Low Powered Scopes 1x -2x are very handy

[CWLONGSHOT]

I have a 1x Burris sitting in a box I don't know what to do with. Don't even know if it is any good. Came from my FIL passing a few years ago.

I have a 1X Burris pistol scope I think is awesome! I also have a 1.25 Burris rifle but intermediate eye releif. Its perfect on a slug gun barrel!

CW

 

[L Ross]

I have a 1X Burris pistol scope I think is awesome! I also have a 1.25 Burris rifle but intermediate eye releif. Its perfect on a slug gun barrel!

CW

Ya know CW, between us we could open a pretty darned well stocked Sporting Goods store. We have more stuff than Carter's has pills.

 

[Bret4207]

To my way of thinking, the only reason for having a 1 X power scope would be because your eyes won’t permit the use of iron sights. In which case I would prefer a red dot .

More to it than that. A scope gathers light in dim conditions, allows the use of 1 aiming reference point instead of 2 and there are no batteries or switches needing to be pushed. It's dead simple. My eyes are fine with a peep and blade or bead, but a low powered scope still works...easier I guess is the word.

Try one, you'll probably understand what I mean. And most 1x scopes are more than 1x, something like 1.3 or so. Not much magnification, but you need a small amount I've read or it ends up looking like the target is smaller than it actually is.

 

[Winelover]

Battery life on some red dots is in the 50,000 hours. Some even have shake awake features and can be left on all the time. Red dots also work better in low light. So yes, red dots at no magnification are a better choice for most hunting situations requiring zero magnification. FWIW, I recommend one with the smallest dot, preferably 1MOA, 2 MOA at the most. Anything bigger, starts to cover up too much of the target for accurate shot placement beyond 40 yards. Sig Romeo 5 fits most of this criteria and is very affordable.

 

[Jeff H]

More to it than that. A scope gathers light in dim conditions, allows the use of 1 aiming reference point instead of 2 and there are no batteries or switches needing to be pushed. It's dead simple. My eyes are fine with a peep and blade or bead, but a low powered scope still works...easier I guess is the word.

Try one, you'll probably understand what I mean. And most 1x scopes are more than 1x, something like 1.3 or so. Not much magnification, but you need a small amount I've read or it ends up looking like the target is smaller than it actually is.

I am 100% on board with ALL of that and pretty obsessive about not being reliant on batteries, especially ones I can't recharge and "coin-cells" or "button-cells". NO alkaline batteries in MY house or MY shop, so if I DO have to use batteries, they have to be NiMh or lithium, so that narrows things pretty seriously.

HOWEVER,......

Battery life on some red dots is in the 50,000 hours. Some even have shake awake features and can be left on all the time. Red dots also work better in low light. So yes, red dots at no magnification are a better choice for most hunting situations requiring zero magnification. FWIW, I recommend one with the smallest dot, preferably 1MOA, 2 MOA at the most. Anything bigger, starts to cover up too much of the target for accurate shot placement beyond 40 yards. Sig Romeo 5 fits most of this criteria and is very affordable.

If I hadn't used what cash I had left on a Taurus 605 revolver recently, I'd have had that very red dot, in fact, I had it in my cart. The price was very low, the dot was 2 MOA (hard to find anything that small or smaller for that kind of money), the battery life, "shake-awake" feature and overall compact size of the Romeo5 and it fits onto a Weaver base had me sold.

THIS very red dot changed my mind for all the reasons you mention above. I'll have to wait. When Taurus (of which I am not really a huge fan) advertised a stainless, 3", 5-shot 357 with decent fixed sights, I just HAD to give it a try, and there went what was left from the last installment of my "purge" at the last gun show. In October, there's another show, and maybe I'll finally move the last two (and a half) rifles and a bunch of related components tying up capital.

First thing on my list when I have cash again is THAT red dot.

I won't be selling off the scope it "replaces" though, because as made clear in this thread - the "right" scope is just too hard to find these days. I'll save those for backups.

 

[Missionary]

We have several Red Dots (Micro-Dots) on hunting revolvers and a couple others on 375 Rifles. One is a 375-06 and the other a Ruger #1 in 375 H&H both loaded with FN cast. I use those down in the bottoms chasing the none existing Cougars ILL-Nois turned loose 25 years back.
They tend to get real active just before and during 1st light and sundown time. Had one track me early one morning as I was crawling last 100 yards up to my tree stand bow hunting. That was the last time I was gun-less down there at any hour.

 

[CWLONGSHOT]

Not so many years ago I was in Jeffs camp. I had been shooting red dots for a bunch a years in competition so I tried one on a Shotgun deer hunting. The battery failed during the hunt. This was the early '90's sites or batteries where not what they are today. Plus that was not a new battery. I swore off them in the cold weather for a few years.
But things improved and improved drastically. As mentioned today we have some of these same sized "coin" batteries last almost a YEAR LEFT ON! Cold still effects life span but its not gonna quit in the middle of a hunt. If its a worriy simply change to a fresh a battery before ya go out.

Today I have red dots on both of my Muzzle loaders and they see the coldest temps I hunt in. Never been a problem for me and they are Aimpoint 3000 optics. THIRTY YEARS OLD!

CW

 

[Winelover]

In the 80s, I was using Armson red dots on bows, handguns and shotguns. No battery. Tritium element would last a little over ten years. No on/off stitch, always ready. Fully automatic in terms of light compensation............no rheostat to mess with. Best of all the MSRP was $109. Fit in standard 1" rings. Sadly, Trijicon quit supporting (relamping) them. I still have a half dozen of them. They work fine in daylight, just not in extreme low light.

 

[Bret4207]

Battery life on some red dots is in the 50,000 hours. Some even have shake awake features and can be left on all the time. Red dots also work better in low light. So yes, red dots at no magnification are a better choice for most hunting situations requiring zero magnification. FWIW, I recommend one with the smallest dot, preferably 1MOA, 2 MOA at the most. Anything bigger, starts to cover up too much of the target for accurate shot placement beyond 40 yards. Sig Romeo 5 fits most of this criteria and is very affordable.

I think the word "better" is pretty subjective. Red dots, at least the ones I've seen, are fugly too, at least to my eye. Again, a subjective opinion, but I'll stick with the old K1!

 

[Rushcreek]

Aside from hunting in the thick stuff, a 1.5X scope is excellent for the home defense carbine.
As a teen I put a Weaver K1.5 on my 10-22 and was deadly on Jacks and cottontails either close or far.
I miss fixed power scopes. Especially the ones below 6X.

 

[Brad]

Red dot signs work very well. Battery life is pretty amazing these days.

While hey don’t look “traditional” on a handgun or rifle they are certainly better looking that the “scout scope” setups. I can’t stomach those at all.

In the end it comes down to preference. What works for you and your needs. What fits your shooting style. Do what makes you happy and let other have their opinions, you don’t have to listen.

 

[Winelover]

Functionality trumps looks. Whether, to save my bacon or bring the bacon home.

 

[Bret4207]

I always kind of liked the Scout Scope look. Mind you, I mean in the original iteration per Jeff Cooper, not the modern Mall Ninja Tacti-cool AR looking monstrosities with flashlights, can openers and Ronco Kitchen Magician attached to the fore end. I have a Spanish FR8 that, should my eyes get bad enough, would look just fine with a Scout Scope set up.

Once again, to each their own and subjective judgement live on!!!

 

[Petrol & Powder]

I also like the forward mounted, intermediate eye relief “Scout Scope" concept. However, after reading Cooper’s rational for the concept, I wasn’t completely sold on the concept. The major reason given for the forward mounted scope was to provide access to the top of a military bolt action for a stripper clip. A secondary reason was to provide a grasping position at the balance point of the rifle that wasn’t obstructed by the scope.

The need to use stripper clips is negated by the use of rifles with detachable box magazines. The balance point issue remains valid but I’m not sure it’s enough to justify a forward mounted scope.

I have great respect for the late Col. Jeff Cooper. I met the man once and he was a true gentleman. I purchased his book “The art of the rifle” and I’ve read a lot of his other work. When he first developed the Scout Rifle Concept, surplus military bolt actions still ruled the field. Those rifles, with their fixed floor plates and the option to feed the magazine via a stripper clip, had a lot of influence on Cooper.

By the time the magazine fed Steyr Scout Rifle entered commercial production, the forward mounted scope had become more of a sales feature than a necessity.

 

[Winelover]

Scout type scopes are also used for top eject lever actions. I only have one scout scope that's mounted on a Rossi 357 carbine. Rossi offers a optional no drill base that replaces the rear sight. Not even necessary to drill and tap. Just use existing holes.

 

[Jeff H]

Very cool feature on the Rossi. I wonder if they still do it? This one was new in 2008 or 2009.

Also a great feature on a Swede M38, cut to 20". As P&P said, better balance for carry and free access to the stripper clip ears, which I did use.

The one problem I have had with forward-mounted scopes is that if there is an intense back-light, the glare off the occular lens makes it impossible to see through the scope. Maybe I needed better scopes?

 

[Winelover]

Forwarded mounted conventional scopes are worse for low light shooting than a rear mounted one. That's why I swap out a red dot for deer hunting. I only use the conventional scout scope for load development. I'm using a Vortex 2x7 scout on the Rossi carbine. Romeo 5 red dot for low light hunting. Exactly, like the one on my X-bow, except for the optional riser/higher base.

 

[Jeff H]

I used the one on the Rossi until I figured that part out, and then I added the Williams peep, which was for a Remington 74(?), but my trusty files coerced it into serving on the Rossi.

This was for night-time pest control with a flashlight, so the sights worked fine. I had a red dot on it, but it was a dated, bulky, cheap Tasco, which turned me off to red dots until I noticed the Sig Romeo5.

The problematic back-light mentioned was from a few security lights on the garage. Didn't affect the red dot or the peep/post at all.

 

[todd]

i have a 4-16x Bushnell bannerman on my 20 vartarg and i have a 6-24x bushnell scope that used to be on my 22-250ai. i used them for varmints and target shooting.

i have a bunch of 3-9x swift, the old variety and over the counter warranty. today's swift is not a good scope. it used to be on par with Leopold's scopes. i have one only one 3-9x Leopold because it was cheap. its on my tc encore with a 444 marlin. i take it hunting and its set at 3x. 6 or 7x is when i'm at the target range.

i have 2-7x Leopold Freedom scopes on my 9.3x57 and 500 Linebaugh (23" MGM TC Encore barrel) and they are set at 2 or 3x for hunting. 7x is the target range. i also have a 2-7x Vortex scout scope on a Chinese-type scope mount on a 1908 Brazilian Mauser.

i just wanted to see how it looks and the Chinese-type version sux. someday i'll try the S&K scope mounts.

i've used red dots on my revolvers and i like them. my dad had a red/green dot reflex sight on his Contender. and to tell you the truth, green dot is superior. he took off a 2 1/2x Swift on the 'Tender because he just could not see the deer anymore. i have a Warren One Hole sight on my ruger sbh and the ghost ring is the way to go.

One Hole Sights | Warren Custom Outdoor - Unique Made in USA products for the outdoorsman

Warren Custom Outdoor - Unique Made in USA products for the outdoorsman

www.warrencustomoutdoor.com

i have Redfield, Lyman and Williams aperture sights on many of my rifles. my eyes ain't what they used to be and open sights are not an option. i can't see the target/deer anymore, so i got eye glasses.
open sight shooting at 50 yards in 35/30-30(no glasses)

Williams FP sight at 100 yards on my 35/30-30(no glasses)

 

[Brad]

I always kind of liked the Scout Scope look. Mind you, I mean in the original iteration per Jeff Cooper, not the modern Mall Ninja Tacti-cool AR looking monstrosities with flashlights, can openers and Ronco Kitchen Magician attached to the fore end. I have a Spanish FR8 that, should my eyes get bad enough, would look just fine with a Scout Scope set up.

Once again, to each their own and subjective judgement live on!!!

Cooper was a mall ninja in ways. Tacticool is tacticool.