Are red dot sights "catching on" in Dangerous Game hunting?

[Ruark]

One of our main "keep it handy" guns out here is a S&W MP15 tactical rifle with a 30 rd. magazine. We never know when a yote, rabid skunk, chicken killing fox, feral hog, etc. is going to jump from out of nowhere, and just about everybody out here has 1 or 2 of these toys on their wall.

One item that has rapidly emerged on the marketplace with these guns is the red dot sight. I have to use one, because of my nearsightedness. I wear bifocals, and the back iron sight is too fuzzy to use reliably. With the red dot, however, I see a bright, sharp little red dot (2" @ 100 yds) superimposed over the target, almost as if it were painted on it. There's no "lining" up of front and rear sights needed, and target acquisition is almost instantaneous. Where the red dot is, the bullet goes. Wonderful, wonderful.

I was reading about Big 5 hunting and was just thinking - wouldn't this be perfect for DG? When one is coming at you full speed, couldn't a sight like this be a lifesaver? So I'm curious if any PHs out there are using them for DG hunting. I realize, of course, that many PHs have spent their lives using traditional front/rear iron sights and are too accustomed to them to change, and that's certainly understandable.

Cheers,
Ruark

 

[enysse]

Well Ivan Carter would agree with you! I think they could be really handy, maybe not traditional but they are useful.

 

[PHOENIX PHIL]

Yeah, they do seem to be gaining popularity whether it the holographic types for a normal rifle scope with a lit reticle. You even see folks putting them on their double rifles.

 

[Royal27]

I like them. Like you say, they are easy to use. And if iron sights don't work for you....

Im seriously considering putting one on my .458 Lott. I like the irons sights, but my eyes aren't as good anymore either, especially in low light.

 

[joester]

I haven't tried red dot/holographic sights on DG but I do use illuminated reticle scopes now for most hunting. I used a Zeiss Dialyte 2-8x for my cape buffalo hunt in Zim and I really appreciated the red reticle contrasted on that jet black hide.

 

[lcq]

I have never hunted DG but I wouldn't trust my life to a red dot unless it was possible to see the sights as well. It is difficult enough to keep electronics working in non-hostile environments

 

[Hogpatrol]

I found myself sitting in a treestand with a dead battery in my red dot scope and no spare. Never again. As another caution, if you have cataracts or the beginnings of them, all you'll see is a blurry red spot instead of a sharp dot.

 

[Wheels]

I haven't tried red dot/holographic sights on DG but I do use illuminated reticle scopes now for most hunting. I used a Zeiss Dialyte 2-8x for my cape buffalo hunt in Zim and I really appreciated the red reticle contrasted on that jet black hide.

+1

I haven't tried the red dot but love IR. I doubt I will ever buy another scope that doesn't have an illuminated reticle. I have made a couple of shots using the IR that I probably wouldn't have felt comfortable taking otherwise. I probably wouldn't have a leopard if I didn't have IR due to darkness.

Leupold has ten levels of brightness on their IR. I now use the IR even during the daytime. My eye is just drawn to the red dot.

If you use an IR you always have the crosshairs to fall back on if there is battery failure.

All the best.

 

[lcq]

+1

I haven't tried the red dot but love IR. I doubt I will ever buy another scope that doesn't have an illuminated reticle. I have made a couple of shots using the IR that I probably wouldn't have felt comfortable taking otherwise. I probably wouldn't have a leopard if I didn't have IR due to darkness.

Leupold has ten levels of brightness on their IR. I now use the IR even during the daytime. My eye is just drawn to the red dot.

If you use an IR you always have the crosshairs to fall back on if there is battery failure.

All the best.

exactly right, always have a mechanical backup

 

[siml]

Wheels on leopard, don't think you can go wrong using one, for the rest I would stick to normal scope or iron sights.

 

[Hogpatrol]

I have two Trijicons, IR post on one and green dot on the other. No batteries to go dead.

 

[Royal27]

exactly right, always have a mechanical backup

I will take this a step further. Always have a backup, period. Iron sights can break too.

 

[lcq]

I will take this a step further. Always have a backup, period. Iron sights can break too.

no kidding. when you have traveled so far and paid so much backups are mandatory

 

[Tanks]

On my 500MDM I have used an EOTech Holographic sight for a bear and two elephants so far. My PH liked it so much that he has one now.

 

[Norwegianwoods]

I will take this a step further. Always have a backup, period. Iron sights can break too.

I totally agree.
I have been using red dot sights for many years and on very rough hunts.
I even have one on a shotgun and shoot birds and clays with it.

First of all, you need to buy high quality products.
There is a reason for why some of them are on combat rifles used by military forces.
They would for sure not use it if it wasn't able to take lots of beating and still work well.
The newer ones also use very little electricity and you can easily hunt all day without running out of battery.
Battery getting empty on the new ones is an operator error and nothing else
I make sure to carry spare batteries anyway.
Just in case Murphy strikes

I think a high quality red dot sight would be great for DG hunting.
It is far more faster to use for quick and good shots.
No matter how well used to use open sights you are and are able to make quick and good shots with them, you will always shoot quicker and better with a good red dot sight when you have practiced enough with it.

 

[Royal27]

^^^

Great point about the military! Red dots are now commonly used for the most dangerous game in the world, man. And I agree completely on target acquisition as well. I'm personally much quicker with a dot than an open sight. I'd like to use open sights on my next hunt (either buff or ele), but that is purely for romantic reasons. If my eyes won't allow, and I'm starting to think they won't, it will be something that glows for sure.

 

[Tanks]

...
The newer ones also use very little electricity and you can easily hunt all day without running out of battery.
...

All day? Try years. My EOTech has an advertised usage of 600 hours on a battery. They will also indicate hours before, on the sight, when it gets low. Now, I will change the battery probably every six months just as a matter of course seeing that they do have an expiration date.

 

[Norwegianwoods]

I know
I only wanted to make clear that running out of battery should never be an issue with the new quality red dot sights.
I didn't want to put up high numbers as some might think I inflated them

 

[TokkieM]

I used one on my 458 Lott, faster and easier to shoot with both eyes open, extremely effective up to ranges of 50-80 meters on moving animals too. I liked them so much I now have a secondary one mounted ontop of my scope on my 308, just for those animals that pop up at 20-30 meters while hunting, also makes sense when following up wounded plainsgame in thick bush. Still have to wrap my head around mounting one on my double.

 

[Tanks]

Ivan Carter seems to have one of those on his double .