Red Dot Only for Buffalo

[Sideshow]

So my eyes are good better than 20/20 apparently.......unless watching the All Blacks then apparently I'm 1 eyed
Ive a question. Which is part of the title.
Red Dot only for Buff! Who has done it?
I'm not talking the fire dot scopes I'm talking about red dot sights not scopes.
I have one of these and am seriously thinking of giving it a go on my 375

HE503CU-GR-Holosun

Ive used it on driven boar fine.
So looking to see if anyone else has had any real world experience with them as a main site option.
Cheers

 

[BeeMaa]

If you can be as good with a RDO as you are with a scope, sure.

However, if your groups grow from 1” at 100 yards to 4”…that’s another story.

There’s no reason you can’t have both as long as they are QD mounted. Take your initial shot with a scope, then change to the RDO if necessary.

 

[Hunt anything]

I have a Trijicon RMR with a 1moa dot on my .416 Rigby, it works extremely well. Unfortunately I haven’t used it on buffalo yet as my last scheduled buffalo hunt was supposed to be in 2020. I have shot it out to 100yds off the sticks at a full size buffalo target and I can cover 5 shots with my fist.

 

[Brian]

Sideshow, I use a Holosun HE507C-GR for cape buffalo. It's perfect. For my aiming point on a cape buffalo at 50 yds., I visualize a golf ball sized point on the buffalo.
Brian

 

[Sideshow]

Cheers guys I’ll get practicing

 

[Ed Lally]

This is my RMR on my Krieghoff Big Five in 470 NE. A red dot at the breach of a double works best and it should be mounted as low as possible to keep its optical center close to the line of sight of the original open sights, thus preserving the original stock hold and cheek weld that existed when using the open sights. In the photo above you can see that my RMR dot is only a fraction of an inch above the original line of sight and the front sight. I took this rifle to Zimbabwe in 2020 and took a nice 42” bull with one shot at 69 yards. The Bull ran 40 yards and tipped over with a loud death bellow. Since then have taken waterbuck, sable, a few warthogs and a reedbuck with the Krieghoff. Shots well to 100 yards.

 

[Dan458]

I used a Leupold 1-5x on my first Buff hunt and as soon as I got home I changed it out for a Leupold Deltapoint red dot. Took the Deltapoint on the next trip and it was perfect.
Similar to iron sites in that you need to be comfortable that it may limit some of your extended range opportunities however I have no interest in shooting a Buff at over 50m anyway.

 

[chashardy]

I have a Trijicon RMR on my Chapuis 375 H&H double and it works great. I have taken buffalo with it as well as several plains game animals. Rapid target acquisition make the RMR an excellent choice for a dangerous game rifle.

 

[swashington]

I used to do a lot of run and gun carbine shooting and used an Eotech red dot. All the red dots give you a new world of fast target acquisition and shooting. Used them out to 100 yards. You will not regret it. I am purchasing my DG gun later this year and will probably put the Holosun on it. Great reviews from every shooting genre that uses them.

 

[Frederik]

Trijicon SRO 1 MOA on my 458 Lott.

Have shot so far with it:

2 x buffalo one shot each distance 30 and 40 meters
1 x lioness distance 25-30 meters +-
1 Zebra 80 meters
1 Red hartebeest about 100 meters
1 Blue wildebeest about 150 meters I thought it was much closer to 100 but measured afterwards
1 Nyala bull close quarters 15 meters

It works for me yes when a buffalo is standing in the shade it will be difficult and scope but it would be like shooting open sights.

 

[zephyr]

Just shoot your Irons

 

[Hunt anything]

Just shoot your IronsView attachment 613146

Easier said than done for my aging eyes!

 

[Nevada Smith]

Astigmatism causes the "dot" to appear as a "starburst" (possibly off-axis, too). Interestingly, my prescription astigmatism-corrective lenses had no affect when viewing a reflex sight's dot! Instead of using a reflex sight, I opted for a prism sight (e.g., Primary Arm's selection) which mitigates astigmatism.

 

[Sideshow]

Astigmatism causes the "dot" to appear as a "starburst" (possibly off-axis, too). Interestingly, my prescription astigmatism-corrective lenses had no affect when viewing a reflex sight's dot! Instead of using a reflex sight, I opted for a prism sight (e.g., Primary Arm's selection) which mitigates astigmatism.

Good point for those that are affected. But practice will sort that out.
Ive just swapped out my scope on my main stalking rifle. Which I’ll be using from now on. This will show up any limitation and if it’s for me.

 

[DWB]

Does 7 buffs + 1 x lion with red dot only count?

Good pair of binoculars helps

 

[zephyr]

Nevada Smith ...Interesting to hear about astigmatism-corrective lenses and Red Dots vs Prism Sights...
Though I've been wearing readers for a while I just got diagnosed with a mild case of astigmatism corrected lenses are now in my shooting glasses and using them for driving especially at night....
At "67" I guess I'm lucky that I am still able to shoot my Double and 505 Gibbs using Irons

** As most of you know by now that I am not a fan of Red Dots as I struggle with them aesthetically ...
I also feel we have forgotten more than we know about proper Iron Sights and the Shooting of them
But do understand when we get to and age where we can afford the costs of a Safari and a Lovely Double or Bolt gun to pursue our intended quarry or eyes are starting to abandon us

 

[Luminous Ham]

Astigmatism causes the "dot" to appear as a "starburst" (possibly off-axis, too). Interestingly, my prescription astigmatism-corrective lenses had no affect when viewing a reflex sight's dot! Instead of using a reflex sight, I opted for a prism sight (e.g., Primary Arm's selection) which mitigates astigmatism.

Anybody got any information anywhere how the prism sights are different from red dots in terms of coping with astigmatism?

 

[JG26Irish_2]

Red Dot vs Scope vs Iron Sights? Full disclosure, my 1st buff hunt is not until 2025. Still, I think I can comment with some competence on the question:

When I began the African hunting journey about a year ago, I began looking for a 416 Rigby. Instead I ended up with a FN Browning in 375HH. I have had several optics on it in attempts to find the perfect option. I first shot it with the irons but at my age I do not shoot them as well as I used to. A ghost ring iron sight does work very well for me and shoots about 3" at 100y. Keep in mind that the rifle does not know how you are sighting and aiming it and it shoots the same with irons, red dot or scope. But you as the shooter may be able to see better and thus shoot marginally better with on or the other. After the irons I mounted a lower end Leupold 1.5-4x on it and hunted deer last year with that optic on the rifle. I liked the scope but in lower light conditions I had a hard time seeing the reticle and the 4x was inadequate to judge the quality of deer at a distance. My 10x binocs do compensate for that some.

After hunting season I purchased two new scopes: Swarovski Z6i and Kahles K16. I love them both but liked the Kahles reticle and turrets best but when mounted on the rifle the bolt hits the ocular lens and gets fouled when the scope is dialed down to 1x. Not good. Yes, I could use taller rings but since the Swaro was in hand, I mounted it. It fits better, is a bit lighter, has some really nice features and at 1x with the red dot reticle turned on, it works just like a red dot, while providing some limited magnification for plains game. This will be my rig for this years PG hunt.

During the search for the perfect rifle, I did purchase a 458WM that came with a Swaro optic. Then I had the chance to get a CZ550 at a good price also in 458WM. I decided that I would put a red dot on the CZ since it was good mainly for Buffalo and Ele only. I liked the idea of not dealing with the risk of scope eye on such a hard recoil rifle. I got the red dot before I closed the deal on the CZ. Then the CZ deal fell thru !@#$%

Since I had the red dot, I mounted it onto a black rifle to use in an event planned for this summer. The sight works great! Love it. Just as accurate as the red dot Swarovski set to 1x. Again the rifle does not know. Recently finally found and acquired that 416 Rigby in the form of another CZ550. Either the Kahles or the Red Dot will find its way onto that rifle. Jury is still out. The main weakness of the red dot is you must use the binocs to assess the quarry unless it is very close. Battery life is quite long and it is both lighter and offers good eye clearance compared to a traditional scope sight. I think for me the red dot is only best when used on a rifle that recoils so hard that you would not want to or cannot mount a traditional scope. For me, I think the illuminated LPVO is a better choice but the good ones do cost much more.

 

[Brian]

Do collared shooting glasses and/or polarized glasses help with the astigmatism? I have found that the greed helps quite a bit. Brian

 

[Nevada Smith]

Anybody got any information anywhere how the prism sights are different from red dots in terms of coping with astigmatism?

Explanation: Understanding Prism Scopes

See also: Red Dot Sights vs Prisms

ETA: this is an interesting video and accompanying article