I am looking for experience and opinions by those who have used them. Which red dot sight do you prefer and why. It will be used/mounted on a CZ 550 416 Rigby if that makes any difference.
Thanks in advance.

I’ve used both Burris Fastfire and Leupold Delta Point Pro on both my CZ .416 Rigby and CZ .505 Gibbs, the Delta Point seemed to work better for me, dot size and clarity. I got the mount from American Hunting Rifles, quality mount. They had mounts for Trijicon RMR, too, but I haven’t used one of those.

I can't speak to the use of a red dot on a rifle but I can tell you I use UltraDot red dots on my 1911 45 acp pistols in my sport. These are mounted on the slide and bang back and forth just like the slide. Some of these sights are on pistols that have shot 50K to 100K rounds without a single hiccup.
FWIW
Phil

I was not sure if the red dot sights made for pistols would be suitable for a rifle. It seems that overall the sights mounted on pistols will probably see much more abuse overall due to the volume of shots fired alone.

I also use one on a Glock G40 in 10mm, pretty sharp recoil but no problems yet.

ive got a Millet... its a 30 mm tube... only problem is that its a 8 minute dot.... thats deer size at 100 yds... othere than that it's held up to a Ruger #1 in .458, several AR's...

Look for one with dual power auto on and off. Sometimes called shake awake.

Thanks for the replies, it gives me some food for thought.

Depends on what you want to use it for. I don't own a red dot per se, but I have a Swaro Z6i (for illuminated) in 1-6 that is on my .416. If you crank it down to one power and turn the lights on, it is an excellent red dot sight. Faster than irons. You also have a scope up to 6x. Only issue is the objective is small.

Another point in favor of the Swaro scope is that when the light goes out, you still have a reticle. You might forget it's there and panic if too used to the light but at least you'll have something to aim with if you get over the shock soon enough.

To hunt dangerous game with ordinary red-dot sights has something in common with playing Russian roulette. Electrical stuff can fail even if the battery doesn't. I recall that Leupold, for a time at least, only guaranteed their illuminated scopes for two years, even though the warranty for the rest of the instrument was good for life.

But (did I hear you say?) some some defence forces issue red-dot sights. Maybe, but they have also sent troops into crazy situations, issued Ross rifles and dispersed agent orange.

I think you misunderstand how red dots ended up in military service.
It started with special-forces operators buying their own and putting them on their weapons.

Some red-dot sights are robust enough to live happily on pistol slides where they are subjected to more G's with every shot than such a sight would ever experience on a large-caliber DG rifle. After all, this is an environment known to destroy adjustable iron sights.

Am I saying they are foolproof? No.
But I have seen dovetailed iron sights fall off of rifles too. And I have seen front sights bent and all manner of other issues with iron sights.

I think there is a case to be made for using what works best 999 times out of a thousand rather than sticking to a piece of equipment that works less well all the time just because it is more reliable when that difference in reliability must be measured in decimal points of percentages.

And if you should want the ultimate in reliability, with a red dot that is mounted sufficiently low down it is relatively easy to set up "co witness" iron sights (in other words, iron sights that are visible and usable through the optic).

My bigger concern is whether the rifle's stock is correctly designed for use with what will inevitably be a slightly higher-mounted sight.
I know it's not really an issue when talking about slow, aimed shots, but when shooting fast it becomes more of a concern.

I don't have experience with the latest red dots, since I quit trying to use them several years ago. My first two attempts didn't work out very well.

First was an EOTech that failed in various ways three times. The second was a Burris Fast Fire that failed after one shot on a 12 gauge.

Tony

Thanks Peter, it is comforting to know you can see iron sights through them. Special-service members are by nature risk takers - maybe the added chance of equipment failure adds to the frisson.

The best two Ive tried are the Trijicon RMR dual illuminated green triangle (discontinued) and Trijicon MRO Green. The MRO feels more familiar to most people as it acts more like a traditional rifle scope, but with zero magnification. It's light enough to not alter the balance and handling of the rifle either.

I find that red gets lost on brown fur, especially in low light. Green works much better for my eyes.

I'm also a big fan of the Trijicon Accupoint scopes with a green dot.

I have used a RMR 1 MOA red dot on both 416 Rigby and 500 Jeff CZ 550's. and Riton on my 9.3x74 double (Riton has a rmr foot print) with great success. I can recommend either. and AHR makes a mount that works with the CZ rifle actions.

I have used the Aimpoint H1 on my 510. It worked well on Buffalo at 75 yards and impala at 150. Variable intensity red dot. I've only fired a hundred rounds using it. I used a fastfire on the rifle but the Aimpoint just worked better for me.

I have had an RMR fail on me after 13 years, electronic fault. 2 others are still running fine.

The EoTech EFlex has been a pleasant surprise. I am running 4 of them on a 44 Mag, 2 45s and a 38 snubby.
The sight on the 44 has survived more than a 1000 shots on a 4" barrel, rather snappy recoil.

What has impressed me the most with EFlex is how crisp the dots are compared to the RMR and Vortex sights.

I played with a couple on barrowed guns and have no use for them on a hunting rifle prefer a receiver sight or low powered scope for any hunting situation..but I'm a curmudgeon, since birth!

I have a bunch of red dots, including all the ones mentioned.

None of the pistol dots are robust enough, even the RMR
The test is simple. Drop the gun on the dot. Rifle recoil won't bother them. A pistol slide is much snappier than any rifle recoil.

The only one I would consider for a DGR is the Aimpoint micro. Not cheap but the most robust available for it's size. Turn it on and leave it on. Battery lasts for years.

quote:

Turn it on and leave it on. Battery lasts for years.

I have found just when you really need it the battery well be dead.

quote:

Originally posted by p dog shooter:

quote:

Turn it on and leave it on. Battery lasts for years.

I have found just when you really need it the battery well be dead.

you can as most users are doing with the aimpoint H2 changing the battery every year instead of every 5 and sleep on that.

I've had a Leupold Delta Point on a .500 S&W revolver (as well as several other big handguns) for years, and many, many rounds - never had any issues. It stays sighted in and moves correctly when adjusted. I can't imagine any rifle being as hard on an optic as that .500 handgun recoil.

I use Docter Optic / Noblex red dot reflex sights on a couple rifles. They are the original inventor of the concept and still do it best. I have a couple of Burris Fastfires too but they are a distant second best.

quote:

Originally posted by p dog shooter:

quote:

Turn it on and leave it on. Battery lasts for years.

I have found just when you really need it the battery well be dead.

I will get this story mostly right: Aimpoint was trying to sell red dots to the US Army. Obvious objection was battery life, failure in combat, supply chain. Army set a goal of battery lasts one year, thinking Aimpoint could never do it. Aimpoint came back and said we can't do one year but here try this one, it lasts five years... Tell the soldier to turn it on when his tour starts and turn it off when he hands in the rifle at the end.

This is definitely not true of all red dots though.

I have an annual ritual on the day after my birthday. I change all the red dot batteries, whether they need it or not.

Great story.

I have a couple. Both recent acquisitions.

A SIG Romeo on a pistol and a Trijicon RMR on a rifle.

Both have good reputations, but I have no idea how long they or their batteries will last.

quote:

Originally posted by bradhe:

quote:

Originally posted by p dog shooter:

quote:

Turn it on and leave it on. Battery lasts for years.

I have found just when you really need it the battery well be dead.

I will get this story mostly right: Aimpoint was trying to sell red dots to the US Army. Obvious objection was battery life, failure in combat, supply chain. Army set a goal of battery lasts one year, thinking Aimpoint could never do it. Aimpoint came back and said we can't do one year but here try this one, it lasts five years... Tell the soldier to turn it on when his tour starts and turn it off when he hands in the rifle at the end.

This is definitely not true of all red dots though.

I have an annual ritual on the day after my birthday. I change all the red dot batteries, whether they need it or not.

very clever and this is what im doing for my h2 just before the bear spring season. i do not know how long the battery can last but not tempted to try ,,,...

Depends on which Romeo but they are pretty good
as are the trijicons (my carry guns use trijicons)
I put new batteries in them a little more often than the aimpoint, but a new battery should easily last through even a long hunt.
Important note: test every new battery that is going to be used for something important. I have gotten lots of name brand 2032 batteries that were half dead

Older video, but still has a good comparison of options. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9QThTdVp2P0