Aimpoint sights

transit260

have a look at the 5 minute mark on,what ye reckon with these sights,would they be suitable for close up(100 yards or less)on the goats I shoot?they look the dogs dangalies.Anyone ever experience them,and what the pro's and con's with them?Are the conventional sights better or what?Thanks for the answers.

Grizzly 45

They are fine,but pushing it for the distance you are on about.But I found the following problem with them.

You will loose sight of the dot very quickly in bright sunny conditions in open spaces.They are great in woodland or darkish overcast conditions,but useless in the open field in bright weather

They can also be a major PITA to focus or even get on paper if you are using a lazer bore sighter,as they are red and the lazer is also red.

I would also get a smaller model rather than a big model as you retain better overall view of the target with the dot super imposing itself on your eye rather than trying to look down the limited sight view at the dot and target.

If you are limiting yourself to those distances and 100yds is your max.I'd be more inclined to get a truglow set of hi viz sights and mount them on a rifle/shotgun.Less to break down or batteries to run out or whatever.

They are expensive!! I bought a chinese knockoff copy of the aimpoint from an airsoft store to play around with. I compared it to a genuine aimpoint and maybe in the materials used,there isnt much of a difference in quality or function,just price.So before flaking out 600 plus,I'd spend 60 and just goof around with it and see if it is for you.

Personally,I feel they are a solution looking for a problem,as most of the problems out there can be corrected with proper training that they propose to solve,or with cheaper alternatives.

It wasn't me!

only ever handled them on rifles, never shot with them. As Grizzly says, they're not the be all and end all, but they are fast to use, and if you like low/no magnification, they're great. In terms of aiming, they don't offer anything more than iron sights. Where I could really see them making a difference is on a gun with a high comb for scoped use, which makes iron sights awkward or uncomfortable to use. I was having a look at one on a Sako, so that has a high cheekpiece, and it came up just nicely. If you're stalking goats, they'll offer you absolutely nothing over a scope with proper magnification levels and will offer you less fine aiming control. If you were shooting them on the move however, there might be an advantage, but mitigated by the lighting issues Grizzly mentioned.

Robotack

They are huge money, but they do differ from iron sights in so far as you use them with both eyes open, meaning they are very fast... I agree with the airsoft comment though. Try a cheapo one before you shell out €6 / 700.

harmoniums

I use this on a M4 clone I have

http://www.vortexoptics.com/product/vortex-strikefire-hunting-red-dot-scope-low-30mm-ring

you can get them for $150

I also have this swing out magnifier, they are really top quality stuff
http://www.vortexoptics.com/product/vortex-vmx3-red-dot-magnifier-with-swing-mount

they go for about $200, the combo is great!

heres a video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgwrhEXt33M

clivej

I used this on my 10/22 but now it sits on my AW93. Only small money on e-bay less than €40. I have 2 - one is picatinny and the other on the AW93 is 11mm.
Says its shotgun rated. The same model sells for $100 with different names stamped on the sight.






Bit of a video here
http://www.irishshooting.com/?page_id=110

transit260

Grizzly and IWMe,reading your posts they dont seem to be worth the bother and with the prices mentioned I dont think I could stretch that far,but looking at thee harmoniums and Clives post they do kinda tempt me,lol.Im soooo confused,lol.

It wasn't me!

Oh, don't get me wrong. They're cool, and they really do have a function, but I don't feel it's really on a stalking rifle, for my own money, and I think you're off with a variable scope with a low bottom end magnification.

cookimonster

Do a bit more research on them, I shoot a cheep one on my spare 22 bolt action, great fun. But at 100 yards the dot over laps a clay pigeon. These sights at what ever price where ment only for short distance quick target acquisition shoting. The dot size are rated in MOA and the cheeper ones have bigger MOA values as the distance to target increases hence my €40 one is ment to have a 4 MOA at 100 yards but in reality it easily blots out a clay sized target.

transit260

Cooki what do you shoot at with it,game or targets?or something else.lol.If say I were to buy a 40 euro one would it be suitable for a big target like a goat etc.Im a bit slow with the technical stuff,computers included,any pointers as to where I might find info on the sights?

cookimonster

Hi Transit260,
I am no expert on Red Dot Sights. I fancied one, had a few spare euro and bought one from Opticwarehouse http://www.opticswarehouse.co.uk/products.asp?cat=NcStar+Red+Dot+Sights

NC Star Red Dot Sight 1 x 30 (DBB130)


To be honest these get very mixed reactions from acceptable to rubbish. Some claim the fall apart very quickly, but I suspect that these are Air soft Warriors leaping about the place or want to be action shooters. I keep mine for plinking and it is has been back and forth to the range with no loss in zero. Zeroing can be a little tricky as it is cruder than a good set of iron sights for precision sighting.

Try this link - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_dot_sight (scholars forgive me, but Wiki is always a good starting point) for basic on red dots.
The next link is a article on 'Strengths and Weaknesses of Red Dot Sights for Hunting Whitetail Deer' http://www.fieldandstream.com/node/57218
Optics Planet have this article -Red Dot Sight Guide - How to Choose a Red Dot Sight http://www.opticsplanet.net/red-dot-sights-guide.html

Or if your are like me and get bored easily hit UTUBE for the moving pictures

By the way if you have a spare €1000 + Duffy,s in Galway will sell you a military spec magnified red dot style optic with a secoundary aim point sytem built in for close up work

Grizzly 45

[

QUOTE=harmoniums;78443224]I use this on a M4 clone I have

http://www.vortexoptics.com/product/vortex-strikefire-hunting-red-dot-scope-low-30mm-ring

you can get them for $150

Thats the one I have in the Chinky copy version .Paid 60 euros for it!:p

transit260

thanks cookie,erm I think I'll look at the 60 euro version,lol more in my range.Grizzly do you use it a lot and had you bother zeroing it in.Not really pushed on getingone just thought if it did the job would it be a better option than steel sights.

Grizzly 45

Meh! Not as much as I would like to use it..On the shotgun it's fine as if it puts the red dot more or less where you want the shot to go for clays.But I find it too restrictive for that,as I loose the overall sight pic of whats going on. I hope to use it for some boar hunting this autumn in Germany,and it will be intresting to see how to precisely zero it with slugs over there.
Tried it on my semi .243 Yes it would be ideal there for brush hunting and snap shots at deer or goat.BUT is a major PITA to set up right to get it to group right,as it is then buggered up from the shotgun settings.
Not to mind all the goats I'm hunting have now moved to open fields rather than the gorse clumps that they belong in. So back to a scope.:rolleyes:

meathstevie

Would a set of good old fashioned battue sights not be the right job for a hunting gun ? I've looked through a few of those red dot jobs and I can't for the life of me see any advantage over good iron sights or low magnification telescopic sights. Fast target acquisition only comes from two things anyway in my opinion; first is a pointable gun and second is practice.