# Red Dot or Traditional



## Fritz (Mar 1, 2011)

I am new to Muzzle Loader hunting and will be hunting LE Elk on the Nebo this fall. I am looking at getting a scope and was wondering if a traditional 1X scope or a red dot scope would be better? I am also on a budget and would like to keep the cost around $100 or less. Any suggestions on specific brands and/or models would be appreciated. Thanks.


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## JuddCT (Sep 7, 2007)

I too am looking to possibly get a red dot. I'd appreciate any suggestions.


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## Guest (Mar 7, 2011)

ive got a red dot on one gun and a traditional 1x on the other. the one thing i dont like about the red dot, is it runs on batteries....... theres too many things that can go wrong with them. for example, something i learned the hard way, they like to turn themselves on and if you arent careful and check every once in awhile, you could run out of batteries and when the moment of truth comes youre staring through a clear piece of glass with no aiming point in it. go with the 1x. theres already a number of things that can go wrong when muzzy hunting, you dont need to add on more thing that can go wrong to the list if you can avoid it.


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## svmoose (Feb 28, 2008)

+1 go with the traditional. I had a red dot, didn't really like it -- I'm shooting open sights now.


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## Andymansavage (Sep 19, 2008)

I also am not a fan of red dot scopes. I have shot with a couple, but was never satisfied. As far as 1X scopes, it's true that they make things look farther away (less magnification than the human eye), but they do give a solid aiming point and that I like. I have owned and hunted with the following scopes;

Nikon Buckmaster 1X20
Traditions 1X32
Simmons pro 1X32
TC hawken hunter 1X32 (rebadged simmons)


I have killed animals with all of them and they all work. The Nikon is really a pistol scope and the 20mm exit objective is too small and does not gather much light. The FOV is not great either.
The Traditions is good glass for the money and fits your budget. That is what was on my Knight when I killed a LE bull last fall.
The Simmons/TC looks the best to my eyes and sits on two of mu guns right now. It is well built and easy to look through (good eye relief).

Any of the ones I mentioned can handle a good season of shooting and hunting and hold zero IF you have good rings and bases, a lot of guys whine about scopes and never think of the rings as a factor that contributes to accuracy or the lack thereof.


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## Andymansavage (Sep 19, 2008)

kill_'em_all said:


> ive got a red dot on one gun and a traditional 1x on the other. the one thing i dont like about the red dot, is it runs on batteries....... theres too many things that can go wrong with them. for example, something i learned the hard way, they like to turn themselves on and if you arent careful and check every once in awhile, you could run out of batteries and when the moment of truth comes youre staring through a clear piece of glass with no aiming point in it. go with the 1x. theres already a number of things that can go wrong when muzzy hunting, you dont need to add on more thing that can go wrong to the list if you can avoid it.


Funny that you mention that...Last night I was watching muleys gone wild 3 and there was a hunt on the Paunsaugunt. The guy made a marginal shot on a buck and had to track it down. They jumped the bedded buck and the hunter pulled up to shoot, only to frantically pull the rifle down and fiddle with the red dot scope before shouldering the gun and finishing off the buck. I can only assume that it was turned off while they were tracking the deer........


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## Airborne (May 29, 2009)

I have zero muzzleloader experience but from my Army days I have a lot of experience with red dots and open sites. While I was in the service we were transitioning from open iron peep sites to the M68 red dot sight. In my experience the red dot site made guys who are poor shots shoot a little better and it made excellent shooters shoot a little worse. 

If you are a new shooter or poor shooter it makes it easier to shoot accurately because you do not need to have a consistent site picture like you do with iron sites. Also if you are shooting at moving targets (jogging speed) at under 100 yards the red dot is easier to stay on target as you do not have a rear and front site to line up. A quality red dot sight (aimpoint) will be tough and hold up well. We did not have issues with ours and the battery life for ours was something like a week if you left it on 24-7. You get what you pay for.

Open sites are great if you get a quality set. The fiber optic ones that come standard on a lot of muzzleloaders I see are crap in my opinion and you would be better off with a red dot. You cannot bear down on a target with a giant fiber optic ball as a front sight. But if you spend a little money on some after market iron peep sites, adjustable with the flip up small and large rear aperture for low light conditions you would have an awesome set up. The best open site shooters in the world use iron peep sites. You can bear down on your target better and really be accurate if you know how to shoot and practice. If it works for a service rifle it ought to work for a deer rifle

I think a 1x scope would be a bad move if it makes the target look farther away


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## 10yearquest (Oct 15, 2009)

I have one on my muzzleloader and I like it when I am close like 120 yards and under. I dont like it when the shot is farther like 200 the dot covers alot of the deer at 200. as far as batteries and buttons go it has never been an issue. I always have extra batteries, always start the season with a new one and make a habbit of keeping the thing on while out hunting. Yes bad things could happen but you can minimize the risk. As far as being better than open sights, well i dont think they are but my wife sure liked the dot on her hunt last year. She took a deer at near 100 yards and hit it perfectly in the lungs. If you expect long shots get a crosshair type scope or a peep like suggested.


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## timberbuck (May 19, 2010)

If you want to keep the costs down go with a good 1x. the sightron is the best I have looked through.

You are not going to get a good red dot for around $100. I would rather shoot open sights than a cheap red dot.

However, a quality red dot (aimpoint) with a 2 moa dot offers the best precision avaliable-more precise, faster and capable of being used in low light-it trumps open sights or a 1x scope.
Battery life is not an issue with the aimpoints. Aimpoints are also paralax free at any yardage (only ones I know of that are). This helps accuracy.

My muzzloader is capable of 3" 3 shot groups at 200 yards (it wears a aimpoint comp ML3 with 2 moa dot). This 2moa dot covers much less of the target than any 1x scope reticle I have seen.

I have shot .5 inch 5 shot groups at 100 yards with an aimpoint equipped AR-15.


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