Opinion wanted from experts. Red dots.

guns and more · Mar 9, 2014

I'm thinking of adding a red dot sight to my S&W Model 41.
I've pretty much narrowed it down to either a Burris Fastfire III
or the Vortex Razor.
Is the Vortex worth $200 more? On the 41, the top rail doesn't move with the slide, so I think it's perfect for a red dot.
I've shopped Aimpoint and Trijicon, and frankly, for me, they're too expensive.

Bullet Bob · Mar 9, 2014

Well, the last time I attended a bullseye match, the cool kids were using Ultra Dot Match Dots.

It's been a while though.

Cyrano · Mar 9, 2014

I've never used one for bullseye; when I shot in the early 1960s, it had to be open sights, no glass and one handed. I have a Trijicon on a Colt M4 carbine: I think its a great tactical sight. Quick target acquisiton, put the dot on the targt and squeeze the trigger. Not good for minute of angle accuracy or less, but great for tactical use. Not much info here for your application.

CptCurl · Mar 10, 2014

I like my M41 with a Trijicon RMR:

I haven't tried the other reflex sights, but there have been good reports. Let us know what you end up doing.

Curl

OMCHamlin · Mar 10, 2014

First post does nail it, Ultra Dots are considered the standard for bullseye guns

walkin jack · Mar 10, 2014

I see most of the talk here is on high end stuff. Mine was a cheap Bushnell mounted on a Ruger Mark II but it was not bad. My comment will be about the red dot in general as a sighting device.

I found that in bright sunlight (I mostly shoot our doors and in the day time) The dot is difficult to see. The farther back the target the worse the problem. I always shot better using the small dot reticle but on really sunny days was forced to use the large dot.

Inside 50 yds I could shoot just about as well with factory open sights so I eventually took the red dot off and haven't looked back.

H Richard · Mar 10, 2014

I have used Tasco, Millet, Accudot, and Burris FastFire III. On a .22 they all work fine. The weight and balance and with the size of the unit is personal preference. I had a Tasco PDP 3 on a High Standard for 15 years and it always worked. I had one Millet quit on me but a 2nd one is still going strong after 5 years. I put a Burris Fastfire III on my 617 and it's fine. I will say the FastFire is a 3 minute dot, and it's fine indoors, but a 5 Minute dot is easier to pick up outdoors. Burris only has a 3 Minute and a 8 Minute which is fine for IPSC but too big for bullseye. One of my Millet's is an adjustable 3, 5, 8, & 10 Minute dot. That's the best of both worlds, but it is in a 1" long tube unit. The FastFire is the most compact of what I have and the most convenient, but dot size limit.

Buy the one that best fits the type of shooting you intend to do. Also look at Leupold and J Point.
617 with Burris.

IZH35M with Millet

High Standard Victor with Tasco PDP2

guns and more · Mar 10, 2014

CptCurl said:
I like my M41 with a Trijicon RMR:Curl

What mount is that? Did you use the S&W taps?
I have the Weaver 62, and don't need that much length.

ChattanoogaPhil · Mar 10, 2014

I have a Burris FFIII. It has a slight magnification that I don't like. It's particularly distracting moving from target to target. The RMR is just as bad if not worse which apparently all these little reflex sights suffer due to the curved glass. The FFIII does have a user select brightness control as well as automatic which is something to consider. I prefer my Aimpoint H1 or even my dime store PrimaryArms MicroDot sights and old Japanese made Tasco PDP2s which are all true 1x optics. But the FFIII is a small package in comparison. A lot of the Bullseye guys use the UltraDot but I have not used any.

FFIII

Farmer17 · Mar 10, 2014

I had a $70 Bushnell trophy red dot on my Buckmark and it had a great trigger and made hitting things very easy. Once several young boys were at a friends pond and I got out the Buckmark and one little bity boy was afraid to try it. I finally talked him into it and there was a small stick poking out of the water about 45 yards away and he was nailing it everytime. You never saw young boys go through a brick of .22s so fast and have so much fun with that pistol.

anoblefox · Mar 10, 2014

I have the ultra dot and this addition made my 41 the most fun gun to shoot; I have quite a few other handguns to choose from!

Opinion wanted from experts. Red dots.

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