Reflex Sights on Dangerous Game Rifles

[postoak]

I just learned of the existence of these and they seem like a great alternative to both scopes and open sights on a DG rifle. Does anyone here have any experience with them?

https://www.dailyshooting.com/reflex-sight-vs-red-dot-sight/

I like their compactness and the fact that eye relief isn't a factor so that you don't have to worry about scope marks on your forehead. OTOH, they are only 1x.

I'm also not sure how well they mount on sporting rifles.

https://www.burrisoptics.com/sights/fastfire-series/fastfire-3

 

[wesheltonj]

Had a couple of Eo-Tech's for the black guns, returned both of them for a full refund under the class action lawsuit. Bought some cheap made in China SIG models and had some money left over. However, If I was going to mount a reflex sight on anything other then a black gun. I would buy the Zeiss. Trijicon makes a very popular one.

 

[mdwest]

Aimpoint 9000L is affordable (about $450) and is designed to fit in 30mm rings on a magnum length action

The 9000L is a prism red dot rather than a reflex.. but is a good, rugged option IMO for bolt guns..

 

[postoak]

Interesting that Airpoint thinks that is desirable because of its long length. I would have thought the smaller the better on a DG optic. Unlike the reflex type it appears this prism design is of variable power (1x4) which is just about ideal.

 

[mdwest]

I think both probably serve different purposes.. and either would be a good choice..

A small reflex sight would be excellent on a double I would think (I dont know for sure.. I've never tried it.. but I have seen quite a few used on doubles and the owners seem happy with them).. and they are certainly smaller and lighter than prism sights..

What I like about the 9000L though (or the 9000SC if you are mounting on a standard length action) is that it is held on with 2x 30mm rings just like a scope, and has the same familiarity as a traditional scope (tube), but has the speed, eye relief, and parallax free benefit of a "red dot"...

If you use QR rings, you could use a variable powered optic when going after PG, then swap out for a 9000L in QR rings when you are ready to chase DG, and then if/when you need to remove the optic altogether and go with irons you can do that too...

This is my plan with my .375 H&H.. I've currently got a 3-9x42 zeiss optic on it that I used for PG last year.. I intend on using the same rifle in 2019 for buffalo.. Ill be taking the zeiss variable scope and a 9000L with me on that trip.. hopefully once the buff is taken care of I'll have some time to chase a couple of PG and will be all set with one rifle for the trip..

 

[mdwest]

Had a couple of Eo-Tech's for the black guns, returned both of them for a full refund under the class action lawsuit. Bought some cheap made in China SIG models and had some money left over. However, If I was going to mount a reflex sight on anything other then a black gun. I would buy the Zeiss. Trijicon makes a very popular one.

I did the same thing.. I had EOTECH 512's on both my black rifle and the wifes.. got a full refund on them and went with other options after that..

 

[postoak]

I finished reading that article.

Reflex sight - inexpensive, light, small, no specific eye relief, no magnification

Prism - more expensive, heavier, much larger, specific eye relief, magnification

Holograph - very expensive, weight and size of a prism sight, no specific eye relief, much finer dot for long distance shooting, magnification

If no power is adequate for DG, then the reflex would be for me.

 

[IdaRam]

Trying one out on my .458. I decided to go with the Leupold Delta Point.

I chose the triangle reticle and I think I’m going to like it. Large enough for quick acquisition and a fine point for precise aiming.
Durable enough for mounting on a pistol slide so expect it will hold up well on a big bore.

 

[BRICKBURN]

Thanks for asking about this and the education guys.

 

[ZG47]

Interesting that Airpoint thinks that is desirable because of its long length. I would have thought the smaller the better on a DG optic. Unlike the reflex type it appears this prism design is of variable power (1x4) which is just about ideal.

My understanding (with all due respect to your viewpoint) via an article on The Firearm Blog, with technical advice from Aimpoint, is:

that a short tube red dot prismatic sight can have problems with two dots being visible when a strong light source hits the objective lens at a relatively shallow angle to the central axis of the sight

Conventional sighting telescopes can have flare issues when the objective lens is insufficiently recessed, i.e. in low sun conditions, so I suppose it is fair enough that red dot sights can also have issues with strong light sources coming from similar angles.

 

[ZG47]

Trying one out on my .458. I decided to go with the Leupold Delta Point.
View attachment 217335
I chose the triangle reticle and I think I’m going to like it. Large enough for quick acquisition and a fine point for precise aiming.
Durable enough for mounting on a pistol slide so expect it will hold up well on a big bore.

Looks interesting. Please let us know how it works for you.

 

[Doc25]

I have a hendsoldt rsa on one of my ar’s. Really like the sight.
If
As I understand it aimpoint is the one to judge others by. Some of them have 50 000 hrs of battery life. Basically you turn it on when you buy it and replace the battery one a year to be sure it’s always good.

If you want a reflex then there is the deltapoint mentioned above and vortex has two choices like that.

On the tube type red dots like the aimpoint pro you can also get a flip to side 3x magnifier for them.

 

[postoak]

I am old enough to remember the writings of guys like O'Connor and Keith and that interwar period where bolt action rifles carried iron (usually peep) sights. Rifles of that era seemed balanced and have never seemed so to me since scopes came into use (although that is what I have used by-and-large). Going with a reflex seems an exciting opportunity to get back to that age, somewhat.

 

[MMAL]

I put a Burris Fastfire 3 reflex sight on my Kreighoff 500/416. Just getting to use and test. I put it on because my eyes are going. Cant read without glasses now and I could not focus on the front bead. Certainly easier to fire and aim. I believe they are good for a double rifle where 2-3moa accuracy is good. But for a true rifle, this scope will make a great rifle good. Meaning take a 1 moa gun and it is now a 2-3 moa gun.

I mounted the fastfire 3, 3 moa. If I did it again I would get the Trijicon rmr, 1 moa. two reasons. 1) 1 moa vs 3 moa dot. 2) I have already broken the burris. The glass shattered with a minor "bump". Burris is covering the warranty but the Trijicon is suppose to prevent this with their invert U shape top. Transferring any force from the top to the side supports and not the glass. No experience with them but that is the design.

Personally, I hated putting the reddot on the classic double rifle but without getting contacts, it was a necessity for me.

 

[rnovi]

I have a small, Bushnell TRS25 I set up as a back up sight for my Merkel Helix. I have no problems at all ringing 200 yard steel with that sight, even with the 3moa dot and zero power.

What can I say? I'm a fan of the Dots.

 

[JamesJ]

They are an abomination and totally ruin the lines of the guns.
That being said I have a doctor optic dot on my .470. They extend the useful range of the guns and help us mere mortals shoot more accurately. I shoot irons well, (not as well as i used to) but the dot is faster for me and requires less thinking when shooting at distance. I do prefer the smaller ones, they add little weight and you always have the option to remove it and go back to irons, the way god intended them to be.

 

[markferrigno]

Reflex/Red Dot is the way to go. My eyes have deteriorated to where I can shoot with Iron sights, like other posters Ican't focus on the front bead. The Red Dot has been a lifesaver. I mounted a Docter on a Heym 7x57 O/U double and right out to 50 yards is right on and I can shoot to 100yds with issue. I tried a Vortex Red Dot on a 7x65R O/U and it performed great. And it was less expensive than the Docter.

 

[KMG Hunting Safaris]

Fitting a reflex to my .416 Rigby. Main reason is for the night, Hippo hunts. That way, I can supply my hunters with a .375 with conventional scope, 416 Rigby with the red dot, and I stick with the 500NE open sites.

 

[Tally-Ho HUNTING SAFARIS]

I have a Blaser R8 416 rem mag with Burris fast fire on std blaser quick detach mounts, only clips into one hole of the 2 you would use for a conventional scope and its never gone out of centre. plus I remove it every time I pack my weapon up and take apart to fit in the case
been my go to gun for backup for 7 years now
never had an issue, only replaced the battery once

I agree its not classical lines but it works great

 

[One Day...]

Hello.

Changing front sights on my DG guns has been like blowing the candles on the birthday cake every decade or so. I had to get from a 5/64" bead to a 3/32" as a 40th birthday "gift," then to a 5/32" for my 50th candle, and as I will blow the 60th in a few months, I reckon that I would need a 1/4" bead by now LOL. Yep, I can still shoot the 5/32" in a bit of a blur, but I will only group 2 to 3 " with it, so, let's face it, my iron sights days are gone.

I am sticking to a low power Schmidt & Bender 1.25-4x20 30 mm tube (an amazing piece of glass!) on my .416 Rigby because it can reach out to 200 yards/meters should an impassable opportunity arise on large plain game while tracking buf, but I do not want glass on my close range DG .458 Lott.

I have used an EoTech EXPS2 on a black gun for a while, which I did not turn back in with the recall program because I never had any problem with it, despite the fact that I live in Arizona and I am using it regularly in 100F+ temperature. Since I do not envision myself going from -20F to +120F in the course of one day, it does not bother me that I may need to re-sight it if I move from Arizona to Alaska. My kid has cycled through at least half a dozen Chinese $30 clones, and he broke them with such regular monotony after a few hundreds of rounds, that I stay away from them (and I ended up buying him a Vortex red dot out of sheer compassion).

So, based on my experience with two-eyes-open shooting with a quality holographic sight, I am installing a Docter III 3.5 MOA on my .458 Lott. It took me a while to find the right detachable mount for the 12 mm dovetail of my Mauser 66 (the telescopic action predecessor to and the inspiration for the Blaser) but it is on its way as we speak from optics-trade.eu. They offer virtually any mount solution you could dream of. I selected the Docter based on the fact that if Heym, Mauser, Blaser, Krieghoff, etc. offer it as a factory option on their guns, it has to be of compatible quality.

Will tell you how it works, but based on my experience with the EoTech, I expect that it will get the .458 Lott back in a 1" group or less (amazing actually how accurate these big guns can be once you understand how to live with the recoil).

Thx
Pascal