A few weeks ago I put a Cabela's Red Dot scope on my old Staghorn. That scope has a choice of four reticles including crosshairs and a small dot. Took it hunting last evening and it is the pits. In low light it just did not work out.On the lowest power setting the reticle is much too bright.

At ten minutes after sunseta deer came in to drink and got within 40 yards. Had deer season been in I could not have shot that deer. The bright reticle obscured most of the animal and I could not have found an aiming point.Switched from the crosshairs to the small dotand had the same problem.

Today the gun is wearing a Weaver 4X10 Grand Slam scopethat was lying around the house.

Anyone else had a problem with red dot scopes? Cabela's does not sell that scope any more.

falcon
I came to the same conclusion some years a go after buying and trying 3, I also found that there is a lot of people who disagree with me. They do what works for them and I do what works for me, I think some people with strong opinions may only get out in the woods a few days a year where I spend half my time there year round. Lee

I've borrowed my friend's crossbow a couple of times that had a red dot scope on it. I wasn't too impressed, but it seemed to get the job done. I took a 6 - point buck one year with that crossbow/scope. At close ranges it worked, but if I had one on an ML I'm not sure I'd want to shoot much farther than 75 yards or so with it.

Personally, I wouldn't buy any type of scope that requires batteries to work - I don't trust technology that much.

Biggest draw-back for me is my poor eyesight. Beyond 40-50 yards and in brushy settings, I need some magnification to check for headgear.
Know what I mean Vern? Otherwise I once had a 1 or 2 MOA dot that worked as advertized. I could generally hit what I was aiming at.

James

My Staghorn still has a red dot made by Bushnell. And I have the same problem, once the shadows of late afternoon or very early morning are around. The red dot even on #1 is very bright, and it grows a tail to me. I ignore the tail. Also the amount you can see is very limited as the RED DOT does not do a good job of light gathering. I think I will throw a 1X scope on the Staghorn and leave it at that..

Had one on my New Englander up forward of the hammer in a semi-scout configuration. Was great out to 75 yards in good light. Wasn't worth a hoot during the golden half-hour at dawn and before dark.

Ditto[:'(]

Hmm,
I have 4 red differant brands of red dots (on slug guns and ML), love them.
1st) eastern woods - all shoots are under 90 yds, most 10-60 from a climber.

Red dots do not "gather light", fact is to use one as intended, You do not "look through" the scope.
When I spot a deer, I keep both eyes on it and raise the gun up never taking My eyes off the deer, when the gun is shouldered both eyes are open and the scope body "dissapears" and a red dot is "imposed" on my "view".
Where ever that red dot is, that is where the bullit is going.

That said, The BSA red dots 3MOA(cheap) are not bright enough for snow or mid day sun in the open.
The Gilmore 8MOA is kinda bright and is on My goose gun
The Burris speed dot is perfect- lowest setting is no problem at "dark:30", brightest setting is good enough for snow.

Now My red dots are mounted forward, so they are 4-6 inches from My eye,
But yeah, if You have one eye closed and the shooting eye half way down the scope tube, the dot may block out the target, but thats not how they are designed to be used.

Slack

I've got bushnell holosights on both mine and my son's slug guns and love them, and I have a Bushnell multi-reticle red/green dot on my ML. The thing that I learned is that I can't just set the light level and forget it. When I first started using the holosight, I had it on and set during the day, then when I was leaving the woods, I saw a nice buck through the trees. I shouldered my shotgun and the brightness of the holosight about blinded me. By the time I reset the light level, the buck took off. Now I know to periodically take a look and adjust accordingly. The holosights have a low enough setting for the two golden half-hours. On the multi-reticle sights, I recommend going with the one that has both green and red. The green is designed for lower light and is much better in twilight woods.