Change your red dot batteries

[beakbuster10]

at 7 yards, aim for the middle of the body.

Sorry that happened to you, especially on your last outing, but I definitely concur with this here. At 7 yards you should blow the whole load and the wad clean through the bird. Hind sight is always 20/20 though. There's always shoulda coulda woulda after the fact.

[wvlimbhanger]

Had a similar deal happen and I switched to a shotgun scope with heavy circle around the reticle.

[supremepredator]

Ive got a saddle mount on my mossberg that has a groove so you can still see your beads. Used to have a fire field red dot mounted, but that piece of crap didnt last long. I just use my beads now, they work fine as long as i aim a little high.

[sixbird]

I use a Fast Fire III. That reflex sight begins to blink 4 hrs. before the battery loses power completely. I always carry a spare battery with my call conditioning equipment.
I have full confidence in that sight but man, that would be a disappointment to have one fail in that moment...

[stinkpickle]

I'm a little paranoid about that, but I think I'll change out the batteries once a year, just in case.  I left the Truglo rib sights on my Mossberg when I installed the SPARC II, so I can still see them through the glass,...BUT my FFIII on my BPS is a different story...

[Gumby]

Just carry a spare battery with ya in the field

[Prohunter3509]

Next year will be my first year red dot
I hope that don't happen to me glad you shared it
Maybe keep someone else from doing it
I am waiting on March 2017 now

[Bolandstrutters]

If I could go back I would have centered him up at 30 and got it done with.   He got in too tight and I panicked.   Easy to do when a bird gobbles in your face at 5 feet.  It was an awesome season for me so I can't complain, but that would have been icing on the cake. 

[TRG3]

As a precaution, I remove all batteries from scopes, flashlights, range finders, etc. that I won't be using for a while to avoid a battery corroding while in something using such. 

[Turkeyman]

If I could go back I would have centered him up at 30 and got it done with...

Go to the range and shoot at 25 yards with the red dot off. I think you'll see that "centering it up" will shoot high.

[tomstopper]

Good reason to turn it on before hand, and carry spare batteries.  I switched to a red dot over a scope about five years ago and glad I did.  I like both, but prefer the red dot.

[Gobble!]

Ouch thats a tough way to learn a lesson. I always check my sight before leaving the house or getting out of the truck. I also replace the battery before every season and always carry a spare.

[whiskey]

That is the reason I went with a Burris SpeedBead mount.  Even if the batteries are dead the ff3 is low enough that I can still comfortably use the bead on the barrel.

+1


"So he cocked both his pistols, spit in the dirt, and walked out in to the street."

[Tail Feathers]

Tough way to end a hunt.
I change mine out before each season and keep a spare in my vest.
Haven't need the spare yet but I like to hedge my bets.

[maytom]

Scope user here, don't want to deal with that issue in the woods when a bird is right there in front of me.