Optical sight for MK III

[daka]

Tell me, what have been your experiences with an optical sight for a MK III.
I'm having trouble "sighting", (seeing the front sight and target) at the range...combo of old eyes and not enought light.
So...without spending big $$ what to do?
Thanks

 

[contender]

There are several manufacturers of different red dot optics out there. Many are reasonably priced, ($50 range) that will work just fine. Many mount right to a standard Weaver type of base.
Well worth it for those of us with aging eyes.
And by using it on a 22 cal, recoil damage isn't a big issue.

 

[ljw]

I use a Tru Glo with the red/green option for around $70 at Midway. Mounted it on an inexpensive Weaver rail. It solved my old eye sight problem and now I can enjoy good shooting for a few more years. Jim

 

[CraigC]

This is gonna be the rare instance where I'll recommend getting an el cheapo BSA red dot. Just to see if you like and can use that sort of optic.

 

[Baldy]

Tell me, what have been your experiences with an optical sight for a MK III.
I'm having trouble "sighting", (seeing the front sight and target) at the range...combo of old eyes and not enought light.
So...without spending big $$ what to do?
Thanks

Here's a few that I use as I have failing eye sight also. It's TruGlo 40mm tube red dot.

This one here is a Mueller Reflex red dot. I use both in shooting steel and bowling pins

 

[rooger]

On my MKIII I have a panoramic sight similar to one in Baldy's lower photo. I think I paid around 50.00 at Natchez or maybe Cheaper then Dirt. It has four different reticles with 5 different intensities and can display in either red or green depending on your shooting conditions. This sight is certainly a low-end model but I bought just to experiment how this type of optic would work with my eyes.
So far, it has worked very well for me. I don't need to wear my reading glasses or any other for that matter (except safety glasses) when I use this sight. It is also very easy to sight with both eyes open. I think you should give one of these panoramics a try. Good luck with your research.

 

[Short9]

+100 on the cheapo red dot.

I hade the same problem, but my MKIII came with the front light pipe sight. It helped a little, but not much. I wear bifocals and the short story is I could see the target, front sight, or rear sight clearly, but only one at a time.

It's been over 20 years since I've done any shooting, decided to get back into it, joined a club and shot their winter league. My eyes were a shock, never had that problem 'back in the day'.

Averaged in the 150's (250 possible) for 10 weeks. Once that league was done I installed a BSA red dot to see if it'd help. Forst two weeks of the spring league and I'm averaging 185, so yeah, it helped!

FWIW, I've seen that same sight at Cabela's on sale for $19.99. It might've been a bargain cave deal, so it'd still be that price. Worth a look anyway.

 

[thumbs]

Maybe a little late on this one but........... I use a Bushnell red dot. I think it's great. I think Cabelas had them on sale for about 50 bucks. It has a small dot that of course gets bigger as the intensity of light is dialed up. But at 25 yards I can put most if not all shots in a 1.5 inch circle. (bench rest) I hope to do better but to tell the truth the dot covers the 1.5 inch target. It s a real nice little red dot. I was shooting the other day with the iron sights to use as a backup. I had taken the red dot off but it was sighted in. I mounted the red dot back on and it was dead on even though I had removed it. I guess that rail that comes with the target model works pretty well.

You guys that have scoped Marks, do you have a holster for them? If so what do you have. Ideally I would like to have one that would work as a bandoleer or hip carry.

I'm gonna start a new thread but thought I would ask here also.

thanks

 

[Beck]

This is gonna be the rare instance where I'll recommend getting an el cheapo BSA red dot. Just to see if you like and can use that sort of optic.

I bought a BSA red dot on sale from MidWayUSA last fall. Died a few weeks ago. New battery did not bring it back to life. Sent it back to MidWay for a replacement. They just gave me a merchandise credit instead. Which to me was better that giving me new junk for old junk.

I should have listened to those that say BSA=Better Stay Away.

Oh, and my $50.00 SightMark red dot also died. No replacement there as I bought it at a gun show.

You get what you pay for with Chinese junk. Rant off.

YMMV

 

[Wee Hooker]

This is gonna be the rare instance where I'll recommend getting an el cheapo BSA red dot. Just to see if you like and can use that sort of optic.

and one of my rare instances of agreeing to buy cheep. A "good" red dot has a dot that doesn't change in size as you change intensity. The $30 BSA dot does change size . However this allows you to dial it down to a small dot for precision shooting or up for action shooting. The older gents in our Airpistol league use the BSA allot.
If you want quality, look at ultraDot, luopold, etc in teh $100-$200 range.

 

[gatorhugger]

I tried out a BSA dot today on a Ruger .22 rifle.
I liked it, the choice for dot size included one that downright tiny for extreme precision.
What i really liked is the size the thing.

 

[willypete]

I also use the TRU GLO 40mm and love it, love it, love it! Affordable and some pretty impressive quality for being made in China.

 

[gatorhugger]

I also use the TRU GLO 40mm and love it, love it, love it! Affordable and some pretty impressive quality for being made in China.

I just ordered one of these tru glows. Never used one before. And I know I got the wrong one since it's made for turkey hunting.
I also ordered a scope to try the difference between the two.
I have a feeling I will be sticking with the scope anyway since I cant get over how big these red dot things are. This picture you posted looks like a sleek gun with an oil can sitting on top.!! :shock:
Not sure I can handle that on my guns no matter how good they work.

 

[willypete]

Cool. It's all about the preference. Personally, I don't try and win any pageants with mine so I am ok with what ever the gun looks like. I am more interested in target shooting and accuracy of the gun. To me scopes are for rifles (just preference of course). I opted for the 40mm instead of the 30mm because I do have some failing eyesight and the huge field of view helps me. I use this gun for some pretty long range shooting and it is deadly accurate with this RDS. Suits me perfect!

 

[Short9]

I am more interested in target shooting and accuracy of the gun.

+1.

To me scopes are for rifles (just preference of course).

Depends. I had a Ruger Super Redhawk and TC Contender, both with 2X scopes. I liked that setup a lot. I agree though that for normal shootin', a simple sight, be it iron or electronic, is best.

I opted for the 40mm instead of the 30mm because I do have some failing eyesight and the huge field of view helps me.

+1 again. So far my BSA has performed very well, even though it's a cheapie. Monday I shot a friend's MKIII with a Millet 30mm, and I didn't like it at all. If I was shooting one eyed, maybe, but with both eyes open the larger tube is a plus, at least for me.

 

[OpsMgr]

The dot sight is a blessing for me due to my aging eyes - Don't see as well as I once did. My favorite target pistolas all wear Ultra Dot sights. Lifetime warranty and quality were deciding factors for me. Here are a few of my favorites:

 

[ChattanoogaPhil]

As others have already said, a 1x red dot is great for aging eyes-- you just focus on the target. I also use a BSA 2x scope (mounted on S&W below). The magnification seems more like 1.5x and is easy to use with both eyes open like a 1x red dot. The red dot on the below Ruger is a Primary Arms MicroDot.



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Uploaded with ImageShack.us

 

[smokeyw]

+1 on the Ultradot. You get what you pay for and Ultradot is definitely quality. I have MatchDots on both of mine which allows you to change the dot MOA to 2, 4, 6, or 8.

 

[mattsbox99]

This is gonna be the rare instance where I'll recommend getting an el cheapo BSA red dot. Just to see if you like and can use that sort of optic.

I bought a BSA red dot on sale from MidWayUSA last fall. Died a few weeks ago. New battery did not bring it back to life. Sent it back to MidWay for a replacement. They just gave me a merchandise credit instead. Which to me was better that giving me new junk for old junk.

I should have listened to those that say BSA=Better Stay Away.

Oh, and my $50.00 SightMark red dot also died. No replacement there as I bought it at a gun show.

You get what you pay for with Chinese junk. Rant off.

YMMV

I agree, I have a JPoint, they make a base that slides right in the rear sight dovetail on the Rugers, so its more in line with the bore axis and doesn't alter the balance like those giant tube sights.

http://jprifles.com/1.6.1.php

 

[Sal1950]

I've got this Tasco Red Dot on mine. Yea it's a cheapie but it has clear optics, sharp dot, and holds zero. Don't know what more I could ask for except maybe it would last forever. But at a cost of about $35 from Midway, if it breaks in a year or so it will be no big loss. If you want to find out what Red Dot's are all about without a big investment, this is the one. 36 customer reviews at Midway on this one and it's still got a 5 star rating. Folks over at OpticsPlanet rate it the same way.
Sal