Scope or red dot?

[SunnySlopes]

I'm outfitting a Dan Wesson 715 w/8 inch barrel for yotes and pigs. I'm experienced with handgun scopes but am considering a red dot. I've never used a red dot.

Is it worth it? I like the idea of low light illumination but don't like the reticle washout in bright sunlight.

Opinions?

 

[ms6852]

I favor a pistol scope but if I were to use a red dot I would not let price dictate my purchase especially if you want to use it in daylight too. The Trijicon RMR comes to mind. Just my 2¢.

 

[doubleh]

Long ago when my eyesight was excellent and my hands steady as a rock I shot a scoped handgun to to good effect for a few years and then sold it.. Fast forward to today where my eyes are pretty darn good again thanks to the benefits of modern eye surgery but my hands are like small leaves blowing in the wind. My latest handgun scope adventure was a bust. With a good, solid, rest I could do OK but slowly. Freehand, forget about it. A red dot is much more useful in my case. Burris FF 3's are my choice as they are dependable for a reasonable price and bright enough that I can reduce the dot intensity even on the most cloudless of summer days. Southeastern NM is famous for it's intense sunlight and high rate of skin cancer due to that so they should work just about anywhere. I had to reduce the dot intensity even when I still had cataracts.

 

[CapnMac]

Given the application, I'd be looking at the 30mm tube RDS rather than an RMR or similar "reflex" low-profile sights.

The Primary Arms 30mm SLx comes to mind, but, you might prefer something with an ACSS reticle instead, which might be a different brand. The larger-diameter and longer length formats out help prevent wash-out while retaining field-of-view.

 

[Hookeye]

A reddot is great if you don't have astigmatism.
Makes shooting offhand a LOT easier than running an EER scope.

In fact I was just looking around, need one on my Contender in .35 rem.

 

[Hookeye]

Reflex are nice and light, small and they don't have too much around the window to clutter your view.
On a revolver..........I'd go reflex.
In fact I'm looking at how to set up a new Python w such.
Haven't bought either, wondering if Colt does a model set up for a base.

I do run a reflex on my target Buckmark .22lr.

The issue w reflex is presentation/ finding the dot. Takes a while to learn it.
There I think a tube style dot sight easier.

 

[westernrover]

I use an SRO on a revolver. For fast work and common handgun ranges, it works fine. For accurate work at more than 20 yards -- like where I need to hit a 1 inch target at 25 yards or a 2 inch target at 50 or 4" at 100, I need to turn the brightness down or the 2.5 MOA reflection of the diode blooms too much. If I hit the button two or three times to dim it, then it is about as precise as I can see at 1X and about as precise as I can hold the gun. They have a 1.0 MOA version but I have never been able to look through one. If size didn't matter, Aimpoint makes a 34mm tubular reflex sight that I think would be good -- but I've never looked through that either. I never see the good stuff in stores, just cheap import vortex and holosun and so on.

 

[wild willy]

On a larger revolver I’d use a tube type. Ultra Dot makes some good ones.

 

[mpmax]

I’ve mounted red dots on revolvers before, but I got a good deal on scope, so I put it on MY Dan Wesson 8” model 715.
My only complaint with the red dot is the 3-4 moa dot gets pretty big at 100 yds.

 

[ColtPythonElite]

I use a Burris Fast Fire III on a couple of handguns. I like them.

 

[chicharrones]

I have a 2 or 3 year old Ultradot Gen 2 w/ 25mm (1") tube. For a tube type in the $230 range, it is pretty dang good even if it is now "classic" technology. It has a 2 MOA dot, virtually tint free glass, and a decent brightness range. Mine has "made in Japan" marked on it, not sure if the new one's are still Japanese made. https://ultradotusa.com/product/ultradot-gen-2-25mm-m/

I have to sight in the dot in for 6 O'Clock hold for small targets, as even the 2 MOA dot at the lowest brightness can obscure the target in low light situations. Compared to a reflex dot, the body of the sight does block your forward view due to the turrets and battery housing.

The dot does come with rings, a polarization filter (for bright sunlight), objective tube extension, and a rubber eye cup. If you can live with the vertically split rings it comes with, the Ultradot is ready to go out of the box.

 

[doubleh]

The issue w reflex is presentation/ finding the dot. Takes a while to learn it.
There I think a tube style dot sight easie

I agree. I only have one pistol with a tube type red dot due their size. All I have to do is raise it up and look through the tube and the dot is there. It is faster than iron sights. I have to hunt for the dot in a reflex. I have leaned that I tend hold the muzzle too high with these for some reason and that gave me a lot of trouble with my first. It is weird as I feel as I am pointing the gun too low even though the dot is on the target. I have learned to not do this but still slip up now and then. This makes them a no-no on a SD gun for me. My SIL won't even attempt to shoot a reflex sighted pistol as he can't find the dot.

 

[jmorris]

I'm outfitting a Dan Wesson 715 w/8 inch barrel for yotes and pigs.

How far out are you planning to engage them?

A big dot is faster to acquire but obscures the target the most (most of those are 8” plates at 60 yards).



A smaller dot helps with a more precise aim at the expense of a bit slower acquisition.



Then the slowest way to get on target but the most precise way to aim of the three.



What I pick depends on what I need it to do.

 

[CraigC]

I have multiples of both and have been using pistol scopes for so long (since before I could drive), it comes very natural to me. I also like red dots. They are fast and a little better in low light, a lot better in no light. The downside is you lose that little bit of magnification. Really depends on you and how you're going to use it. Like others have said, I also hunt for the dot on a reflex but find a tube style much more natural. I also fully concede that's a training issue and not necessarily a limitation of the equipment. I like the UltraDot 30's. The dot is small, they are light and bombproof.

But then I also still use a good many pistol scopes. Can't even keep count. I've got six Contender barrels with scopes along with several pistols and revolvers. Everything including fixed 1x, 2x, 3x, 4x, 5x, 6x, 7x, along with 1-4x and 2-7x variables. The 2x is my favorite for a hunting revolver.

This this is a 3x. The old 30mm ProClass is the only Tasco I trust.

I do like a 1-4x on some guns.

The 7x is only for load testing.