Thread: Red dot scopes on rifles.

Originally Posted by Koshogi

Red dot scopes are fantastic gor close shrug or snap shots. They are easily field accurate out to 300m, anyone who says otherwise doesn't know how to shoot with one.

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I am not going to dispute that they have their place and their uses. And I know how to use one and had one for quite some time. And I agree whole heartedly on your comment "Red dot scopes are fantastic gor close shrug or snap shots."

But if the dot is big enough to see for those "close shrug or snap shots."then it is too big for any accuracy further out. If it is small enough to be accurate at ranges over 150m, it is so small that you cannot see it in a hurry. Those snap shots in the bush require a bight dot to be 4 to 6 moa in size in order to be a 2" to 3" circle (or there abouts) at 50 metres. Thats a 6 inch bread and butter plate at 100m. At 300m that dot is 18 inches across and this is likely to mean your group will be similar. That is not good enough for a long shot. You can get a nice bright 1moa dot scope, that has a nice tight dot so at longer range you get a smaller group, problem is when you look at a pig at 50 metres you are now looking through your scope for a dot on the animal the size of a 10c copper coin. Try seeing that in a hurry.....This is not just a dot problem. Look at cross hairs too. A big thick bold cross hair is easy to see fast, but obscures a lot more of a target. Try shooting a 2 inch cricle at 100m when the cross hair is is wider than that.... a fine thin precise cross hair can see a 1 inch circle at 100m but is hard to pick up in a hurry.

It is all a balance / compromise. If you want fast acquisition in thick bush then a bright dot or a thick bold cross hair is ideal with the dot having the advantage, but if you want accuracy at 300m at small targets then the fine cross hair will out perform them. Anything in between is a balance between the two.

If you are likely to be using it in close range and bush then a dot may well be ideal. If you dont mind being a little slower on acquisition then the cross hair of a low powered scope like a 1x-4x up to a max of 6x will still be able to do better at those longer ranges when that opportunity comes up. This is partly why the 3-9x40 has been such a popular size. 3x is low enough for a decent field of view and fast (ish) acquisition and 9x is fine for 400m long shots on decent sized targets like deer. This makes it a good balance for most hunting situations. thicker the scrub, lower the magnification, the more open and clear it gets the bigger the scope 4-12x or 4-16 even. Horses for courses.