Member of the big bore club

[rookhawk]

I removed the QD rings and base the rifle came with and installed an EGW pictatinny rail and a Burris Fastfire 3 reflex (my first ever reflex). Weight dropped slightly to 9.31 pounds.

Do you think I should move the sight to the middle of the rail or perhaps the rear?

Why the downgrade? You replaced what was a $200-1500 QD solution with a $50 aluminum base and a low quality Burris mount? (I have an identical broken mount in a drawer...I wouldn’t trust their design BTW, there is a reason they are $30 and Sight Docter is $200)

 

[TTundra]

Why the downgrade? You replaced what was a $200-1500 QD solution with a $50 aluminum base and a low quality Burris mount? (I have an identical broken mount in a drawer...I wouldn’t trust their design BTW, there is a reason they are $30 and Sight Docter is $200)

Ive seen about as many Docters come back as Fastfires when I sold both working at Opticsplanet, Docter just had the European mystic to it, though JP was more head to head with Docter at that time in sales. This was pre 2010, so going back a few years. I would gladly take an RMR over the FF, Docter, JP, Deltapoint, etc, albeit, not all were intentionally designed to be used on big bore rifles, some certainly work better. I would also like to try the new Aimpoint Acro, though it is not an open reflex sight. Trijicon and Aimpoint had the fewest failures by percent of sales. Nothing else was even close.

@postoak , I do agree with @rookhawk that I personally would not have the FF on a DG rifle. I'm sure many do, and its worked many times, but having seen the issues that arise first hand and how often, I would not bet my life on it.

 

[rookhawk]

Ive seen about as many Docters come back as Fastfires when I sold both working at Opticsplanet, Docter just had the European mystic to it, though JP was more head to head with Docter at that time in sales. This was pre 2010, so going back a few years. I would gladly take an RMR over the FF, Docter, JP, Deltapoint, etc, albeit, not all were intentionally designed to be used on big bore rifles, some certainly work better. I would also like to try the new Aimpoint Acro, though it is not an open reflex sight. Trijicon and Aimpoint had the fewest failures by percent of sales. Nothing else was even close.

@postoak , I do agree with @rookhawk that I personally would not have the FF on a DG rifle. I'm sure many do, and its worked many times, but having seen the issues that arise first hand and how often, I would not bet my life on it.

Clarification: I wasn't critiquing the reflex sight, I was critiquing the reflex "rings". (the plate that mounts the sight). They are really unsafe. They were soft aluminum and my torque wrench set at about 15 inch pounds stripped it out. It shook my confidence for dangerous game purposes. (Actually, for a bolt action turkey gun that puts out about 70lbs of recoil) You have to remove the mount every time you change batteries and the durability just isn't there.

Also, buyer beware that the $200-$300 Docter sight mounts are counterfeited for $20 on eBay for use on airsoft (toy) guns.

I just won't the gentlemen to be safe and have a reliable optic. It really is a dangerous design for that mount. I think his QD setup may have been better than the present setup. I was curious what he replaced and why, I suspect it was a bad trade-off based on my similar experiences.

 

[TTundra]

@rookhawk I completely agree. EGW rails have their place and I use them on a variety of platforms. Along with the FF, I have seen a fair share of their rails come back that were out of spec, but as you indicated, for $29-$39 or 59-69 for the, that is bound to happen.

Counterfeits have been an issue for some time and I saw a variety come back, and thus returned to the sender after inspection. Its easy to tell in person, though if only buying from an auction sight with lousy images, buyer beware.

Lastly, but most importantly, agreed on the safety. I'm only a greenhorn in preparation of my first Buff hunt next May, but knowing what Ive seen over the past 1.5 decades from working in the industry, I would not choose that setup for DG, especially seeing what can happen to rifles in transit to Africa as I had scope failure do to handling from the airlines.

 

[rookhawk]

Quote: Do you think I should move the sight to the middle of the rail or perhaps the rear?

Separate feedback. Your mount is really too short for the reflex site in my opinion. At minimum, it needs to be as far forward as you can push it. Not farther backwards.

The closer that thing gets, the bigger the dot is in relation to the target. You'll note that with a handgun, the reflex sight is at least 20-24" from your eye. On a double rifle, they place it about 6-8" down the rib of the barrels. (Length of Pull of 15" + 4" of breech before the barrels + 8" of barrels = 27" away from your eye) Your configuration at present is length of pull, say 14", plus 7" further towards the muzzle on the mount, or 21".

Also remember, the reflex sites for handguns are for close range shooting (7 meters usually) and have a 7 minute of angle dot to cover that target. Dangerous game reflex sights have 3 MOA dots typically so the dot doesn't completely cover the target out to reasonable ranges. You're undermining the purpose of a smaller DG dot by having it close to your eye, thus turning your DG dot into a 7-meter handgun dot by bringing it really close to the eye.

In short, move it as far forward as humanly possible on the mount at minimum, get a longer mount is better, remove the mount (put the QD's back on) and have the reflex sight in a QD mount dovetailed way down the barrel, thus you can QD remove the reflex site and QD put on a telescopic sight at will. <- The professional way.

 

[postoak]

The QD mount and rings were for a scope -- which I had and have no intention of using. Thanks for the info on placement -- I'll move it forward.

 

[Hoss Delgado]

I own a model 70 in .375 H&H Magnum that needed to have it's feed ramp smoothened before it could fire round nose soft points. Maybe that will help you

 

[Newboomer]

Move it back on the rail to increase your sighting distance. I think your feeding problem is flat nose bullets. I've had that problem in some semi auto pistols. The feed ramp and throat have to be polished and then flat noses feed OK. Try some spitzer bullets and see how they feed. I have a Win 70 in 375HH and have no trouble with Barnes TSXs. I haven't tried flat nose.

 

[Ray B]

Postoak writes that he bought a big bore but has no plans for using it. Several years back I bought a M70 458 Win Mag for protection against rampaging elephants. So far (in Washington State) having it secured in the gunsafe has been sufficient to ward-off any elephant that may have been considering a romp through our small town. I suppose I should submit a bill to the city council for services rendered, after all, had I not had the foresight to buy the 458, who knows what damage the rogue herds could have caused.

The M70 is a proven design so I think the feeding problem can be easily determined and corrected by a qualified gunsmith for very little expense.

 

[postoak]

Actually, Ray B, I've scheduled a cape buffalo hunt with Tally Ho, for 2020.

 

[rookhawk]

Actually, Ray B, I've scheduled a cape buffalo hunt with Tally Ho, for 2020.

In lieu of grinding away at the gun, I think trying new ammo is a great idea. Buy Federal Premium Woodleigh Hydro Solids. They have a round plastic nose on them so they feed correctly. They also work great.

 

[CBH Australia]

shoot it, try it , see what feels best. would it matter if the POI changes while you are testing the sight, just for testing. groups may shit POI but you just need to find where the Holo sight should sit.

 

[postoak]

Clarification: I wasn't critiquing the reflex sight, I was critiquing the reflex "rings". (the plate that mounts the sight). They are really unsafe. They were soft aluminum and my torque wrench set at about 15 inch pounds stripped it out. It shook my confidence for dangerous game purposes. (Actually, for a bolt action turkey gun that puts out about 70lbs of recoil) You have to remove the mount every time you change batteries and the durability just isn't there.

Also, buyer beware that the $200-$300 Docter sight mounts are counterfeited for $20 on eBay for use on airsoft (toy) guns.

I just won't the gentlemen to be safe and have a reliable optic. It really is a dangerous design for that mount. I think his QD setup may have been better than the present setup. I was curious what he replaced and why, I suspect it was a bad trade-off based on my similar experiences.

I was under the impression that a picatinny rail was the only way to mount this reflex sight. Are you implying there is a way to mount onto the base that I got with the QD rings?

I've got one vote for moving the sight back to increase the sight radius and one to move it forward to lessen the size of the dot. I am guessing from that that I should just do what I want.

 

[CBH Australia]

is there a 2 piece Weaver rail or Pic rail set available for the rifle? is one base long enough to mount the reflex? Weaver/Piccatinny should be same or close as for this purpose.
I still say try it forward and try it at rear to see what suits before you buy anything else.
We all have preferences, some will go with common or traditional choices others want something that suits their taste or hunting style or situation.
Personally my setup would be more traditional looking, express sights or a compact low power variable scope.
I would mount the reflex on a pump action rifle for hunting if I had one.
Best of both worlds

 

[dougfinn]

Something to keep in mind about the Ruger no.1 and the Winchester Hiwall is that it is difficult to get a scope to fit well on them. You will need a scope with good eye relief as they mount well forward of where a bolt gun would. I have a no.1 in .270 Weatherby and I installed a scout scope mount on it. No need to crane your head forward to sight through the scope. My hiwall has a scope with good eye relief but it mounts to the rear and loading can be a hassle because of limited clearance. My other no.1 is in .458 win mag and I’ve mounted a NECG receiver peep sight on it. All three are great to sight through but like I said, the Winchester is awkward to reload and is more of a range rifle rather than a hunting rifle due to this problem. Just my 2 cents.