I started handgun hunting this year with a Ruger SBHH and bushnell elite 2-6x32 scope. I did harvest a doe with it, but watched many other deer. I noticed that the low light performance of the scope is considerably less than my rifle scopes. I have no complaints about the scope otherwise, but at very first light and very last twilight I cant see thru the scope well enough to shoot. Is a red dot going to help with this? When I can see a deer, but not crosshairs? And those of you that have used red dots, is an aimpoint really worth the extra $ over an ultradot? Suggestions, opinions and advice would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance for any help, and God bless.

Heck no! The UD is a great optic for the money. The problem with pistol scopes is the eye relief where all that light gathering ability is lost, and the more X's it gets worse. A dot sight is neutral so you don't have the same issues, it is like looking through a window. Do not get a dot that has a tinted or "polarized" lens (Millet, etc) as you will not be able to see in low light. I really like my Optima 2000, mini-holo sight, in the AM and PM light. No parallax or eye relief issues either.

I'd get the Ultradot and never look back -- but you knew I would say that!

I put a Bushnell Trophy 2-6 on a 14 in Contender and find that when the sun is behind you and just on the horizon, early morning / late afternoon the crosshairs go from a dark black to an almost opaque and an impossible to see condition. It is like they just evaporate. Because of that when I purchased a SBHH this past Dec. my buddy let me try his red dot Tasco which he was not using. This model Tasco has the filter mentioned in another post and it really cuts down on the light in dim situations, but it is removable. With the filter off this red dot is very bright and shootable at any legal hunting hour. I took a deer with the RBHH last Saturday and after having used scopes and this red dot I believe between the two the red dot is the way to go on a revolver type handgun. I do not find the zero magnification to be a problem at the maximum ranges I would consider taking a shot at a deer with this rig, 100 yards. My plan now is to replace the Tasch with an Ultra Dot Match Dot II which I think will be the perfect rig for my hunting.

I have noticed the darkness of handgun scopes. The red dot does do better in this regard. There will still be times when the sun is behind you that you get a reflection back that causes you not to be able to see but you can usually adjust your position enough to make it work.

If you want to stay with a variable handgun scope the Leupold has the best low light performance. I've found mine to be close to my Leupold rifle scopes.

You will notice in very low light that the red dots will "red out" or completely hide what you're looking at. I had this problem on crop damage deer and have never used a dot since. Besides at distance you cannot be very accurate with the dots since they cover so much of the targets.
I have shot many deer by the light of the moon or near dark conditions with my 3-12X Burris set on 3X. The Leopold should work, too, with it's large objective. Never had much trouble with the 2-6X Bushnell Elite on three of my revolvers

Apparently not all red dots are created equal. I have the UltraDot Pan AV on my Contender .17 HMR. At 100 yds using a 2" orange square as an aiming point and the smallest setting for the dot, most shots go in the square as long as I do my part.
At that distance the dot is not much bigger than the square.
Just my observation.

Blot out from a dot does happen but it will be at the very end of legal hunting time.
There is no difference in accuracy from a scope. Both will do the same and I found a lot of my Ultra Dot groups are smaller then a scope. You just need a target you can aim at.
A scope shortens hunting time in the AM and PM from lack of light transmission due to the distance from your eye to the scope. The exit pupil scatters too much.
When a dot gets too bright, the scope has long gone bad.
If it gets a little dark, you use both eyes with the dot but the scope will not be seen through at all, no cross hairs to be seen.

I am still considering the red dot myself...seems like the biggest complaint is that it "could" blot out...probably after legal light, then again, maybe earlier on a cloudy day. With the red dots with adjustable brightness, couldn't one simply tone the red dot to a lower setting and still see in such conditions?

I have used Ultradots rather extensively, and I have never had any negative issues with them.

I check mine often when I am on stand. Early or cloudy will take the first setting but if the sun comes up, it will need another setting and as the day gets brighter you might have to go to 3 or 4 to see the dot.
I never have the dot on when hunting. When I see a deer I will rotate the setting to what is needed for the light conditions.
Batteries last a long time that way and some of mine are 5 years old.
Target shooting has the light turned off a lot too when setting targets, etc.
Even when walking the light is not on because it becomes second nature to rotate the switch for the light conditions if a shot appears. It is no different then cocking the hammer.

That's what I was looking for 430. Thank you!