I seem to be thinking of putting on a red dot sight on my SW Victory. I don't know anything about them, but seem to think it could be a help at the indoor ranges I go to. The indoor lighting at these ranges is not very good to activate the fiber optics on the victory. The front optic sight can hardly be seen. Any suggestions as to what to buy? Seems Amazon has a good selection for under $50. It seems to me this might solve my problem. Comments appreciated. Thanks, Paul

Optics are something where you really tend to get what you pay for. I am not sure that any really inexpensive red dot sights are actually a good value. The cheapest sights that I have found satisfactory have been about $100.

Two reasonable and inexpensive small tube style red dot sights are the Primary Arms models and the Bushnell TRS-25. There are many internet threads debating which of these is best, and most such threads are about evenly split on opinions. I have a base model Primary Arms sight that cost about $100. It has a 2 MOA dot and it has proved entirely satisfactory. I have an older TRS-25 that I am not as happy with, but I believe the TRS-25 has been updated, so the older sight may not be a fair comparison. I can recommend the Primary Arms sight, and I can't directly comment on the current versions of the TRS-25.

For a smaller open style red dot, I have been happy with my Burris Fastfire III. However, this sight is closer to $250 with its mount included. Other people may offer suggestions for less expensive open style sights, but I have not personally used any cheaper open style sights that I could recommend. And the Fastfire III has advantages over the Fastfire II that I think are worthwhile.

For somewhat larger sights that are well liked by target shooters, Ultradot makes several models priced from about $150 to $250.

Since I own some of these sights, you may correctly assume that I like red dots sights on pistols. For target style shooting, a red dot is a lot of fun. Unfortunately, cheap is often not really a bargain.

Good luck with your choice.

I put an inexpensive Truglo reflex sight on mine... $59 on Amazon. It has held zero through 4 range trips...800 rounds. It has 4 different reticles, and 2 reticle colors, red and green.I'm happy with it.

I've had a Ultra Dot on my S&W model 41 for almost 20 years. It does not actually magnify the target (which is good, since you don't want your shaking magnified as well). It just puts a red dot on your bulls eye once the gun is lined-up. The dot is adjustable, brightness-wise, from 1-10. The main plus is you don't have to worry about lining up the front sight with the rear sight (if you don't see the dot, the gun is not lined up).

Just added a Ultradot L/T to my Model 41. Old eyes were creating problems aligning front and rear sights. Have not had a chance to get to the range due to the weather in Florida (Matthew), but am confident it will be a big help. Have a red dot on my Sig MPX and the difference has been significant. You only get what you pay for, so I always try to buy only once. A lot of knowledge and good advice on this site.

I bought one of those sights from MidwayUSA for my wife to use on my S&W Model 22A-1 as she struggles with the sights-to-target alignment thing. I put it on the gun and went to an indoor range to which I belong to zero it. Long story short, my groups were better with the gun's sights.

As I've mentioned before, if you are experiencing difficulty focusing on your gun's sights and the target simultaneously, the best way to accomplish that is with corrective lenses from Morgan Sports Optical in Olean, New York. They can make glasses for you with info you provide via email or over the telephone. Visit their website - Shooting Glasses for Sportsman | Morgan Optical. They made some for me and as hard as it might be to believe, they really work!

Ed