Red dot on shot gun ?

[oldypigeonpopper]

If you google

Multi red dot sight

The first ones that come up are it .it has like a tv screen on it with a flat top .and the ret is projected onto that .

is that the TRUEGLOW ?

Like this?

 

Hello, now that is a quality dot sight

[Ultrastu]

Exactly .thats it .

Mine has red a green .in 3 levels .but if you get one .id go for just a red as green is hard to see against grass etc ..

Also there tends to be 2 sizes of ret .ie some brands the ring is large other brands the ring is smaller .

Id have the larger version .and its better as it lines up with the pattern size better .but either one will shoot fine and work ok .

Most gun shops sell these sights .

[TIGHTCHOKE]

Going to have to buy one now just to see how it all works and looking for a similar improvement in performance that you mentioned.

[oldypigeonpopper]

Exactly .thats it .

Mine has red a green .in 3 levels .but if you get one .id go for just a red as green is hard to see against grass etc ..

Also there tends to be 2 sizes of ret .ie some brands the ring is large other brands the ring is smaller .

Id have the larger version .and its better as it lines up with the pattern size better .but either one will shoot fine and work ok .

Most gun shops sell these sights .

hello, so how did you zero to point of aim on your mossy?

[Ultrastu]

Just the same as i would on a rifle .i put a 2 inch dot on a few large sheets of card and shot for centre then adjusted the dot up or down to suit until the pattern was centred around the dot .

Its pretty easy to get it correct left and right as you can see the end of your barrel through the sight so just adjust it till it directly above .then really any adjustments to poi will be up or down .

[TIGHTCHOKE]

What range have you got yours set for?

 

Shotgun pellets drop much more than rifle bullets so how do you account for the drop?

[Ultrastu]

I zeroed mine at 30 yds with my modified choke in 20 b this gives about a 600 mm pattern (about same size as the red ring )at this range .and is the distance i try to drop my birds .i like to try and hit them from 25 - 35 yds this gives the pattern the best likelihood of taking the bird .much closer its easy to miss past the bird and much further away the pattern isnt dense enough .

Alsobif you do hit a pige at 10- 15 yds there is nowt left of it .so i try not to

[Ultrastu]

I find that effectively the shot gun pellet doesnt really start to show drop till above 40 yds .and what i mean by that is .as a shot tube starts to expand it does so in all directions the upper ones actually going upwards and not dropping at all untill gravity takes hold and starts to show in poi past 40 yds .so in effect you can shoot flat out to this range with no compensation .its also the distance when the pattern gets too big a holes in it to be reliable .

[Ultrastu]

Having extolled the vitues of the red dot sights (i actually mean and prefer a red ring )

There are some down sides ...

1 they take batteries and use them .i will get through a fresh one in a full day .have spares .

2 it can be tricky to mount them on your gun (though most well known brands will have after market solutions ).

3 to get the best out of them they are best mounted on the breach as close to the eye as poss ,to give the widest field of view through the sight . (Mossy ideal for this as they are pre drilled for a rail )

4 you will most likely need to raise the combe of the stock to see through it .

5 your gun is less likley to fit in a standard shotgun slip .with the sight on (mine wont )

6 They can get rain on the screen making the image a bit blurry

7 zero can shift on them if its a cheap unit . (Mine locks down and is fine )

8 in very bright conditions (looking into the sun ) the red ring can be harder to see .a very bright setting is usefull .

 

 

So having said all that .the positives for me far out weigh the negatives .

The biggest one of all is gun mount .

Id say most if not all misses by an experienced shooter (who knows what lead to give and can estimate range etc ) is due to not mounting the gun consistently and thats very hard to do when you u see a pige fly over and you snatch a quick shot at it .the gun is moving and changing position in shoulder and on your face .with your eye line changing down the barrel .

The red dot sight eliminates this .you could hold the gun upside down and as long as the ring is on the bird you will hit it .

Ive made a few shots where after dropping the bird ive felt all the recoil go into my bicep not shoulder .as ive failed to mount the gun correctly .but it didnt matter .

 

This i personally feel is a great advantage to a new shooter .being able to visulize the lead and not rely on perfect gun mount

[Westley]

Ok .1 big advantage over a conventional set up is .when u have a bird approaching your hide directly towards you and it flies above you .to give the bird any lead you have to completely cover the bird with the barrel so you cant see it when you fire .how do you know in that moment the bird hasnt jinked ? .

With the red sight the projected dot /ring looks about an inch above the barrel so a bird can be always seen while giving lead in this or any other direction .

I like to give constant lead on a bird instead of pulling through the shot .

 

BUT, they do not fly over me, I have already shot it in front !

Having extolled the vitues of the red dot sights (i actually mean and prefer a red ring )

There are some down sides ...

1 they take batteries and use them .i will get through a fresh one in a full day .have spares .

2 it can be tricky to mount them on your gun (though most well known brands will have after market solutions ).

3 to get the best out of them they are best mounted on the breach as close to the eye as poss ,to give the widest field of view through the sight . (Mossy ideal for this as they are pre drilled for a rail )

4 you will most likely need to raise the combe of the stock to see through it .

5 your gun is less likley to fit in a standard shotgun slip .with the sight on (mine wont )

6 They can get rain on the screen making the image a bit blurry

7 zero can shift on them if its a cheap unit . (Mine locks down and is fine )

8 in very bright conditions (looking into the sun ) the red ring can be harder to see .a very bright setting is usefull .

 

 

So having said all that .the positives for me far out weigh the negatives .

The biggest one of all is gun mount .

Id say most if not all misses by an experienced shooter (who knows what lead to give and can estimate range etc ) is due to not mounting the gun consistently and thats very hard to do when you u see a pige fly over and you snatch a quick shot at it .the gun is moving and changing position in shoulder and on your face .with your eye line changing down the barrel .

The red dot sight eliminates this .you could hold the gun upside down and as long as the ring is on the bird you will hit it .

Ive made a few shots where after dropping the bird ive felt all the recoil go into my bicep not shoulder .as ive failed to mount the gun correctly .but it didnt matter .

 

This i personally feel is a great advantage to a new shooter .being able to visulize the lead and not rely on perfect gun mount

 

Could you not run a lead from the 12 volt outlet on your vehicle then ??

 

 

It sounds really good and it seems to have so many advantages too.

Edited June 24, 2017 by Westley

[motty]

I'm really surprised that more people don't use them!

[neutron619]

I was in a hide with another member of the shooting association I help to run a couple of years back.

 

We were having a slow day, shooting crows over milky barley and he turned up late, flustered, apologetic, etc.

 

He turned up with a pump action - Franchi of some kind, I think it was - and lo and behold, a red dot sight on top of it.

 

I was surprised and asked him about it. He said he'd been using it for PSG a couple of days earlier and fancied trying it on the birds.

 

I thought since I'd managed 3 or 4 in the few minutes before he arrived that I'd let him have a crack and poured a cup of coffee.

 

By the time he'd missed 10 straight, he was sceptical, but insisted that it was worth persevering. I gave him another few minutes and he had a couple more shots.

 

I don't know if he was aiming or trying to ignore the sight, but I suggested that it probably wasn't helping and asked if he minded me standing up for a bit.

 

He said fair enough and sat down.

 

This happened to be one of the days I was field testing the Gamebore Super Steel loads - 32g/#4 - which I've since come to like rather a lot for various reasons.

 

He, being something of a "traditionalist" had a few choice words to say on the subject of steel shot - no doubt in return for my questions about his choice of gun.

 

The next bird that came past was a 50+ yard crossing wood pigeon, which I downed cleanly.

 

To be fair to my compatriot, I was a little surprised I'd hit it and admitted as much to him.

 

He however, said nothing, packed up his gun and cartridges and left.

 

Two hours later, he returned with a side-by-side and we shot a handful of decent birds before we packed up for the day.

Edited June 24, 2017 by neutron619

[TIGHTCHOKE]

I'm really surprised that more people don't use them!

 

I think sales will be rocketing now!

[Ultrastu]

We all have different skills .and chopping and changing guns ,carts, sights etc isnt gonna help hit birds

He might have got into it if he had persevered

[ips]

Its not the same thing that I shot when it was being demod ay world champs, I wish I could find it online. It was more akin to a diopter sight.

I don't fully understand what you see through the thing that ultra uss. Can you explain in thicko terms what the sight picture is

[Ultrastu]

You look at a clear glass screen .that has a red circle in the middle of it .

[ips]

Um, so your very much aiming whch goes against all shotgun shooting theory. !!

[Ultrastu]

Not really .its still very instinctive its just you have a point of reference .

It works .it really does

[Wb123]

Id love to give one a try.

[Richie10]

How do you shoot high birds with it or do you use the top of the sight to aim?

[subsonicnat]

How do you shoot high birds with it or do you use the top of the sight to aim?

Lol,,,,,No mate the dot is constant,You see the bird,,You see the dot in periferal vision,,

Both eyes open of course..Move the centralised dot,,if mounting the gun correctly every time,,,

Get ahead pull trigger..

A T B.

[E.w.]

Not really .its still very instinctive its just you have a point of reference .

It works .it really does

Well I've never used one myself but I did have a guest shooter with me that used one, me being old school was wondering what the hell he was doing, I soon found out as he was missing hardly anything, he proudly announced that he could shoot with the sight but had trouble hitting anything without it that moved, that goes to show everyone to there own .

[evolution380]

I can't imagine these being of any use for anything other than home defence in the states etc.

 

I've had a few lessons with a silver pigeon and was shooting ok with it, had a go with a browning since and I shot so much better with it.

 

As a newbie I was constantly focusing on the bead, despite my best efforts not to. I overthink and my brain would probably frazzle from trying to block out the red dot and focus on the target.

 

I find with the Brownings/Miroku with the mid bead and smaller end bead I shoot a lot better as I never take focus off the Clay Target. Honestly I think i'd be happy to have no bead whatsoever now I've got a consistent gun mount however rather not devalue a gun and just continue to 'block it out'.

 

If George Digweed plonks on a red dot sight i'll look into them, until then its nothing other than a gimmick / tactical sales point.

Edited July 17, 2017 by evolution380

[saddler]

I can't imagine these being of any use for anything other than home defence in the states etc.

 

I've had a few lessons with a silver pigeon and was shooting ok with it, had a go with a browning since and I shot so much better with it.

 

As a newbie I was constantly focusing on the bead, despite my best efforts not to. I overthink and my brain would probably frazzle from trying to block out the red dot and focus on the target.

 

I find with the Brownings/Miroku with the mid bead and smaller end bead I shoot a lot better as I never take focus off the Clay Target. Honestly I think i'd be happy to have no bead whatsoever now I've got a consistent gun mount however rather not devalue a gun and just continue to 'block it out'.

 

If George Digweed plonks on a red dot sight i'll look into them, until then its nothing other than a gimmick / tactical sales point.

An excellent summary of direct first hand "hands on" experience from a user of red dot sights on shotguns.

[ips]

I can't imagine these being of any use for anything other than home defence in the states etc.

 

I've had a few lessons with a silver pigeon and was shooting ok with it, had a go with a browning since and I shot so much better with it.

 

As a newbie I was constantly focusing on the bead, despite my best efforts not to. I overthink and my brain would probably frazzle from trying to block out the red dot and focus on the target.

 

I find with the Brownings/Miroku with the mid bead and smaller end bead I shoot a lot better as I never take focus off the Clay Target. Honestly I think i'd be happy to have no bead whatsoever now I've got a consistent gun mount however rather not devalue a gun and just continue to 'block it out'.

 

If George Digweed plonks on a red dot sight i'll look into them, until then its nothing other than a gimmick / tactical sales point.

If you don't like a very visible bead but don't want to push your luck with no bead then fit a small brass game style bead. I have used these on every gun I have had for last twenty years.