Red Dot - Does Size Matter?

rdinatal

rdinatal

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While on the journey to pick an ACOG I noticed some interesting stuff on Red Dots. A question to the collective.

For typical ranges 0 to 100m, max of 200m.
Would a 2moa dot be too big?
 
2 MOA is certainly not too big out to 200. With LED red dots you do loose precision as you do not have a definite aiming point and the dot partial obscures your target for the intended use of offhand shooting at larger targets it is the best option.
ACOG or prism sights with a chevron gives a precise “infinitely” small point of reference which will give better group sizes target shooting and less target obstruction 200+ m out.
 
I think it will be just fine. I have several with 2 MOA dots and have no issues.
 
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For a rifle smaller is usually better, for a pistol bigger is usually better, red dot wise.

I know I have an astigmatism and usually see a blur with 3moa red dots or smaller.
The Holosun circles I see on, and the Trijicon 6.5 MOA I see fine.

I guess it depends on your and your eyes…
 
I started to incorporate dots into shooting a few years ago. Here are some observations based on my experience
1. I used to worry about dots being too big for pinpoint accuracy- what I found out was 2 moa dots at longer distances become harder to find and track on moving targets -exponentially harder on sunny days
2. I tend to prefer dots on the larger side, a 3-6 MOA or 3-6” circle at 100 yards doesn’t pose any issues. You do not use a dot for precision work anyway.
4. Really becoming a fan of Primary arms ACSS type red dots - both 1x and low power magnifying prisms at 2X or 3x these have an illuminated reticle or a plain black one etched into the glass - again very useful on bright days .
 
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It really depends on how crisp you see the dot.
After that how small of a target are you shooting and the level of precision you expect.

With a rifle I like to shoot things like clay pigeons at 200yds, I don't see dots crisply most days, 1moa works, 2moa not so much. EOTech style with a nice ring around it speed is just fine. The trijicon rifle sights I've used have been nice and crisp.

Pistol I still like small, I thought I liked bigger, then went from 6moa to 2moa. I continued to get faster, and precision is better, classification and match finishes improved, not the sight alone, but there was no dip at the change.
 
rdinatal said:
While on the journey to pick an ACOG I noticed some interesting stuff on Red Dots.
Click to expand...
If you have a astigmatism buy the acog or a primary arms prism. Or better yet a LVPO if size/weight are not an issue.

I prefer small dots but some red dots I see a coma and others I do not. If you see something stupid go as small as possible, if you don't see anything 2 moa is perfectly fine.
 
2moa is perfect on rifles. I've had no issues getting hits out to 400 yards with a simple 2 moa dot.

Smaller could technically be a little better (looking at you eotech) but it's really kinda irrelevant.

For pistols I'm a huge fan of the 3 to 3.5 moa dots, they feel like a perfect sweet spot of easy to pick up and still refined enough for hitting small targets. I have a 2 moa pistol dot that feels a little too small for my liking and I've tried some 6 moa dots that I personally really didn't like.

Edit: do best of both worlds and buy the ACOG then top mount or offset mount a red dot 😉
 
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keepcalmandcarryon said:
ACOG or prism sights with a chevron gives a precise “infinitely” small point of reference which will give better group sizes target shooting and less target obstruction 200+ m out.
Click to expand...
I'm a huge acog fan, but the Chevron thing is over hyped. The infinitely small aiming point is only useful at your actually zero distance. After that it's irrelevant at literally any other distance. 200 and 300 can actually get pretty annoying with a Chevron acog because you're using the underbelly of the Chevron or the bottom wings for your hold, necessarily obscuring your target.
 
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Fred said:
If he's running it on a 500$ GBRS cantilever mount that also takes an IR device, I think it's safe to assume night vision is the intent and cost is no object, so it's a T1 : )
Click to expand...

This is true : ) However, the “NV settings” is marketing speak. I have a few H1s and they work just fine with night vision. But, with unlimited department money, I’m guessing T1 too : )
 
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I didn’t know this but, the H1 (and presumably, the T1) is never really “off”. The Off/0 setting still produces a faint dot, usable with NV even in the darkest conditions, with no bloom. YMMV
 
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