illuminated dot or whole reticule

joe soapy

Well-Known Member
After looking through a photon was impressed by the dot ret.
I see some scopes are now available with a centre dot.
has anyone used this and kept it, or is a standard cross hair still the best?
Looking at meopta 3/10 x 44
 
I would never go back to a illuminated cross no way
ive got a swarovski with adjustable dot and its fantastic for those low light dark days and foxing at night as its a tiny little dot as opposed to the whole cross lighting up like a xmas tree :)
 
I have a Kahles with an illuminated centre of the cross and a Swarovski with the illuminated dot. I have shot dark coloured Fallow against a dark background, at last light with both. I prefer the dot format but I think it is simply preference on my part, as they both work fine.
Whichever you choose look through it in the dark and make sure that it is fully adjustable and that the lowest setting does not 'dazzle'. I find that I only use the bare minimum of illumination.
 
Cheers for that, I was wondering if the dot holds concentration better, making quick shooting bunnies under the lamp easier
 
Cheers for that, I was wondering if the dot holds concentration better, making quick shooting bunnies under the lamp easier
For rabbits I would think the dot would be much better on a small target. My Kahles has only the very centre of the cross illuminated, which is quite small and does not dazzle though.
 
I have one Zeiss scope with an illuminated dot, and another with a small illuminated cross. Both allow you to vary the brightness of the illumination.

For anything other than driven boar/deer I can't see any real difference. If I was buying an illuminated scope to use on driven boar I'd go for a dot (he says, with only one trip on driven boar under his belt).

willie_gunn

P.S. I perhaps should have added that, in the past, I had an IOR scope where the complete reticule was illuminated. Given that I never used anything other than the "standard" crosshairs, the other illumination was nothing but a distraction. I can see if I'd been shooting out to 300/400/600+ metres on a regular basis then I might have felt differently. I guess it proves that, once again, it's "horses for courses".
 
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Dosent seem much info on the net about various reticules, especialy the dot ones.

Having watched numerous utube misses i have often thought that the shooter would not have placed the sight pic that far off knowingly.
The fact that the new automated sighting systems have been developed tends to make me believe that a lot goes on between the perfect
sight picture and the actual trigger let off.
So back to question, does a lighted dot hold the brains attention better than a cross hair
 
A dot on rabbits is much much easier thats why i bought the panorama with the l4 reticle with red and blue setting that im selling its just not enough on my .222 in a lamp at 200+ yards if i had a rimfire id keep it so yes on the dot reticle :)
 
My Hakko has a central mil dot which illuminates and is the buissness esp for rabbits its tiny so does not obscure the target. Similarly have an illuminated central dot on my Meopta which I feel is too big. On my Mark 4 Leupold just the central cross illuminates and is fine. My son has just invested in a Vortex Viper and the whole reticule illuminates which I dislike. Also I have a NS MRE which has changable illuminated reticules and this is also excellent. Many cheaper illuminated scopes tend to flare out esp if all the reticule is illuminated. Overall I would choose just a tiny illuminated central dot.

D
 
My Hakko has a central mil dot which illuminates and is the buissness esp for rabbits its tiny so does not obscure the target. Similarly have an illuminated central dot on my Meopta which I feel is too big. On my Mark 4 Leupold just the central cross illuminates and is fine. My son has just invested in a Vortex Viper and the whole reticule illuminates which I dislike. Also I have a NS MRE which has changable illuminated reticules and this is also excellent. Many cheaper illuminated scopes tend to flare out esp if all the reticule is illuminated. Overall I would choose just a tiny illuminated central dot.

D

Interesting, I can feel an expense coming on.
I think many of us probably shoot within the point blank range of our rifles and the most important factors for sights are speed of acquisition of target,
then placing aim point on the target quickly, every thing else in the scope is just clutter, or is it?

Thinking mag of 8 or 10 as best trade off for field of view and abilty to see clearly a bunny at 80/150 yds
and fine illuminated dot as aiming point

I'm no expert at reading the wind drift, so extra marke on the horizontal line are not needed
and the vertical is only really used to set the scope upright on rifle on first fitting.

Sorry for the ramble, but the lamp man does complain when he has a rabbit sitting there and i dont shoot as quick as he thinks
i should, Its even worse when i miss a sitter
 
By the positive comments it looks like i might be going the dot route.
So, shooting off back of vehicle, HMR, at night.
what recommendations please, bearing in mind bumping around is not kind on equipment,
cost, up to £200 ish
mag up to 12 for the odd longer range shot
objective up to 44 to keep size and weight down.
good field of view for when lampman asks why i cant see what he is looking at?
illuminated dot half minuit?
inch or 30 mm?
Cheers.
 
Yea but which make, which model please, i have reached the overwhelmed and confused stage
which experience tells me can lead to a mistaken purchase
 
You could try an MTC Mamba 3x12x44 with G4A recticle (Uttings do) meets all your criteria perfectly.
 
You could try an MTC Mamba 3x12x44 with G4A recticle (Uttings do) meets all your criteria perfectly.

MTC dont seem to list the g4a now, only the scb which i find too fussy at night.
hawke do a panorama with dot, but out of stock.

surprising that when you actually try to find specific info on something the net is a bit sparse
 
i have iluminated crosses on both rimmie scopes ,to be honest i dont even use them, you can turn the brightness up or down or change the colour but ive never even needed it, i think it comes down to experiance the more you shoot the easier it is me and my regular partner in crime have no troubles at all, but his son and three or four other lads all seem to dawdle on there shots and so miss bunnies, dont know if this is any help but just keep at it, atb doug,
 
i have iluminated crosses on both rimmie scopes ,to be honest i dont even use them, you can turn the brightness up or down or change the colour but ive never even needed it, i think it comes down to experiance the more you shoot the easier it is me and my regular partner in crime have no troubles at all, but his son and three or four other lads all seem to dawdle on there shots and so miss bunnies, dont know if this is any help but just keep at it, atb doug,


Ha, know what you mean. Been shooting for 50 years now,although i prefer the driving so i can laugh at the shooter and its warmer!
recently got rid of the 22250 and 222 and and got an HMR. now drive and shoot with a good lampman and picker up, hence the need for a good lightweight outfit
with a quick acquisition scope/reticule
 
As I said in my post Uttings have it in stock with the G4A reticle: MTC Optics Mamba 3-12x44 RIR Rifle Scope | Uttings.co.uk

Thanks,looked at that, already got a mamba lite with the christmas tree. was hoping for something smaller/lighter
less easy to knock getting out of vehicle

You would think the sellers would make finding a particular requirement easier to find.
I now know roughly what i want, but its a nightmare sorting through the different models, particularly the cheaper end
 
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