Hey guys.
It's been a while but its really good to see some of the old names still on here!
I was away from handgun hunting for the last few years and no longer have my SRH Redhawk 480 but I still have my trusty 8&3/8 mod 29 so that's where I'm starting again. Warne Base is still on it but no glass.
I liked my Ultradot 4 that was on it before it went to the Ruger but my astigmatism never let's me get a crisp sight picture with a red dot. Since the smallest thing I'm hunting up here is black bear that's not a HUGE concern but still I'm considering a fixed 2x scope... Just not sure which direction to go.
Burris 2x any good? I want crosshairs that are EASY to pickup quickly in low light.
I assume the Ultradot 4 is as good as ever?

Feels good to be back here!

I have a 2x Nikon on an Encore in 44 mag. To me, it seems easier to pickup than the Burris or Leupold 2x models.


I still prefer the red dots for fastest acquisition, especially in low light close quarters.

Good to see you back Vance,hope all is well with you and yours, its been awhile. Not much help here as all my scopes are straight 4x or variables I do have a couple of red dots also. My son has been using a couple of Bushnell Intermediate eye relief scopes on his pistols both 2x7. He likes them a lot as you don't have to stretch your arms to get full field of view. In a tree stand full field of view is hard to get in some positions.Just another option.

I have wondered what had happened to you. Several of the old timers are missing on here. Doc with a Glock, and Hunley come to mind.
I still have the same old UltraDot 30mm on my 480 SRH. I have been getting the MatchDot II's in 30mm the last few that I have ordered from Heather at UltraDot West.
I have a lone 4X Leupold on a 357 Max Contender barrel, and both old and new 2-7 Burris scopes on several other barrels. The new Burris are way clearer than my 1990's ones. Not a 2X in the tribe at the moment.

Bob R

I have a fixed 2x Leupold on my 44 mag contender barrel. It is great out to 75 yards and I love using it when hunting in the woods but I want more at 200 yards. That is when I pick up my 30 30 contender with a Weaver 2.5 x 8.

Yes......i miss a lot of old posters. Ive had a few good internet buddies pass away over the yrs. makes me apprehensive of making ?new? friends......eek. Gets to be like family.
Glad to see your return.

Ive had a 2x burris on my redhawk for many yrs. i like it there, but havnt hunted with it in a long time. It has handled max 240gr loads just fine....as thats all ive ever shot out of it.

I?m in a similar predicament with trying to make an ultradot work with astigmatism. I ended up going with scopes. I have the latest Burris 2x with the new mountain peak logo. I also have an leupold M8 2x and VX3 2.5-8.

A quick observation in daylight unmounted scope in hand. The eye relief seems equally good between the Burris and Leupold 2x. I couldn?t detect much difference slowly extending my arm and tilting side to side up and down. The 2.5-8 was nowhere close to forgiveness exhibited by the fixed scope. The reticle seems thicker on the leupolds but more ?brown transparent? and less solid black than the Burris, even after adjusting the diopter. I think this might be partly due to my bad eye sight, but then I don?t see this phenomenon with leupold rifle scopes.
The Burris has less noticeable rim and more immersive than either leupold. The glass is brighter than the M8 (as expected) and on par with the VX3 (VX3 being a touch warmer).

Finally the Burris has that new ?mountain peak? logo and stylized Burris printed on the ocular bell. I have a very hard time mounting it as it doesn?t look right on any of my revolvers

I have several Ultradot on guns also a RMR on my Glock model 40. But my favorite is Aimpoint on my 460 S&W . Clear, adjustable military tough and battery life is fantastic.

Not to go off tangent but curiousity is killing me ...do you think the 3x magnifier with it?s flip mount (which flips up and to the side) would withstand the recoil and have enough eye relief at 3x? If it does then you would have the best of both worlds 1x and 3x, with illumination, and fix the issue of astigmatism

Thanks for the welcome home guys.
Bob, have you tried your Ultradot 6 on a handgun? Any pics?

Vance the UltraDot 6 is on my AR15 with a Tactical Solutions 22 LR upper. I have never had it mounted on a handgun. It has a lot in common with the newer 6 Series 30mm MatchDot II, just not the large front bell. Both have the exposed Elevation Adjustment Turret, and multiple reticle sizes and patterns. The real advantage I see to the MatchDot II is the 2 MOA Dot size option. The 2 MOA Dot does not Bloom nearly as much as the 4 MOA Only Dot on the standard UltraDot in very low light. The square center section on the MatchDot II where the Brightness Knob, Reticle Pattern Selection Knob and Elevation and Windage knobs are located is approximately 2.13" long. This can have an impact mounting this version of UltraDot on some guns such as the SRH using factory Rings. I am pretty sure it will work on a SRH using the Weigand Combat Scope Base however.

Bob R

In the past i had the Ultradot 4 and thats what i was hoping to get again but it looks like its discontinued...
I liked it for the reasons you mentioned

Bob, another question on the Match II.
How easily does that elevation knob turn? Does it lock? Potential to get moved going in & out of truck, case, holster, hands?

Not really a scope guy on revolvers but I do have a few that are scoped & I usually carry 2 revolvers out here in he west, one of them having iron sighs & getting the most use & the other usually sticking out of the top of my pack & it has a scope on it. The scope is almost always a Leupold 4X.
I've had 2 of the Ultra Dot's on different guns & both of them cost me nice bucks & both times it was my own fault, not the red dot. I hadn't used it enough although I thought I had. So, for me it boils down to what type of terrain you are hunting & how much you practice. I think the Ultra Dot is great in some conditions but maybe not in the brush where I'm usually hunting muleys. Something with a little bit of power fits my hunting style better but it is slower.

Dick

Dick. Please fill me in on how you lost tje buvks. Hitting limbs you didnt see?

Thanks for all the input guys!

Well s standard Ultradot 30 is on the way! Called ultradot west at 10am their time and they said it would go out priority mail today! Cant beat that service!

Now onto the super blackhawk hunter im probably ordering tomorrow... thinking 2x there.
A couple have said they really like the burris. Others say the crosshsirs are too fine to acquire quickly or for low light... Opinions?

I like the crosshairs on the 2x Leupold much better.

Ordered the SBH Hunter today and ended up ordering a burris 2x at the same time at a discount.
Evidently leupold isnt making the 2x any longer?

Vance, like I said earlier, in both cases it really was my own fault, not the red dot but what happened was, me & one of my grandson's were hunting along a cliff area covered with some heavy brush, it's an area where I have taken bucks before & if they are in there things happen in a hurry!
As we slowly moved among some big boulders 2 bucks jumped up & started to try & break out through the top of the cliffs. My grandson, shooting a rifle dropped to one knee & killed the biggest buck as I stood offhand & watched, gun in hand. When his buck fell it actually hit the buck behind it just as I fired my red dot scoped 44 SBH, at first I thought I had hit him because he fell down.
What really happened was the buck Ridge had shot simply knocked him off his feet. Now he was up & running straight down hill, almost right at us & he was coming as fast as any deer I had ever seen. My 44 is a 10.5" barrel & I just could not track him, perhaps if I had been a bit more practiced I could have pulled it off but he was gone in a flash. At the time I was very practiced with iron sights & "think" I could have made the shot without the red dot, we'll never know.
On the second buck I was in very heavy cover & could only see bits & pieces of the buck as we played hide & seek as he tried to slip out on me, which he did. If I would have had a 4X on top I could have made him out in the brush & most likely killed him but with no magnification I couldn't make him out good enough to break the shot. He blended in too well.
This is the buck my 12 year old grandson Ridge shot, it was his first ever buck taken with a rifle his dad built & that's a custom sling Mike Barranti gave him.



Dick

Beautifu buck!

Greg, I have always appreciated your writing style & story telling so thanks for sharing.
Interesting that in one situation iron sights would have been an advantage, & in another magnification might have done the trick...
A great reminder that there is no "one size fits all", even for an individual.
Every choice is a compromise & we hope that the choice we make will be the wise one on that particular moment of that particular day.
5 minutes earlier or later, 50 feet either way down the trail, & it can all change...

Vance I have never had a problem with the elevation knob moving by accident. It resets to Zero by just taking the screw out and pulling the knob up and repositioning it back to Zero, and putting the screw back in.
You can feel the detents when turning it. I just checked one, and it does not turn easy enough to be a problem.

Bob

I will probably wish I had gone with it, but I went with the straight ultradot 30

Today l looked thru a Leupold Delta Point, Vortex Viper, FF3 today.

Delta Point is clearer than the others. Easier to acquire the dot

quicker than the others because of a slightly larger window..

That has been my go-to sight for about a dozen years. Can't go wrong with the Ultradot 30 IMHO.

Hevan't shot it yet but got the Ultradot 30 mounted on my mod 29 & it feels just like old times :-)

Burris 2x came & just playing with it outside about an hour before dark & then a few minutes before dark last night it seemed clear & bright with good visibility of the crosshairs. Maybe a little less eye relief than I would like but I won't know for sure until the SBH Hunter gets here tomorrow & i can get it mounted up.

Stuck the Burris on the SBHH. So far only dry fired, but I love the scope!