Reflex sight vs dot sight

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Reflex sight vs dot sight

Post by wheedle » 10 Jul 2017, 3:57 pm

What's the difference exactly?

Seems like the same result to me but they are 2 different kinds of scope?

Right?

Or I'm just an idiot... That's possible :lol:
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Re: Reflex sight vs dot sight

Post by bladeracer » 10 Jul 2017, 5:05 pm

wheedle wrote:What's the difference exactly?

Seems like the same result to me but they are 2 different kinds of scope?

Right?

Or I'm just an idiot... That's possible :lol:


I think the red dot sight still works with a flat battery, it's just not illuminated. A reflex sight needs power to project the reticle.
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Re: Reflex sight vs dot sight

Post by Lorgar » 28 Aug 2017, 2:14 pm

"Dot sight" is really a label of convenience rather than a type of sight as defined by its functionality, any dot scope you're looking at likely would be a reflex scope.

On a reflex sight, a reticle is projected from the rear of the sight onto the objective lense which reflects it back at the user, hence "reflex'.

More often than not this reticle will be a dot, hence the nickname. But there are reflex sights with crosshairs, concentric circles etc. whatever you want. The "dot" is actually irrelevant to the type of scope or way it works.

Like bladeracer said you can get non-powered reflex sights. My understanding is they use some luminescent material to produce a light source without batteries. But the functionality as it concerns the reticle is the same.

The nature of how a reflex sights work means manufacturers have to manage a balancing act with the objective lense. On one hand it has to function as a mirror and reflect the reticle back to the user, on the other it has to allow light to pass through from the other side to the shooter so they can see through it.

Tipping the balance too much either way, means either a less prominent reticle or an increasingly darker view through the lense. Quality lenses manage this with clever coatings, but on cheap sights you will see the problem.

So, in most cases a "dot sight" is a reflex sight.

Where these style of sights do differ is reflex sights vs holographic sights.

A lot of the following sounds like splitting hairs, I know, especially as the tangible result (a visible reticle) is similar. At the end of the day both types of sight put a reticle on a bit of glass for you to look at, the difference is how it's produced.

I'll have a crack at explaining this but honestly, the technical intricacies of holograms are a bit beyond me. Google holography to learn in more detail how it works if you're really interested, but here's the layperson version I can manage.

The lense of a holographic scope is made of several layers of glass. Using beam splitters and filters etc. an image (photo) is taken of a reticle, then that image is reconstructed in the glass of the sight, as opposed to simply being bounced off it.

Because the reticle doesn't have to be reflected, the objective lens doesn't require that mirror element like a traditional reflex sight does; you have a clear view through the sight to targets beyond, unobstructed by filters or lens coatings.

A catch with holographic sights though is that the reconstructed reticle is polarised. If you're trying to use one while wearing polarised glasses, the reticle will be diminished or filtered out. And all this technical wizardry uses a fair amount of juice, so holographic sights are always powered and battery life is significantly less compared to the relatively simple reflex scopes.
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Re: Reflex sight vs dot sight

Post by heeple » 29 Aug 2017, 9:21 am

Lorgar wrote:Google holography to learn in more detail how it works if you're really interested, but here's the layperson version I can manage.


I'm lost no the lay person version, forget the technical one! :lol:
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Re: Reflex sight vs dot sight

Post by AusC » 29 Aug 2017, 1:59 pm

A plain old 1-4x scope would suit me fine without worrying about all that.

I'm hunting deer, not in a SWAT team :lol:
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Re: Reflex sight vs dot sight

Post by Browning » 29 Aug 2017, 6:28 pm

AusC wrote:A plain old 1-4x scope would suit me fine without worrying about all that.

I'm hunting deer, not in a SWAT team :lol:


Try chasing pigs up close and personal. Red dot every day.
As with anything they've got a specific function and red dots etc work bloody well inside 50, and the closer your target, the better they become.
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Re: Reflex sight vs dot sight

Post by scoobs » 29 Aug 2017, 7:22 pm

i purchased a red dot for my shot gun for mowing down pigs off a ute. have not used yet, should be interesting
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Re: Reflex sight vs dot sight

Post by Browning » 29 Aug 2017, 9:14 pm

Yup, that's what I use mine for. Off the quad, ute and walking thick scrub..... Perfect
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Re: Reflex sight vs dot sight

Post by Tiger650 » 29 Aug 2017, 9:49 pm

Red dots still amaze me, got one on a small pest rifle really easy to use both eyes open, the dot seems to float in space, makes me feel like Robocop LOL.

Also very good at making the pests feel dead.
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