Red Dots

[Terrapin]

Guys, anyone have an opinion on red dot sights/scopes? Useful, not useful, etc.

How about putting one on a 22 revolver? I've seen them on 22 autoloaders like Mark IIs and Buckmarks...

Lastly, are Taurus and Smith and Wesson rear sights interchangable? I know most Taurus revolvers are S and W knockoffs, so I was wondering...

Thanks in advance!

[DoubleAction]

Terrapin;The Red Dots were made popular by the competition shooters who favored them for Quick Target Acquisitions.The open type have been favored over the tube devices for alot of reasons.I have an Optima 2000 mounted on a Buckmark and it uses a standard holster,rather than an open front required by the tube devices.The aquistion of the target is faster on the open screen as opposed to the tube for me.Some prefer the Red Dot because it allows them to focus on the target rather than the front sight.I'm not very familiar with the sights that they install on the Taurus and the compatibilty of the S&W rear leaf sights.If you take the gun to a dealer,the comparison can be made more detailed by comparing the two.

[Magnum]

Red dots are nice to have but take a little getting used to. The open style is much faster than the tube style unless you get a big 42+ mm sight. With the tube style initial aquisition isn't real quick but easy to maintain for follow-up shots. (with a .22 anyway) The best part about them is you can shoot with both eyes open and in doing so the dot will appear to project on the target like a laser. But only up to about 20-25 yds. Beyond that it looks like it's floating between you and the target. That can mess with your head if you let it.
Beware of BSA, they may seem like a good deal, but have a short lifespan.
Some of the better ones out there are the Optima (very hard to find even used, no longer in production, requires special mount) ATN, Bushnell, Trijicon, and C-more. Of these the Bushnell Trophy and the Trijicon Armson OEG are the best deals. There are lots of others that are probably good, but these are the only ones I'm familiar with from my own research when I bought a Trophy for my neos.

[DoubleAction]

Terrapin;Taking a photo of what the dot appears to project may seem larger in a photograph or image.http://www.msnusers.com/gunmenii/general.msnw?action=get_message&mview=0&ID_Message=805

[Terrapin]

Thanks, guys! What makes one red dot better than another? There is a red dot at CDNNinvestments.com for $9.99, what does a $300 set have that this won't?

[RogerC]

Part of it is the same reason a$40 pair of Bushnells is inferior to a $800 pair of Steiners or Zeiss.....

Optics.

Red dot still use glass. Inferior glass will not conduct light very well. Things will be dark behind the dot. Waves and imperfections are unwanted as well.

Cheap scopes of any kind, get beat up my recoil. High quality scopes can take a licking and keep on ticking.

Go somewhere where you can compare them side by side. I think you'll see the difference.




That's an Aimpoint ML 2. It's not on a handgun, but it sure as hell could be. Eye relief is NO issue with red dots.

[5Delta3]

Some of the other features which make one red dot scope better than others are...
1. Ability to adjust brightness of dot
2. Type of on/off switch (i.e. momentary on or always on/off {momentary saves battery power})
3. Type of battery (some have better performance/life span) (Price and availability of battery is also an issue)

Of course issues that affect standard optics apply as well.

[Terrapin]

Thanks again, gentlemen. I'm taking RogerC's advice and will compare some firsthand. But I'm holding off on the $9.99 red dot at CDNN