Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns scope or RDS for hunting revolver

big bore, say 44, 45 colt or 454? what do you prefer, why and what brand rds if that is your choice?

Red for for me.



Easy to get behind in weird positions, fast, great in low light.

I shoot deer close with it, and don't miss the magnification of a scope at all.

Goalie,

Any chance you could describe your setup?

44 mag CVA pistol. Aimpoint Pro red dot. Silencer.

I shoot JSP 240's with it. My ears like it, deer don't.

All of my big bores (.454, .480, .475 Linebaugh) wear Ultra Dot Gen 2 red dots.

Two of my hunting revolvers are scoped, both are S&W Performance Center guns with integral mount machined in on top, one a .44 Mag, one a .41 Mag. Each has a Leupold 2X LER handgun scope. This setup has worked well for me for about 30 years and I see no need to change it. If I were setting them up today, I’d probably go with red dots of some sort.

I don’t see a need for more than 2X on a hunting revolver. I’ve seen variables on some and wondered why. I like to keep it as clean and unencumbered as possible.

I’ve scoped other revolvers in the past with mounts that fit into the rear sight groove on the N-frames and, while they worked, I always felt that it was a less than optimal setup in terms of balance, handling and appearance. The machined in mounts over the barrel make a system that, to my mind, is more compact and better handling.

One of these days I’ll put a red dot on one of my N-frames, but it will be one of the latest generation of somewhat compact ones.

My brother, some years ago, drilled and tapped a nickel 29-2 to mount what was then a state of the art red dot, don’t remember what kind but not an Aimpoint, bigger and uglier. It worked well for him and he killed some deer with it. I gave him a hard time about doing that to a beautiful revolver, but it was his gun.

Things to think about…

Red dot > scope for anything inside of 75 yards.

I have a 2x scope on my .357 and once hit a jackrabbit in the head at 97 paces. That's the only time the increased precision of a handgun scope becomes beneficial. For 95% of shooting a red dot works just as good or better.

I prefer the red dot! Smaller, lighter than most any scope…..and eye relief is a non issue! I can also put the red dot on target much quicker than I can a scope!

While certainly not rifle accuracy…..I can get occasionally get 4 shot groups from my 460 XVR @ 100 yards under 3””. This with a 3 moa Burris Fastfire III. memtb

Yeah, I took the Leupold 4X EER off my Contender .22 mag 14" and am going reddot.
The scope is nice for range stuff.
Actually a 2-7X would be better on that barrel.
But hunting, reddot for the win.

Gunshow this weekend so see about getting rid of a couple things. Maybe trade.

I found that 2 or 2.5x was usable in the field, but above that me no likey.
And in general, the "at the shot" loss of image just irked me. Maybe due to the magnification?
I dunno.

Reddots are not annoying for whatever reason.

My preference for hunting game is irons ... black ramp front, plain black blade rear. I am still hunting though. My answer might be different if I were hunting from a blind or stand which reliably offers an opportunity to use a rest.

I have not been happy with the tube-type red dot sights I've used. I have not used one of the reflex sights. That's coming soon.

I've spent quite a bit of time with pistol scopes. My favorite is the Leupold 2x which has apparently been discontinued. I also used an old Burris 1.5-4X for a while. The 1.5 to 2X range is good. 4x and up seems a bit of a challenge to find the target in the scope's field of view .. and keep it found if the target is moving. Higher magnification is great for range work, load development, etc, but is difficult to use without a very steady rest.

I've only used the reflex sights on handguns so I'm curious what you didn't like about the tube red dots?

Open emitter is a no go for me hunting. The weather often sucks.

The first I used seemed fairly dim. Under very bright conditions I couldn't make out the target in the tube. It was .. something like Accurate Arms Mk V though that probably is off a little bit. I also had an issue with a mostly dead battery one time which left a bad taste. I'd been using it at night for pest control. I didn't realize how low the battery had gotten 'til I tried to exterminate a skunk in the yard at high noon. I got one shot off, crippled the bastard, then ran around the yard shooting corners off it while trying not to get sprayed. It was not my best day. The last was an Ultradot Gen 2 ... it broke. I noticed a funny jagged line in the field of view. I thought it was a hair or something of the sort on the lens, but nope, it was broken. Both of these were on .22 rimfires, the first a Ruger mk II semi-auto, the second a Single Six Hunter, so not recoil issues, just .. broke.

You can make some pretty good shots with a reflex. Last season 2 shots at ~80 yards on a doe.

S&W 500 mag with first gen Bushnell Holosight.



Bought the Holosight new in the late 90’s. It rode on top my S &W 610 Classic 10mm until 2004 when I bought the 500. It been on the 500 since. Between the two revolvers it’s probably had 2500 plus rounds fired underneath it. Never fails to work properly and hold zero. I’ve killed many deer from 35 yards to 105 yards with it as my optic on the 610 and 500. 😎