Are red-dot scopes a good idea?

[TMan]

This week at the range I got to shoot a guy's S&W 2206, which had a BSA red-dot scope. I didn't even know they made such a thing. It is a scope that has a red laser looking dot in the middle of it. You place the red dot on the target, swear off coffee, and pull the trigger. On the first steel plate I actually saw the red dot move off the target and go down as I pulled the trigger. I have this really bad habit of limp-wristing small caliber guns. So if they have a fairly heavy trigger pull, which this gun had, I shoot low.

I missed the plate, and I corrected by getting a firmer grip for the next shot. After that I didn't miss any plates and I left the range thinking: "got to get one of those suckers".

Further thought: suppose you had a gun that used radar to put each shot directly in the bullseye - what fun would that be? I kind of pride myself in maintaining sight alignment and pulling the trigger.

The good side is that it pointed out to me that I wasn't holding the gun properly, but satidfaction? I wonder.

Anyone else ever seen one of these or had experience with one? What are your thoughts?

[MLB]

I've been thinking of getting a similar gadget for my RMII. Last year I picked up a very cheap version of the red dot scope for the bank busting fee of about $30 to play with. For that amount of money, you can imagine what I recieved (via eBay.) It is a workable trinket for an airgun maybe, but I never mounted it on any firearm. You can purchace a BSA for about $100 I think, and up to $400 for some (Nicon?)

I've been looking more into the type that only has a single lens visible (the name of the darn thing escapes me at this late hour). Same concept at the scope type, but a bit cleaner looking I think.

[klmhq]

I've seen them, held them, and want one. Mainly because I want to shoot at ranges that I can't really see the parts of the target and the 2x magnification will be enough.

The Sig Trailside has intergral rails for a scope or red-dot and that's what I would use it with.

[TMan]

klmhq said:

...The Sig Trailside has intergral rails for a scope or red-dot and that's what I would use it with.

I was thinking about it for the Beretta, since I can't hit the broadside of a barn with it. Other people shoot it and it is fine for them, so there is something I'm not getting right on the sight picture.

I guess my concern is that the red dot is kind of a crutch. On conventional guns, keeping the sight alignment with the target, squeezing the trigger, and hitting a bullseye I feel like I have accomplished something. In fact if I shoot the Sig P210 and do well with it I don't feel a great sense of accompishment. If I shoot the Tanfoglio GT-32 and do well with it, I feel like I'd been walking on water.

The thing I liked about the red dot scope was that it was very evident when pulling the trigger I could see I pulled the "sights" off the target. I may have mentioned it before, but with guns that don't have any anticipated recoil I don't have a tight grip. Consequently, if it has a heavy trigger, I'll pull it down off the target. I know I do it, and I don't even have to look at the target where it hit. The nice thing about the red-dot scope is that it makes it very apparent. It also made my wandering all over the target aparrent too. It was like - am I getting Parkinson's?

[MLB]

klmhq said:

...and the 2x magnification will be enough.
...

The few I've seen have no magnification at all.

[klmhq]

Most of the ones I've seen have a 2 to 4x magnification.

I think that they would be used for (or at least I would use them for) long range pistol shooting. Like 50+ yards. I don't see the value in combat style shooting.

["DoubleAction"]

The Red Dot Sights allows one to aquire the target fast, while focusing on the target rather than the front sight. The intensity of the Dot's size and brightness is controlled by a varible control knob, featuring up to ten different settings.
The best deals around might be found on the Tasco Pro Point II or III. These come with an extension tube for use with rifles or carbines, and are compatible for use with pistols or revolvers.
Another is an open design, like the Optima 2000, which features a screen, rather than a tube, and allows even faster target acquisition.
The Aimpoint is another Red Dot with a larger diameter tube for a larger field of view.

Like all other electronics; Most drop in price after new models are introduced.

I have the Tasco Pro Point II, and the Optima 2000.

[tptplayer]

I have a Para .45 with a C-More Serendipity red dot. (It is visible in the pictures section of this forum.) I wouldn't comment on the usefulness of the set-up as a self defense weapon but it is great for shooting bowling pins. If you sight is less than perfect, it also makes it easier to see the target. One red dot is certainly fun to have in your collection.

[TMan]

Okay, since I started this thread, I have found a great use for the red dot scope: dry-firing!!! While sitting in my comfortable rocking chair, I put my new BSA red-dot scope on the Taurus. I then aimed at a target and pulled the trigger. The dot moved a little. So far, so good. I then tried it in double-action mode. Arrrgh, I was awful. I can't believe how much I pull it off the target when trying to shoot in double-action mode.

Today, I took it and the Taurus to the range. I also took the Ruger Blackhawk because I wanted to sight it in, and I was shooting at an indoor range, it was heated, and I could take my time.

I had to adjust the scope quite a bit to get it to hit at the point of aim. The left to right didn't need any adjustment, just the vertical.

I was shooting in single-action mode, but my left thumb started to hurt (where I suck the brass jag into it earlier in the week). I switched to double-action mode and proved what I had seen at home - I was all over the place. Shooting a revolver in double-action mode is a whole different world. I need to do a lot of dry-firing before I waste anymore ammo.

[Fobos]

I started coming home from the paintball range with a lot fewer welts after I put a red dot sight on my paintball gun... ;D

It's not only fun to have on a target gun, but it can also be a very practical accessory to have on a duty weapon.

[TMan]

Fobos said:

I started coming home from the paintball range with a lot fewer welts after I put a red dot sight on my paintball gun... ;D

Good Gosh, I didn't realize that a red dot scope served as some sort of body armor ;D

So the people you "play" with are going home with a lot more welts. Nice guy you are. Have you thought of keeping your paintballs in the freezer and taking them out just before you shoot? ;D ( I hope someone laughs as much reading this as I have writing it).

If I may be serious for a moment: it may go away with practice, but I found yesterday that it took me an extra second or so when I raised the gun, to locate the red dot on the target. I would bring the gun up and then have to move it a little in order for the red-dot to appear. My acquisition time is faster with regular sights.

I would not use use the red-dot scope on a defensive weapon. Crisis: pull gun, look through scope, no red dot. Somebody shot the Energizer Bunny. Or more likely since I'm such a screw-up: pull gun, look through scope, no dot. I forgot to turn it on.

For defensive weapon, I don't even like adjustable sights. If I had to use a weapon with adjustable sights, and my life depended on it, I think I'd probably use locktite on the screws.

[MLB]

That and it'd be darn hard to find a holster for it... ;D

[TMan]

MLB said:

That and it'd be darn hard to find a holster for it... ;D

Hee,hee.hee - I could use a belly band holster. Having it in the front with the 12" barrel on that Taurus would make it interesting. Finally women would notice me. ;D

I can hear the giggles now: look at that old guy... and he is white too... he must have taken the whole pill bottle full of those blue pills... there may be snow on the roof, but there must be fire in the furnace.

["DoubleAction"]

With the Tasco Optima 2000, you can still holster the pistol in a normal fashion. The first time I saw an Optima on a pistol it was at the '99 Shot Show; Jack Weigand had one on a Colt Commander he customized. The Optima takes up hardly no more space on the slide as a BoMar.