Pistol scope choice/mounting

[junyo]

Never scoped a pistol before, but I've been tinkering with the idea of buying a 7.5" barrel for my Beretta Neos and throwing on a scope for a plinking/backpack gun. I have a Burris red dot rattling around the spare/junk room that I bought for something else. But to be honest, for all the good things I hear about them, I don't really "get" red dots. Granted, I bought a cheapy 30mm, but I used others and I can't see the dot to save my life (even with the brightness jacked up), and it doesn't make aiming or shooting the slightest bit easier or faster for me. I've played briefly with a scoped Ruger pistol, with a 2x fixed scope mounted and I liked it; the little bit of magnification helped, and the field of view was still wide enough to quickly scan for the golf balls we were shooting at. But is there some downside to the the 2x that I'm not aware of? Should I be looking at a variable power? Or buy a good red dot before writing them off?

Also, with the long eye reliaf of a pistol scope does it matter where on the rail I mount the scope? I was thinking of putting it way forward to add muzzle weight but a) it looks weird, and b) it looks wrong.

 

[fecmech]

It has been my experience that some of the cheap dots don't go bright enough for sunny days and light colored targets. I've had a cheap Tasco and BSA dot ($30-$40 range) that would wash out on sunny days. Before you purchase the sight put the battery in and try it on a white object in the sun. Some of the better "dots" with a good brightness range are Ultra Dot, Tasco PDP3, Millett and others. I think you need to get into the $80. and above range for the brighter dots. Nick

 

[chutchis]

I've had both red dot and pistol scope on a MKIII I had. I'll take the scope any day over the red dot. I had my scope centered on my MKIII but I don't think you'll have any problem mounting forward a bit. You can get a 4X32 Swift pistol scope for about a $100. The scope is great for a rimfire pistol...the windage and elevation adjustments don't exactly feel like a high end scope but for $100 it's quite a good deal.

 

[Omnivore]

Military units have been going to reflex sights, and holographic sights, in increasing numbers. Don't let the cheapo represent the whole technology for you-- the military models are at least 300 and up.

The benefits are:
Unlimited eye relief (makes no difference how far your eye is from the sight).
Off-axis usefullness (your eye can be off center and it makes no difference).
The target and reticle appear on the same focal plane (also true of telescopes).
They're useable in a far greater range of lighting conditions (again, don't let the cheapy put you off).
You can more easily use them with both eyes open (something you're going to tend to do under extreme stress anyway) allowing for your full, natural field of view.

All the above add up to faster, easier target acquisition, which is what it is all about when seconds count. Accuracy and effective range are exactly the same as with iron sights, but one could argue that since you can focus on the target, accuracy might be better.

That being said: Try everything and keep what you like, but again, don't knock the reflex or holographic technologies until you've given the good ones a fair trial.