Getting Old

[hangfire]

My eyes are getting older along with the rest of me. I am thinking of putting a Red Dot on my 50 cal. Genisis . can not use magnification in this state but can use a non- magnification with a permit from eye doctor. Any experience or suggestions appreciated

 

[loadbreak]

Ive never had one on a muzzleloader but I did put one on my slug gun.
Worked real well,both eyes open,quick target aquisition and accurate.
Not as good as a scope but better than open sights.
Now I have one on my turkey gun.

 

[Rich M]

I have one on an old Winchester 30-30 - side mount scope.

They are great! Fun to shoot. It holds zero and is very easy to see. (If you look at it in the house it will appear fuzzy but that goes away outside.)

Two points:

1 - the dot is measured in inches at 100 yards - a 5 minute dot covers 5 inches at 100 yards, 2.5 inches at 50 yds, etc. You won't be any more acurate than that. I think most red dots are 2.5 or 5 minute dots... (I have a 5 minute dot which limits me to 100 yard shots with my 30-30)

2 - the dot needs to be centered in the scope for acuracy - I used to think the bullet would hit where the dot is, not quite. Not hard to do.

Last thing - I have heard that all the $100 and less red dots are made by Tasco - so they are all pretty much the same, from Bushnell to BSA. Don't know how true this is but I shoot a cheap BSA ($30 red dot) and have had great results.

 

[cayuga]

My eyes are getting older along with the rest of me. I am thinking of putting a Red Dot on my 50 cal. Genisis . can not use magnification in this state but can use a non- magnification with a permit from eye doctor. Any experience or suggestions appreciated

hangfire first off let me welcome you to the forum. It is great to have you here. As to addressing your question, I will be the square peg here.

I have a Bushnell Red Dot on a CVA Staghorn Magnum. It works great.. it is accurate, and quick to point. BUT I consider this a 75 yard rifle. At 100 yards even a 3MOA dot will not guarantee a 3" group. All that means is the bullet should hit in that 3" dot area. So what if the dot moved off the original hit. You group really opens up. Also, at dusk or late afternoon I have noticed the illumination dot grows a tail that you have to learn to ignore. And you have to try and turn the brightness (11 settings) to something that does not glow but just stands out. Like I said, mine works great, but where I use it, 50 yards is a long shot. For that.. it works great.

If no magnification is the rule.. consider a 1X scope. There are some great ones out there by Burris, Nikon, Thompson Center and Traditions. They range in price from $200.00 to $50.00. I use a Nikon 1X20mm scope on a White, and I have a T/C 1X32mm on a GMB. I like both of them. If you hunt fields, the Nikon would work perfect. If you are in thickets, then the T/C will be a better choice. The Tradition's I have considered, they are $50.00

 

[cayuga]

This was shooting the CVA Staghorn testing some XTP's at 50 yards. As you can see the group it shoots is very good hunting quality.

This was shooting the T/C 1X scope and testing some different projectiles. This was 50 yards off shooting sticks.

 

[danielojones2002]

I use a BSA open face red dot with multi reticle on my 11/87 and shot a whitetail that was 150 yards out. It was mostly luck

 

[vabowhntr]

I have used red dots on shotguns for turkey and slug (smoothbore). They work well, with a couple of drawbacks. Make sure you always carry a spare battery and that you can change it in the field. At first and last light, no matter how low the setting, I still can't see anything other than the red dot. I can see the deer with my eyes, but when I look through the dot, it fades to black. I was able to keep 2" groups with a smoothbore 870 with the dot at 50 yards, which is about as good as that gun would do. It was fast to aquire, so with enough light it worked great. I think if I had the choice I would agree with cayuga and use a 1x scope or a peep sight.

 

[JeffK-MN]

Welcome Hangfire

I also have trouble with old eyes I hunted this year with a Bushnell Trophy red/green dot it worked great I shot a doe the last day of the ml season with it. I got it from sportmans warehouse for $90.00 and that included the rings. It was just right for me Good luck Jeff

 

[black powder]

My eyes are getting older along with the rest of me. I am thinking of putting a Red Dot on my 50 cal. Genisis . can not use magnification in this state but can use a non- magnification with a permit from eye doctor. Any experience or suggestions appreciated

at 63 my eyes are not what they used to be ...i live up north [canada] and use a bushnell elite 3200 [3-10x40mm] and have stopped wounding deer ,too old to track them down ...it is beyond my understanding that someone or somebody passes a law stating no SCOPES ON MUZZLELOADERS ..most of these idiotic laws are passed by people sitting behind a desk on the 13th floor ... ps. sorry i got carried away

 

[cayuga]

While I could care less if a muzzleloader is scoped.. some States such as Wisconsin have the no magnification law. While I do not care one way or another with it, I do understand that it is their right to do so.

I do feel that if a person can prove through doctor's examination that the benifit of a magnification scope would be necessary, then they should be allowed. Perhaps limit it to 2.5-4 power or something like that. The trouble is loop holes like that are often times abused by others that do not need the special circumstances.

 

[ronlaughlin]

While I could care less if a muzzleloader is scoped.. some States such as Wisconsin have the no magnification law. While I do not care one way or another with it, I do understand that it is their right to do so.

I do feel that if a person can prove through doctor's examination that the benifit of a magnification scope would be necessary, then they should be allowed. Perhaps limit it to 2.5-4 power or something like that. The trouble is loop holes like that are often times abused by others that do not need the special circumstances.

This is my first post here. If the op has the same problem as i do, it isn't necessary to have any magnification in a scope. We/i can't focus close, but can see fine at distance. What we need is to have both the target and the aiming device be at infinity. That is what a one power scope would do for us. If the states that don't allow scopes during muzzle loader season would allow a one power scope, that would solve the problems for us older shooters. That way there would be no need for a Doctor's note, and the fella that would just as soon use iron sights would be on a level playing field with us that can't focus both close and far simultaneously.

 

[black powder]

i have no problem with people that want use iron sights and still have good eye sight ..40 years ago i was 23 years old and on my first moose hunt i had a scope on my rifle ,i hunted with some older hunters and at that time and age nobody was using a scope [cityslikers only] when i saw the results of my first moose hunt ,3 moose were wounded and never found ,out of 6 hunters i was the only one with a scope and collected my first moose .i caught on fast and saw the importance of a scope on a fire arm ..of course none of the old geezers would admitt they're error . i believe in a quick and humane kill ..ps. i don't remember the number of deer and moose i have shot ... but i can recall very clearly the ones i MISSED ..

 

[cayuga]

ronlaughlin welcome to the forum. Its good to have you here. We have a great bunch of people here.


I could not agree more, about the 1X scope. I have trouble when I focus on fiber optics or iron sights. Maybe it is the bi-folds, or what. Now with that Nikon and T/C 1X scope I use, I know the cross hair is on, so all it becomes is a simple aiming device. And it does make a difference.

I guess the State of Wisconsin want to make the playing field a little fair with traditional and inlines so they outlawed magnification. They did allow the 1X scope for those with focus problems so they can still hunt. Like I said, if they allowed magnification I might use one, but actually for the ranges I encounter, the 1X does just fine. I do want to try some long distance shooting with it this year.

 

[mew]

If you are looking for a red dot, check out UltraDot at www.ultradotusa.com. I have three, one on a slug gun and two on MLs. They have a lifetime warranty. I have shot alot of rounds using them, with no change in impact. Good battery life. Great sight for around $140.00