Anyone else like red dots on long guns..?

[Scrumbag]

Is anyone else more and more liking red dots on their long guns. I've suddenly noticed I've gotten rather a few.

It started with me looking for a way to put an optical sight on my 9.3x62 - an old hunting rifle that wasn't drilled and tapped so a scope wasn't an option but a good buddy of mine suggested a reflex dot on a custom cut dovetail mount to replace the front sight.

So, I tried it and liked it:

Next came the pump shotgun. Here in the UK we shoot pump actions and semi autos at turning targets with slugs. I tried my supernova with an iron sighted slug barrel but hated the sights (just grey on grey and lost them) so a bit of "googling" turned up the Burris Speed Bead and a Fast Fire III (3MOA)

And a big improvement in enjoyment and scores. Not the last time I’ll put a red dot on a shotgun it turns out...

Then there came the lever action.

Started off with a red dot, went to a scout scope then decided to go back to a red dot (mainly because of local range rules it isn’t so easy to shoot shotgun slugs but a 44 mag lever action is no problem). So, for the same sight picture as my slug guns, have gone back to another Burris:

(Must get a better picture)

Them came the idea of what to do with a rifle I had that I wanted to use for hunting but I had a 6-24x56 scope on with a very fine ret and I had an 8x56 fixed scope sitting around. This 8x56 is great for sitting in a dark wood but not great for quick target acquisition if you bump a deer on the way in or out. So, borrowing from the tactical and 3 gun crowd I put a red dot on the side of my 8x56 and took it hunting:

(That’s actually on my little Brno .22lr that I used to practice / work up with to see if I liked the concept). It went on the 7x64 Mausingfield after that).

Finally, there’s the other shotgun.

It’s a Fabarm H368 (Not sure they went to the US). Anyway, with a 26” multi choke and a 24” rifle sighted barrel for not a lot of money it was too good to pass up.

Think it looks cool “naked” using the man sights (fibre optics and really need to see when I can get it zeroed with those as well).

Anyway, given how much I liked my pump with a red dot, thought might as well stick a Burris on that. Given the receiver has ~11mm dovetail grooves, thought I might try and use those.

You can get a dovetail mount from people like Recknagel and Rusan in Europe that lets you mount red dots to dovetails quite easily but they have a little retaining pin in the underside:

So, there needed to be a small hole drilled in the receiver of the Fabarm:

After that, it became a simple matter of mounting the red dot on with the QD dovetail mount.

So, I like that system as don’t have to have a bulky rail in the way if I want to go from slug shooting to wing shooting and that appeals (The Benelli with the Speed Bead you have to unscrew stuff to take the red dot off, rather less neat).

Here's sort of the sight picture:

And the gun in it’s entirety (Stock actually fits me well so need a bit of lift to be aligned with the red dot)

So, apparently like I like red dots. A lot…. (Hello. My name is Scrumbag and I’m a red-dot-aholic…) Anyone else using red dots on their long guns more than they thought they would?

Scrummy

 

[PHOENIX PHIL]

I've only got one. A Trijicon RMR on my 470NE double. Love it. Quick target acquisition and thus far seems quite durable under that hard recoil.

 

[Scrumbag]

I've only got one. A Trijicon RMR on my 470NE double. Love it. Quick target acquisition and thus far seems quite durable under that hard recoil.

Pictures or it didn't happen...

 

[PARA45]

My PH in the Kalahari put one on his CZ-550 416 Rigby and said that it was perfect as a backup gun for the lion hunts they do. I was able to send him an AHR mount for his rifle.

 

[PHOENIX PHIL]

Pictures or it didn't happen...

Eeesh, I'm down pretty hard from a cold and have no pics with it handy. Perhaps later I'll feel up to digging into the safe and taking one.

 

[Scrumbag]

My PH in the Kalahari put one on his CZ-550 416 Rigby and said that it was perfect as a backup gun for the lion hunts they do. I was able to send him an AHR mount for his rifle.

That and the Recknagel / Rusan units appear to be of a similar design to me.

 

[Scrumbag]

Eeesh, I'm down pretty hard from a cold and have no pics with it handy. Perhaps later I'll feel up to digging into the safe and taking one.

Go on, fondle a rifle. Bound to make you feel better!

 

[Boyd Brooks]

I don’t have one yet but I am strongly looking to put one on my old Ruger 44 Carbine. I think Luepold makes a 1moa dot that is small and compact. The 44 is a great thick brush carry rifle, nice and short and light to carry. I think a speed bead or red dot would be awesome in tight spots.

 

[PARA45]

Eeesh, I'm down pretty hard from a cold and have no pics with it handy. Perhaps later I'll feel up to digging into the safe and taking one.

Hope you feel better. Hot chicken soup is what the Doc ordered

 

[Rick HOlbert]

Is anyone else more and more liking red dots on their long guns. I've suddenly noticed I've gotten rather a few.

It started with me looking for a way to put an optical sight on my 9.3x62 - an old hunting rifle that wasn't drilled and tapped so a scope wasn't an option but a good buddy of mine suggested a reflex dot on a custom cut dovetail mount to replace the front sight.

So, I tried it and liked it:

Next came the pump shotgun. Here in the UK we shoot pump actions and semi autos at turning targets with slugs. I tried my supernova with an iron sighted slug barrel but hated the sights (just grey on grey and lost them) so a bit of "googling" turned up the Burris Speed Bead and a Fast Fire III (3MOA)

And a big improvement in enjoyment and scores. Not the last time I’ll put a red dot on a shotgun it turns out...

Then there came the lever action.

Started off with a red dot, went to a scout scope then decided to go back to a red dot (mainly because of local range rules it isn’t so easy to shoot shotgun slugs but a 44 mag lever action is no problem). So, for the same sight picture as my slug guns, have gone back to another Burris:

(Must get a better picture)

Them came the idea of what to do with a rifle I had that I wanted to use for hunting but I had a 6-24x56 scope on with a very fine ret and I had an 8x56 fixed scope sitting around. This 8x56 is great for sitting in a dark wood but not great for quick target acquisition if you bump a deer on the way in or out. So, borrowing from the tactical and 3 gun crowd I put a red dot on the side of my 8x56 and took it hunting:

(That’s actually on my little Brno .22lr that I used to practice / work up with to see if I liked the concept). It went on the 7x64 Mausingfield after that).

Finally, there’s the other shotgun.

It’s a Fabarm H368 (Not sure they went to the US). Anyway, with a 26” multi choke and a 24” rifle sighted barrel for not a lot of money it was too good to pass up.

Think it looks cool “naked” using the man sights (fibre optics and really need to see when I can get it zeroed with those as well).

Anyway, given how much I liked my pump with a red dot, thought might as well stick a Burris on that. Given the receiver has ~11mm dovetail grooves, thought I might try and use those.

You can get a dovetail mount from people like Recknagel and Rusan in Europe that lets you mount red dots to dovetails quite easily but they have a little retaining pin in the underside:

So, there needed to be a small hole drilled in the receiver of the Fabarm:

After that, it became a simple matter of mounting the red dot on with the QD dovetail mount.

So, I like that system as don’t have to have a bulky rail in the way if I want to go from slug shooting to wing shooting and that appeals (The Benelli with the Speed Bead you have to unscrew stuff to take the red dot off, rather less neat).

Here's sort of the sight picture:

And the gun in it’s entirety (Stock actually fits me well so need a bit of lift to be aligned with the red dot)

So, apparently like I like red dots. A lot…. (Hello. My name is Scrumbag and I’m a red-dot-aholic…) Anyone else using red dots on their long guns more than they thought they would?

Scrummy

Interesting subject. A while back I built a "Retro Scout rifle" on a Remington 660 carbine. I installed a Ruger quarter rib on the barrel and used Ruger rings to mount the Scout scope. Problem was eye relief was less than ideal and the scope over hung the ejection port. After some careful measurments I obtained a Aimpoint 9000SC. 30mm tube, unlimited eye relief, parallax free, 2MOA dot and 5 year battery life. The optic is now ahead of the ejection port and target acquisition is super fast. 10 inch plates out to 300 yards are hit with boring regularity. I think I've found my ideal optic for this rifle.

 

[chashardy]

Big fan of red dot sights. I put one on my 375 H&H double and it can drive tacks. I've used in in Africa on 4 safaris on everything from buffalo to wart hog. I liked it so much I put one on my Beretta 9mm pistol. I'm sold on them. Makes shooting so much faster and instinctive. I also have red dot reticles on all the scopes on my bolt rifles.

 

[cajunchefray]

Hope you feel better. Hot chicken soup is what the Doc ordered

Hot chicken soup with plenty of garlic, ginger and Madras (yellow) curry powder.

Works every time for me and my sister and son.

 

[cajunchefray]

Is anyone else more and more liking red dots on their long guns. I've suddenly noticed I've gotten rather a few.

It started with me looking for a way to put an optical sight on my 9.3x62 - an old hunting rifle that wasn't drilled and tapped so a scope wasn't an option but a good buddy of mine suggested a reflex dot on a custom cut dovetail mount to replace the front sight.

So, I tried it and liked it:

Next came the pump shotgun. Here in the UK we shoot pump actions and semi autos at turning targets with slugs. I tried my supernova with an iron sighted slug barrel but hated the sights (just grey on grey and lost them) so a bit of "googling" turned up the Burris Speed Bead and a Fast Fire III (3MOA)

And a big improvement in enjoyment and scores. Not the last time I’ll put a red dot on a shotgun it turns out...

Then there came the lever action.

Started off with a red dot, went to a scout scope then decided to go back to a red dot (mainly because of local range rules it isn’t so easy to shoot shotgun slugs but a 44 mag lever action is no problem). So, for the same sight picture as my slug guns, have gone back to another Burris:

(Must get a better picture)

Them came the idea of what to do with a rifle I had that I wanted to use for hunting but I had a 6-24x56 scope on with a very fine ret and I had an 8x56 fixed scope sitting around. This 8x56 is great for sitting in a dark wood but not great for quick target acquisition if you bump a deer on the way in or out. So, borrowing from the tactical and 3 gun crowd I put a red dot on the side of my 8x56 and took it hunting:

(That’s actually on my little Brno .22lr that I used to practice / work up with to see if I liked the concept). It went on the 7x64 Mausingfield after that).

Finally, there’s the other shotgun.

It’s a Fabarm H368 (Not sure they went to the US). Anyway, with a 26” multi choke and a 24” rifle sighted barrel for not a lot of money it was too good to pass up.

Think it looks cool “naked” using the man sights (fibre optics and really need to see when I can get it zeroed with those as well).

Anyway, given how much I liked my pump with a red dot, thought might as well stick a Burris on that. Given the receiver has ~11mm dovetail grooves, thought I might try and use those.

You can get a dovetail mount from people like Recknagel and Rusan in Europe that lets you mount red dots to dovetails quite easily but they have a little retaining pin in the underside:

So, there needed to be a small hole drilled in the receiver of the Fabarm:

After that, it became a simple matter of mounting the red dot on with the QD dovetail mount.

So, I like that system as don’t have to have a bulky rail in the way if I want to go from slug shooting to wing shooting and that appeals (The Benelli with the Speed Bead you have to unscrew stuff to take the red dot off, rather less neat).

Here's sort of the sight picture:

And the gun in it’s entirety (Stock actually fits me well so need a bit of lift to be aligned with the red dot)

So, apparently like I like red dots. A lot…. (Hello. My name is Scrumbag and I’m a red-dot-aholic…) Anyone else using red dots on their long guns more than they thought they would?

Scrummy

After mounting a Trijicon red dot on my AR-15, I liked the concept.

Next mounted a Trijicon RMR, on a double 450/400. A game changer. Went from 6 inch groups at 50 yards, iron sights, to easy 2 inch groups.

I see another in my future on my SXS 12 gauge.
My eyes are not getting younger.

 

[mark-hunter]

So, apparently like I like red dots. A lot…. (Hello. My name is Scrumbag and I’m a red-dot-aholic…) Anyone else using red dots on their long guns more than they thought they would?

So far, I was biased against red dots. I think because I read on internet that they have too much parallax.
So, I said to myself repeatedly, no I dont need that. Because everybody on internet says they have too much parallax, and not too much of magnification.

But things change.

I bought SF19 (new version of popular XDM pistol), optics ready model, and installed red dot, vortex venom.
When tried, I improved accuracy with that pistol. Surprise, surprise!
So, thats how I started changing my opinion on red dots. Suddenly, I dont care about parallax.

So, I am now in process of transition thinking for red dots on my long guns.
I have plan. This is the plan.

To install Red dot on AR15, 223 - now using tactical scope, so to install RD for rapid fire matches (will have to work out which model of RD to take, I am open to suggestion)

Red dot on Benelli argo 9.3 semi auto for driven boar hunts. (now using wide angle scope) I am open for suggestions which RD to take.

 

[DWB]

I had to actually dig a scope out to mount on a gun to go help cull some Impala today.

Only have red dots on my guns

 

[Boela]

After talking to @Frederik and shooting with his 458 Lott fitted with a Trijicon, I now have Leupold Delta Point-Pro's on two rifles. (458 Lott and 450-400NE). I am contemplating on putting one on my Mod70 in 375H&H too. I can't believe that I got along without them until now.

As soon as my Springfield Hellcat arrives, it will be fitted with a Holosun HS507K.

 

[VertigoBE]

I would really like to install a red dot on my 500NE, but I’m worried that I’ll need to lift my head to much from the stock to see the dot that I’ll have a bad stance.

What would be the best base and red dot combo to have the least amount of distance above the barrels? So the mount of the rifle to my shoulder stays as good as possible?

Also does it make a difference mounting the red dot further in front or closer to the eye? My 500NE has a full length rib, so I could go quite forward

 

[Altitude sickness]

They are the perfect fit between peep sights and scopes. IMO Buckhorn irons are far below peeps

I first used an RMR mounted with a 1x scope on my 3 gun AR.
If you mount the gun and open your eyes. The dot is there.

Aimpoint type and or an RMR are the cat’s pajamas

 

[Altitude sickness]

Vertigo, the general consensus or thought is the closer to the eye, the quicker the target acquisition. And normally you want the smaller model RMR closer to your eye

The further from the eye, the better the peripheral vision. And if mounted mid barrel. You will want a larger glass. Or an Aimpoint.

 

[AZDAVE]

I have one on a double, one on a 22lr, and one on my 505 Gibbs.