red dot sights

waterman

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roane county
looking to put a red dot on my Winchester sxp 20 gauge. don't want to break the bank, but also don't want junk. don't need a $300 sight on a $300 gun, lol. any input? never had a red dot before.
 

JCDEERMAN

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I have a Burris FF3 on my turkey gun and love it. I got one for my dads as well for Christmas. His dot doesnt seem to move at all no matter how much I turn L or R or up/down. Anyone had this problem? May have to send it back
 

knightrider

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tn
I have a Burris FF3 on my turkey gun and love it. I got one for my dads as well for Christmas. His dot doesnt seem to move at all no matter how much I turn L or R or up/down. Anyone had this problem? May have to send it back
Run it all the way to both ends a few times then back to middle and try again
 

Jbbivens

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Apr 21, 2019
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Holosun gets my vote. I've got a HE403 c greendot on my son's 20 gauge. It can also be solar powered. During the daylight I just turn the optic off and it runs strictly off solar. No issues at all.
 

REN

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Wilson County, TN
Lots of good options out there these days vs years ago.
I like Burris on my shotguns just due to past history with them and their reliability and warranty. I do run holosuns on all my pistols though and they are built like tanks and work great.
Swampfox makes some good ones that you can find for fairly cheap
Crimson trace also has one that's pretty affordable

#1 pick one that you don't have to take the sight off to change the battery
#2 change the battery one a year no matter what the life is on them. They cost Penny's so just change them each year
#3 find the screen size and MOA on the dot you prefer. Some like smaller screens like the holosun 507k or bigger ones like fast fire4. Some like 6MOA dots and others 3 (I prefer 3)
#4 do you want auto on (shake awake) or do you prefer to be able to manually turn it off and on
 

JCDEERMAN

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#2 change the battery one a year no matter what the life is on them. They cost Penny's so just change them each year
Great tips REN. #2 is one I need to work on. I conserve in every way I can and struggle with trying to use the life of something until it's gone. I definitely don't want a gobbler strutting in and my red dot not come on
 

TheLBLman

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Knoxville-Dover-Union City, TN
Lots of good options.
I personally am a fan of the Burris options.
Great price points between price, value, durability.
Battery life is typically over a year, but I change batteries annually, never worry about it.

The "red dots" I don't like are the larger sized ones (many brands, models),
and most of them are cheaper than the ones most recommended thus far on this thread.
 

TheLBLman

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That said, I actually overall prefer a traditional low-mag "shotgun" scope on my turkey guns.
My turkey hunting favorite is the (no longer made) Nikon Monarch 1.5-4.5x by 20mm.

I'm right now exchanging out the Burris Fastfire on my go-to 20 ga "run & gun" featherweight, to the Nikon Monarch. It will add a few ounces, but small objective low-power traditional scopes are generally light in weight compared to the scopes on most our deer rifles.
 

Boll Weevil

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Hardeman
Also consider field of view as you compare. I'm probably the oddball but shoot with both eyes open…right side dominant eye picks up the target+dot and with left eye also open, everything else is in view. Tight pattern, close to mid range, dead bird every time with no collateral damage.
 

REN

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Oct 24, 2007
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Wilson County, TN
Sight in is very easy. Just remember it's a shotgun and not a precision rifle otherwise you will just chase the shot all day.

Shoot at 15-20 with bird shot after eyeballing (bore sighting it)

Move the dot to the center of the shot fired. Move back to 35 and shoot the load you plan to hunt with. Move the dot again to the center of the shot mass. Shoot in more time at 40 and you should be done.
 

scn

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Feb 5, 2003
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19,679
Location
Brentwood, TN US
That said, I actually overall prefer a traditional low-mag "shotgun" scope on my turkey guns.
My turkey hunting favorite is the (no longer made) Nikon Monarch 1.5-4.5x by 20mm.

I'm right now exchanging out the Burris Fastfire on my go-to 20 ga "run & gun" featherweight, to the Nikon Monarch. It will add a few ounces, but small objective low-power traditional scopes are generally light in weight compared to the scopes on most our deer rifles.
I made the move back to a true scope last year (after YEARS of using them) after letting a gobbler that had already beaten me three times walk at about 25 yds. It was several minutes past legal shooting time, but was still very dark down in that holler. I couldn't see him well enough to really pick out his head as he eased off through some pretty thick stuff. With one of my Leupolds or Nikons I am pretty sure that I could have closed the deal. I won't make that mistake again.
 

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