I was just wondering what people prefer when mounting a red dot sight for backup / close targets to assist a higher magnification optic. One option is to mount a 45 deg offset to the rail and the other is to use a scope tube adapter / ring adapter and mount the RD higher. What is your preference?
Rifle Scopes Red dot backup on scope or rail?
- Thread starter The Godfather
- Start date
I went with the 45 degree, mount on top of the scope would be too high IMO,
It's not for shooting targets at 10 yards with your bolt gun. It's got getting on target quickly with high powered optics and insure you are shooting the right (or your) target.
Ive seen mounts that use the rail at an angle and tube adapters that do the same. Either of these is preferable to the other options Ive seen where the RD is placed on top of the scope tube. All of the ones Ive seen that mount directly on the top of the scope tube prevent you from seeing your elevation knob clearly or stick up a good deal.
If I dial my mag all the way down on my 3.8-22 USO I've successfully engaged targets as close as 7 yds.
As far as folks running micro red dots for target id at distance-
I ran 68 shooters at the AZLRPRS TPRC last month. I saw quite a few folks hunting for targets on the clock and while many of them were sporting MRD's mounted on their rigs, I didn't see any of them actually utilize them on the clock
As far as folks running micro red dots for target id at distance-
I ran 68 shooters at the AZLRPRS TPRC last month. I saw quite a few folks hunting for targets on the clock and while many of them were sporting MRD's mounted on their rigs, I didn't see any of them actually utilize them on the clock
Yeah, as mentioned above, I find the concept far more applicable as a 'sighting device' for finding targets in your main optic quickly.
I use this:
http://wiebad.com/zen/index.php?mai..._id=45&zenid=433bc99718ecdef0dc3e2725e485cb50
That one is nice because you also get the bubble level, and they make a 35mm version for those of us with that diameter scope body (Vortex Razor).
Attach a red dot zero at 600+ yards -- during time-limited stages, I find it very useful both for transitioning to and between long range targets, and for re-acquiring a target that I "lose" somehow (someday this will happen less, but until then..)
Put the dot on the target, and the target will be in the scope picture, even at full mag (have used it successfully to 'find' targets out to like 1250 yards).
Sure, you can accomplish the same thing by either zooming out and staying there (which can sometimes make it harder to spot misses, etc), or by zooming out, acquiring, then zooming back in, but this is kind of best of both -- the tradeoff being the expense and a little extra weight bulk. I ditched scope caps and just use a neoprene Scope Kote that goes over the main optic and the red dot.
So basically it is a speed/convenience aid ... allows you to use higher magnification (which I mainly find useful for seeing my hits/misses better) and still acquire targets quickly without having to futz with zoom.
I use this:
http://wiebad.com/zen/index.php?mai..._id=45&zenid=433bc99718ecdef0dc3e2725e485cb50
That one is nice because you also get the bubble level, and they make a 35mm version for those of us with that diameter scope body (Vortex Razor).
Attach a red dot zero at 600+ yards -- during time-limited stages, I find it very useful both for transitioning to and between long range targets, and for re-acquiring a target that I "lose" somehow (someday this will happen less, but until then..)
Put the dot on the target, and the target will be in the scope picture, even at full mag (have used it successfully to 'find' targets out to like 1250 yards).
Sure, you can accomplish the same thing by either zooming out and staying there (which can sometimes make it harder to spot misses, etc), or by zooming out, acquiring, then zooming back in, but this is kind of best of both -- the tradeoff being the expense and a little extra weight bulk. I ditched scope caps and just use a neoprene Scope Kote that goes over the main optic and the red dot.
So basically it is a speed/convenience aid ... allows you to use higher magnification (which I mainly find useful for seeing my hits/misses better) and still acquire targets quickly without having to futz with zoom.
Thanks for all the responses so far. I recently purchased a mark 6 3-18 that I would like to use on my 308 bolt gun and my spr style 5.56 AR. I was torn between the 1-6 and 3-18 because I would like to use my AR for all types of shooting with distances of 10-400 yards. I would also like to use the optic on my 308 for deer hunting (tree stand 10-120 yards). However, most of my shooting will be at the 200-300 yard distance which is the reason I went with the 3-18... I thought by adding a red dot optic I could have the best of both?
Ah apologies, was assuming more precision long range focused shooting.
Frankly, I think 1-6x would have been a better choice given your stated objectives (or better yet one of the USO 1-8x for that kind of money).
For an AR setup for magnified optic + RDS, the forward set 45-degree offset thing works really well -- had a buddy who ran both offset irons and offset reflex sites that way on a gaming gun (and I've played with it a little). You roll the gun outward to view down the offset sites -- very fast transition, and there's less bore offset than normal AR sites -- if you want the secondary RDS for fast-n-close on an AR that's definitely the better way to go in my opinion.
Frankly, I think 1-6x would have been a better choice given your stated objectives (or better yet one of the USO 1-8x for that kind of money).
For an AR setup for magnified optic + RDS, the forward set 45-degree offset thing works really well -- had a buddy who ran both offset irons and offset reflex sites that way on a gaming gun (and I've played with it a little). You roll the gun outward to view down the offset sites -- very fast transition, and there's less bore offset than normal AR sites -- if you want the secondary RDS for fast-n-close on an AR that's definitely the better way to go in my opinion.
That's why I asked what rifle and use. I didn't want to assume that he was putting it on a long range bolt gun as if he was I would have told him to save his money. No need for a small red dot on a long range precision bolt gun. But with that 3-18 doing double duty on a bolt gun and on an AR wanting to be used for closer in then a small red dot on a 45 degree mount would work well on the AR for quick self/home defense but still the bolt gun wouldn't need it for a hunting situation. Dial down to 3x and you can take shots at 10 yards.
Now the next thing that the OP will have to think about is mounting options as moving a scope from a bolt gun to an AR needs to have it set up right. I would recommend a standard set of rings that mount the scope properly on the bolt gun and then getting a riser for the AR so that you can change over easily. An AR style mount wouldn't work on the bolt gun as it would set the scope up too high.
Now the next thing that the OP will have to think about is mounting options as moving a scope from a bolt gun to an AR needs to have it set up right. I would recommend a standard set of rings that mount the scope properly on the bolt gun and then getting a riser for the AR so that you can change over easily. An AR style mount wouldn't work on the bolt gun as it would set the scope up too high.
Great suggestions...I have already purchased a leupold extended riser rail for the AR to get the proper eye relief and height with standard hight rings. The scope has not arrived yet but from what everyone has responded with I should spend some time w/ the scope on 3x and see how fast I can shoot 10-50 yard targets. I don't really want to add on extra weight/expense if I don't need to. However, that adapter from wiebad looks like a really nice device.
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