First handgun scope, any advice?

R

Recoil spring

New member
A few minutes ago I mounted a Simmons 4X pistol scope on my 12 year old Ruger Mk. 3 pistol, the gun came with a Weaver type mount and pre-drilled holes on top. Black colored scope and blued target Model bull barreled Ruger gun.

I have never setup/owned a handgun with a scope, I am almost 60 years old, long-time dedicated shooter with good eye sight. Noticed when I put the gun down the scope tends to rest on it's side instead of the receiver/barrel of the gun. With rifles mounted with a scope the gun's side is resting on the stock's flank, not the scope. Concerned that I may have to use a padding every time the gun is laid flat to prevent the scope from needing any adjustment due to bumping.

Have not had it to the range to see how it works, but looking forward to 75 yard plus shooting. Any advice on how to use a handgun/scope setup compared to a rifle?

Will this rig work at 200 yards? I have shot open sited service type handguns out to 100 yards for years, unfortunately most gun ranges prohibit this as they think you will fling bullets all over, that maybe true with many unskilled shooters but not me.
 
Noticed when I put the gun down the scope tends to rest on it's side instead of the receiver/barrel of the gun.
Click to expand...

I've scoped quite a few handguns and never had any issue with scopes coming out of adjustment just by laying the gun down on its side. I also have optics on some of my Ruger MKIIs - a 1X Burris , ProPoint red dot and Burris Fastfire red dot.

My first handgun scope was 2X and it about as high as I go these days for shooting without a rest. Some of the 4X scopes I have used do not have enough eye relief with arms fully extended. I have gone as high as 7X but those I shoot from a rest.

The 4X should allow you to realize the accuracy potential of the MKIII at longer distances. At 200 yards you will need a lot of elevation adjustment.
 
I have a x4 Leupold on a Buckmark and a x4 Simmons on a 5 1/2" Smith m41 and neither is impacted by laying on their side. They come and go from zero about as often as my various rifles. No biggie. Just me but I don't go much beyond 50 meters with these pistols.

.02. David. :)
 
As my aging eyes have let me down on iron sights, I've tried just about every type of scope, red dot, holo sight, etc. The best I've found is the UltraDot 30, shown here on my 629 Classic.

Nn0TXkc.jpg


I've used this red dot on handguns up to 454 Casull with no problems, and they hold zero beautifully. The best characteristics of the UltraDot are 1) only 4.5 oz., including the rings (makes offhand shooting VERY easy compared to a 15-20 oz. scope), and 2) the tube helps you acquire the dot much faster than a reflex red dot sight.
 
After the old eyes could no longer see iron sights I gave up pistol shooting.....until...
While wandering around tables at a gun show I discovered a Ruger MKII with a Millet SP-1 (tube type) red dot sight mounted on it with weaver rings. I had never seen a red dot mounted on a handgun. The dealer says....just put the dot on the target and squeeze the trigger, he turned the sight on, I looked through it .....and bought the gun! I could shoot and actually hit the target again.
So if your having trouble seeing irons...optics will let you continue shooting.
Now with these small Burris Fast Fire type minimal sights...no excuse not to shoot.
Gary
 
I've used several brands of handgun scopes over the years and always end up back at Leupold. The 3-8X is where it's at. Consistent eye relief with changes in magnification can't be beat. I've run one on 6TCU, 7TCU, 22-250, 308, 45 Colt, 454, and 460 S&W. There has never been a problem with them (unlike others) and they've had me on target from 50 yards out to 600.
 
X4 Leupold and x4 Simmons on a M41 and a Buckmark. No complaints as the two target handguns get to come out to 50+ meters and shoot with the big kids.

.02. David. :)
 
I've tried several different configurations of scopes and red dots on revolvers, and semi's. I learned some interesting stuff on both. For me the only real need for a scope is when you want to reach out beyond 50 yds. The problem with adding a scope to a handgun is the fact you have to re-adjust your hold length to suit the optics specific eye relief. I have some precision handguns (12" 460 S&W mag, and a TC Encore in 243 Win) that can reach out to 200 meters and these are obviously a perfect host for a scope. I've also found that shooting offhand with an optic adds a lot of weight to the gun which causes some inherent instability. If shooting off a rest is an option then the added optic weight is of no concern. The higher the power, the more difficult it gets to obtain the sight picture. I have the Burris 3x12-40 and above 6x it can only be used benchrest. Try to stay with a 2x or 4x if you prefer to shoot traditional offhand. Pistol scopes are awesome for reaching out to longer distances but they are not a "replacement" for fixed open sights. Red dot type optics are a nice compromise for shooting traditional offhand at normal distances and can add accuracy reaching out to say 50 yds. (Just my opinions)
 
Last edited:
Low Magnification for me

I enjoy scoped pistols, in my experience minimal magnification is what you want. My old bull barrel Mk. 2 Ruger Govt. target sported a 2-7 and other than initial curiosity the scope always stayed on 2X. The combo of the scope and the bull barrel caused me to consider wheels as the next thing to add. Heavy sucker.

My Mk. 3 wears a red dot, I like it too. Not sure which I enjoy the most.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top