A young Ph from Africa has contacted me about putting a scope on a 375 Sako rifle. It appears that they do a lot of elephant hunting in the area.

He wanted to know if he should go Red Dot or Holographic sight.

I have used neither but after doing a bit of research - I just might buy one or other .. and then buy another big rifle to stick it on.

Whatever.

I see guys using them on hunting videos. Does anyone have any suggestions based on personal experience?

Thanks and all the best!

I use a Trijicon RMR on my .500 NE. It works well. I have taken elephants with it. I recommend the setup. I went to it because I can no longer see the sights on my double.

I would discuss it with him.

A .375 H&H is a multipurpose rifle, and while a red dot is good for short range shooting, ie stopping, it’s not the best for longer ranges, and a .375 isn’t the best choice for an “oh #^<{ “ elephant stopper. If this truly is just his stopping gun, then a red dot is fine.

If he is using it as a general game rifle that includes stopping elephant, I’d probably recommend a LPVO scope, and if he can afford it, a scope that has both true 1x magnification and illumination. That can serve as a red dot and preserves distance precision as well. The down sides are cost and weight.

His call, but the .375 will be more versatile with the LPVO than with just a red dot.

I have a RMR on my double for the same reason Dr. Easter does, but I also have a magazine rifle with the LPVO along.

What is a LPVO scope?
Image result for lpvo scope
LPVO stands for Low Powered Variable Optic, and they are a type of magnified optic that often starts at 1X and goes anywhere from 4X to 6X to 10X. At 1X, they can be almost as good as red dots sight; not quite as fast or as eye box-free, but pretty dang close.

internet

I really like the Swaro Z6i at a true one power on the low setting and up to six power. If you crank down the power to one and turn on the lights, you have a red dot. Love that setting for follow up, when necessary. I used to just remove the scope, but like Lane, my eyes aren't that great anymore.

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Whatever you go with remember to carry a spare battery!


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quote:

Originally posted by Charlie64:

Whatever you go with remember to carry a spare battery!

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.... Or more than one as the intensity settings on these contraptions tend to be power hungry and more so if one forgets to switch it off which calls for the need to school yourself much in the same manner as when operating the safety on your rifle.

The Z6i uses the same coin battery my Leica rangefinder uses, so I carry multiple backups. Never had to use one, but ...

I’ve used a red dot on a .416 Rigby for elephant. Worked great.

What size MOA dot do you fellas like on your big bores?

Opinions may vary but mine is that a RMR is hard to beat. It is faster than irons and accurate as well. I now have scopes and RMRs on all my rifles and use them as needed. They always return to zero and can be switched quickly. I generally keep the RMR on heavy rifles unless shooting will be long range. RMRs are most excellent on combat rifles and are used a lot now by the military and law enforcement where quick, close up shooting is likely.

I've been using an Aimpoint on a 510 Wells. My back up is a Fastfire 3. The Aimpoint sits higher than the Fastfire and I acquire the target much more quickly as a result. When I built the stock I thought I might use a scope. When I shot the 510 I changed my mind. If the stock was made for a scope a little attention to the height of the sight might be in order. While you can get used to anything with enough practice, a sight on a rife meant for elephant might be a place to consider the little things.

Another option is an aperture sight. I put a Skinner on my Model 70 .416 REM. It is accurate and fast and works well with aging eyes.

Most reliable of the lot is the aimpoint micro. Almost indestructible. Turn it on when you buys it and leave it on. Make a note to change the battery on your birthday every year (at which point you will have used about 1/3 of it). Trijicon RMRs are almost as good (I have them on all my carry guns), but there are reports of failures and I have had one fail

MOA on red dots doesn't matter much, especially on close work. But I've used a 2 MOA red dot on a 10-22 and regularly busted clay pigeons off hand at 100 yards when the dot completely obliterated the target.

Drongo's completely right. I like a peep. Used it in competition for years and on my .458 Lott, which seems to wreck scopes. Easy on old eyes.

I have a new Trijicon SRO on my CZ550 458 Lott with 1 MOA dot it works like a bomb I have mounted it forward on the flip up V sights with a gunsmith who made this custom base for CZ rifles called Apex Predator mount.

With the Reflex sight being mounted more forward there is no moving of your head needed to pick up the dot it comes up as iron sights even faster. The bigger window of the SRO also helps.

So far this setup has taken:
Lioness
Buffalo cow
Zebra
Blue wildebeest
Red Hartebeest

Has won a few Big Bore shoots (Big Bore associattion of South Africa)

Change the battery once a year and always have extra in my rifle bag. Battery suppose to last 3 years on medium setting.

The other big positive is that the battery can be changed without removing the sight where the older RMR design you had to insert the battery from the bottom this one you can do from the top.
Trijicon SRO

I choose 1 MOA has you set the brightenss to make the dot bigger but you cannot make a 2 MOA smaller so I can really do so fine shooting at the range if I needed to.