Does anyone use a red dot or even a green dot for hunting instead of a scope? Work mate mentioned he was thinking of putting one on a rifle. It is mostly open tops hunting around here and I was just wondering how effective they would be.
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Does anyone use a red dot or even a green dot for hunting instead of a scope? Work mate mentioned he was thinking of putting one on a rifle. It is mostly open tops hunting around here and I was just wondering how effective they would be.
I ran one on my old 300blk AR
They are good for thick stuff and spook and shoot, but you do lose quite a bit of versatility over an lpvo. Had a couple of times where I let animals walk that I probably would have shot with a low power scope to get a bit more detail in the Bush.
I definately wouldn't use one for tops hunting unless you wanted the added challenge of trying to get inside 100m to make a shot.
Also generally they are a bit shit in low light.
I used some for homekill, Never liked messing around with my scope so I made 1 to screw onto the muzzle (always sighted in) and it was great for 1-40m range. red wasn't really visible during the day but green wasn't too bad. can't see much other use for them other than short range point & shoot
Do yourself a favour and get a 2-7, 3-9 or similar it will be far more useful for longer ranges you would expect to encounter on the open tops, that fallow I shot with you when we were in Kaikoura was 340y and I can tell you at 10x zoom it was pretty small in the scope.
A leupold 3.5-10 or similar would be just about ideal, I would only drop to a 2-7 if it was going to be used predominantly under 100y
I've used one a bit. Had no issues wth it, all shots within 50 metres tho. Then we changed to a holographic and that was even nicer to use. Dont ask me the difference, cos I dont really know. And my girlfriend runs one on a 22 for her kids, apparently easier for them to master than a scope. I tried it one day just for fun, 2 moa dot, and I shot a 10 shot 1.5 moa group at 100. Was pretty impressed with that. Excellent for spook and shoot, you dont even think, just slap that red dot where you want the boolit to go and things just fall over. Unlike a scope, you dont have to have the dot centred in the frame. I'd be happy to use one out to 200 maybe. But would rather a 1.5-6 Kahles for an all round scope, can shoot with that way out to 5 or 600 no problem, and leave on 1.5 for the short stuff.
Would have been great for you last roar:DQuote:
Originally Posted by Happy Jack
Had an aimpoint H-2. They are pricey as but they are a nice bit of kit. I sold it to @Flyblown and he uses it for hunting, he'd have some useful input I'm sure.
Also @tikka uses an aimpoint for hunting too I think.
If you're hunting open country forger it mate, they're great for bush and small clearings.
I find them alright out to maybe a couple hundred metres - though it depends on how good your eyesight is. Beyond 200m, I don't feel comfortable that I'm getting a precise enough point of aim.
They don't have light transmission anywhere as good as a scope. So in low light you can see the dot well, but can't see what you're overlaying it onto so much.
They suck if you have astigmatism.
You can technically dial them. But nobody does this because of fiddly little turrets, coarse adjustments, and I doubt they track at all well. So set and forget, and get good at hold overs (especially if you're running subs). Took me a bit of practice to stop massively over estimating holds at distance.
There's very little they do that a low power scope can't do better for hunting IMO.
Wouldn’t use for tops,great in bush though,have one on my 44mag and swap from scope to red dot on my 308 when bush hunting or wet weather,the water on the lenses don’t seem to mess with the view of the dot and since you shoot both eyes open can still make out your target.I have scope in Leupold quick release rings and the dot goes back on within 1moa when refitted so no need to relight.
Its not me who wants one as they are beyond my budget, its a work colleague who seems to have a bottomless bank account where hunting is concerned. But good to see what you all think as I have never seen one.
As mentioned they are useless if you have astigmatism.
Had a look through @jono7 one the other week and what it looked like to me was a TINY dot with a starburst around it.
He assured me it wasn't..... realized I am just a blind c@nt lolz.
I have one that I can use sort of but I think it's only because it has a fairly large dot.
I run one when walking, anything over 100m I figure I have enough time to swap on the big scope, less things to get caught on bushes
Strictly close range use for me, on a Browning BLR .308.Quote:
Originally Posted by 308mate
I’m shooting mostly goats in tight manuka scrub with small grassy clearings. Middle of the day hunting. Find them by following the sound of the kids calling Mum. Occasional fallow. All subsonics - Robert’s cast boolits. Most of the time I’m so close, open sights would be best. But quite often I want to shoot across a clearing and the red dot (50m zero) works very well for shots to the high shoulder or head.
Like @Pommy said, I shot over the top of a few goats at first, over-estimating the hold for longer shots. I cured that by putting an old door against two wool bales - shots at a target from 60, 70, 80m etc off the quad seat. Marked up the POI with red electrical tape and went back to the bike for another look to see the drop relative to the dot. Works well.
Firedot scopes by leupold is a normal scope with a dot inside them which in my opinion is the best of both worlds I have them in 2-7 and 3-9 and they are bloody great
Hate the red dots that iv had in the past even too little magnification for a 22 in my experience
Too imprecise
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I run a red dot on my .357 lever action. Wicked for what I use it for but have had to let the odd mob go that I would have comfortably shot with my scoped 223
Used red dots for quite a few years now, currently a Holosun. Has 2 MOA dot on own or 2MOA dot onside 65MOA ring. Use it mostly bush hunting but used to use out to 200m before my astigmatism got worse about 11/2 years ago, still ok in bush. Contrary to above I find it good in low light situations. If you see target, shoot it. As previously stated, great for swapping out scope on rainy days. Both return to zero near enough. Must admit I use 2-7 or 3-9 scopes more lately but will probably keep red dot.
Attachment 214558
Worked fine for me on Thursday ..not tops hunting though but this shot was 60m in tight pepperwood.
I've got a vortex spitfire Gen 2 prism on my .223 at the moment. It seems the perfect compromise for my use. 3x magnification, 1moa etched/illuminated dot, and the entire optic is smaller and lighter than most red dots (and half the size of the old Gen 1 vortex spitfire many here used on ARs). While some people take much longer shots I consider the ethical range for .223 to be around 200m so I'm not concerned about dialing etc, this tiny, lightweight optic is great for my purpose. Fixed 3X mag is a great compromise between very close bush shooting and longer range.
Got a photo?sounds like what I’m heading towards as my eyes get worse with age and astigmatism.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ben Waimata
No picture on hand but here's the product. Designed for ARs so limited eye relief, apart from that it's perfect for my use;Quote:
Originally Posted by The bomb
https://vortexoptics.com/spitfire-hd...ism-scope.html
How do you mount it low enough on a bolt action?did you get it overseas or is there a nz distributor?thankso
It comes with two mounts, one high and one low. I got mine from scopeUout.Quote:
Originally Posted by The bomb
