Red dot sights

[survivalshop]

Ok , I've used one once, to shoot a Deer with a cross bow , but that's it .That's my history with them , I bought & mounted a Vortex red dot sight on my 1100 Remington shotgun .

Its on a saddle mount & I'm not sure where it should be mounted as far as ,how far should it be from the face to the sight for clarity ? Its there a rule of thumb or some kind of measurement to go by .

[planeflyer21]

I have two right now, an EO Tech and a Chinese Wan Huang Lo.

Another EO Tech is on the way.  Zeroing is easy enough but IIRC the dials are backwards from a scope.

Mount it far enough from your face you don't get whacked.  The beauty of the red dot sights is both eyes open shooting.

You can experiment with it too.  If you aren't happy with its placement, move it.

Jon

[survivalshop]

Kinda figured it was move it to work . I have shot it & sighted it in, but I kept closing one eye, ARRRRRRRRRRRRR !  <laughs> 

@ 25 - 30 yrds , it was dead on & after that it s may be my old eyes , with glasses , but the groups get , ( in my opinion ) big .

@ about 90 yrds , they hit the area of the target & I kept them with in a 24 x 24 " square. Of course this is with a smooth bore slug barrel, with Fed. True Ball slugs, off a rest .

Maybe I expect too much.

[Jgun]

Not sure if my approach is by the book, but I use my red dots for speed more than accuracy, The beauty of a red dot is that you don't need to align a front and rear sight, just put the dot on the target and it should be good (with a quality sight) within an inch or two. For handguns I usually go with a bigger dot 7/8 MOA which speeds up dot aquisition when shooting multiple targets on the move, while for rifles I select a smaller dot 2-4 MOA which helps acuracy at 100 yds. I still find that the dot can seem pretty big and makes shooting for groups at 200 a waste of time. As far as eye relief goes, on a rifle I find that having the sight closer to my eye gives a better field of view through the scopes window, but that also tends to make the dot bigger in relation to the target. For me, the dot allows much faster sight aquisition and multi target engagement, with adequate accuracy for run and gun or hunting. If grouping at range is important, you might want to consider one of the setups with a red dot for close up, and a conventional scope for distance. The RAMP mount and the Matt Burkett mounts are both good choices. I hear that the S&B Short Dot scopes are supposed to be incredible, but the price of them is ridicules.

[98Z5V]

ss, there's no eye relief issues with a red dot, like on magnified optics.  In fact, the further forward you place it, the faster it is to acquire the dot/target.  No kidding. 

No alignment issues, once zero'd.  You don't have to have the dot right in the center of the viewing field - it can be off to the side, low, at the top, whatever.  When you align dot/target, no matter where the dot is inside that field of view - the rifle is pointed directly at what the dot is on.  That's where speed comes in. 

[Jgun]

I don't know if rapid fire with the red dot is a priority here, but, as mentioned by 98, there is no eye relief with a red dot, because there is no magnification (unless you mount a magnifier) it's just an illuminated sight. What I do find (for me) is that when I am swinging the gun (to move from target to target) and shooting on the move, as 98 mentions, the dot will move around in the window, and as long as you can see it and put it on target you should hit the target, but if your eye's allignment is off by too much you will not see the dot in the window, and could lose time trying to find it. That is where I find that having the sight mounted further back helps me. I find that it's harder for me to lose the dot when the sight is closer to my eye, but as mentioned, if you run some drills with it mounted both forward and closer, you should quickly be able to decide which works better for you. The type of red dot also matters. The Eotecs have much bigger windows than the mini red dots, making it harder to lose the dot, and mine has that huge dougnut that is almost impossible to lose, but is not (for me) the best for long range accuracy.

[98Z5V]

Most EOTechs have a 65-moa large circle, with a 1-moa center dot. 

By far, my favorite.  <thumbsup>

The only downside to any EOTech isn't really a downside, in a way - but a giant plus to Aimpoint.  Battery life.  Most newer EOTechs run 1100 hours constant-on.  Some of the Aimpoints run 80,000-hours, constant-on.  Not a typo.  :o

[Robocop1051]

..  Some of the Aimpoints run 80,000-hours, constant-on.  Not a typo.  :o

He's right. The Aimpoint T-1 and H-1 both have 50k hours battery life. Turn them on once, and change the battery once a year or so... Not because the battery is dead, but because you might forget how long it has been after 4 or 5 years. :P

[98Z5V]

The M4S and M4 are rockin' 80k hours on battery life (over 8 years), with the T-1 and H-1 turning in 50k hours of battery life.  I didn't check the M3 and M2, but I think those ones were upgraded to longer life.

Aimpoint's main page has been hi-jacked, so be careful when searching.  Computer HIV, et al.    <thumbsup>

[planeflyer21]

Yeah...and my EO Tech runs on AA batteries, a pack of 20 costs what one AimPoint batter costs at Walgreen's.

And when the AAs are dead, I can load them in my 410 for slugs, to give some scum bag an electrifying experience!  :hunter:

Jon

[Jgun]

Not sure if my Eotech is faulty, but I've got an XPS, and although I think it's a great sight and would buy another in a minute, I find the actual size of it to be a little large compared to some of the other alternatives, and I've got mine set up with a piggyback magnifier (5X I think). If in fact the dot is a 1 MOA unmagnified, then I guess it's 5MOA when I view it through the magnifier, and not only that, it doesn't appear to be perfectly round either. I've had some friends refer to the reticle as a fuzzy dot in a dounut. I have not had the pleasure of trying one with a BDC reticle, but, although I'm a big fan of them, for long range shots I can do better with a lower powered illuminated conventional scope like the TR-24, with a mini red dot mounted at 45 for the close stuff.

Of course when I look back at what SS originally posted about mounting a Vortex on the 1100, I'm not sure if any of this is of much value to him. For a reddot mounted on a shotgun, since your not likely to be going past 100 yds, I'm thinking that the Eotech might not be the best option, if for no other reason than the size.

[survivalshop]

The Votex is going to a good home on the wifes ar15 ( if she likes it ).

The Vortex is getting a trial by fire in Ohio, for Deer gun season this year. It's my back up slug gun & others may use it .

I usually take a different firearm every day , handguns included, I like variety.

100 yrds will be more than max yardage for a smooth bore , even though the Fed. True ball slugs are outstanding .

I'm going to play around with its mounting tonight .

[unforgiven]

Thats good to know about Fed tru-ball as I have some for Moss590A.

[survivalshop]

I moved it to the mid. of the rail & like it better  , will have to shoot it in that position .

unforgiven

With a scope on her , I can at least keep a group @ 100yrds with the Fed. True ball , with the smooth bore, no where near like the 2" groups with my 870 Mag. ,with Hastings rifled bbl., with Hornady's SST's though.

This RDS is a little different , may need to get used to it

[SDDuc996]

Kinda figured it was move it to work . I have shot it & sighted it in, but I kept closing one eye, ARRRRRRRRRRRRR !  <laughs>

With an unloaded gun, cover the front of your optic with a cap or tape, then turn it on. With your view through the optic obstructed, this will force your left eye to open to acquire targets. You'll find that your eyes work optimally when both are open, and will merge the dot to whatever target you've picked out.

[survivalshop]

This sight comes with flip up covers , so that will not be a problem . I think just getting used to it is , as with any thing new .

It also comes with a screw on ,2X magnifier & I will try that @ 100 yrds & see how that changes the grouping . I have some full sized deer targets to play with also , well half of a deer any way , the important parts .

[unforgiven]

A screw on magnifier?

[survivalshop]

A screw on magnifier?

Yep .

[unforgiven]

Got pics of that setup brother ?I can't see it in my head. <dontknow>

[survivalshop]

Got pics of that setup brother ?I can't see it in my head. <dontknow>

I'll take some for ya . I plan on range time tomorrow with my new stock set on the 870 & I'll let the 1100 tag along to test the magnifier @ 100 yrds.

[ripley]

Has anyone had any experience with the Redfield Counterstrike?

[Microgunner]

The nice thing about EOTechs on shotguns is when shooting birds in flight you simply put the target on the edge of the ring with the dot in front of the bird and a proper lead is established in most cases.

[Microgunner]

Not sure if my Eotech is faulty, but I've got an XPS, and although I think it's a great sight and would buy another in a minute, I find the actual size of it to be a little large compared to some of the other alternatives, and I've got mine set up with a piggyback magnifier (5X I think). If in fact the dot is a 1 MOA unmagnified, then I guess it's 5MOA when I view it through the magnifier, and not only that, it doesn't appear to be perfectly round either. I've had some friends refer to the reticle as a fuzzy dot in a dounut. I have not had the pleasure of trying one with a BDC reticle, but, although I'm a big fan of them, for long range shots I caan do better with a lower powered illuminated conventional scope like the TR-24, with a mini red dot mounted at 45 for the close stuff. Of course when I look back at what SS originally posted about mounting a Vortex on the 1100, I'm not sure if any of this is of much value to him. For a reddot mounted on a shotgun, since your not likely to be going past 100 yds, I'm thinking that the Eotech might not be the best option, if for no other reason than the size.

Are you sure your EOTech isn't a counterfeit? There are many out there.

My EOTechs are perfectly round and very clear.

Also, since the EOTech is a holographic sight a magnifier does not increase the size of the dot.

[unforgiven]

Had a chance to use the Bushnell model over the weekend,for the money that is a very nice device.I likey.

[shibiwan]

Bushnell TRS-25 for the win!