Red dot sight for deer hunting?

Erik Hamburger

Well-Known Member
Just interested in some views/comments (preferably only if you have any experience actually using it!) for the suitabiliuty of using a red dot sight for lowland/woodland deer stalking.

The typical evarage shooting distance here (Cotswolds, Glos.) appears to be 40-60 Yards, and I suggest many people are overscoped. A red dot sight is not popular in the UK but it is quite common in the USA and of course for driven hunting on the Continent.
Pro's will be quick target acquisition and having less weight on your rifle.
Cons will be low-light visibility (is it?) as most red dot sights are a x1 magnification, and of course disapproval and tut-tutting from traditionalists.
I have also come accross the option of mounting a red dot sight on top of your scope - now that is an interesting set-up! ?
 
Used a. e o tec for deer and squirrel, no problems in low light, light, quick accusation of target. as to having no mag, at 40- 60yds it should not be a problem.
 
if you're wallet will stand it use an Eotech with a fliptoside magnifier
you get the 1:1 red dot effect for very short range 0-50 and can add 3x mag really easily (click) for 50-100.
pretty rugged stuff and you dont need the more expensive Eotech units as NV compatibility isnt needed. the fakeotech magnifiers on 'the bay' are around £50 and work ok on one of my rimfires. you will give away some optical quality if you go fakealike but not too much for the range.
Alternately stick a burris fastfire ontop of a 4 or 6 mag Swarovski for a great mix of capability.

I use a fastfire on my 6-24x50 swaro to help reaquire targets quickly when set on high mag
 
if you're wallet will stand it use an Eotech with a fliptoside magnifier
you get the 1:1 red dot effect for very short range 0-50 and can add 3x mag really easily (click) for 50-100.
pretty rugged stuff and you dont need the more expensive Eotech units as NV compatibility isnt needed. the fakeotech magnifiers on 'the bay' are around £50 and work ok on one of my rimfires. you will give away some optical quality if you go fakealike but not too much for the range.
Alternately stick a burris fastfire ontop of a 4 or 6 mag Swarovski for a great mix of capability.

I use a fastfire on my 6-24x50 swaro to help reaquire targets quickly when set on high mag

Thank you urx ! Can you please tell me what kind of mounting system do you need to put a Red Dot Sight on top of a scope?
 
I've used the Eotec with both 3x magnifier and night vision andi can think of 2 possible problems you may face mounting it above a scope. First being you'll need a picitinny rail about 6-8 inches long to mount them on which to then mount above a scope could cause stability issues or stress on the scope. Secondly you're gonna have a bore to scope axis of about 4 inches which would give you quite a vertical variation in POA and POI. Not a problem if you remember but if not you could find you bullet impacting quite a number in inches away from your aim point (depending on zero range)

maybe look into quick release mounts and have the scope removeable and swap it for the Eotec?
 
I've used the Eotec with both 3x magnifier and night vision andi can think of 2 possible problems you may face mounting it above a scope. First being you'll need a picitinny rail about 6-8 inches long to mount them on which to then mount above a scope could cause stability issues or stress on the scope. Secondly you're gonna have a bore to scope axis of about 4 inches which would give you quite a vertical variation in POA and POI. Not a problem if you remember but if not you could find you bullet impacting quite a number in inches away from your aim point (depending on zero range)

maybe look into quick release mounts and have the scope removeable and swap it for the Eotec?

OK good point I can see your logic, but....stability issues? And what about all those scope mounted foxing and rabbiting lamps than, do they cause stability issues? Not a bit.
If you look at some modern militairy setups than a red dot or reflex site mounted on top of a scope is seen more and more (often in a integrated unit) - the red dot sight for close-in and fast acquisition, the scope for longer range 'sniping'.
Christmas is looming so who knows father Xmas may bring me a nice Aimpoint or likewise to try it al out...
 
I have an aimpoint mounted on the mauser now and will be useing it next week for moose hunting. If i was back in England wood land stalking i would use a scope. Plenty of flash dot type scopes on the market. would i use an aimpoint for woodland stalking? No. Aimpoint is great for driven game. I can swop in seconds from aimpoint to scope handy if shooting driven during the day and sitting out at night for boar.
​As for a red dot mounted on a scope i can't think of anything i would want less.
 
I have an aimpoint mounted on the mauser now and will be useing it next week for moose hunting. If i was back in England wood land stalking i would use a scope. Plenty of flash dot type scopes on the market. would i use an aimpoint for woodland stalking? No. Aimpoint is great for driven game. I can swop in seconds from aimpoint to scope handy if shooting driven during the day and sitting out at night for boar.
​As for a red dot mounted on a scope i can't think of anything i would want less.

Jagare,

Snap, that's what I do on my MO 3. For stalked I use a scope and for driven I use the Aimpoint HS1. Easy to interchange.

Stan
 
Yeah fair point the military set ups are very robust and sturdy, I was thinking more from a nice sporting rifle point of view with loads of kit piled on top of separate mounts on a scope then also mounted on the rifle. Lots of joins and screws etc.

I did did see an AR15 M&P with a scope on top then you canted the rifle over and there was a ghost ring set up on the side for quick acquisition. Again very good on an assault rifle but maybe not the best on a wooden stocked sporter rifle.
 
the .308 is in an aics with a picatinny rail ontop of the action, the swaro is mounted low to the action using q/d lever ARMS rings with a picatinny upper loop on the rear mount. this allows the mounting of the fastfire not ridiculously high on the gun.
I'll sort a pic to show the setup.
if you have target turrets then a variation is to use a 45deg angled mount to allow the red dot to look round the side of the turret.
I wouldnt consider mounting an eotech this way as its too large but a docter or fastfire mini reflex sight is ideal.
it would look pretty ghastly on a classic stalking rifle but is fine on mine.
 
never used one myself but would be interested to see how you get on.


Just an update on this 'project' :

The optic I picked (Picture here) is an Aimpoint Hunter 34S (H34S) for which I had to wait 5 weeks, it arrived this week, on unpacking I found that the optic, which is seriously expensive, was faulty. The 2MOA red Dot at 100 yards is more like a red rose with approx. 20MOA, certainly not sufficiently fine for accurate bullet placement at anything more than 20 yards out. It is also showing red back-light reflections, as on a really cheap counterfeit red dot sight. But than sometimes reverts to what it should be (A beautiful fine dot), only to revert back to faulty. Obviously something is broken/faulty or damaged.
To be send back to the retailer...another 5 weeks wait for a replacement? So be it.
 
Last edited:
Just an update on this 'project' :

The optic I picked (Picture here) is an Aimpoint Hunter 34S (H34S) for which I had to wait 5 weeks, it arrived this week, on unpacking I found that the optic, which is seriously expensive, was faulty. The 2MOA red Dot at 100 yards is more like a red rose with approx. 20MOA, certainly not sufficiently fine for accurate bullet placement at anything more than 20 yards out. It is also showing red back-light reflections, as on a really cheap counterfeit red dot sight. But than sometimes reverts to what it should be (A beautiful fine dot), only to revert back to faulty. Obviously something is broken/faulty or damaged.
To be send back to the retailer...another 5 weeks wait for a replacement? So be it.

maybe that's a sign for ya??? I tried a rifle with one of the doctor type red dots and just couldn't deal with it.. The both eyes open was a big problem, but I just couldn't get comfortable (or hit anything) with it. The other guys swear by them. The ticket for me was a low mag scope. If I could see better, it would be just peep sights. Wish mine had an illuminated dot.
 
Be aware with the aimpoint type sights that your eyes may not accurately converge at various ranges.
I spent time working out why why poi when looking through was not the same as using both eyes as in a reflex
sight
There is also a confidence thing that says a high mag is bound to be better than a 1x, and yet i think i hit
more with aimpoint than a scope
 
I have Eotechs and Aimpoints on fun guns. For driven game, I use a Swaro 1-6x24 Z6i. At 1.5x, it is perfect for driven game and at higher magnifications perfect for the longer range shot. I`ve shot boar at 60 meters and Sika and at 150 meters. If I was spending the money again I would get the Leica Magnus 1-6.3x24.
 
Go buy an inexpensive, but good, name brand, and try it. They work.
A Bushnell trophy with green and red, and a variety of dot sizes, and 8 or 9 brightness levels, will let you see how it works. You can add a sunshade, too. Tasco makes a good one, around a long time on shotguns.

This will be an expensive way to evaluate the more specialized red dot sights with less adjustment, which are more expensive. It can be mounted in dual Warne QD rings, and swap with a scope. I do this, swapping out between iron sights and scope, and Bushnell red dot to scope on a Steyr .30-06 which has no open sights.

The Zeiss, Doctor, and Burris are good small sights, and will fit on handguns. The FNP is made to take the Burris. The Eotech and Aimpoint are larger, rugged combat sights. The Aimpoint has super battery life.

Open sights are good enough for 100 yard hunting, and 200 or more in the hands of an accomplished shooter. So these red dot sights are, too. You will be surprised how accurately you can shoot at 100 and 200 yards, hitting targets smaller than the dot, shooting groups smaller than the MOA coverage of the he dot.

I would highly recommend it on something like a .375 with Warne or Talley bases for dangerous game. The dot shows up better than iron sights or most scope crosshairs against dark fur. You might look at something like the Leupold VXR scopes, which have a lighted dot of variable brightness, and can be shot with both eyes open at 1.5x or 2x.
 
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