Red dot for shotgun coyote night hunting?

J

jacobhwrd

New member
Decided to change some of the uses for my guns and use my O/U for all my wingshooting and use my auto loader for predators and turkey. I'm still in the fence about using a red dot vs a fiber optic beed. Are there any real advantages to using a red dot? All of our night hunting is shotgun only plus I hunt a lot of timber in the day. Is a red dot good for both of those? I worry about the sight being washed out when using my lights at night since I use red also. What have you all tried, pros and cons?
 
The red lights won't wash out the red dots as long as they are bright enough, which most are; I've used Burris TRS-25s and Aimpoint T1s and neither have had an issue with the red on red. If you shoot at night without a light, some of the cheaper red dots won't dim down enough to be useable and will wash out the view.

Assuming you shoot with both eyes open using the bead, I'm not sure the red dot gives much advantage for close, fast shooting. Longer range with slugs or tight patterned loads/chokes would should the most benefit.
 
I like a red dot for many reasons, one of which is that you can center your dot in the middle of the pattern. They're also great at night and you can get on target quickly, but you need to make sure whichever one you choose turns down low enough that it's not too bright at night. Some even on the lowest setting wash out the whole optic.

I've got an Aimpoint-T1 on my versa-max and it's probably the best i've seen for night use, it has multiple low settings that aern't even visible in daylight that are perfect for night. On a budget, the bushnell TRS-25 is one that i've personally seen do pretty good at night, not 2MOA but I believe its 3MOA and it turns down low enough to use but not low enough for my preference.
 
I have been looking st some of the eotech and Burris speed beed. I have always liked vortex so I thought about trying one of the smaller pistol lights. I will take a look at some of the aim point sights too. I do use a pretty tight choke. I use the Carlson's coyote choke and the hevi shot dead coyote T shot. I'm failry confess to out to 60 maybe 65 but that really starting to push it for what I like in a pattern density.
 
The EO Tech is top tier. It has a wider field of view and clearer glass than the red dots. It also has a great reticle with total intensity control. Absolutely love mine even at twice the price of some red dots.
 
Originally Posted By: geo4061The EO Tech is top tier. It has a wider field of view and clearer glass than the red dots. It also has a great reticle with total intensity control. Absolutely love mine even at twice the price of some red dots.

What model do you use? Always wanted to slap an eotech on a shotgun
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Price point?
 
Go for it! You won't be disappointed. Model 512 Camo. I even tried skeet shooting with it. It took about 3 or 4 shots to get the feel. Then it absolutely destroyed them. Does the same thing to Coyotes at 50 yards or less.
 
have not tried a red dot on the shotgun yet. but thinking about it.

the only one i am considering for my shotgun is the Burris Fast Fire and using the Burris Speed Bead mount with it. that set up would keep everything low and on the same plain as the rib and bead. would allow me to use the same hold and technique with the shotgun as i do when using it with the rib and bead.

that will be the way i go when i decide to do it.
 
I have two Aimpoint 9000Sc red dots scopes and absolutely love them. One sits on top of my Benelli SBE2 and the other on my Mossberg 835. The battery life is incredible and they are the most durable red dot out there. I also have a Burris FFIII which I ended up mounting on my daughter's 20ga turkey gun. I prefer using the Aimpoint.
I'm not a big fan of the EoTech's. They sit awful high for my liking and I prefer just having the dot illuminated as opposed to the dot within a circle on the EoTech's.
I've been using red dots for spring turkey and predator hunting at night for quite a few years and wouldn't consider going back to just using a bead/standard scope.
 
Slick I have a Burris and have had no issues with it. In fact I would recommend it if price is an issue. However, the glass is not in the same class as the EO. The EO is much much clearer. The Burris sits up about a half inch and the EO one inch. Height is not an issue with either. The reason the EO sits higher is that it uses two standard AA batteries in the nose. These are easy to change in seconds with no tools. The most important thing, unlike some of the red dots, is there is no loss of POI as you only remove the front nose.
 
A couple of other thoughts on the EO reticle. It is larger than just a dot. It is a red dot with a circle around it. This helps your eye pick it up when you are in a hurry like shooting at a running coyote. This is a big advantage. The outside ring can also be used for range estimation.
 
I've been using a EO Tech 512 on my shotgun since Kentucky started night hunting for coyotes and it's worked great. It also can handle the 3 1/2 mags I shoot. I have not had a single problem with it.
 
I just bought a new Supernova about a month ago and was originally planning to put an EO tech on it. I bought a XPS2 but I ended up returning it for several reasons. Most importantly it raised the line of of sight substantially above a comfortable check weld on the butt stock and secondly it was a lot bulkier than I thought it would be. In the end I bought a Vortex Razor Red Dot and I am really glad I did. The line of sight is much lower and now I have a much more natural check weld. The field of view is obviously not as large but is still more than adequate. Plus their warranty is awesome.

As long as you turn the brightness down on most red dots and shoot them with both eyes open (as you should be...) you shouldn't really have a problem with wash out.
 
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