Long time rifle/bow hunter in Michigan. Just bought Taurus .44Mag, 8 3/8", SS tonight. Looking to join the ranks.

Buddy has same gun. He swears by red-dot scopes, believes T.A. too dificult w/ scopes. While I am leaning the same direction, I'm a bit more of an 'accuracy nazi' than he is.

Please give me your best opinion on a red dot brand/model!! Hunt conditions: 100 yds or less, usually mixed forest/swamp.

OR, if the red dot is useless/unliked - sell me on something!!

Looking for opinions, I know everyone has 'em !!!

Welcome to the site! I like to have the crosshairs for pinpoint acurracy. I haven't had any luck for red dots. The only one I used got dark in the dawn and dusk. It had a smokey tint to the lens. Good luck with you new Tauras! Let us know how she shoots!

I like a bit of magnification, especially hunting in the woods. My recommendation would be for a 4x Leupold. A 2x would be a little better for a new shooter but over 50 yards you'd be better off with a 4x. The biggest adjustment you'll need to make is learning to live with the wobble. The lower magnification will seem to wobble less but in reality there isn't much difference.

Whew. How does one learn to handle viewing a target thru crosshairs at arms-length away? Seems like more effort than its worth. How quickly can you achieve TA? Skiddish deer at 50-100 yds dont give much time to chew the fat, eh?! It seems to me the more I read, and the more blogs I view, the red-dots are the minority, yet the crosshairs at 3.5 feet away from my eye, boggles the mind of a riflemen!!

Practice!

With a little practice, its not difficult to quickly take aim with a scoped handgun. I would recommend a 2-6X Bushnell Elite 3200. They have generous eye relief and their quality is excellent. You'll have lower magnification for close off-hand shots and higher magnification for longer shots from a rest.

Welcome to the site. I also suggest a 2x for the beginner. You will not get as frustrated learning with the 2x as you possibly will with a higher magiification.

I would encourage you to start with a 2x as well.
You can always upgrade later on if you want more X's.

another vote for the 2X and the top on my list are the Leupold, Nikon, Weaver and Burris in that order.

2X scope to start and lots of dry firing practice. Get a few hunting magazines and cut the pictures out of game and tape them to the walls in the house. Then practice drawing on the critter. You can also sit across the room from the TV and practice drawing on the hunting shows.

You also need to practice with both eyes open. Find your dominate eye to be sure. Then look at the target and raise the scope into your sight plane. The dominate eye will take over and you will see the target in the scope. It will really help in acquiring the target quicker. It might seem a little goofy at first but after some practice it will come natural and be like using one eye.

GREAT ADVICE TIG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So, no votes for a red dot??

Thanks for all the tips gents.

I don’t like them… but that is just me! My SRH wears a 2-6 Bushnell 3200.

I have a couple, and they are good for what they are, a quick acquisition sight. I can acquire my target nearly as quickly with some magnification, and when hunting some magnification is sometimes nice.

I am fairly new to the serious handgun hunting scene. Did some a couple of decades ago with open sights but it was purely a novelty.

I started hunting with my Taurus M44 6.5 this year in Jan. I've killed three hogs with a red dot projection sight with ranges from 6-35 yards, no rest. I never liked it. The worst part was it placed the sight plane uncomfortably high above the bore-sight, at least it felt that way to me. I would bring the gun up to acquire a sight picture, and have to search to find the dot. The brightness level of the sight varied greatly in it's effectiveness, depending on the ambient light. Big difference if you are shaded or in the sun, for me.

I bought a Weaver Classic 2X a few months ago. Much better point-ability for me. No worries about turning it on, and guessing at the brightness level. I'm also shooting better groups with it.

Just my opinion!

I prefer 2X scopes myself. When they first came out I used an Aimpoint on my Tender. Murphy's law took over and when I needed it the battery went dead. If I am going to use a scope with batteries the only ones that I would use are the ones with a crosshair that is illuminated.

It would be nice if some one built a 2x red dot.

Trijicon builds the ACOG's....a bit pricey, but they are magnified. Truglo also makes one as well.

Welcome aboard! If you want pinpoint accuracy a scope is the way to go. A good variable scope like the Bushnell 2x6 Elite is a good choice. On the other hand a red dot site with a 2 x magnification and a 3 moa. dot is sweet. Tru Glo makes one in black or camo for under $120 with a lifetime warranty. The dot is great for hunting. The drawback is you need batteries(which last a long long time)and at dusk and dawn is that you get a red glow in the lens from the dot. so pick your poison. I had one on my 629 & put on a Burris because the gun would shoot smaller groups than my dot would cover. I hope this helped.