Type of sight & why

[dirt road ninja]

Just curious on what everybody else is using. I tried the traditional type of scope years ago and hated it. I've been using Truglo's magmun series clamp on sights for awhile now and on a couple different guns and have been very pleased. I like them for the following reasons.

1. POA-POI is easily corrected with them.
2. They've prov-en to be very durable.
3. Cost is under or right at 50 bucks.
4.  Few moving parts.
5. No batteries to worry about.

I've yet to try one of the newer "dot type" sights and am not opposed to them, but I've got tons of confidence in my clamp on sights.

[mossyoakpro]

Mine was purely due to the loss of sight from getting older....I ended up missing 2 birds in a row in 2011 and decided it was time.  I could not focus on the bead on the barrel and therefore shot over their heads each time.

After going to the red dot I am 4 for 5 this season with the one miss coming from a tough shot through the woods between some trees....I am installing a Fastfire on my new 20 ga and I will be using it starting next season.

I love my optics!!!

[WildTigerTrout]

I have an older Leupold/Gilmore red dot sight that I like alot. I have killed a number of gobblers with it. I also have FO adjustable sights on two shotguns , a scope on one and a Bushnell Trophy red dot on another. I guess I like them all except a plain bead.

[Fastcat]

My primary turkey gun is an 835 mossberg with a set of williams universal slugger fiber optic sights.  However i finished the season killing 2 out of my 3 birds with a bps 10 that has a set of remington sights drilled and screwed into the receiver. My gun for next year is a 21" barreled 20 gauge Remington 870 express. I plan to shoot the factory beads unless the POA is off. Then i will add a set of williams'.

[chatterbox]

Scope user here. Love them.
I have a burris TAC30 on my 835, and love it.

[davisd9]

I currently shot a scope on my 835 and love it.  Have thought about going to adjustable rifle type sights.  The scope makes me put my head down to shoot.  Before there were times during the excitement that my head never was down like it was supposed to.  The scope just helps me focus and has yet to cause any type of hinderance.

[gobblergls]

Red dot failure is not something I dwell on.   While rifle sights and ghost rings may force a youngster to aim, that doesn't mean he or she will aim correctly with adrenalin pumping and a gobbler at 30 steps.  With a red dot, there's no need to line up beads, rings and posts, notches and posts.  It's a simple equation: Dot+head/neck+Blam.  With my Trijicon Reflex sights, I don't have batteries to worry about; the dot is illuminated with a Tritium lamp and fiber optics.  With my Aimpoint, I change batteries every year whether I need to or not.  Both the Trijicons and Aimpoint are battle-tested, military spec.  A Ranger once saw my Aimpoint on my SBE and commented that he did a static line 500' jump out of a C130, landed on the same model Aimpoint on his M4 and never lost zero or  use of it.  I shot rifle sights on my turkey rigs for over 20  years until my eyes aged out and lost the ability to see both leaf and blade in low light.  I am a firm believer in buying the best equipment I can afford or barely afford--while some may have success with a $50 knock-off of an Aimpoint, I wouldn't put my faith in one.

[redarrow]

4X Nikon after too many eye surgeries. I got to where I couldnt even hit a squirrel with a 12 ga.

[paladin]

Burris fastfire. Why? It lets me shoot from any position where i can see the dot.

[HuntSource]

Dot style all the way for me. Both of my Benelli Vinci rigs run an Aimpoint T1 Micro. Battery life is like five years. Just leave them set on 8. I may change the batteries next spring. That will be about two years for one and about 2.5 for the other. They are very tough. They allow for precision aiming and sight-in.

Beads cover-up too much at extended ranges for my tastes, the POA/POI has never matched exactly with desired loads and chokes (a big deal with tight turkey patterns), and they are very sensitive to shooting form errors (a common issue in turkey hunting situations).

Iron sights simply take too much time for me, especially as my eyes age. I find it hard to shift focus between three image planes. That's also true of ghost rings to some extent. I also find they obscure even more the target than beads.

I prefer red dots to scopes mainly due to eye relief concerns. Turkey guns buck a good bit. Compared to scopes, red dots also allow me to easily shoot with both eyes open, which is a huge benefit for me. I also have better success shooting both eyes open with red dots to beads as well. Lastly, scopes certainly add bulk to guns.

In the final analysis, there's no right or wrong type of setup. There are advantages and disadvantages to each. It's all about what works best for a given shooter.

[zhlhunter]

 835 with a nikon 4x scope I like the way it makes me get down on the gun and magnifies his head.