 years on one battery. Ive recently picked up a couple sig sauer red dots and they have a set up that shuts off in 2 minutes if left alone and just touching the gun turns them back on. There supposed to get 5 years out of a aaa battery because of it. Vortex has a new crossfire that has a year life left on for a 150 bucks. I went with the sigs because even if shtf aaa batterys will be able to be found. Personaly I like dot sights on serious defense guns but wouldn't have one I had to fumble around turning on in the middle of the night if someone breaks in. that and if those cheap ones are left on by accident the batterys are done in a couple days.

[Greg S]

As stated above, red dots are fast but for a more precise aiming point opt for rds that have a 2moa dot. I made this mistake on a great deal on a Trijicon micro red dot sight withna 6 or 9 moa (can't remember) which would be more useful in a sd role on an auto.

One item not mentioned is blurring of the dot due to stigmatism. Try before you buy.

[Dan Cash]

..... A red 'dot' will not cover up the 'deer' aim point at 100 yds. .....

Did not say that they cover up the deer. I said that the dot sight provides an aiming point too coarse for precise aiming.

[500Linebaughbuck]

i have a burris reflex sight on my ruger sbh and i love it. i don't see too well either. if your using it for hunting, then i'll say go fer it!!! at 100 yards it will go 2 - 3 1/2" groups(supported by a primos bipod, 6 shots). unsupported it will go 2 1/2 - 4" at 50 yards, which is great for me, not great for deer.

https://www.opticsplanet.com/burris-fastfire-iii-red-dot-reflex-sight-w-optional-picatinny-mount.html

[missionary5155]

Good afternoon
First corn cruncher I popped with a Dan Wesson Revolver in 375 Supermag. Had a Leupold 2x M8 on it. Buck stopped at 20 yards. Leason learned... 2x is too much at 20 yards. Not the scopes fault... But river bottom and woods edge hunting is what I do.
Switched to Micro Dots. Much faster and easily accurate enough at 33 yards and less. That is my farthest shot on a corn cruncher so far of well over 20 deer in East ILLinois. So far the Micro-dots have not been hurt by any Supermag or the 454 Casull or 475 Linebaugh (BFR's).
If I hunted open fields or places where shots were going to be generally 50 yards + I would mount the M8 on whichever revolver was going out that year.
Battery... each Micro-Dot gets a new battery each hunting season. Removed batteries are for range time until they die.
Mike in Peru

[Lloyd Smale]

ya for a hunting gun battery life isn't that important because you don't need to keep them on 24/7. A new battery before season would be all it would take.
Good afternoon
First corn cruncher I popped with a Dan Wesson Revolver in 375 Supermag. Had a Leupold 2x M8 on it. Buck stopped at 20 yards. Leason learned... 2x is too much at 20 yards. Not the scopes fault... But river bottom and woods edge hunting is what I do.
Switched to Micro Dots. Much faster and easily accurate enough at 33 yards and less. That is my farthest shot on a corn cruncher so far of well over 20 deer in East ILLinois. So far the Micro-dots have not been hurt by any Supermag or the 454 Casull or 475 Linebaugh (BFR's).
If I hunted open fields or places where shots were going to be generally 50 yards + I would mount the M8 on whichever revolver was going out that year.
Battery... each Micro-Dot gets a new battery each hunting season. Removed batteries are for range time until they die.
Mike in Peru

[Shawlerbrook]

Personally for hunting or self defense I do not want to count on a battery. A switch left on and your battery is dead. Target shooting is a different matter, but I have seen battery issues from either operator error or defective batteries.

[KCcactus]

My Vortex Sparc II is rated for 300 hours at max brightness. I rarely even use it at half brightness. Between target practice and my son hunting with it for 2 years, still haven't replaced the battery. The 2 moa dot works fine for us out to 100 yds. On our place, there are very few places you can see more than 100 yds. The new model, Sparc AR, uses a AAA battery with the same battery life. If you get a red dot, I would avoid large dots and sights with a small number of brightness levels.

[Rick Hodges]

My Primary Arms red dot claims 50,000 hours battery life. I usually turn mine off when not in use but the same coin style battery is going strong after 4 years.

[JSnover]

I saw no need for dots or reflex sights until I tried them. I now own three and my biggest problem is making up my mind about which guns to keep them on, so I guess I'll have to buy a couple more. I like traditional scopes for rifles but the battery-powered optics are lighter and smaller; much better for handguns and carbines in my opinion.

[Lloyd Smale]

check out the new vortex crossfire. Its not only cheaper but is suppose to have near a year of battery life with the sight left on.
My Vortex Sparc II is rated for 300 hours at max brightness. I rarely even use it at half brightness. Between target practice and my son hunting with it for 2 years, still haven't replaced the battery. The 2 moa dot works fine for us out to 100 yds. On our place, there are very few places you can see more than 100 yds. The new model, Sparc AR, uses a AAA battery with the same battery life. If you get a red dot, I would avoid large dots and sights with a small number of brightness levels.

[Lloyd Smale]

Ive been testing my aimpoint comp 2 for years. It was suppose to have a one year battery life left on. Ive had the same battery in it now for 4 years (well 4 years come july) Ive had to turn the rheostat up once because the dot was getting a bit dimmer but its still going strong. Only down side to them is the odd ball battery they use. Same down side to my trs25 and the coin batterys. What I like about the sig sauer sight and vortex sparc AR and the newer comp 4 aimpoint is they use a AAA battery. I can pick one up at the local gas station or even in a pinch scarf one out of one of my remote controls. Amazingly though those coin batterys as small as they are seem to have about the same life. I guess its not really a big deal because ive got a couple trs25s and a couple lit crosshair scopes that use them so I allways have a half a dozen new ones laying around. Some claim aaa's would be easier to find in a shtf senerio but at my age and physical condition if shtf finding batterys would be the least of my problems. Hopefully the first bomb lands square on my head!!
My Primary Arms red dot claims 50,000 hours battery life. I usually turn mine off when not in use but the same coin style battery is going strong after 4 years.

[winelover]

Here's the real deal when it comes to red dots versus traditional scopes for deer hunting. There are times when you can't make out the crosshairs of a traditional scope, while hunting. The half hour before and after sun rises and sets......peak times when deer are most active.....especially the big boys. I'll take a red dot, all the time.

If you don't like/trust batteries.........spend the $$$$$ and buy Trijicon's.......I did.

Winelover

[Biggin]

Thanks y'all for the replies. It gives me a lot of food for thought

[Skeeno]

It was mentioned before, but a red dot with a 2 moa dot will be more than sufficient out to 100 yards on deer. I started out with a cheaper red dot that had a larger dot and was not happy with it. The furthest I've had to shoot my 44 mag on a deer was right at 70 yards, but at the range practice and would be comfortable out to 100 if needed.