Thinking about adding a red dot

[guesswho]

I think you will love that set up. Good luck.

[bwhana]

If it was mentioned already, sorry, but if you have astigmatism, the smaller dot will be much better for you. Any red dot (not much with green for some reason?) will have a starburst look to it, but the larger, the worse it will be. Just another consideration. FF3 has been tolerable for me on that end and keeping it as dim as you can still see it helps tremendously.

[GLS]

One fear that holds back some folks from using red dots is battery failure at the moment of truth. However, quality units claim 30,000 to 50,000 hours of battery life. Older generations of designs didn't have great battery life, but the better battery life can lead to having false security about battery life. A buddy this past season patterned his gun and the unit worked fine. Then it didn't that night before the hunt. I put in one of my spares that had been in my pack for many years. It didn't work. We were going to send the unit back to Burris under warranty. Conclusion? Faulty Fastfire. The next day when we returned home, as a last minute thought, I decided to test both batteries with my DVM. Nominal battery voltage in a new one is a stated 3.2 volts, but a DVM will show 3.4-3.6. The suspect old ones were under a volt. A new Duracell powered up the FF3 just fine. Billy couldn't remember if he had ever changed the battery and he had had the FF3 on his .410 for over 8 years. My unused backup battery, still in the bubble pack, was just as old. I threw away the old back up batteries and installed a Duracell which I'll do from here on out every other season. While most of the coin batteries are lithium based which last longer than old technology, one quirk with lithium batteries is that they give no warning of verge of failure. Once they go below a certain power level, the shut down is immediate with no dimming just before the end. Gil

[Okiehunter]

One fear that holds back some folks from using red dots is battery failure at the moment of truth. However, quality units claim 30,000 to 50,000 hours of battery life. Older generations of designs didn't have great battery life, but the better battery life can lead to having false security about battery life. A buddy this past season patterned his gun and the unit worked fine. Then it didn't that night before the hunt. I put in one of my spares that had been in my pack for many years. It didn't work. We were going to send the unit back to Burris under warranty. Conclusion? Faulty Fastfire. The next day when we returned home, as a last minute thought, I decided to test both batteries with my DVM. Nominal battery voltage in a new one is a stated 3.2 volts, but a DVM will show 3.4-3.6. The suspect old ones were under a volt. A new Duracell powered up the FF3 just fine. Billy couldn't remember if he had ever changed the battery and he had had the FF3 on his .410 for over 8 years. My unused backup battery, still in the bubble pack, was just as old. I threw away the old back up batteries and installed a Duracell which I'll do from here on out every other season. While most of the coin batteries are lithium based which last longer than old technology, one quirk with lithium batteries is that they give no warning of verge of failure. Once they go below a certain power level, the shut down is immediate with no dimming just before the end. Gil

That is the reason I’ve held off getting one for years. I always thought it’s one more thing that could go wrong. I do plan to have a few extra batteries on me at all times and tools to remove it in the truck. I’m going for a us slam and when things go wrong on the road it sucks. I carried a back up gun in the truck one year and was worried everyday it would get stolen. If it does fail on me I know I can still get by.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[guesswho]

That’s one advantage my Holosun has. I can take my battery completely out, and if it’s daylight my sight will still operate.

[GLS]

Trijicon at one time offered a Holosun sized red dot that also had ambient light illumination of the dot as well as battery power. The design was dropped in favor of the battery only operation. I've had military grade Trijicons that were ambient light only in operation. Built like tanks, but bulky and heavy. Gil

[Turkinator]

Batteries are cheap, my sights get a new one every spring

[Chief Razor]

I agree with what others have said. A little battery change at the beginning of the season provided some invaluable piece of mind. On of the pros I didnt see mentioned is that if you put that dot on the target regardless of where it is in the housing your good to go. Its not like a bead or rifle style sight. Regardless of your form, the way you mount the gun, or the awkward position you might find yourself in. Just cover your target and squeeze! Especially helpful with less experienced shooters.

[MFL205]

I bought my FF3 in a panic and they only had an 8MOA. It is fine and does the job.
My son has a FF3 with a 3 MOA.

After seeing his, I wish I had a 3 MOA but I am very happy with my FF3.

[GLS]

I agree with what others have said. A little battery change at the beginning of the season provided some invaluable piece of mind. On of the pros I didnt see mentioned is that if you put that dot on the target regardless of where it is in the housing your good to go. Its not like a bead or rifle style sight. Regardless of your form, the way you mount the gun, or the awkward position you might find yourself in. Just cover your target and squeeze! Especially helpful with less experienced shooters.

yes, being almost parallax free is a bonus. Where the dot lies, the shot flies. Gil

[dsunday]

Any issues with moisture or fogging up?

[Roost 1]

Another vote for holosun

[hootgobbleyelpgobble]

Batteries are cheap, my sights get a new one every spring

X2

New battery each spring and a fresh battery goes in my turkey vest as well.