Turkey hunting forum for turkey hunting tips

All,
    I am looking to put an optic on my shotgun for turkey season.  I am not sure about buying a red dot or scope.  I have heard good things about both and negatives.  Here is what I have heard

Red Dot (Burris Fast Fire III)
Pluses: Quick target acquisition. I heard I might be able to use this on my 44Mag revolver as well during deer season which is a plus in my book! Optic is very clear in low light. Budget friendly at only $200

Negatives: Battery/sight could potentially fail due to being electronic.  I have read a couple reviews stating the sight not holding zero but it seems to be these are very few and far between incidents (one determined to be the sight actually loosened so holding zero was not the culprit).  In general the FastFire III has excellent reviews. Have also heard that these have had some fitment issues with weaver style bases even though they state they work with any picatinny or weaver base.  I will be using an aimtech saddle receiver which is a weaver style rail. I heard that one must lightly modify the rail...I do feel capable doing this if mine doesn't fit but I am hoping they have corrected this issue.

Scope
Pluses: You can zoom in on a turkey that is a long ways off to determine if it is even a shooter.  No battery to fail.

Negatives: If scope is zoomed, target acquisition may be ruined.  I have had this happen on deer once so I don't think I will make that mistake again but who knows.  optic could potentially be bad in low light unless you buy a more expensive scope.  My budget is at MAX $300 but would prefer ~200 range.

It's a personal choice issue.  I'd be good with either one.  I had used a scope up until about three years ago.  Since then I've went with an Eotech.   I personally like the Eotech better, but I wouldn't loose any sleep if I had to go back to a low power, long eye relief scope.   Short eye relief scopes have another possible negative.

Red dot all the way, I used a scope for over 10 years last year I got careless ended up with a broke nose and no turkey took the scope off that day and have not missed it. A pair of small quality binoculars are better than a scope any way.

Bushnell Trophy Red Dot for me on my 835.  It allowed me to correct my POI/POA issue.  It has stayed zeroed with the recoil of 3 1/2 inch shells and flying to and from Kansas and South Dakota the last couple of years.  As you stated, the only con is the battery.  I'm anal about turning mine on at the beginning and at the end of the hunt but I also carry an extra battery as well.  It has NEVER let me down do to zero or illumination issues.  Excellent product.

I have always used a scope without a hitch, except for taking the recoil on the nose also. Have killed a lot of birds with it. That said I now have a new EOTech red dot and am making the switch this year. I think the wider field of view will be a plus and don't have to worry about my nose if I get into an awkward shooting position.

Quote from: mgm1955 on January 06, 2015, 02:50:32 PM
I have always used a scope without a hitch, except for taking the recoil on the nose also. Have killed a lot of birds with it. That said I now have a new EOTech red dot and am making the switch this year. I think the wider field of view will be a plus and don't have to worry about my nose if I get into an awkward shooting position.

should I not waste time on the Burris then? Eotech seems a bit out of reach but I may be able to save up for it in time for turkey season this year. Not sure though

Quote from: bbcoach on January 06, 2015, 02:34:56 PM
Bushnell Trophy Red Dot for me on my 835.  It allowed me to correct my POI/POA issue.  It has stayed zeroed with the recoil of 3 1/2 inch shells and flying to and from Kansas and South Dakota the last couple of years.  As you stated, the only con is the battery.  I'm anal about turning mine on at the beginning and at the end of the hunt but I also carry an extra battery as well.  It has NEVER let me down do to zero or illumination issues.  Excellent product.

which exact model do you have if you don't mind me asking?

I have an EXPS3. Check out both and see what fits you and your gun as well as your budget. Look at Optics Planet, Eagle Optics, Louisiana Sportsman.

Quote from: mgm1955 on January 06, 2015, 03:50:47 PM
I have an EXPS3. Check out both and see what fits you and your gun as well as your budget. Look at Optics Planet, Eagle Optics, Louisiana Sportsman.

seems like a sweet sight but dang that is definitely way out of budget haha

I'm trying out an FFIII for the first time this year, so I don't have any field experience with it yet.  It was a tight fit on a Weaver rail, but I forced it into place and used loctite.  ;)   It feels pretty dang solid.

I added a open red dot to my dedicated turkey gun 3 seasons ago. I don't think Ill ever hunt without one.

Quote from: Bigeclipse on January 06, 2015, 03:15:07 PM

Quote from: bbcoach on January 06, 2015, 02:34:56 PM
Bushnell Trophy Red Dot for me on my 835.  It allowed me to correct my POI/POA issue.  It has stayed zeroed with the recoil of 3 1/2 inch shells and flying to and from Kansas and South Dakota the last couple of years.  As you stated, the only con is the battery.  I'm anal about turning mine on at the beginning and at the end of the hunt but I also carry an extra battery as well.  It has NEVER let me down do to zero or illumination issues.  Excellent product.

which exact model do you have if you don't mind me asking?

I have the 73-0131 in matte black.  I see they have them in Realtree APG now.  I see Optic Planet and E-Bay have a few.  I believe I paid about $55, five years ago.  Some models have the green and red dot but this one is red only.  Not sure of any advantages or disadvantages by having a green dot though.  I normally have the brightness set at the lowest setting of 1 or 2 as the higher settings are too bright.

www.palmettostatearmory.com has the matte black Bushnell TRS-25 on sale for $49.  Usually they cost around $80 or more on Ebay.  They also have lots of AR 15 stuff on clearance.

I have two of Bushnell trophy red dots and they've been great.  I ordered a camo TRS-25 from another site because I wanted camo for my new camo'd gun.

Fast fire!!!! I have one on my turkey and duck gun and my wife and daughter each have one on their turkey guns. Best thing I've bought, battery life is the least of my concerns with them. I have left mine on for weeks and it still works fine. I on habit replace the battries every two years. I've never actually had one go dead. I've had tubed red dots, fiber optic, bead sights and other types and the fast fire is hands down the best!!

I have a matte Bushnell Banner 1.75-4 shotgun scope on the 3.5" SM. It easily has 6.5-7" of eye-relief. Over the years, it has served me well being set on 1.75 power.

YMMV

Quote from: ShortSpurs on January 07, 2015, 12:34:35 PM
I have a matte Bushnell Banner 1.75-4 shotgun scope on the 3.5" SM. It easily has 6.5-7" of eye-relief. Over the years, it has served me well being set on 1.75 power.

YMMV

I have also used this scope for years. Mine has crosshairs with a circle. I've had a great deal of success and only scoped my forehead once.....my bad. I also have a tendency to "steam" it up when things get tense on an early PA morning! hahaha!!

what are the pure advantages of having a red dot or a scope over the stock bead ona  barrel?

from what I have read a big plus is if your pattern is off center from your bead you can correct that with a red/scope which mine is.  You can also aim better if you are shooting a tighter longer distance pattern.  My pattern at 10 yards is about the size of a baseball so if I don't aim properly I could easily miss

After using an original Bushnell HoloSight (EOTech), I went to a Trijicon Reflex II.  I finally settled on a Trijicon TriPower (discontinued).  It uses tritium (never useful for turkey hunting), a battery (seldom useful for turkey hunting) and ambient light which presents a perfect inverted red V which is almost always ideal for any turkey hunting situation.  The battery would be useful if I hunted from an enclosed blind (I don't).  Since I adjusted to this sight on my Encore, a turkey doesn't want to come within 35 yards.  Also, it can be shot from either shoulder (pre-pacemaker) with both eyes open.

I run the fast fire II exclusively for turkeys and wouldn't change a thing, my buddy runs scope on several turkey guns and likes them. Personal preferance

I will tukey hunt in the rain so I dont like the idea of fogged wet lenses while my fast fire I can keep both eyes open and shoot in any weather.

On my turkey guns I only use Fast Fire sights. My son struggled with shooting tube style red dots as did I.
He has a FFII on his gun, and I have an FFIII on mine. In the last 2 seasons our guns with these sights have gone five for five on turkeys.
IMO, there's no better sights that you can mount on a turkey gun. When you pair them with a 336 base, you keep your head very low on the stock. They are waterproof and tough as a tank.
Only sight I will use. Simply the best.

I have a Fast Fire II on a Speed Bead mount on my BSE II for 3 years now.  I haven't missed a turkey since I started using it.  I love how low profile the Speed Bead mount is compared to a Weaver mount on top of the receiver.  The sight's field of view is great and the beads on the barrel can still be used if the dot ever fails to illuminate.  I still have the original battery in the sight that has worked for 3 years.  I plan to switch the battery out before the start of this season.  It rocks!  I wear glasses every day (weak correction), but hunt without them thanks to the red dot.

The first sight I owned was a bigger red dot scope on my SBE I that I only used for a few days before I removed the sight & gave it away.  It threw the balance of the gun off, was bulky to carry, ate batteries, and really limited the possibility of looking around the scope at the target.

I can't see any reason to ever change from the Fast Fire & Speed Bead on my turkey gun.

Jim