Hey guys, I have and AR-10 that I am hoping to use as a dual purpose weapon system- urban tactical and short range hunting. I was thinking of which optic to put on it. I have been shying away from putting a traditional hunting optic on it as that would be not very effective on the go when I can't have a nice steady shot and concentrate on things like eye relief.

So I was thinking about going with a quality red dot instead. Obviously, that would be best for tactical shooting but my question is, how far out can I realistically expect to use something like the Aimpoint pro on medium size game? I have two concerns. First is the obvious topic of magnification. How far out at 1x can I make an accurate shot on game? And secondly, how much of an error is the dot MOA size going to impact how far out I can expect to shoot.

My off the cuff guess is that I should be just fine 0-200 yards and for a good broad side still shot, I can probably reach out to 300 yards. Any thoughts or experience hunting with a red dot?

Thanks,
Rob

Typical Aim Point dot is 2 MOA.

That's over 6 inches at 300 yards.

I have these on two of my ARs and really love them.
http://www.eotechinc.com/holographic-weapon-sights

and on my AR custom build .204 I also added this magnifier for the best of both worlds. http://www.eotechinc.com/holographic-weapon-sights/model-g33-magnifier

the 1.25-4 or 2-7 VXR would be a better choice.

I have used a dot sight on AR rifles for hunting. For me, they are short range options.

I killed a deer with one. A red dot at 4:30 is too bright at 5:30, one more thing to play with. I would not use one again, recall that most black guns have weapons lights for a reason..

I dunno chitt about Aimpoint but have three rifles with Millett SP-1 red dots. They have a 3 MOA dot, a range of 11 brightness settings and cost about $75.

I think they work OK and seem to stand up to recoil well. Haven't had a failure since the first was purchased in '98. Had to replace a battery on one about a year back.

I'd call them close to MOA capable but can't give a definitive measure.

The paradox of using paper patch bullets and a red dot scope should be like a cold front meeting a warm front.

It should be raining in your gun chamber.

Get a good 1-4 scope, illuminated if you'd like, and then add a tiny reflex sight mounted on the tube for clearing your chicken house or whatever.

Red dots allow surprisingly accurate shooting at short and medium ranges, but reduce the light that reaches your eye considerably. One of mine, a Burris, has auto-brightness, which doesn't always work well. The other, a Vortex Sparc 2, has manual control, which works much better for me.

Given a choice, and having carried red dots in the woods a bit, I would always choose a scope for hunting.

The bead on an iron sighted rifle covers more than that but by using a six o'clock hold and sighting with the top edge, some fairly long range shots can be made.

Pshaaw......

Something old, something new? To add pain to your thoughts, the gun is stainless/synthetic.

Hey, it works....



The small targets were shot with an elbow rest if that makes you feel any better.

There is an arse for every seat but for me, I don't get the utility of a red dot. A 1 x 4 scope or a receiver sight is just as quick and the scope definitely offers more precision. And for me, the receiver sight does too because I have a slight astigmatism that keeps the dot from being precisely sharp. But I think even were that not the case, I would prefer the low power scope for all purposes.

I think the red dot is good for guys who never learned to shoot optics with both eyes open. They get the red dot and feel like it is quicker. But if you shoot with both eyes open, it isn't any quicker than anything else.

I put an AimPoint H1 on mt mini-14 a few years back and really like its light weight and utility in a variety of shooting situations. You can click the photo for more info.

Different situation.......... I put a BSA red dot on a Savage 24 in 30-30. I liked not needing to worry about eye relief, vagnetting was non existent, and parallax didn't seem to bother me. I tried lining up really off center just to see, and even with the dot way off on the side the bullet goes where the dot is. I did not like having to worry about the battery, and the dot disappears in certain light. But this is a $29. optic. Maybe a low magnification scope is better. BTW, what hunting?: deer accuracy is different than squirrels.

I've shot deer with irons to right at 600, iron covering over MOA in size.... you just have to shoot em enough to know whtas what.

Since I hunt a bit in thicker stuff I don't do irons or dots anymore, they don't allow me to see if there is a twig or such in the way... just what works for me after trailing a deflected bullet hit deer for almost 6 hours years ago in a swamp...

The astigmatism thing is a concern for me as my eyes aren't perfect so that may make my decision for me. Going to try and find a dealer local and play around with the scope first to see how my eyes do with it. Probably go towards the end of day so I can check it out in full brightness, go eat dinner and come back and check it out again at dusk to see what it looks like in dimming natural light.

If the dot fuzziness thing happens to me, I may decide to go with a 3x or 5x "prism" scope like burris makes shown below. I was hoping for a dual purpose scope with unlimited eye relief but with the astigmatism, that may not be an option.

It still works, but it flairs just a little and there is nothing you can do to make it sharper. So it is annoying.

I am also looking at the Eotechs specifically because the 1 MOA dot would reduce the down range error for short range hunting options. Like I said in my previous reply though, now that I am aware of the astigmatism problem some people have encountered, it's all basically dependent on that at this point.

Thing I like about the Burris I just posted a picture of is that it is compact, fixed magnification, has both red and green illumination, still has black if the battery dies, manual illumination control and obviously the higher precision of the crosshairs. So the only thing I don't really like is the lack of unlimited eye relief.

I tried it for a while before going to a 1-4x. It'll work, but not as well as the variable scope. Astigmatism isn't so big a deal with a good piece. Another issue is low light performance. Red dot sights have coatings that will not transmit light like a regular scope. You also need a dot that will dial down to low night vision levels so you can see past it to a dimly lit target.

I have a 308 AR with an aimpoint PRO. Aimpoint is adding a 3x magnifier red dots --for $300 -- and adjustable for your eye.

Should be easy to hunt with to 200 yards.

The mount allows removal of the 3x magnifier so you just snap it off when at home.

BMT

Red dots work in low light with dark background; scopes not so much. I was raised on wing shooting, what is this "one eye closed" phenomenon you speak of?

I have astigmatism too, take a look at the targets above at let me know how it works.

As I said there is an arse for every seat.

GFY

For saying that everyone has an opinion and than no one's opinion is superior when things are merely a matter of personal preference? Are you actually retarded or just completely illiterate?

I've had two of the Millet red dots. Switched them around between a pimped out 10/22, a .222 rem 600 and a 20ga shotgun. As mentioned, 11 brightness settings. Only issue I had was operator error ... forgetting to turn off the dot when I was finished shooting. No auto off.

Your use of "arse" made me think you were one of those brilliant English fellows, but your failure to comprehend the acronym for "Good For You" illustrates the error of my assumption.

"One can deliver a satire with telling force through the insidious medium of a travesty, if he is careful not to overwhelm the satire with the extraneous interest of the travesty." -Twain

GFY

I put one on a Marlin 444 for hog hunting in the creek bottoms. It took too long to get on target when the light and shadows change constantly as you move along.

It is wearing a 1x4 loopie now.

Rollin'.........