I put a red dot sight on my SW 325 Thunder Ranch and had it at the range for the 1st time. After I got it sighted in, I shot the target attached. Pretty good for me. It was at 50' in SA.

The red dot is a Vortex Venom 3 MOA and the mount is an Allchin Smith & Wesson Mini STS Scope Mount.

Some observations about using a red dot:

1. All you have to do is put the red dot where you want the bullet to go and squeeze the trigger. No lining up the front post to the rear sight and getting the front sight on the target.

2. Works well in all lighting and target color.

3. After some practice, it is faster to pick up the red dot and put it on the target than regular sights.

4. The 3 MOA dot size worked fine for target at 50'.

5. It might not allow as precise as target lineup as a regular sight. The red dot tends to cover your target.

Overall, I am very happy with this combination as my home defense gun and for range shooting.

Attached Images

	DSC_5572.jpg (137.5 KB, 95 views)
	DSC_5573.jpg (131.9 KB, 84 views)
	DSC_5571.jpg (76.2 KB, 78 views)
	20170918_152517.jpg (82.0 KB, 70 views)

I love red dots for your #1, 2 & 3 observations.

Wish I could get myself to trust 'em for home defense as my eyes aren't so good anymore.

Even a 3moa dot is tiny compared to standard iron sights. With some practice I was quickly able to be just as accurate as with a 2x scope out to 80 yards. That being said, I prefer the 2moa on a low setting of my Ultradot over the lowest setting of my Venom. But for fast and up closer, the Venom is it.

Very nice looking setup.

Even though I have an astigmatism (which makes the red dot look a paint splatter), I have red dot sites on several pistols. It took an optometrist about 40 minutes to come up with a set of lenses that turned the paint splatter into something closer to a dot. I took one of my sights with me, and he kept swapping lenses until he got it narrowed down. Aiming is easy, especially in low light that would cause a normal front and back sights to become indistinguishable.

For home defense though, I prefer a laser. They have a few advantages. They don't need to be brought to eye level to be effective, anyone in the house can easily get on target with it, and there is a certain fear factor for the person who suddenly sees a dot appear on themselves. Of the three, I like the fact they don't need to be brought to eye level. I can hold the gun at waist level and still use my peripheral vision.

__________________
So many S&W's, so few funds!!

You have got some good points there.

Yes. I agree with zogger52 and bangbig. Red dot sights are a joy to use as your eyes age. It's great to have both the sight and the target in complete focus.

The Allchin mount looks like a good mount but a gentleman member of this forum, revolver_ph (Raptor Engineering), makes an excellent mount for S&W revolvers which are well-made, low profile, reasonably priced, and work well. Here's a link to his mounts.
FS: Reflex Sight Mounts for Smith & Wesson Revolvers

Typically when you get into your 40's the lens in your eye become less flexible and it cannot adjust between near and far vision as well as when you were younger. That's when many of us start requiring "readers" (reading glasses) and it's at that point you notice it's harder to see the sights unless you use your "readers" but then using your "readers" puts the target out of focus. You have to choose either the target in focus or the sights in focus. At this point there are options such as being fitted for glasses that work best for you while shooting, mounting a small peep aperture device on your glasses, or optics such as a red dot sight. Having tried all it's my opinion the red dot option (or a scope if you desire magnification) provides the most user friendly option to solving the dilemma of aging eyes.

__________________
Scoundrel & Ne'er-Do-Well

I do have a laser that fits on the rail below the barrel. Some things with lasers that I found:

1) If you are closer to the target than you sighted it in (for example sighted in at 15 yrds but 10 yrds from the target) you can't see the laser if you have the gun at eye level. This is because the gun and your hands block your view of the laser.

2) A red laser show up great in dim light but you can't see it in bright light....especially outdoors. So you have to go with the green laser which is more expensive.

3) You have to turn the laser on somehow. Either touching the on button/lever or having a laser that turns on when you grip the gun. With the Venom red dot, I can leave the red dot on overnight and as long as the gun is in the dark (like a drawer) very little power is used. I have looked at the grip lasers but don't like them. The lasers are fine but I never liked how the grips felt.

4) I like to have a light on the gun. So I would have to get one of those laser/light combos. Again more expensive.

So both have pros and cons. I can see if I was using an AR for home defense that a laser would be better.