red dot or scope for turkey

[eshoremd]

i just got my b-square saddle mount for my stoeger m2000 semi and am confused about the red dot sights. whats the advantage over a regular scope? can anyone recommend one to get?

[ncboman]

I'm old fashion I guess because the only use I can see for a scope on a shotgun would be for slugs and for that I would much prefer a regular low power scope or the iron sights I use.

I think the red dot covers too much of the target area to a degree and also a standard scope could be switched to other guns(rifles) if wanted.

When you look at game thru a scope, there is often a 'flashing' that occurs as the game could see the large lense and I think that's risky with sharp eyed turkeys.

[SCtrkyhntr]

I believe there are several advantages to a red dot over a regular scope. First you can shoot the red dot with both eyes open so you can see your target better. With the red dot you don't have to put your eye right up to the scope to see through it. The red dot won't fall off like fiber optic sights and I've heard they can take the abuse from the shotgun better than a traditional scope. I don't own one but I am considering getting one over fiber optics. I've looked through several and know a few people that have them.

[freedomrules3]

Hey Todd, aint no scope in the world gonna stop them shakes ;D only sissys use scopes on a shotgun

[hatracked]

Sissy's miss alot of turkey as well.

If you go to the trouble of building a tight patterning shotgun your going to find that the old bead just aint what it used to be. When your shooting 10 inch groups of shot at 40 yards a bead is totally outclassed by a scope or even windage and elevation adjustable dove tails.

It really isnt a matter of modern , classic , got to have it gadget , its a matter of need. Tight patterning shotguns take the slop out of shooting , now that its shooting like a rifle , you better be able to aim it like a rifle. The red dot scope is by far the easiest to set up, and easiest to see through under hunting conditions . The red dot scope also allows the shooter to have improperly shoulder the gun and have an incorrct sighting plane ( looking over the barrel ) and still hit what they are aiming at. This is a great bonus when taking new "shakey" turkey hunters.

Remington has made the model 7 for years with iron sights , but most everyone Ive ever seen coming out of the woods has a scope on top of it !Point is , certainly a bead will get you started but when were talking precision killing and extended range , finley tunable sighting is a must or your just pissing in the wind . Matter of fact if your not into red dots aftermarket sighting ect I suggest avoiding entirely any advice or choke tube that will make your pattern tighter. Fix one and not the other and you will actually be creating misssing problems instead of fixing them.

[strutNrut]

Love mine!

[freedomrules3]

What's a choke tube?? ;D

[eshoremd]

hat can you recommend one?

[hatracked]

The new Bushnell red dot that strutNrut bought is sweet. It has variable dots some with just a dot some with a ring around the dot ( nice for long range) and several brightness levels. I installed one on my bosses gun and was very pleased with the results.

[ncboman]

Obviously I've never owned one.

How much in inches does the red dot cover at, say 100yds?

Are they precise enough for a slug gun?

I can see hat's point about the small pattern super tight chokes hold, but I've never had a gun that shot so tight as to be a problem.

[hatracked]

The red dots are not magnified and with both eyes open field of view isnt a problem . I would think that a red dot scope would be excellent for a slug gun espescially this new one with the variable dot system.

Far as the tight patterns , its a real deal and I think youd be suprised to see how tight some of these guns we work over shoot. We are litterally cutting the heads off birds . If you can imagine that and realize how much shot it takes to clean cut a 2 inch thick neck youll understand that a baseball sized pattern thrown at a baseball sized target at 30 yards needs precise steering. The old bead just isnt that precise and really never was intended to be. Beads are for scatterguns , these turkey guns were shooting dont scatter so much.

Bowman I killed every turkey I ever shot at with a winchester 1300 28 inch with a modified barrel. No choke , no polishing just knowing my gun and what it liked to shoot. I also limited all my shots to 30 yards or less. The first year I owned a true "turkey gun" with a choke tube back bored barrel and polishing I missed five toms. I did everything right to build a great turkey gun but fell short on sighting.

This twenty gauge I have is bar none the tightest shooting gun of any around here and after several heartaches and missed toms Im finally going to break down and red dot it for 06 as well. I currently have only a bead sight on it cause the fiber optic types kept breaking , but I have also made it mandatory for anyone shooting it to kill them at 20-30 yards cause any closer and the sighting device is just not fine enough to garuntee a hit. At 15 yards the entire pattern will fit into the back of a coke can yet the bead covers twice the are of a turkeys head. See my point?

[SCtrkyhntr]

Hat I think I might do a little work to my 835 and put a red dot on it before out next hunt. I was thinking about fiber optics but I can see where they would have a problem with durability. I don't think they would have made the trip we took through the river tract lask week LOL.

[hatracked]

I dont think they would have made it either and had we not took that trip you wouldnt have tagged that tom. Having the right equipment COUNTS.

[DaveHawk]

Rick, didn't you see that chock tube I had in my gun when I was there.
>Hat you got me thinking about putting my Red Dot on my shot gun, but right now it's on a Crossbow for turkey.

>Great discussion !