Scope or red dot for revolver

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  • Redhorse

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    Hey everyone,

    For the sake of conversation what would you all suggest: scope or red dot for a revolver for shooting long range? I’ve never used either so it’d be great to see what’s best. Some of you may remember I posted a thread about ordering a custom .357 maximum I’m looking into ordering from Magnum Research.
     

    1775usmarine

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    I had a trs 25 on my gp100 with no issues but just replaced with a Romeo5 and have no range report yet.
     

    snorko

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    I had a Vortex Venom on a 617 and it was fun. But for distance a scope is more accurate. I had a 629 that would cloverleaf a three round group at 50 yards. I think it was a 6 x scope.
     

    Whip_McCord

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    May 14, 2010
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    I assume the revolver will be a .357 Max from MR. That should be a nice shooter. What barrel length did you decide on?

    What kind of long-range shooting do you plan on doing? What distances? I've done a lot of long-range shooting with handguns thru the years at my silhouette club with distances ranging from 25 to 100 yards for 22LR. Big bore guns were shot from 50 to 200 meters. Most of the time I shot that, only iron sights were allowed. At the end we could use scopes, but I did not have a lot of pistols carrying scopes. I briefly tried a scope on my Dan Wesson 44 mag, 10" barrel, but the scope mount I used attached to the vented rib on the barrel and did not work out very well. The lower recoil guns had rifle scopes, but you will probably need a long eye relief pistol scope. Most of the long-range pistol shooting I've been doing lately is with my Anschutz Exemplar (w/ 20X rifle scope) from 50 to 200 meters. It's fun trying to knock down steel targets at those distances with a 22 pistol, especially when most of the other shooters are using rifles.

    Currently, I do not have any revolvers carrying a scope. I have a few with red dots, but I use them for ICORE, Steel Challenge, and my PPC league. That would not be the intended purpose of your Max, I'm sure. So, let us know what you plan on shooting and what distances and we should be able to point you in the right direction. Sorry for all the questions. I'm a details kind of guy.
     

    700 LTR 223

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    Apr 5, 2008
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    Hey everyone,

    For the sake of conversation what would you all suggest: scope or red dot for a revolver for shooting long range? I’ve never used either so it’d be great to see what’s best. Some of you may remember I posted a thread about ordering a custom .357 maximum I’m looking into ordering from Magnum Research.

    Like Whip asked , what distance and type of shooting? I've used optics on various handguns since the 1990s and when shooting from a rest a scope is better for accuracy. For shooting with no support up to 50 yards I still like a red dot or if I use a scope my Burris 1X target dot bullseye scopes. Years when I shot NRA silhouette I used a rifle scope on a TC Contender 22 but it was more like shooting a "stockless" rifle.

    For someone that has never used a handgun with a scope it will really make your wobble seem far worse that it really is. The most powerful handgun scope I have is a 7X Burris on a 223 Contender and it shoots well enough for me at 100 yards from a rest.
     

    Redhorse

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    Jun 8, 2013
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    I assume the revolver will be a .357 Max from MR. That should be a nice shooter. What barrel length did you decide on?

    What kind of long-range shooting do you plan on doing? What distances? I've done a lot of long-range shooting with handguns thru the years at my silhouette club with distances ranging from 25 to 100 yards for 22LR. Big bore guns were shot from 50 to 200 meters. Most of the time I shot that, only iron sights were allowed. At the end we could use scopes, but I did not have a lot of pistols carrying scopes. I briefly tried a scope on my Dan Wesson 44 mag, 10" barrel, but the scope mount I used attached to the vented rib on the barrel and did not work out very well. The lower recoil guns had rifle scopes, but you will probably need a long eye relief pistol scope. Most of the long-range pistol shooting I've been doing lately is with my Anschutz Exemplar (w/ 20X rifle scope) from 50 to 200 meters. It's fun trying to knock down steel targets at those distances with a 22 pistol, especially when most of the other shooters are using rifles.

    Currently, I do not have any revolvers carrying a scope. I have a few with red dots, but I use them for ICORE, Steel Challenge, and my PPC league. That would not be the intended purpose of your Max, I'm sure. So, let us know what you plan on shooting and what distances and we should be able to point you in the right direction. Sorry for all the questions. I'm a details kind of guy.

    Like Whip asked , what distance and type of shooting? I've used optics on various handguns since the 1990s and when shooting from a rest a scope is better for accuracy. For shooting with no support up to 50 yards I still like a red dot or if I use a scope my Burris 1X target dot bullseye scopes. Years when I shot NRA silhouette I used a rifle scope on a TC Contender 22 but it was more like shooting a "stockless" rifle.

    For someone that has never used a handgun with a scope it will really make your wobble seem far worse that it really is. The most powerful handgun scope I have is a 7X Burris on a 223 Contender and it shoots well enough for me at 100 yards from a rest.
    Thank you for the questions! It helps me gather my thoughts. Since I am going to be spending a decent amount on a customized revolver I want to keep my options open for it’s uses. I decided on a 6.5” barrel, but I may change my mind as research goes on. Since most of the research I’ve read indicates that a 20” or so barrel is needed to get the maximum potential out of a .357 max, I’m thinking the barrel length won’t be as much of an issue as I initially thought. Right now I’m looking at a max range of 200 meters but my eyesight isn’t great (I have astigmatisms that are rather inconvenient). I know I want to be a bale to handgun hunt with it since that was the initial purpose for the .357 max in the first place but I may explore amateur silhouette since this is another intended use for the round. Currently I’m leaning towards a scope but I’m not ruling a red dot out.

    Is it possible to mount a scope or red dot without removing the iron sights? If I can avoid it, I’d rather not have to replace the iron sights if I want to take the optic off.
     

    russc2542

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    Oct 24, 2015
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    Astigmatism! (I know how it goes) Unless you're going to go for a holographic or prism sight (much more $$ and usually larger than a "normal" red dot) you don't want a red-dot (for accuracy). The precise, intense dot will flare and streak to match your astigmatism.

    Depends on the gun (of course) but generally, with revolvers, the scope or dot mounts to either proprietary rings or a pic-rail and do not require removal of the irons.
     

    Redhorse

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    Jun 8, 2013
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    Astigmatism! (I know how it goes) Unless you're going to go for a holographic or prism sight (much more $$ and usually larger than a "normal" red dot) you don't want a red-dot (for accuracy). The precise, intense dot will flare and streak to match your astigmatism.

    Depends on the gun (of course) but generally, with revolvers, the scope or dot mounts to either proprietary rings or a pic-rail and do not require removal of the irons.
    I forgot about that! Looks like my gut feeling on the scope was right then. How different is shooting a scoped revolver over shooting a scoped rifle?
     

    Hawkeye7br

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    Shooting a handgun scope is a bit different and needs a bit of practice to get the hang of it. When using a long eye relief scope, you have to imagine it's like sighting with a yardstick. If you move the front of it at arms length just a little bit, the back part (close to you face) moves a great deal. Some people hate it, but it's truly just practice. A straight 4x or 2-6x variable are the most common. The BFR is a big frame, but you may want to consider an 8"-10". There is going to be some bite with 20 grains of powder. I have a Ruger with 10" barrel and shot it for years in handgun silhouette with open sights but never hunted with it.
     

    gglass

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    Dec 2, 2008
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    ELKHART
    When I built up my Ruger GP100, I knew that only a long eye relief scope would do. Since this .357 rig would be primarily for hunting, I wanted the precision and the magnification that comes with a good pistol scope.

    B4ms0j5l.jpg

    My choice.

    t3XtmNGl.jpg

    Best group before the scope.
     

    Redhorse

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    3   0   0
    Jun 8, 2013
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    When I built up my Ruger GP100, I knew that only a long eye relief scope would do. Since this .357 rig would be primarily for hunting, I wanted the precision and the magnification that comes with a good pistol scope.

    B4ms0j5l.jpg

    My choice.

    t3XtmNGl.jpg

    Best group before the scope.
    Looks good! What kind of scope?
     

    Jaybird1980

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    5   0   0
    Jan 22, 2016
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    North Central
    I had an 8" .357 with a red dot. It got significantly more precise with a scope, the dot covered to much at distance to be very precise with. I vote 8" barrel, not that my opinion matters.
     

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