Red dot vs holographic vs reflex

[TassieTiger]

Thinking of utilising a different style scope on my soon to be arriving 45/70.
I’ve never had a reflex sight or holographic sight and only used a large 4 or 6 moa red dot. Was a bit hit / miss At that size.

I’d be looking for a 1 moa sized red dot - nothing larger - if I go that way....but what are the benefits of holographic or reflex over red dot?
Is there a reasonable quality unit for reasonable $$ to test the waters ? The aimpoint h2 at just on a grand seems a lot of coin for what amounts to...a red dot.
There is a local unit on used TX-22 for couple hundred - anyone use one of these ? What about the bushnell units?

Any other advice Great fully accepted.

[bladeracer]

I have several of each type.
For rifle use, or longer than pistol ranges, it's very important that is has good parallax. You should be able to put the dot or cross on your target from any position behind the sight, and the bullet should hit the target. Some sights have poor parallax and require a consistent head-to-sight position, much like aligning open sights.

I like the compact reflex as the small frame doesn't obscure so much of your view, but they all do the same job, and rely on batteries. The reflex also tends to offer a finer reticle than most dots, which are usually three- or four-minute dots, but conversely, the illuminated cross can be significantly quicker to pick up than a dot. A conventional tubular dot sight though is less prone to getting broken than the unprotected reflex sights. Get some cheap Chinese ones to decide which you prefer, and then buy a name-brand one if you want to.

[Shootermick]

I put a Vortex Crossfire II 2 moa dot on my 22 mag and really liked it, from memory it was about $250 a couple of years ago. Small enough dot and easy enough to sight in and held zero fine. I could shoot it pretty accurately out to about 50 metres, but took it off and put on a scope to get some more range out of the rifle. Then put the same dot on my 7600 308 pump, didn’t really give it a lot of time on this rifle and it was just filling a gap until I found a 1-4 illuminated scope for it.
I also had a 3 moa Vortex Venom reflex type on my Marlin 30-30. Again it was a good dot, you could really notice the difference from the 2 to 3 moa in dot size though. I took it off to refit the original open sights for silhouettes instead of hunting. Never used or looked through an aimpoint, but I wouldn’t pay that much myself. I’d recommend the crossfire, good range of brightness, you have to click through them all each time to get to your desired setting which didn’t bother me, and on the brightest settings it can starburst a bit, but I couldn’t see why you’d ever need it turned right up.

[bladeracer]

I should add that if anybody does a 1MoA dot it's going to be very difficult to find in the glass, like trying to spot a twenty-cent piece on a fence post 100m away, that's why most dots are several minutes.

[boingk]

Thinking of utilising a different style scope on my soon to be arriving 45/70.

Hi mate, welcome to the 45/70 brigade. I'm running a Leupold 1.5 - 4x20 on mine and love it but can understand why you'd want a red dot. I certainly wouldn't spend a whole bunch on one when you can get the Leupold for $500 or less.

I've had good luck so far with these things: https://vector2007.com/products/victoptics-1x18

I currently have one on a straightpull 12G and its brilliant. It is a 3MOA red dot but honestly for the sort of sight it is, its a big step up over irons and still not a huge jump down in terms of accuracy in terms of a scope, at least under 100m or so. You aim, you hit.

If you're looking for a close range field sight this would be a good one to test IMO. It's standing up well for me so far and for about $40 posted you can't go too far wrong.

- boingk

[Oldbloke]

" I've had good luck so far with these things: https://vector2007.com/products/victoptics-1x18"

Boingk, is that the exact one you purchased? I want one for a shotgun. I got one a year ago to try and it was a pos

[animalpest]

Like a lot of things in life, you pay for what you get.

I have had a number of cheaper reflex and red dot sights, from $150 to $400. All have died, often at a very inoportune time when shooting.

I now have one of those $1000 units and will never go cheap again.

[boingk]

Boingk, is that the exact one you purchased? I want one for a shotgun. I got one a year ago to try and it was a pos

Thats the exact one. It's only had probably 100 rounds so far through it, mostly buckshot but some target # 7.5 loads, but the othe day it would have had 50 rounds in as many minutes at the club and no issues at all.

For the price it's working well so far. Let me know if the pictures work.

[Blr243]

I’m thinking of the same for my new 4570. Prob something like what boink just posted a pic of. I was in the gun shop the other day and the bloke said a cheap unit will shake to bits. I’m thinking maybe fast fire 3

[Oldbloke]

Thanks on the way $60 AU posted it was $40 US

Just what I needed for my "traveling gun"

[Oldbloke]

If you want to hunt deer with a 12g in Vic it needs to be fitted with sights. I figure these will fill the bill. I need 1 gun to travel around with in my van. 12g is pretty dam versatile.

[boingk]

Thanks on the way $60 AU posted it was $40 US

Just what I needed for my "traveling gun"

Hope it works well mate, comes with a little plastic cover as well to stop it from dusting the lens or activating the red dot by being bumped. A good inclusion for a truck gun.

Cheers - boingk

[Oldbloke]

Thanks on the way $60 AU posted it was $40 US

Just what I needed for my "traveling gun"

Hope it works well mate, comes with a little plastic cover as well to stop it from dusting the lens or activating the red dot by being bumped. A good inclusion for a truck gun.

Cheers - boingk

Thanks. Nothing like a recommendation. Been waiting a while.

I'll be using my old single with everything, from 1oz solids down to #6s lol

[TassieTiger]

I should add that if anybody does a 1MoA dot it's going to be very difficult to find in the glass, like trying to spot a twenty-cent piece on a fence post 100m away, that's why most dots are several minutes.

I thought that’s why they had illuminated settings to brighten - I don’t see the point of having a 5 moa red dot on a rifle that may shoot 2 moa. For a 12g - sure...and I think I’ll buy one the B has linked just for that...I think aimpoint does a micro dot at 1 moa...but again - at $1k for a dot, I’d prefer a small Leo scope...

[wanneroo]

Sighting systems is always an area I feel I am behind the curve on and part of it is the technology is moving so fast and the manufacturers are pumping out new products all the time now that it will make your head spin.

One rifle I have a Sig Sauer Romeo 5 that I bought on sale for $120. It's a basic red dot, I believe was made by Holosun, 2 MOA. It's lightweight and the dot turns on when the rifle moves, so far reliable and reasonably accurate out to 100 yards. For a budget rifle it was a budget optic and works fine for that.

I also have an older Eotech holographic with a flip up 3x magnifier behind it. Some do not like that system, some do, to me shooting out to 200-300 meters max with that works fine. The reticle is two 1 MOA dots with a 68 MOA circle. The 3x magnifier flips to the side so if I want increased magnification, I can flip the magnifier into place in a second. It's very accurate and works.

I just bought some more stripped AR 15 lowers so I will be building up more rifles over the next year or so and will be experimenting with other products. Two I have seen with great reviews is the Sig Romeo 8 and the Trijicon MRO.

Check out Garand Thumb's channel on Youtube as he reviews a lot of the current go fast optics. InRange TV on Youtube also has reviewed some of these optics. Garand Thumb is a US Air Force "PJ"(they go in a rescue downed pilots) and he is pretty up to date with what goes on. A lot of the methodology right now in special operation circles in the US is a variable optic 1-6 or 1-8 with a red dot mounted on the side if they need to zap a goober up close.

[wanneroo]

I should add that if anybody does a 1MoA dot it's going to be very difficult to find in the glass, like trying to spot a twenty-cent piece on a fence post 100m away, that's why most dots are several minutes.

I thought that’s why they had illuminated settings to brighten - I don’t see the point of having a 5 moa red dot on a rifle that may shoot 2 moa. For a 12g - sure...and I think I’ll buy one the B has linked just for that...I think aimpoint does a micro dot at 1 moa...but again - at $1k for a dot, I’d prefer a small Leo scope...

Eotech has had 1 MOA dots for many years but yes sometimes you will play with the illumination settings. It's easy, there is an up button and a down button on the side of the optic. Takes a second or two to dial in how much illum you need for the dot in the lighting conditions.

My opinion is go with optics the military uses, Eotech, Aimpoint, Trijicon, some of the Sig products. They are built to be tougher and are made for serious business.

[TassieTiger]

I’ve bought a couple really cheap ones - predominantly to see if I can live with them. Not expecting much in the wAy of longevity or accuracy but I’ll get the experience factor before committing to a decent unit.

[boingk]

I’ll get the experience factor before committing to a decent unit.

This. I'm happy to use a few cheapies to get the experience, and when (if?) they fail I can always replace them with a quality unit.

- boingk

[albat]

Got the bushnell trs 25 on my uzkon lever, never looses zero very robust and super bright dot , $190 , great value for a a scrub shotty sight

[TassieTiger]

Sighting systems is always an area I feel I am behind the curve on and part of it is the technology is moving so fast and the manufacturers are pumping out new products all the time now that it will make your head spin.

One rifle I have a Sig Sauer Romeo 5 that I bought on sale for $120. It's a basic red dot, I believe was made by Holosun, 2 MOA. It's lightweight and the dot turns on when the rifle moves, so far reliable and reasonably accurate out to 100 yards. For a budget rifle it was a budget optic and works fine for that.

I also have an older Eotech holographic with a flip up 3x magnifier behind it. Some do not like that system, some do, to me shooting out to 200-300 meters max with that works fine. The reticle is two 1 MOA dots with a 68 MOA circle. The 3x magnifier flips to the side so if I want increased magnification, I can flip the magnifier into place in a second. It's very accurate and works.

I just bought some more stripped AR 15 lowers so I will be building up more rifles over the next year or so and will be experimenting with other products. Two I have seen with great reviews is the Sig Romeo 8 and the Trijicon MRO.

Check out Garand Thumb's channel on Youtube as he reviews a lot of the current go fast optics. InRange TV on Youtube also has reviewed some of these optics. Garand Thumb is a US Air Force "PJ"(they go in a rescue downed pilots) and he is pretty up to date with what goes on. A lot of the methodology right now in special operation circles in the US is a variable optic 1-6 or 1-8 with a red dot mounted on the side if they need to zap a goober up close.

Checked out that YouTube channel - some good vids explaining a lot. Cheers.