Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Any one got an Aim-Point?

or Other Red Dot sight on a light varmint rifle???

Thinking that this may be a decent option for low light and night time hunting. But I have zip for experience with this type of sight...

Lots and lots of them. As well as just about every other red dot that's worth anything. What do you want to know?

I imagine for shots within 200 yards and preferably under 100 yards would be ideal for the sight in this configuration. They offer different MOA dots so you will want to take that into account if you purchase one.

I use a couple on a couple of AR's I use for yotes. Here in SW MO, the ranges I hunt at are usually 200m or less, and it works great. Especially on those dogs that come barreling out of an oak thicket in a hurry to get to that meal the call is promising. Tough as nails, battery life out the wazoo, and really fun with a PVS-14 behind them at night.

Other than the price, there is nothing to dislike about the sight. I use the Comp M3, haven't turned loose of the cash for one of the Micro T1's yet. I think a pencil-barrel AR with lightweight furniture and a Micro T1 would be about the best walking varminter going. At least where I live.

I have an EOTech on my turkey gun. I use that same 12 gauge for deer when I get stationed in/near shotgun only areas.

I don't know I would choose it for long shots on yotes, but it's a great choice for close range work. Instant sight picture, both eyes open, etc.

Never used any of those sights. Do they exhibit parallax issues?

Aimpoints advertise parallax free, and they almost are. It's past a given distance, (usually 50 or 100) and I've only seen .5-1.5", max, at 50 yards and in...,and not always. If you have a good cheek weld, you'll never see it. I've never noticed anything past 100 yards with either 2 or 4 MOA dots on m2/3/4 series. These are just my opinions/experiences. I think it'd be easy to shoot deer to at least 200, but hard to shoot a coyote at 300, with a 2moa lighted dot, but I haven't tried one on yotes.

I carry one every day w a T-1 w a white light. For hunting purposes I'd use a Comp M4; easier to see through in low light. Will you be using white light or NV? Aimpoints are awesome w NV.

I found the T1 unsat by itself early or late in heavy wood mounted on a Frontier .358. The view is darker through the greenish tint. We can't use white lights for anything but coonhunting in TN.

I have a couple of Aimpoints and an EOTech. Great for close work and for running shots out to ~200 yds. They are very popular in Europe where game drives are routinely conducted and shots are close and fast.

The only light restriction that i face while predator hunting is that the light cannot be mounted to or attached to a vehicle.

IME/IMO coyotes are pretty light shy, so I'd like to use a non intense red/amber green light to spot incoming fur, and then light it up with a white light to shoot, if necessary.

Seems that lighting options get better all the time...

I actually quit night calling years ago due to the hassle and expense of buying and maintaining suitable lights.

Hi-jacks welcome on this thread if anyone wants to discuss lights, calls, and red dot or holographic sights...

And...

As mentioned above, I know zip about red dot/ holographic sights. Terms like T1 and comp4 go right over my head...

I might could use some recommends specific to brand/ style/ model/etc...

The Comp M2/3/4's are all Aimpoints, as is the H-1/T-1. The differences between the Comp models consist mainly of battery life as far as I am aware, with the higher the number, the longer the battery life. The latest models are virtually able to be left on a medium setting for years. As in 8 years if I remember correctly. I replace batteries sooner than that even if I have not used them. Most lithium batteries claim a shelf life of somewhere about ten years. The newer Aimpoints are phenomenal sights, across the board.

As far as the T-1 not being as good in low light, that is new to me, might cool my jonesing for one a bit. I do love my comp M3's. Been using them for about 8 years now. Changed the batteries once, and I use them a lot. I've been contemplating mounting one on a .243 or similar flat shooter for deer hunting, as my deer hunting ground is the same place I hunt coyotes. 200m shots would be possible but highly abnormal. Anything within that range would be easy game for a flat shooting rifle with an Aimpoint.

The Eotech sights offer the ability to switch reticles and such, but I have used them on other friends' rifles and saw no benefit over an Aimpoint. Aimpoint beats them hands down on reliability, I guess maybe something to do with simple LED tech being more robust than microprocessor tech? More than one of my buddies who had Eotechs have switched to Aimpoints due to their Eotech units developing issues such as shutting off after a few rounds fired, and some draining batteries while turned off. The company is good about repairing them, but I have not had to send an Aimpoint in for repair, nor do I know anyone who has. I don't have tons of friends, but they are mostly shooters.:)

An Aimpoint sight with a 3rd generation PVS-14 NV monocular mounted behind it is a lot of fun to use at night, no lights needed, although an infrared spotlight can be nice on dark nights. A buddy of mine has a set of the PVS-7 NV goggles, and uses his Aimpoint-equipped AR with them at night. Slightly different hold required, but he doth kill schitt...

I recently mounted a Vortex Sparc II on my stainless Bisley in place of the Burris Fastfire it wore before. Nice sight, lifetime warranty, meant to be tough enough for duty use. About $200. I think it's a good buy and the warranty is a big plus as red dots tend to cause more trouble than scopes on average in my experience and according to one industry guy I consulted.

Amazon has a real good price on the Aimpoint 9000SC 2 MOA. $351.61.

Whatever you get, be prepared to deal with some dot fuzz on individual units of almost any sight you buy, I've seen it on cheap ones and Aimpoints. It's pretty much the luck of the draw, I gather,,so buy from someplace that has a generous return policy.

OK then...

Say I order an aimpoint device, does it come with the requisite hardware to mount it to a sporting bolt rifle? I'm not a patient guy when it comes to ordering accessories that should go with stuff.

I see no magnification listed on the sights I looked at.
Also, a lot of them have a fairly large dot to use as an aiming point. How's that work out for game like coyotes? And what about foxes???

Most red dots come with mounts to fit a Picatinny base. Many will also fit a Weaver base that has square slots, but sometimes you have to open the slot a little with a file.

Burris makes a lot of adapters for their Fastfire sights, including Ruger dovetail adapters (see my post on my 77/22 RSI in the Rimfire forum).

Basically, if your rifle can take a Weaver or Picatinny base, you should be fine with most sights.

Sights for rifle use should have a 2-4 minute dot. Handgunners often like bigger ones. Pay attention when you order so you get the right size.

^^^^ What he said.

About the dot size, a 2 moa dot covers four inches at 200yds. Doesn't allow for shooting an eye out, but 4 inches is less than the +/- trajectory of most rounds at that range. for instance, a .243 has a trajectory of around three inches depending on the load/rifle combo out to 200yds. So a round fired will impact within the coverage of that dot out to 200yds. with most calibers. Works great for combat or meat shooting. Not so well on P-dogs maybe, but then we aren't talking about those, either.

I would, however, pass on the 4moa dot for anything but a truly short range gun with utter speed in mind.

Dot fuzz? I am unfamiliar with this. Are you talking about a brightness setting too high for conditions or something else?

Some dots appear to be irregular in shape, while others appear to be perfectly round, or nearly so. I think it has to do with the individual LED. As I said, I've seen Aimpoints in the store that I thought were not perfectly round, and some other sights that appeared star-shaped to one extent or the other. The brightness setting has some effect as does your eyesight. One of the clearest I've seen was the dot in an old Weaver Quikpoint, which relies on ambient light via a fiber optic rod for illumination. It was just about perfect. Generally, the lowest usable brightness setting gives the sharpest dot. Some sights, however, have automatic brightness, so you have to use whatever it gives you.

None of the red dots I've used has adjustable focus, so if you need corrective lenses to see clearly at a distance, you will probably need them to see your aiming point clearly.