Red dot sights

[Ward]

I am using a 470 NE on my African dangerous game hunt. My vision won’t allow me to use open sights so I e decided to get a red dot sight. Those of you that have used them in elephant and leopard, please give me some input on your experience. 2 moa or 4 moa or what other options do you think are best. Thanks for your input.

 

[ChooChoo404]

I second that query. Old guy issues. Incipient cataracts, floaters, degraded focal range. Shooting handguns with holographics vs irons is night and day. What’s your experience w rifles especially big doubles?

 

[deewayne2003]

Trijicon RMR 1MOA on my .470 for tuskless in Zim worked perfect; I like the 1moa - it’s small enough to be precise and if you turn up the brightness the dot looks bigger.

 

[Frederik]

Trijicon SRO 1 MOA works like a charm the bigger viewing window helps a bunch and extra bonus battery is fitted from top so need to take off sight. I cahnge battery once a year but the booklet talks about 3 year lifespan on battery at medium setting. You can also set the brightness of dot manually

1 x lion 2 x buffalo 1 x giraffe and a bunch of plainsgame taken with the 458 lott and this combination. Very pleased yes you pay extra but in my opinion Trijicon is the best out there.

Being shooting this way since June 2020 so thats over 5 years now with at least 250 shots fired per year with BASA shoots and just load development and hunting.

 

[BeeMaa]

It’s important to determine what your expectations are when considering a red dot. Do you want MOA accuracy at 100 yards? Maybe happy with 1” groups at 50?

The reason I say this is that dot size plays a big role in your level of accuracy.

A 3.5 MOA dot covers ~3.5” at 100 yards, but at 50 yards it only covers ~1.75”. In other words, the dot stays the same size, but the target grows as it gets closer to you.

Trying to attain 1” groups beyond 25 yards with a 3.5 MOA dot is difficult because the dot covers so much of the target. The 3.5 MOA is meant for closer in shooting but can still be used to 100 yards with more practice. Of course the upside is that the dot is very easy to pick up and get on target.

Personally, I prefer a 1 MOA dot for rifles that see normal use beyond 50 yards. Less than 50 yards for normal use would be something around 3 - 3.5 MOA.

At the end of it, it will come down to how much you practice. Nothing will replace reps and when you are in the field that muscle memory will pay dividends.

 

[Luvthunt]

The red dots are an improvement over iron sights. I have always used the 3 moa and do find it covers the 3” as stated. Practice practice and again never found it to be an issue as long as I had the confidence level based on that practice.

 

[Rare Breed]

I am using a 470 NE on my African dangerous game hunt. My vision won’t allow me to use open sights so I e decided to get a red dot sight. Those of you that have used them in elephant and leopard, please give me some input on your experience. 2 moa or 4 moa or what other options do you think are best. Thanks for your input.

I use 1.0 MOA. I am 66 and my eyes are not great. But the smaller the dot the better you shoot. Aim small miss small

 

[AZDAVE]

I can still see my irons, so I feel blessed. However the last two trips I had some night hunts also on the plan so my 500/416 I used a 1 moa RMR and my 9.3x74 I used a 2 moa Riton. I have to admit it is much easier to shoot better as the dot covers far less that the irons front bead. So the red dots have found a home on those two doubles. My smallest target last year was a sunni and largest was a zebra. will get used this year on much bigger kritters. My wife used a 2 moa on her 375 for last years buffalo.

 

[towserthemouser]

I'd like to hear if anyone has experience with the newer Trijicon RMR HD sight? Top-loading battery, forward facing light sensor, and a reticle that combines a 55 MOA circle with either a 1 MOA or a 3.25 MOA central dot......

It looks a bit larger than the original but it fits onto the same mounting profile.

If anyone has experience with it or thoughts about it please share.

Trijicon RMR HD