favorite red dots?
 

I'm thinking of putting a red dot scope on my Buck Mark. It has a weaver style base from the factory and I find the stock sights to be nearly unusable with my eyes. They are hooded and there is no color or highlight. I have a devil of a time sighting with it. I pulled the hoods but it doesn't help. I thought about dabbing some color on the tips, but a lot of guys have run red dots with good results. I was thinking about this one:

http://www.opticsplanet.net/bushnell-trophy-1x28-red-green-riflescope.html

Not sure if the green/red capability is that important. I need something though because at the range I just can't see what I'm pointing at at 15m. By contrast the sights on the 1894 and 686 are not a problem.

Perhaps a bit more practice with the iron sights? Focus on the front sight & the target...it's okay if the rear notch blurs a little...just be sure to form a straight line across the U of the rear sight with the front sight...place the bull atop that, and squeeze gently.

My opinion & prejudice of course. I just never liked funny sights on a handgun...but sorta can see why handgun hunters would like them. Long range big bore handguns, that is. But a .22? Not on my Browning!

Paul, the problem is that the sights on this Buckmark (the 5.5 target is different than all the other Buckmarks) just don't work with my eyes. I have no problem sighting my other iron sights and in fact prefer iron (especially the ghost rings on the Mini14). But these just give me fits.

This is another way to go - holographic. It looks a bit less obtrusive on a pistol (not mine)

http://nostatic.com/photos/IMG_1271a.jpg

When I'm out at the desert I've actually been trying to shoot beyond 100m with the .22. Without much luck, but practice, practice, practice...

I became a non-believer in battery powered optics last week when I got to the range and my Millett Zoom Dot scope's battery was dead. It's supposed to only turn on when the lens covers are flipped up and supposedly has a battery life of 10k hours. I had maybe 3-4 hrs. with the lens covers up at most. Oh, and it arrived with a dead battery when I ordered it online. Since I had removed the iron sights from my M4, I couldn't shoot it with that dead battery and it was a complete waste of time. Frustrating at the range and much worse in a tactical situation. Those size batteries don't grow on trees either. I'm trying to decide what to do next.

Yeah, I've thought about that. I generally prefer lo-tech and still might just try and regular pistol optic. I'm trying to figure out if firesights will mount onto mine - no batteries with that.

That said I saw a solar powered red dot while poking around. Green anyone? :p

My pilot friend had a red dot/window sight on his Sig in .40 "Short and Weak"...I had a real problem getting the red dot to show in the window...figured I could get used to it, but why bother?

Perhaps find a good smith who could return your buckmark to iron sights?

Trijicon doesn't use batteries...

Trijicon is the only dot sight that does not rely on batteries. It uses two systems: fluorescent fiber optics for gathering ambient light when there is ambient light and Tritium (glow in the dark stuff) for times when there is no ambient light. Therefore, there are no batteries and no switches. Unfortunately, if you are not happy with the dot brightness, there is nothing you can do. Trijicon has an Amber colored dot.

There are several bases available so the sight is usually priced without a base. I priced this one with a Weaver base for more convenient comparison to other sights. The Weaver base is $70 retail, around $50 - $60 on the street.

"The Reflex II has a new clearer color lens (reds are more red instead a brownish color); it features a triangle reticle 12.5 MOA tall; and comes standard with the polarizing filter and rubber caps. The original Reflex has the reticle options of a 6.5 or 4 MOA dot. No accessories come with this Reflex." - Trijicon FAQ page

It has iron sights, I just don't like them. The front is just a thin post sticking up. Since taking off the hoods I'm finding that I can sight a little easier by pointing tip up and dropping the front into the rear trough. But I'm not crazy about that. Easiest fix would be to dab some color on the front. With everything dark and the only texture on the rear sight I just can't focus down on the front sight.

Here's what it looks like

http://nostatic.com/photos/buck1.jpg

http://nostatic.com/photos/buck2.jpg

http://nostatic.com/photos/buck3.jpg

I don't think the gun is any good Todd :( Maybe sell it to me to get rid of it :)

I'd be tempted to see if a good smith could remove the entire ramp...and just melt in some good adjustable rear sights, and a blade front...My browning Challenger is a 1970 model...doesn't have any of that stuff.

The rear is fully adjustable, and the front is adjustable for width. My issue is lack of contrast. As you can see it is designed for optics so I'll run some for grins and see if I like it. The revolver won't have any so if I'm feeling traditional I'll just shoot that. Well, except for the 7 shot heresy ;)

Sorry Bill, I can't send it to NZ. I'd get in trouble with someone. Somewhere. Sometime. You'll just have to come visit here to shoot it.

Don't temp me. You guys have too much fun.

Come visit AZ and you'll never want to leave.

nostatus...........a few trains of thought. if you go with a red dot as rickster mentioned you are dependent on batteries. and we know where that goes. spendy and ya always have to have spares. the smaller the better as for weight. i have a crap lil bushnell red dot that uses cr2032 batts in it. not cheap and you have to make sure it is turned off or yer screwed the next time.

now on the other hand for instinctive "point and shoot" the recommendation is a small brass dot on front. very easy to pick up vs 3-dots or any other type of sight for that matter.

rememember the object is to be instinctive. not this crap of lining front/rear sights up and then shooting. usually what happens when yer bobbing weaving trying to line up sights your breath pattern gets out of synch with your bobbing and weaving and your brain and your trigger finger and therefore you miss the shot.

now shooting cans is fine and fun. shooting paper is fine and dandy. shooting paper is better when benched and in a rest for sighting in. but both get real boring real fast once intial site in completed.

now if yer sighted in with one flavor of round and you then proceed to open another box out in the dez and shoot that flavor you are stroking yourself. go back to range. sight in with federal or eley target ammo and then take SAME ammo out to dez and never ever change flavors once site in completed. 36 grs or 40 grains...........big ass difference downrange. especially when yer shooting a 100meters.

now if ya go with an optic you have now entered "unlimited" class. and thats just lak racing cars...........run what cha brung. and when entered into a "unlimited" class ya better be damn good. trust me. these guys take these .22's apart to the firing pin and everythang gets balanced and blueprinted. every round is mic'ed before a match and these guys are deadly accurate!!!! scarey accurate.

my suggestion is to find a smith, who can install a fiber optic style front sight. similar to the ruger mark III 22/45 that i have. tru-glo makes them and you stay in "limited class" and ambient light "fuels" the glo. it aint a nite sight.

the trick with any competitive shooting is being "instinctive" point and shoot. wherever you point that front site yer bullet goes. my springfield stainless .45 fullsize has the lil brass dot on the front installed by my smithy nelson ford(the gunsmith.com) and trust me it works damn good once ya send a boatload of rounds downrange. it becomes second nature after a while.

i never stand or sit there and line up front rear sites unless benched in a sand bag. enter a sunday .22 match and watch the other guys who do this all the time. same applies in big bore classes. point and shoot..........just like pointing your finger at an object.

when you see the "unlimited" class in .22 or big bore shoot you will also have a chance to see what works and what isnt out there. to get to the point of dancing a can/milk jug etc across the dez with any pistole takes alot of practice with a well sighted gun using good ammo that is one with the pistole.

Any good gunsmith can cut a dovetail on the slide for a front sight. Having that dovetail will open up a whole world of possibilities by way of front sight options. White line, white dot, tru-glow, different heights and widths, and on and on.

if this is an option..cool!!! my bro added some type of glowing sight system on his service piece. it aims fast!

but for the original que...aimpoint is the main player. i have seen some great ones from Truglo also. i dont worry about the battery. this isnt war (the military uses aimpoint), and you dont hunt. a dead battery is a simple inconvience.

Try dabbing some white-out or orange paint on the front sight. Also try leaving the front sight dark and dabbing some white-out on the rear notch. If either helps, consider having a gunsmith install a colored or fiberoptic front sight and/or white-outline rear sight.

Black front sights work well for paper targets which are mostly white. But if target is dark, a black front sight works less well (my opinion).

Also, a narrow rear notch is good for deliberate target shooting, a wider rear notch can be better for faster shooting.

As I get older, and my eyes deteriorate, I have a harder time with iron sights. It is harder to switch focus from the front sight to the target and back again. If I had a "target" pistol, I would seriously consider optics, whether scope or red-dot or otherwise. Its not hard to carry an extra battery in the gun case.

If we depend on technology to get is through....will it be there when we need it?
"Knowledge learned is better earned if it don't come too dear"

OOOOH GEEZUS NOSTATUS What is next? I agree with PWD..Every bell whistl and gegog?

Rick,

Something isn't right with that red dot. The fact that it had a dead battery when you got it, and now it has one, leads me to belive that its not turning off properly, or there is some other power drain.