I'm sure you double rifle shooters have discussed this to death but what is your feeling on the various sights that project a red dot? They seem ideal for aging eyes but I wonder about the cheek weld on heavy recoiling doudle rifle calibers as it seems you'd have to lift your head a litte and maybe get smacked. Is that an issue and do you have any other thoughts on these sights? I got a couple of inquiries from clients recently and I really don't know much about these sights.

THX

Mark

The one I have on my .500 NE is a Trijicon RMR and it mounts right behind the rear sight on the barrel rib. Plenty far enough away to keep it from smacking you and I still get to maintain a healthy cheek weld to the stock.
Sure beats searching for the front bead with these old eyes.

Anything to help old eyes. Hell, I had a scope mounted on a .450-400 for plains game and caribou.

That said, they are as ugly on a vintage double as the offspring of a Janet Reno and Rosie O'Donnel copulation.
Cal

I put one on my double before my last elephant hunt. My eyes have started to slip in the last two years even though I am still somewhat young. (34) Now I wont shoot that double with out it. I shoot it much better with the site. Have not noticed any issues with getting smacked in the face with having a higher cheek weld.

Mark,
I have red dot sights on all my DR's,they are mounted on QD mounts,the brand name is Dokter optic,I have used them on 5 trips to Africa so far with absolutely no problem at all.

Red dots work on DRs and bolt rifles equally well, IMO. I have hunted elephant with both DR and bolt rifles using red dot sights and have dropped my Ele every time. What more could you ask. As my eyes have aged, I have too much trouble using open sights to use them on DG.

I have not noted any issues with cheek slap as a result of installing a red dot.

Mark
I have a Burris FastFire III on my 450/400. My friend david just had a Dr. Optik put on his 475#2 Jeffery. Im about to put one on my Chapuis 9.3X74R.

A whole lot better for my old eyes!

quote:

Originally posted by Rusty:
Mark
I have a Burris FastFire III on my 450/400. My friend david just had a Dr. Optik put on his 475#2 Jeffery. Im about to put one on my Chapuis 9.3X74R.

A whole lot better for my old eyes!

Have you been happy with your FFIII? Thinking of putting one on a Lott for a cull hunt next August in Aus, it's been a tossup between that and the RMR06. Is the trijicon worth that much more money?

Rusty, What mount did you decide on for your Chapuis?

I've had two of the Burris sights. They have provided me the ability to keep shooting my doubles even with my bad eyes.

Doc, said it was "Just too many birthdays". I lost the ability to be able to focus on the iron sights and the target.

The Burris fast-fire has allowed mr to continue to do what I truly enjoy doing. hunting and shooting my doubles!

A month or so back, Todd Williams, Mike Jines and I shot my 450/400 3 inch Hollis with the Burris. Three different shooters put 8 rounds into a big hole in the target at 25 yards.

Besides being able to "see the sights" recovery is extremely fast.

My Burris mounts where the rear leaves were on the rib. Dustin Mounts in Houston did the work.

For the Chapuis I will see what Dustin recommends. I have a set of EAW bases that are made for the rifle. Might try that.

The Burris has allowed me keep getting the double out of the safe and shooting it. That alone trumps everything negative about change!

I don't have experience with the Trijicon or Doc Opt. as I remember Mike Jines has one or both of those.

I have the Doc Opt on my 450/400. Best recommendation EVER received off of this site! Extremely fast acquisition and low profile are the bonus. Have plans to put the same on the 500 NE making it's way to me. The benefits are un-ignorable in my eyes. Cheek slap due to that...none.

Rusty have you other Red Dot sights in your hands? If so how do they compare to the FFIII

quote:

Originally posted by cal pappas:
Anything to help old eyes. Hell, I had a scope mounted on a .450-400 for plains game and caribou.

That said, they are as ugly on a vintage double as the offspring of a Janet Reno and Rosie O'Donnel copulation.
Cal

C'mon Cal. Why the hate? Are you another one of those haters?

That was damn funny.

I put a Docter Optik on my Chapuis .470 and its great. The only problem I had was the comb was too low. I was having to lift my head a bit to see the red dot. This was resolved by adding a leather comb lifter. I think they look a bit better than the neoprene ones. Comb is now perfect height for the Docter Optik.

I don't hae the other two in hand. If I had the money I'd probably go for the Dr. Optik. The dual illumination of the Trijicon is a good feature!

quote:

Originally posted by cal pappas:
Anything to help old eyes. Hell, I had a scope mounted on a .450-400 for plains game and caribou.

That said, they are as ugly on a vintage double as the offspring of a Janet Reno and Rosie O'Donnel copulation.
Cal

I agree but if it helps people shoot them then more power to them....I'm very interested in putting one on a large bore bolt gun but even with that I'm have a problem getting by the aesthetics.

/QUOTE]
I agree but if it helps people shoot them then more power to them....I'm very interested in putting one on a large bore bolt gun but even with that I'm have a problem getting by the aesthetics.[/QUOTE]

Well if you do not like the unusual lines of the rmr, delta, dr etc. then you could use something that looks a little more traditional like this UltraDot sight. They are very popular with competetive shooters. This one is 10 yrs old and is currently mounted on my Benelli coyote gun. Uses standard one inch rings. great optic for about $200?

JCS271 Thanks for the pic, I've looked at what Aimpoint has to offer the beauty of the small red dots is that they do not incumber the loading/ejector port which helps me stuff shells in the magazine box faster.
By the way wicked nice rig, I pity any yotes inside of 50yrd..

What size reticle/dot do you all have on your sights? I want to put one on my drilling.

Gents:
I'm a strong traditionalist but in all seriousness if you need them use them. For plains game and caribou I use a scoped .450-400.
My apologies if I offended anyone.
Cheers, mates.
Cal

My FF 3 is 3.5 MOA. The Doctor Optik comes in a 4 or 8.
What I like about the FF 3 is that the intensity of the dot changes automatically depending on the background.

quote:

Originally posted by cal pappas:
Gents:
I'm a strong traditionalist but in all seriousness if you need them use them. For plains game and caribou I use a scoped .450-400.
My apologies if I offended anyone.
Cheers, mates.
Cal

You didn't offend me, I thought your analogy was hilarious. Please keep me entertained.

Mike

quote:

Originally posted by A7Dave:
What size reticle/dot do you all have on your sights? I want to put one on my drilling.

The Trijicon's RMR06 has a 3.25 and the FFIII has a 3.5 any thing bigger on a rifle I would think is a detriment.The RMR06 also has an auto adjust feature as well as manual.

Sorry if this does not post correctly. I read the posting instructions, but that does not mean much. Let me know and I will try again.

This is a photo of my Merkel 500 on our recent double ele hunt in the Caprivi this past June. It's outfitted with a Trijicon RMR Dual Illuminated (7.0 amber dot).

Thanks guys. Good info all.

quote:

The Trijicon's RMR06 has a 3.25 and the FFIII has a 3.5 any thing bigger on a rifle I would think is a detriment.

Having the Doc Opt at 4 - I find that I would not want anything larger. Problem is that at 50 yards, a 6" bullseye is covered. Go to a 7, 8, or 9.... You just cover too much as the distance increases. Never thought I would be taking over 100 yard shots with my double and the Doc Opt, but the smaller dot made it possible.

Hi Mark,
I have an Aimpoint Micro H-1 mounted on my 9,3x74R double. It works very nice.

I have a DO on my 500 NE. I love it. No chance of getting whacked.

Two Trijicon RMR 3.25s for my doubles. Small,extremely well built, absolutely no chance of any recoil issue, accurate and the best thing that I did for my double rifles. With the Searcy quarter rib, and built-in Talley mount system, they slide on and off easily. My Searcy doubles will shoot iron sights, RMRs or scopes. Best of all worlds.

Mark,

Realized my eyes are getting on some time ago. Made a mount for a Burris FFII to fit the rear sight dovetail of my Searcy .470 NE. Is not a complicated piece but does require the ability to precisely make the piece that fits the dovetail. Simply replaces the bottom piece of the FFII.

Here are a couple of pics taken before the mount was blackened with GunKote.











Works well for me.