red dot scope

[whitetail23]

is a red dot scope any good for bowhunting? is there any advantage?

[brian]

Never used them. I stick with the old pin sights myself.

[8pt172]

I have used them. I do not light the red dot for bow hunting. Any flaw in your shooting will be exaggerated by the red dot. Must have perfect form to keep the red dot in position.

The Halo scope by Eotech(maker of the sights for shotgun) had a redicle that had a centering circle around the inner red dot. Similar to the heads up display in a fighter plane. This acted as a peep and gave the hunter a reference point to consistantly shoot.

[Buckhunter]

I used the red dot for a few years on my bow. It was okay but I often got a glare off of it and it kept me from shooting, luckily it only happened at the outdoor 3d shoots. I dont see any big advantage over a good pin sight.

[jruff61]

I have been using one for about 10 years now. IT DOES TAKE TIME TO GET USED TO. It will require more practice and as much consistancy with your anchor point as possible. Yes any flaw is brought out in your shot. BUT, since you shoot both eyes open and don't look through the scope, but rather look past it... as long as you can see it you can shoot it. Those las 15 minutes when it's almost impossible to see through a peep and you are trying to line it all up then look through your peep and such don't happen.

I love it, I sight it in at 25 yards and my bow is flat enough to be 1.5" high at 20 yards and 1.5" low at 30 yards from a bullseye. I figure that's close enough for me. Only drawback is the one pin setting.

I will be switching to pins though because of a new hunting location where I will be able to shoot into a field as far as I am comfortable shooting.

It's all personal preference. If you are someone that practices alot and are more satisfied with shooting a 3-4" group from 20-30 yards in any lighting instead of 1-2" groups after the first 15 minutes of daylight and 15 minutes before dark.

[8pt172]

The biggest problem is hand torque. When hunting from a tree stand many times you will have to draw and shoot from weird angles, increasing the chance for torque. This will cause the red dot to move much more than a fixed pin.

I do not recommend one to anyone who hunts from a treestand for the reason mentioned above.

3-4" groups are not sufficient at 20 yards, especially in perfect practice settings. One should have a very tight group at this distance. 4" could be the difference from a gut shot deer and a dead deer.

Not bashing you, just do not think that these sights work for the average bow hunting.

I do agree they give you better low light relief than a peep sight, but they are not as good as a lighted pin with no peep. Kisser buttons can help eliminate the need for a peep.

[Buckhunter]

I have to agree with you 8pt172. I no longer use a peep and I have a pin light. The style sight I have allows me to screw the pin light in the back of the sight near the riser. I have no light shining at me just a glowing pin. I can shoot in the same low light that I did with the red dot. I also started using the kisser button wich helped out a bunch with my groups.

[jruff61]

I do agree that 4" is a large margin for error. After shooting for so long I am able to hold a 1-2" group at 30 yards, but it does take time to get used to. I have at times shot 1" bullseyes out to 50 yards (with confidence) while only being sighted in for 25 yards. So they are as accurate as you want to make them. Just takes practice and learning the bows capabilities and compensation for distance.