bushnell red-dot vs traditional rear sight

[hbadger]

I'm still new to shooting, been working with Feinwerkbau air pistols at 10 meters for about 1 year, very little other experience.

I am buying a S&W 586. The current owner has replaced the rear sight with a rail + bushnell red-dot sight. To my ignorant eye, this seems like a mistake. It makes the gun look bulky. I like the wide-open view you get with standard sights; the tube seems like it would rob me of periphrial awareness. It seems like it would be harder to get on target. And that little red dot doesn't hold as steady inside the tube as the sights seem to.

On the other hand, my opinion is ignorant, as I said. I would greatly appreciate insight from people with more experience. I expect to use the gun exclusively at the range (carry is illegal where I live and violent crime extremely rare), with the thought that if things do get unstable here I would start to carry it for personal/family defense. This also includes the scenario where I lend the gun to someone who is not trained with weapons (I am buying a second gun as well) and need them to be able to hit their target while I take care of mine.

If you have an (educated) opinion which does not fit my usage scenarios, I would also be interested in hearing it. My usage may evolve, and I may be able to adopt some of your wisdom to my own situations.

 

[Domino300]

Ask the current owner if he has the rear blade sight. Try it with the red dot, if you don't like it you can remove it and the mount, and install the original rear sight. You can also buy an aftermarket rear sight.

 

[NM Mountainman]

The mini reflex RDS is the best all around sight for the older shooter.

I have used a S&W Model 41, 686, and 629 with the Bushnell Trophy red/green dot sight, a Nikon red dot sight, a j-point sight, and a 2x long relief handgun scope made by Bushnell.

I currently own a S&W 629 with 4" barrel with a 7.5 MOA J-point reflex (open without tube) mini red dot sight mounted in place of the factory open rear sight as well as a 629 with 6.5" barrel with 4 MOA JPoint sight. I plan to use the 4" barrel revolver as a range gun, plinker, home defense, and trail gun (camping or woods gun.) I am in the process of adapting a nylon holster to accommodate the revolver with the sight mounted.

IMO, the mini reflex red dot sight is a practical choice for range gun, home defense, and "woods gun." It does not block the field of view nor make the revolver difficult to handle and carry (in a holster) the way a conventional tube type red dot sight does (like my Bushnell Trophy red/green multi-reticle dot sight.)

After trying the different options, here is my opinion about advantages/disadvantages of the various kinds of sights available for the 686 revolver:

1) No sights (point shooting, instinct shooting, threat focused shooting.) I start with the assumption that any handgun which is relied upon for SD should be easy to operate via point shooting out to a range of 15 feet or so. A revolver equipped with the factory open sights or a mini reflex RDS can easily be used for SD using various point shooting methods and skills. A revolver equipped with a larger tube type RDS sight is not well suited for point shooting, IMO because the large RDS sight and mount obscures too much of the filed of view. Also the additional weight and bulk of the RDS make the revolver harder and more awkward to handle.

2) Factory installed adjustable open sights. If the shooter has excellent vision or if his vision can be corrected without the use of bi-focals or progressive lenses, then open iron sights are pretty good for all purposes. For SD, HD, or a woods gun, adding a night sight or fiber optic sight can be helpful, even if you only replace the front sight. Open sights are not as good as either type of RDS for slow deliberate shooting at a distance.

3) Reflex mini red dot sight: ( JPoint, Burris FastFire, etc.) IMO, this is currently the best all around sight for the the older shooter who is dependent on bifocals or progressive lenses for corrected vision. Works well in bright light, dim light, and shadowed areas (forest at dusk). Great for hunting coyotes and deer sized game out to a maximum of 100 yards. Good for plinking and shooting at the range (except when frequent sight adjustments are required). After a lot of practice in "finding the dot" and getting on target quickly, it is good for SD, HD, and use as a "woods gun." After good instruction and lots of practice, the mini RDS is just as fast to use as open iron sights. They don't block the FOV. They are sturdier and more reliable than they look.

Disadvantages: Difficult to find belt mounted holsters which accommodate the sight. The sight adjustments don't have "clicks", so it is difficult and inconvenient to make frequent sight adjustments (which require the use of a small hex wrench.) Generally speaking, each sight has only one size and shape of aiming reticle (dot) available. You might end up wishing that you could have an 8 MOA dot for use under 25 yards and a 4 MOA dot for use at ranges greater than 50 yards. No good holsters have currently been developed and marketed which will enable you to carry a handgun concealed with this type of sight mounted.

4) Full sized tube style style RDS: Good for older shooters who need bifocal or progressive lenses for corrected vision. Accurate and easy to shoot out to a range of 100 meters. The fastest handgun sight available for precision shooting when used in conjunction with a special competition style holster. Excellent for hunting (when used in conjunction with a shoulder holster made for a scoped handgun.) Excellent for shooting at the range: for bullseye, Met. Sil., and certain kinds of fast action shooting games.

IMO, a poor choice for HD, SD, or a woods gun. Because of poor battery life, you can't leave the sight turned on with the sight pre-adjusted to the ideal level of brightness. Obscures the FOV. Too bulky to carry in a belt mounted field holster or to carry concealed.

I have never used the more expensive holographic types of sights which the military uses for combat operations.

 

[hbadger]

Thanks, Mountainman, exactly what I was looking for.

 

[gbran]

I used dremmel tool (like RotoZip) to cut out an area on a Kydex holster that allows me to holster revolvers with the small reflex type red dot sights.

 

[gbran]

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