Holosight and Red-Dot Sight: Yesterday at the Range
Thomas W. Christ
I'd just purchased an EAA Model IZH94 12 Ga./6.5x55 Swede and installed a
Bushnell Holosight on it and, simultaneously, purchased an inexpensive (c.
$40) Simmons 42mm. red-dot sight and installed in on an old Savage Model 24
.22LR/20 Ga. that we've had for years. I took them both to the IWL range
yesterday for sighting in. Two very different experiences indeed.
The Holosight is a very nice product. I've always liked the idea of a
combination gun (rifle/shotgun), but choice of a sighting system has always
been a problem: a scope or peep sight is no good for wingshooting, and open
sights are a problem for rifle-shooting for those of us with late
middle-aged eyes. The Holosight solves both problems very handily. There
are a number of people using them on shotguns strictly for wingshooting (as
well as on rifles and pistols). Getting the Holosight mounted on the IZH94
was a bit of a hassle because the gun has a short (3") scope rail grooved
for 3/8" mounts (the EAA website says 11 mm., but they're wrong). The
Holosight is looking for a Weaver rail. I got a B-Square adapter (their
part number 17025); it's a 2-piece set, and together the pieces measure 3",
so it fits perfectly. The rifle was on the paper at 25 yards, and I sighted
it in at 100 yards. Basically, it performed as billed, and it gives me a
quick and accurate rifle sight as well as a wingshooting capability. Just
what I needed. Biggest problem with the set-up is the height of the
Holosight above the bore and comb of stock. The adapter adds about 3/16" to
the height. I've added a Brauer Brothers lace-on cheekpiece to the stock,
but I still have to hold the comb of the stock low on my cheek. The
Holosight, though, holds its bead on the target in spite of the position of
the shooter's eye, so the set-up is workable. I had assumed that the red
dot sight would be the same in this regard. I was wrong.
I'd mounted the Simmons red dot sight on the Savage Model 24; though the
sight is billed as fitting either 3/8" dovetails or Weaver rail (by
inverting the mounting clamp), it wouldn't tighten up on the Savage's
grooves--nor on the grooves of an old Ithaca lever-action .22 that I have.
So, I got another adapter (this time a Kwik Site because the B-Square was a
bit too long between the bolt grooves for the red dot sight), and got it on.
Started shooting to sight in, and I couldn't hold a zero for anything. With
a bit of experimentation it became evident that the Simmons sight had a
disasterous paralax problem--particularly in the vertical dimension. With
the gun stable on a rest moving your eye so that the dot moved across the
scope's view also moved the dot all around the target--in the vertical
dimension this amounted to (I'm guessing) 40 MOA. In this application the
problem was aggravated by virtue of the high mounting position, which leads
to inconsistent cheeking of the gun.
Basically, this sight is useless on a firearm; it now is ensconced on my
11-year-old's paintball gun, and is probably not even satisfactory for that.
I was very surprised at the poor performance: one may say that I'm
comparing a $40 sight to a $250 sight, but the Simmons isn't 1/6 the value
of the Holosight; it's basically valueless (unless you're willing to center
the dot in the scope tube while holding it on the target simultaneously).
I'd be interested if anybody has had more satisfactory experiences with red
dot sights; I'd be interested in something which would work on the old
Savage over/under gun without the cost of the Holosight, though I may end up
waiting for a deal on a Holosight because of its impressive performance.
Tom
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Eric L. DeWerth
get what you pay for but I may just be jaded. It is kinda is like comparing
a $40 scope with a $250 scope. I've gone with Leupold, Zeiss and Swarovski
as my optic choices after a lot of trouble with the cheaper scopes.
Now I can tell you that a Trijicon Reflex II that I have on top of my AR15
will give you a deadon accurate shot. I can just about acquire the target
as fast as I can pull the trigger. And I am doing this with shotgun shells
set on end at 25yds. Its an amber dot but its nice.
You're best to stick with the Holosight for its price and accuracy compared
to the others on the market that I've tried. My friend has a Holosight on a
shotgun and it works nice on Turkey. Best bang for the buck. I like my
trijicon but its pricey.
Nicole Hamilton
# Now I can tell you that a Trijicon Reflex II that I have on top of
# my AR15 will give you a deadon accurate shot. I can just about
# acquire the target as fast as I can pull the trigger. And I am doing
# this with shotgun shells set on end at 25yds. Its an amber dot
# but its nice.
Been kind of attracted to one of those sights, not for my AR, which I have
set up for competition with match sights, but for my AK,
Anyone who's got an AK can attest that the miserable sights are absolutely
the worst part of the whole gun. It starts with the choice of a removable
sheet metal cover for the receiver, held on by a loose latch, forcing the
rear sight at a minimum several inches forward of what you'd like. What
starts out bad gets worse with the lack of any easy windage adjustment.
(You're supposed to drift the front sight using what looks like a little
vise clamp.)
I did change out the rear sight with an RPK sight, which at least gives
windage adjustment, but frankly, the sights are still pretty crude.
I did shoot an AR once that had a Trijicon as you describe and I have to
say, it was nice sight. Really might be fun to put something like that on
the AK, just so I could see what the rest of the gun could do if the sight
problem was fixed. Kind of crazy, I suppose, thinking about a $600 sight
for a $400 gun (which is why I haven't done it) but there you have it. I
got the AK simply because I wanted one just to play with, especially as it
was the 'opposite number' to the AR design I really am familiar with from HP
competition.
Nicki
P.S. Never thought about trying to shoot shotgun shells, but I presume they
must be something like the ultimate in reactive targets?
Neil Maxwell
#windage adjustment, but frankly, the sights are still pretty crude.
If you want to stick with iron sights, you might want to look into the
Mojo dual-aperture sights from www.mojosights.com. They're not too
expensive, and very intuitive once you get used to them.
I just put a pair on my Yugo Mauser, and it was a big improvement.
Adjustments are a bit of a pain (though not as bad as the little vise
thingies), done with an allen wrench, but the sight picture is quite
good. They only took about an hour to install on my Mauser, and most
of that was file-and-fit on the front dovetail. I don't know about
AKs.
I was a bit disappointed with them at first, until I realized that I
was trying too hard. If I spent a lot of time lining up the sights,
my groups were all spread out. When I just brought it up, lined them
up, and fired, things tightened quite a lot. After, I took a look at
their FAQ, and that was exactly what they said. RTFM, and all that...
Neil Maxwell - I don't speak for my employer