I use a 6.5x55 swede to do my huning in heavy woods. Great small rifle with a peep. However, my eyes are getting old and I' ve been thinking of putting a red dot scope on it.
Most red dots say they' re great for shotguns or handguns, but don' t mention rifles.
What am I missing? Are they too weak for recoil, or is a ballistics problem.
hey sterman,
This is my second post as well. First let me say I am a big fan of the 6.5 x55, great all around cartridge. To answer your question, yes, red dots can be used on rifles. They are often used on turkey guns that dish out recoil with the biggest boys out there. Your better quailty red dots will handle it better ex. aimpoint, ATN. However, i think you would be better off with a low power rifle scope, such as a 1.5-6 x20 such as that by leupold, burris, or whoever you choose. Small objective size yes, but plenty of light transmission cause of the lower power. For your thick cover these are great. Just thought maybe i could help.
The reddot scopes do work very well on a heavy rifle for hunting , just not as good for long range as a regular scope because of the dot size . Last year a friend I hunt with missed a big buck because he hadn' t turned the scope on , that can also tend to be a drawback .
I don' t like the dot scopes because they have a DOT. I much prefer a duplex, cross hair (Leupold). I want to see exactly where that round is going to hit. With a big DOT I can' t do that.
I too need to use a scope to hunt. That' s okay though, because I' ve been using one for a long time.
Do yourself a favor if this is your first scope. Don' t buy a cheapie. Get a good one right from the start. I always recommend a Leupold. I' ve had several and loved every one of ' em.
Best of luck and good shooting!
critch
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There are exceptions to every rule...including this one.
I agree with the others and say to get a Leupold, Burris, or Nikon. However, do not get the cheapest models of any of the scopes. Get the next cheapest level of scope that will run you about $200.00 a piece. I have a Nikon and love it, but my next scope purchase will be a Leupold.
Check out the ATN Ultra Sight. I tried to get input on it here not long ago, but nobody seemed to know much about it. I went ahead and bought it and tried it out at the range this past weekend. AWESOME. Its a single lense, heads-up-display that projects your crosshair onto the lense. You can actually use it with both eyes open. Visible in any light or no light. Recoil proof, shock proof, weather proof. And at $150 its a steal, in my opinion.
Good luck!
I use red dots on all of my hunting rifles and they work great. As a matter of fact over half my hunting gang has switched to them since I did. They aren' t a precision long range sight, but those are rarely needed in the real world. I shot a deer at close to 200 yds this year with a red dot that has a 3 minute dot, and - on the standing animal - I didn' t feel at all disadvantaged.
Thanks for all the reply' s on Red Dots. I purchased the Bushnell red dot that gives me variable dot size, brightness, and even choices such as cross hair, double rings, etc.
Killed a doe this weekend at about 60 yds. Red Dot works great, espceically in dawn, low light situations in the woods.
Only problem I keep running in to is I keep forgetting to turn the scope off when I' m done hunting. Leaving it on all night, etc. Batteries don' t last long that way.
I would, however, reccomend this scope to anyone. Talk about quick target acquisition!
Red Dot Scopes on Rifles
