For those of you that use red dots, in particular reflex style red dots on their revolvers, post some photos and tell me what you have...thanks!

Something to consider with a reflex sight is inclement weather, if its snowing or raining it may mess up your sight picture. Up here in NY I went with a ultra dot red dot tube style and still got snow on my glass on my red dot last year. Installed some scope covers and hunted this year in the rain and all was good. Just something to consider ..

Can't figure out how to post a picture but I hunted today with a 6.5" S&W 629 44 mag. with a Burris Fast Fire II. I have not hunted with it in rain or snow but I cannot say anything bad about it. It is fast to acquire, easy to use and accurate. Best of all to me, it is really small and light.

http://www.handgunhunt.com/photopost/data/500/IMG_0046-1.jpg

I had hoped this would show up as an image, not a link. Anyway that's a Vortex Venom sitting on the 686 with a Rapture Engineering mount.

I like the Ultra dot but better yet is the Aimpoint expensive but all things considered worth every penny.

I am an UltraDot/MatchDot fan myself.

If using a Reflex sight I would do the research. My Combat Pistol Shooters keep changing sights looking for the best. The Burris seems to be pretty popular.

Bob

Likewise, I can't post a picture but I've got a Burris FF3 on my 454 Ruger SRH. It's low profile even with the "weather hood" on top, which makes it a bit faster for finding the dot. I use it for a sub-100 yard woods gun but I take it to the big stand in case something comes out close.

Ultradot is legit...love mine

No pictures to post, but I have tried and own probably more than a dozen of various brands. I started out many years ago with JPoints, orginal Delta points, and have added 4 or 5 RMR's to my pile. many are on rifles, and quite a few I move on and off handguns.

Thoughts, in general. I do own, but would not buy any sight that uses set screws that need to be loosened, to make poi adjustments. Thankfully, this "technology" seems to have passed. Rain and snow and general debris from crawling around can cause problems, but most brands seem to ship with hoods, or they can be purchased. Some hoods have loops on the front that can be used with a lanyard attached to the front of a holster or even a belt loop. I modify (if needed) the tightness of the hood, so that I can flick it off with my thumb. This does not work with Leupolds, as their wide lens makes for a tight fit.

As to glass, I am a big fan of real glass. Plastic lenses on a slide mounted gun can really suck, when you get nicks from brass. No issues on revolvers. Been wearing glasses since I was 6, so I know how to clean lenses. Plastic, even when very careful will eventually mar up. Glass lenses will resist pretty heavy abuse, even the old spit and shirttail field method of cleaning.

As to lenses and colors, most sights seem to need some type of tint in the glass to help with showing the dot. I have an STS that is a dandy sight, but the small screen and heavy tint make it tough in low light. My RMR's have the light blue tint, but are not "bad", per se. My Delta Points and the one I bought a few weeks ago (the Pro), have clear glass, and no tint. Combined with the huge filed of view over all of my others makes this my favorite for a hunting gun. For my self defense/field guns, the RMR is hard to beat. They are tough little sights.

As to dot intensity....I really like to be able to dial my dots. Surely when hunting, also when doing target work. I have astigmatisms, and dialing the dot can be the difference between usable and junk. Now the harder part, dot dials. My RMR's shine in this regard. They come on automatically, and the side buttons are fantastic. part of why they go on "serious" guns, for me. The old Leupolds were awful. I do not have any real field time on my new Leupold, but the button for intensity is sort of great, and sort of awful. To press the button, you finger blocks the diode/emitter. You cannot see your adjustments, and you have to go all the way in one direction, then back to other. It will auto adjust, but like all of my other brands, it tends to bias towards bright. Too bright for low light, IMHO. This is the other reason I insist on buttons for all of my dots. My thinking on the DPP, if it makes it to a hunting gun, I will just have to start low in the morning, and adjust during the day. No big, on a hunting gun. Not my 1st choice for a 'serious' weapon. That and the fact the new Leupold is the same as the old style, in that it takes a a little time for the intensity to auto adjust in dynamic lighting changes.

James noted in another thread ditching his dot, due to dot dance. Yup, this is real. I am not convinced that the dancing dot is mechanically different than the dance that goes on with irons, but it is MORE obvious, and it will mess with your head. The size and balance of the gun seems to affect me with the dot dance. Even from the bench, my 4 3/4 FA is a rascal to keep the dot steady. My Glock 41 is much easier, as it has more weight forward balance.

As to battery doors and locations, I am in the couldn't care less camp. Yes, I have to take my RMR's off the gun to change. Every couple of years, if I wanted. They run forever. Same with Jpoints. The DPP top mount is nice, but I would put the location way down my priority list. If you can find real world numbers for battery life, you can weigh that against battery location.

Back up iron sights. I think they are a must on "social" guns. Period. They make finding the dot quick, and they are a back up. You will not get BUI's on a revolver. I have them on my Glock 41, and they work well. I practice with both. I did order the iron sight for my DPP, but the sight body is so high (compared to the rmr or Jpoint), not sure you could get them on any handgun with a crazy high front sight.

So, what do I like/recommend? I like them all, but honestly, they all do have significant differences that may make or break any one user, or application. I think is why opinions are so over the map on the subject. Probably also why I have so many different makes :^) I love the Leupold glass and screen, best of the bunch. But if I had to only pick one, certainly the RMR.

Hope the diatribe was useful,

Craig

UltraDots on my .475 Linebaugh and .500 S&W have sood lots of abuse/use without problems.

I've used both the JPoint and the Burris Fastfire mounted on a Ruger SRH. The JPoint mount requires the rear sight to be removed. The Burris mount attaches to the standard Ruger scope mount cut-outs. It allows the rear sight to be retained (although not usable whilst the mount is in place)
The Jpoint


The Fastfire (photo from the web)


Whilst the Jpoint sits a tad lower than the Fastfire, both are still high compared to iron sights. As previously pointed out this can significantly slow sight acquisition. With a reflex type sight, if your alignment is a little bit off, you can't see the dot and can't auto-correct like you can with iron sights. If you do a lot of shooting with a reflex sighted revolver you may build up the "muscle memory" to be automatically aligned each time you point at your target. I can do it with my auto, but not my revolver. The slow acquisition cost me 2 close range opportunities in Africa. However the long range capability paid off with hits at 90M and 140M.

Auto-on vs Switch. The JPoint turns on as soon as its exposed to light. The dot intensity automatically adjusts to the ambiant light. The Fastfire uses a switch to activate and to adjust dot intensity. This is a personal preference, but I prefer the JPoint system as its one less thing to go wrong. I have lined up on game only to find the Fastfire not switched on. Admittedly 'user error' but something that ruins the moment.

Glass vs Plastic lens. The Jpoint has a plastic lens and yes it doesn't have the optical clarity of glass. Likewise, on my auto, its got small chips and marks from ejected cases. It's something I've only noticed when cleaning, never whilst sighting. For other people optical clarity is a much bigger deal. You have to work out what's important for you and your eyes. One reason for plastic lens is weight. They are much lighter than glass. Where this is important is the forces applied to the mount screws and sight structure under significant recoil.

Battery location. Some sights have battery drawers, some like the Fastfire have the battery inserted from the top with a threaded cover and some like the JPoint require the sight body to be removed from the base in order to change batteries. While the JPoint system is basic, it also is the simplest and most secure. The 4 location studs will align the body and base and minimize any need to re-sight in. With the Fastfire system it is very easy to cross thread the battery cover or to have it not properly screwed down. Having the cover and battery fly off after the first shot is a bugger. I haven't used any of the drawer systems and so can't comment.

Aimpoint Micro on S&W Mod 657 tricked out with Mag-na-Port's "Stalker" modifications.

Craig, great review of red dot sights. Very comprehensive and matches my personal experience. I killed a deer with an Aimpoint red dot mounted on a Dan Wesson 44 mag in 1983, and red dot technology has come a long way since then. Ultradot tube sights and Leupold DPP reflex sights are state of the art. Can't wait to see what comes next.

SW,

I do not go that far back, but long enough to have seen a lot of changes. I think the trend now to put these things on semi-autos will usher a lot of nice upgrades. Slide mounted optics have to be built so much more rugged than revolver or even long gun mounted.

Traditional scopes suitable for handgun hunting sure have stalled out the last couple of decades, but these red dots are evolving nicely.

Craig

I sure hope the trend is to smaller dots and lower light levels so they can be used for night hunting. Might get costly trying to keep up with the changes though.

I have a 1" UltraDot with a 4 min dot that will turn down in intensity to the point that I can hunt by moonlight. No bloom in the tube at all.

x2, I prefer them in the woods

I have tube style red dots on my revolvers and one Encore barrel, mostly UltraDot's. I have one reflex style and it's on my 10/22 Take Down.

What does RMR stand for??

Ruggedized Minature reflex sight. And they are most certainly rugged. I added a couple of the new Type 2, or version 2 to my pile, both with the 1 moa dot (Model 09). With the good brightness button, you can go low enough for extremely low light, or crank it up to flare the dot for midday sun.

Craig

Ah got it. Thanks.

The Ultradot 30 is probably the toughest sight I have ever used. They can take an incredible beating.

Max, I agree on the Ultradot 30 being tough. Just don't over-tighten the front ring and crack the front lens like I have.