Author Topic: Red Dot  (Read 854 times)

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Offline Hooker

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Red Dot
« on: March 01, 2010, 03:00:28 PM »
I've been playing with idea of mounting a Red Dot scope on my Mini 30.
I use this rifle mostly when hunting very thick nasty stuff for deer and hogs.
Almost all of my shots are well under a 100 yards in dense pine plantations and briar thickets.
Currently the mini has a Bushnell Banner 2x8 scope that has been on it since 93. It works
great but I was hoping a dot would help me gain a bit more speed getting on target.
I've only used a red dot once it was on a friends pistol and we were at the gun range.
So I was wondering if anyone was using a dot on their deer rifle.
Or maybe someone has some practical experience hunting with a red dot.

Thanks
Pat
" In the beginning of change, the patriot is a brave and scarce man,hated and scorned. when the cause succeeds however,the timid join him...for then it cost nothing to be a patriot. "
-Mark Twain
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Offline PowPow

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Re: Red Dot
« Reply #1 on: March 01, 2010, 03:25:50 PM »
I used my Bushnell Scopechief (5 MOA) on my NEF 30-30 one day deer hunting.  I was paranoid all day about the battery going dead, even though it was a new battery.  I had to fiddle with the brightness through out the day.

I shot two does, but neither was a clean kill. One was a 5 yard neck shot that missed bone and hit the jugular. The other was a 75 yd standing-still boiler room shot that broke a leg instead.  Both shots were made after watching them for a long time, so there was no rush to shoot. Just did not get the precision and bang-flop kills I had with my 1.5-4.5x32 scope. 

But I think the Mini 30 would be a good application for a red dot for stalking.
I like using my red dot on my 10/22 with the 25 shot clip and popping spent shotgun shells about 25 yards away.

The difference between people who do stuff and people who don't do stuff is that the people who do stuff do stuff.

Offline Daman

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Re: Red Dot
« Reply #2 on: March 02, 2010, 10:21:31 AM »
It all depends on your taste. I like fine cross hairs, but I have used a red dot. I used a red dot on my Henry squirrel rifle for two seasons and had great success with it, but went back to iron sights. I also used one on my Mini 14 for a little while and it just did not allow me to take advantage of first and last shooting light in the river swamp so I swapped to a regular magnified scope. I will say that you want to get a decent red dot if you go that route. Don't worry too much about the battery. Turn it on when you get in the woods and turn it off when you get back to your truck and it will last a good while.

Daman
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Offline Bigeasy

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Re: Red Dot
« Reply #3 on: March 02, 2010, 10:55:16 AM »
Red dot sights work well for the kind of hunting you are doing.  It's what they are designed for.  If you are a decent shot they offer plenty of precision for under 100 yard shooting.  Read the specs on the various sights.  Most offer good battery life.  I like the Burris Fastfire2 (holographic).  The Bushnells are not bad for the money.  If you have a lot to spend, then Aimpoint is the top of the line.

Larry
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Offline charles p

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Re: Red Dot
« Reply #4 on: March 02, 2010, 01:36:05 PM »
Probably scare the deer.  No, they are color blind.  Just kidding.

Offline charles p

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Re: Red Dot
« Reply #5 on: March 02, 2010, 01:36:45 PM »
Probably scare the deer.  A light saber might be better.  No, they are color blind.  Just kidding.

Offline PowPow

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Re: Red Dot
« Reply #6 on: March 02, 2010, 01:45:30 PM »
The only place you can legally use a Light Saber for deer is in a galaxy far, far away.
The difference between people who do stuff and people who don't do stuff is that the people who do stuff do stuff.

Offline Hooker

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Re: Red Dot
« Reply #7 on: March 03, 2010, 08:01:27 AM »
LOL Thanks for the replies and the humor.
I think I'm going try a dot on my 10/22 first.

Thanks again
Pat
" In the beginning of change, the patriot is a brave and scarce man,hated and scorned. when the cause succeeds however,the timid join him...for then it cost nothing to be a patriot. "
-Mark Twain
"What country can preserve its liberties if its rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms."
-- Thomas Jefferson to William Stephens Smith, 1787. ME 6:373, Papers 12:356