How To Use Red Dot Sights?

Mark Griffin July 14, 2014 Blogs Leave a comment 3,924 Views

Which red dot sight do you use? I have just shifted my focus to Aimpoint 9000SC Red Dot Sight recently. But the selection of a Red Dot sight depends on your need. What does need the scope for war, target shooting, experimentation, pistol, rifle, shotgun, wet, desert, underwater activities? Depending on your need the type of red dot sight will be decided. Another factor is what weapon you have. Is it a shotgun, an air rifle, or a heavy weapon? As opposed to popular belief there are dot sights that can be used by hunters with bows and arrows. There is a large variety of products on the market ranging in price from $25 to $1000.

No matter which dot sight you select, you must know how to use the red dot sights. The following steps will guide you through:

Mount the sight on your firearm. If your receiver is not drilled and tapped for a Weaver-style Picatinny mount, you will need to do so. The Weaver will work for other types of scopes should you have more optics for a particular gun. They are available through many manufacturers and can be affixed to rifles, pistols, and shotguns.

Go to the shooting range and zero the scope. Sight it in at the distance you are most likely to use the gun in the field. Zero a hunting rifle at longer range, a pistol at shorter range. The sights utilize an illuminated dot in the center of the optic rather than the classic crosshair reticles. Put your dot right on top of the bull’s eye. Many scopes allow the brightness of the dot to be varied for low light and bright light situations.

Shooting competitive sports that involve targets moving at predictable speeds can be enhanced by calculating the speed and range of the target and adjusting the dot further in the direction the target will be moving. According to Aimpoint, a longstanding industry leader, “Tests performed by the military have repeatedly proven that one single red dot is the reticle with which marksmen most quickly fire a well-aimed shot.”

Shooting small targets or targets at a greater distance can be addressed by understanding the relationship between the size of the dot and brightness settings.