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Holosight or Red Dot for shotgun?

J

jonnycougar

Guest
Well I've finally decided to get rid of my rifle sights on my shot gun. Have a cantilever rifled barrel coming in and am wondering which scope to go with. I've narrowed it down to the Bushnell HoloSight , or the Tasco Pro Point Red Dot. Anybody use either one of these and what are your thoughts?

Thanks!
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I used the tasco pro point 5 for 2 years on my deer gun and really liked it. I really just used it to get in the habit of looking thru a tube instead of the rifle sights. I now have it on my muzzleloader and have put a leupold vari X II 3 X 9 X 50 on my shotgun. Just remember to always have an extra battery near by, during the really cold days those batteries can lose there juice in one day, but once you warm them back up they will work again.
 
I started out many years ago with a Bushnell Banner scope. I think it was only 2.5X30? I didn't know much about scopes back then (or even now) so things like eye relife, FOV, fully multi coated opitcs, tube diamter were lost on me. I couldn't hit spit with it, well, not that bad, but one time I had three does running right at me. I didn't move until they stopped to jump the fence that I was standing against. I put the gun up and couldn't find them in the scope. They weren't three fence posts away and I missed all three. The next year I went with a pro point (don't remeber if it is a 5 or not) and it has worked much better. Put the dot on the target, no mater where in the sight picute it is, if its on the target it will hit it. In other words, if you have the scope sighted in and you are looking through it crooked and the dot is at the 3 o'clock position it s still on the target. Don't know if that makes sences, but it seems to work for me. The Pro Point still has eye relife issues, I have never used a Holopoint scope but I think they are much more friendly in that reguard. As far as batteries, I always carried extras because somebody else would forget to turn theirs off over night and have a dead one.

FWIW

The 'Bonker
 
A nice point about the Holosight is it has a 1 minute of angle dot available. If you hunt from a stand this would be nice. I use one on my bow (a little different) but it works well and has been reliable for 4 or 5 years. Rain on the lens can be a headache. With the bow I have to adjust it for light conditions so the image does not glare and maintain pinpoint accuarcy. A 1 MOA dot covers 1 inch at 100 yards and 1/10 of an inch at 10 yards. 5 MOA dot covers 5 inches at 100 yards. I have used both they each have a place.
 
How are they during the last few minutes of legal shooting time? Do they have good light gathering capabilities and allow you to see the target or do they inhibit light gathering and black out the target?
 
You keep both eyes open one eye sees the target the other the holographic image the brain puts them together. Those last few minutes are why I use it. The biggest downfall is I have to adjust the light level on an average of 4 times a hunt as daylight increases or decreases.I have always been afraid a deer that I have not noticed will notice this movement. That is on a bow. I also tried a red dot and a Holosight on a shotgun when I still shotgun hunted. I switched back to 3-9x40 scopes when I started using sabots and rifled barrells to take advantage of the guns longer range abilities and not having to constantly adjust brightness when on drives going in and out of cover and open fields. For a stand hunter or poster they are great for a driver with different light conditions they can be a headache.
 
I have a holosite on my turkey gun & really like it alot. I can change the choke tube & slugs hit a couple inches high at 50 yards. There are times I'd like to have a little magnification but it is very fast on target so that probably makes up for that. You do have to pay attention to the light levels and also battery life. The new Aimpoint is also a very good system but pricey.
 
Pharmer, they do make or did make a magnification atachment for the holosight. Never used one but remember seeing them. Rainshield also, has anyone used this?
 
I've used the cheap BSA red dot for 5 years and have had no trouble what so ever. I take my slug gun out of the cabinet a week or two before season to see if it is still on and never have to adjust. After season it goes back in the cabinet until the next year. The BSA has a bigger diameter so it is easier to see thru. If you have any doubts buy a BSA for around $30 and try it. I shoot a 870 express with a smooth bore and I have a pattern the size of a small desert plate at 100 yds.
 
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