I would be interested in any discussion regarding the use of the high quality red dot scopes on the market for hunting use. I see this for use in place of the low magnification conventional scopes discussed for the 9.3, and for close up hunting in bush or low light situations.

I have no experience with red dot scopes, but I see that they are clearly the sight of choice for military and law enforcment. There could not be a higher need for reliability in that use. Based on that, clearly the technology is there, but at what price? I'm talking about something $300 to $500, because I firmly believe that I would not be happy with a cheap, inferior quality scope of any kind. This is the kind of thing that I think I could limit myself to just one, so I might as well buy a good one to last several years.

I see that there are some red dot scopes made especially with hunting in mind, without all the special gimmics for police and military use.

I can see this being especially useful for quick detach rings, where a guy could switch between conventional scope and red dot scope, depending on the planned day's agenda. To carry the possibility further, say a guy wanted to use two loads in a given rifle. In 9.3mm for example, a 250 gr 9.3mm for the possible long range shots at deer or caribou, and perhaps a tough 286 gr or 300 gr or 320 gr for moose or bear up close. In therory the conventional 3x9 could serve the first use, and the red dot the second use, without the need to resight the rifle after switching scopes. Just switch ammo to that which the scope is previously sighted in for. This all should be tested at the range in advance of course.

What do you think about this? What is your opinion?

KB

I been thinking along the same lines myself. I will be getting a 9.3 x 62 barrel for the Blaser 93 I bought. One of the ways I am going to sight the 9.3 is with a Aimpoint 2X 9000L along with a 1.5 to 5 Leupold for general use. Aimpoint has been around a long time, I remember seeing them at the gunshops in the late 1970's. never paid much mind then, but now I see real merit to them.

Just one thing to remember about red dot scopes in general... the specific for hunting ones typically have a 2MOA dot.

Trying to shoot 1" groups at 100yards with a 2MOA dot
is the precision shooting equivilent of tilting at windmills...

They really are the cat's ass for hitting moving targets at closer ranges... it's not terribly difficult to hit a bowling pin and bounce it into the air and hit it again in mid air...

I have an Aimpoint 2000 on my Remington 870 that I have equipped with a Hastings Rifled Barrel and I'm about to put one (my spare) on my Remington 30-06 Semi-Auto
(pig hunting)

I prefer the older 2000 model because it doesn't actually use more power than the more modern sights, but takes a relatively enormous 2/3A Lithium battery. (Same battery as the Surefire lights that are sold EVERYWHERE)

I once inadvertantly left the sight turned on for a matter of several YEARS and it was still operating (brightly) when discovered...
the funny thing is that battery was several years old at the time... so I'm not worried a bit about it going dead on a hunting trip, especially since I replace the battery with a fresh one if it did I'm still paranoid enough to be carrying a spare, or I'll rob the battery out of my surefire light...

And don't underestimate the effect on your speed in getting on target, because unlike a scope where you automatically
center the reticle in the view field to avoid parallax
and iron sights where you need to align front and rear sights....

On an aimpoint unless you are crosseyed if you can see the red dot with one eye and the target with the other the bullet hole will be where you see the red dot on the target in the superimposed image created by your stereoscopic vision, infact an aimpoint will work perfectly well if you forget to remove the front lense cap!

If I were going to Africa after big things that would want to stomp on me I can't think of a better sight than an Aimpoint
2000 and if anyone is prone to worrying about batteries in a life or death situation let me point out that the current sights use a pair of A76/LR44 batteries that look like aspirin tablets and they have a service life of a year or more on military rifles even when they are left turned on 24-7-365
And they are being used against targets that don't want to trample you at close range but instead those "targets" shoot back!

(In advance against an obvious arguement)
Sorry, I simply don't buy that facing off against a Buff or Ele
is anywhere near as dangerous as going up against another man with a rifle who wants to kill you, so if RedDot
sights are good enough for hunting men it'll do fine for hunting animals, ANY animals.

Close range engagement against dangerous things that move I'll take an aimpoint

AllanD