Red Dot Sights

pgfaini · Post by **pgfaini** » Sun Sep 23, 2007 10:12 pm

I'm thinking of filling in between Int.-Style matches with a little Bullseye. Does anyone have anything to offer as to which type of Aimpoint sight would be better for target, their compact CompC3, which mounts with just one ring, and their 9000, which comes in two lengths, both of which mount with two rings?
Also, for use at 50ft. and 25yds, a 2MOA or 4MOA dot?

I'll be mounting one on my Benelli MP95 which already has the Weaver-style bases milled into the frame, and a 1911 on which I'll mount the bases myself.

I e-mailed this question to one of us who mentioned they own these sights, but didn't receive an answer. Hoping someone has useful info, at the prices the Aimpoints bring, I'd rather not buy the wrong ones !:>)
Thanks, Paul

Fred · Post by **Fred** » Sun Sep 23, 2007 10:50 pm

Paul,

Look carefully at your Benelli. Where would you put a second Weaver ring? Actually Larry Carter recommends using airgun rings on the Benelli, so that you can put a ring on either end of the breech opening.

Another Aimpoint to consider would be the new Micro model - much smaller and lighter than the ones you mentioned. However, it looks from pictures like the mount is built in, so I don't know whether it would fit on the Benelli. And if you think the Comp model is expensive....

HTH,
FredB

pgfaini · Post by **pgfaini** » Mon Sep 24, 2007 1:57 am

Fred, Thanks for the speedy reply. I went down to the shop and tried Weaver rings on the Benelli. I was surprised to find they didn't fit what I had always assumed were Weaver bases machined into the frame. The Weaver cross screw is square in profile, and the Benelli cutouts are round. Also, the dovetails seem to be too low and shallow, making me think I'd have to mill a little off the bottom of the ring to drop it down. I'll check my Brownells catalog to see if there's a European version of the Weaver mounts I'm unfamiliar with.
The short narrow upper dovetail DOES fit .22 tip off rings, but I doubt that they come in 30mm., I'll have to check.
Paul

rrpc · Post by **rrpc** » Mon Sep 24, 2007 4:03 am

Pardini make a scope mount for the SP, I think the rail on the Pardini is very similar to the Benelli. Maybe that would work for you?

You can check it out on the Pardini website.

pgfaini · Post by **pgfaini** » Mon Sep 24, 2007 7:36 am

Thanks, I remembered after posting that I once had to mount a scope on an Ithaca Turkey Gun, an over and under .222Rem/12Ga made by Tikka in Finland that had a dovetail a bit wider than the Weaver Tip Off. I think it was a Sako/type mount. But it wasn't anything like the Weaver/style bases with the cross screw recesses, just a pair of grooves. I think Warne will have the ring I need. They made rings to fit Sako/Tikka
Paul

Fred · Post by **Fred** » Mon Sep 24, 2007 10:30 am

pgfaini wrote:Fred, Thanks for the speedy reply. I went down to the shop and tried Weaver rings on the Benelli. I was surprised to find they didn't fit what I had always assumed were Weaver bases machined into the frame. The Weaver cross screw is square in profile, and the Benelli cutouts are round. Also, the dovetails seem to be too low and shallow, making me think I'd have to mill a little off the bottom of the ring to drop it down. I'll check my Brownells catalog to see if there's a European version of the Weaver mounts I'm unfamiliar with.
The short narrow upper dovetail DOES fit .22 tip off rings, but I doubt that they come in 30mm., I'll have to check.
Paul

Paul,

The Weaver cross screw is round, it's the Picatinny (sp?) that is square. But you are correct that the Benelli lower grooves are not really Weaver, although they are fairly close. Still, there is no lower groove in back of the breech opening, so that also limits the use of even adapted Weaver rings. Larry Carter says to use the upper grooves, and use AIRGUN rings (not .22 tip-off). There's a difference in the groove angle. And, yes it's easy to get airgun rings in 30mm. Best bet is B Square.

HTH,
FredB

Steve Swartz · Post by **Steve Swartz** » Mon Sep 24, 2007 11:51 am

1" Ultra Dot, non-adjustable dot size.

Reliable, relatively inexpensive, work great.

Steve Swartz

(a while back some of their dots weren't exactly circular, giving a "comet tail" effect to those with astigmatism. Haven't heard about that problem for quitre a while though.)

Steve Swartz · Post by **Steve Swartz** » Mon Sep 24, 2007 11:53 am

Or, if you insist on Aimpoint specifically, keep a spare handy.

Unless they have made radical improvements in their mfg process since a couple of years ago.

Steve Swartz

pgfaini · Post by **pgfaini** » Mon Sep 24, 2007 1:48 pm

Fred said:

The Weaver cross screw is round, it's the Picatinny (sp?) that is square....

Beg to differ, I must have a dozen sets of Weaver rings in the shop from when I was in business, and they all have square shank screws, (although the corners are radiused). The bases have correspondingly flat bottom recesses. True, the Benelli doesn't have any grooves back of the ejection port.

Steve, I used to have a Pro Point, and I was having trouble with a "flare", or "tail", at 11:00 almost 2/3 the length of the dot diameter. I sold the sight, and a year or two later, when I started wearing glasses, looked through the same sight and the "flare" was gone. Sure enough, it had been my astigmatism that was causing the "flare".
Paul

mikeschroeder · Post by **mikeschroeder** » Mon Sep 24, 2007 2:28 pm

Steve Swartz wrote:1" Ultra Dot, non-adjustable dot size.

Reliable, relatively inexpensive, work great.

Steve Swartz

(a while back some of their dots weren't exactly circular, giving a "comet tail" effect to those with astigmatism. Haven't heard about that problem for quitre a while though.)

Hi

The comet tail (any out of circular "dot") is due entirely to your astigmatism and isn't from the dot itself. At least that's what I have been told on Bullseye-L.

Try this. turn on the dot sight and look throught it. If you have astigmatism the "dot" will not be round. Now rotate the gun 90 degrees, so you can still see the dot. If the DOT is bad, then the comet tail will rotate, if your eyes are bad, then the comet tail will stay in the same place.

Make sense?

Mike
Wichita KS

Steve Swartz · Post by **Steve Swartz** » Mon Sep 24, 2007 2:37 pm

Paul, Mike:

Thanks for the update- the "flared-dot" issue was coming up just about the time I quit shooting bullseye (and had left the Bullseye-L community even before that). I appreciate the clarification and apologize for "rumor mongering" (which I do try to avoid).

I am pretty sure about the Aimpoints not hnolding up on the slide-mount .45s though. We had a spate of them in Ohio at our clubs that kept breaking . . . I never had a problem with the Aimpoint (other than the Ginormous size and weight) on my frame-mount, but other people did. The Ultra-Dots seemed to hold up better- were lighter- and had a "sleeker" profile.

Again, that was back in 2001-2002 or so; right around the time I fled bullseye (in order to preserve my elbow) . . . Times Do Change!

Steve Swartz

Fred · Post by **Fred** » Mon Sep 24, 2007 3:12 pm

pgfaini wrote:Fred said:
The Weaver cross screw is round, it's the Picatinny (sp?) that is square....
Beg to differ, I must have a dozen sets of Weaver rings in the shop from when I was in business, and they all have square shank screws, (although the corners are radiused). The bases have correspondingly flat bottom recesses. True, the Benelli doesn't have any grooves back of the ejection port.
Paul

Just checked some rings and bases made by Weaver, and you are absolutely correct. Sorry for the misinformation. So, what IS the difference between Weaver and Picatinny then?

FredB

shadow · Post by **shadow** » Mon Sep 24, 2007 6:31 pm

The Aimpoints are the highest quality red dots out there. The US military contracts with them which has caused shortages a few years back. We have 4 of them - ML2s. No problems whatsoever. Nver needed to change a battery. They cost close to $400 each and are worth it.