red dot question

[hunting1bob]

Hello I am going to get a ultradot red dot for my s&w686, I want to use it for plinking and for whitetail deer. My question is, is there any advantage of getting the 30mm over the 25mm.
The way I see it is you still have to be directly behind the scope, and if you shoot with both eyes open you dont loose any field of view with the 25mm? Am I correct, or am I missing something? I want to keep the scope as small as possible to keep from changing the handling of the pistol.

[Redhawk1]

I have the 30mm and the 1 inch Ultra dot's. I have used both for hunting, I find the 30mm a little faster to find the animal and get lined up for the shot. Quick target acquisition is very important to me. But both will work well with practice.

[S.B.]

30mm has a wider field of view than the 1"/

[KN]

Its true you should be concentrating on the target and you really wont even "see" the scope tube if you have both eyes open. The larger tube is easier and faster to pick up the dot.  KN

[terry]

 I am using a aimpoint 30mm and like it alot. I would say go with the 30mm tube It has a bigger FOV and will make finding the target faster a big help when using a handgun.

[Shootist Elite]

I've used both types of Red Dot sights (30mm and 25mm) as well as some that were larger. It sort of depends on the handgun size and the application you want to use it for. If your concerned about size but still want something of high quality try one of the old 1" (25mm) Leupold/Gilmore Red Dot sights. I've used one of these on a .22 handgun for small game mainly because I wanted something small as well as having a small dot. This one came with a 2" dot which works fine for squirrel hunting. Since your likely to only take shots at still targets (head shots) the field of view isn't absolutely critical. I've used a 30mm  Redfield Red Dot for deer hunting with a 4" dot. I've found this is more that adequate for this application. I would not want to go smaller or for that matter larger this applies to both tube and dot size. You have to remember unlike a conventional scope with a red dot sight you can keep the dot and game animal in view at the same time. This makes a major difference when hunting especially if the animal is moving in cover or away from you. This is to me the main reason why a red dot sight offers the best of both worlds over conventional scopes or open sights. The only time I would want open sights is if I were going after dangerous game especially close up. Also you can use a smaller dot for small game and get away with it for longer distance on large game. The same doesn't apply as well having a larger dot for big game at a distance doesn't trancend itself as well at close range for small game. I would also advise to keep you shots inside 125yds again depending on caliber, dot size and game animal. This distance is just a general recomendation. I think if you get the right sight you will like it. Just stay with a high quality unit made in the U.S. , Japan or the Aimpoint from Sweeden.

[Questor]

I use 1" red dots for target shooting and I don't think I'd like them for hunting. This is because I find it more difficult to use than a scope with crosshairs. I like the quick target acquisition in poor light that I get with a scope. One exception is the Docter style sight that is just the most excellent red dot in the world. I've got one, and regret that they no longer have a U.S. distributor. I'd love to get a new one like it, even though they are expensive.

[Paparock]

Erased by Paparock

[Shootist Elite]

As I stated in my earlier reply I've used red dot scopes. On the handguns I've used for deer hunting I've tried it with open sights, conventional scope, and red dot scope. Open sights are fine for close range, but once you start getting out a little ways the optical sights will generally help you keep a tighter patern. I guess its up to yourself as to how tight a pattern is acceptable  at what ever distance you care to shoot at. As far as speed goes its hard to beat a red dot sight.If you stay with a high quality red dot or conventional scope the practical low light characteristics are probably going to be fairly equal. If you could compare some at a store in low light situations that would help. You mention that a 1x power scope would be accepatble as well. I recall Burris making a custom handgun scope for bullseye shooting that utilized a 8" black dot. I owned one of these at one time. I never did try using it for hunting applications. The dot was a little on the large side for distance but inside 50yds it should work fine. This sort of conventional scope would give you about as bright and as wide a field of view as any handgun scope is capable of while giving you a reticle that would be pretty quick to pick up. The only place you could ever get this scope from was a place called "GIl Hebard Guns". As i stated this was a custom made scope just for this place