Scout Scope vs Red dot?

[onelight]

I mis the crosshairs when using a red dot I find I use them to determine point of impact as much as the center +.
I have had an aim point and another red dot but could not group at long range for me that is 100 to 300 yards as I can with even a 21/2 power scope . I read about guys doing very well but not my experience .
Rifles I have had that I can shoot at less than an inch at a 100 go to 4 to 6" with a red dot . I have just mounted a Burris fast fire on a 10-22 to play with and will be a short range toy will see how it goes.

[Krag 1901]

VS target size:
I use the 3" color change spots a lot for my .308 which has a 4-14x scope on it and was thinking if I got the TRS-25 I'd use those at 50-100 yards to center the dot. For my .223s with jwords I use 1" self stick dots I bought at an office supply store that are white with a colored rim. I had some red 7/8" dots but used them up as aiming points. 500 of them didn't last but two/three years!

I can get the Vortex with a mildot reticle which I think gives a ~12 Min hold over, about right for the Krag at 200 yards. about the furthest I shoot. That's another consideration. Cranked up to 7x for bench load development and down to ~3x for off hand shooting should be the best of both worlds.

[WinchesterM1]

I used to have a Trijicon MRO on my HD AR15 but I was thinking that if I needed a little magnifying would be beneficial so I threw a 1-4 lighted trijicon scope on it, now I have the red dot features(-x) but can also take longer shoots if needs be more accurately if I need too

[Krag 1901]

HOORAY!!! I found my Simmons 2x scope!

I have a bunch of 1" rings for the rail and I think that it will work. I may have saved myself $150. I tested the eye relief and maybe it will work. I just need to mount it and try.

[NEKVT]

I have two scout setups - both lever actions and both have 2X pistol scopes. The Marlin 1894 357 has a Weaver and the Win 94 356Win has a Bushnell. Both are lightweight, believe the Weaver spec is 6.7 oz and the Bushnell a bit more and both have worked quite well for a long time.

[Krag 1901]

Last night I pulled the Krag out of it's case to check the scope rail out in order to see how long it was and how I'd mount the Simmons, but...

I was surprised! It already had a 2x scope mounted! What, when did I do that? It wasn't the Simons 2x which I found in my gun locker, it was another 2x just like it but marked as Made in Japan! Now truth told, I'm 75 and haven't actually shot anything in six years, having given up in early '15 when powder was hard to find and I was disgusted. But I do not remember buying the scope or mounting it or....?

My loading/shooting notes which I used to note my range results and such did not note that I had mounted the 2x though it did note I had removed the Weaver K10 for lack of adjust ability and being old and dim. Nothing about a New Scope or mounting it???

All I need to do now is load up some .30-40 and take it to the range. I just neck sized 50 rounds and was going to prime and load 25 gr 4198 and 312-160-2Rs for a work out so I'll just wait for it to warm up n the garage and do so today.

I'm still suprised!!!!!

[W.R.Buchanan]

I love red dot sights. But they are not IMO designed for beyond 50 yard accurate shooting.

Even a 2.5moa dot means your dot is covering 2.5 inches of your target. Even if perfectly sighted in that means those bullets can be anywhere in that two and a half inch circle. It is virtually impossible to shoot a true 1 MOA group through a 2.5 MOA dot.

Where they do shine is in the field and low light conditions. Fast aquisition of target. Larger field of view. Makes it much easier to get on and stay on target on a moving animal. If we are talking deer they can easily sail over a 4 strand barbed wire fence with no apparent effort.
So there is a LOT of air around them if they are moving.

Closer range, 50 and under, and pistol range IMO they rock.

All that being said personally I strongly dislike scout scopes.

I have a couple of rifles that don't get shot because at 68 I am no longer accurate enough with iron sights past 50 yards.
And they just are not designed for a normal scope, and I won't put a scout scope on them.

Red Dots can be great but you have to understand their limitations.

Red Dots can be used effectively at much longer ranges than 50 yards. Virtually all US Battle Rifles that have optics have Eo Techs or Aimpoint Red Dot Sights mounted on them.

The big secret is knowing how to index the dot on the target. Here is a target I shot at 100 yards with a Bushnell TRS 25 mounted on my Mini 14. You will agree it is MOA?

I indexed the right side of the dot on the left point of the target. The group is about 1" high which results in dead on at 200 yards. Since it is a 3 MOA dot it should be about 1" to the left to be dead on, But I decided to quit while I was ahead.

I can hit a man sized target every single time at 200 yards off a rest. 8/10 at 300 depending on the wind.

I post this pic everytime someone disses the Mini14 as a fence post not capable of shooting groups. The fact that "They" can't shoot groups shouldn't reflect poorly on the gun.

Randy