Optics for Bullseye
- Thread starter dgludwig
- Start date
"...sanctioned Bullseye matches..." Sanctioning depends on who's rules are being followed. No optics allowed in ISSF(Olympic) but optics are ok for NRA Conventional Pistol.
Anyway, dot sights have only been around for roughly 30 years. And not all red dots are suitable. Dots can be too big.
Anyway, dot sights have only been around for roughly 30 years. And not all red dots are suitable. Dots can be too big.
jwrowland77
New member
Glad you asked this question. I'm just starting my adventure into Bullseye. Just went and shot my workups yesterday.
I'm planning to use irons though so I can learn the game.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I'm planning to use irons though so I can learn the game.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
The question hasn't been answered yet. I'm still interested in when this "travesty" (allowing sights other than optics became "legal" in NRA sanctioned events) became legitimized. As you might guess by now, I'm a "fringe element", wondering when (and how) Bullseye shooting started catering to shooters who wanted the game to be easier to score better with.
"Irons" are the way to start with-and to end with, imo.
"Irons" are the way to start with-and to end with, imo.
red dot optics and / or pistol scopes became legal in NRA conventional pistol competition (AKA Bullseye) around 1989. Pistol scopes were first & then soon thereafter, Aimpoint came out with their red dot.
I started with a 2X Bushnell scope, then a 2x Leupold, then an Aimpoint. Still have the .45 with the IMI knockoff of an Aimpoint on it. That knockoff was sold to competitors by the then National Champion in conventional pistol.
I started with a 2X Bushnell scope, then a 2x Leupold, then an Aimpoint. Still have the .45 with the IMI knockoff of an Aimpoint on it. That knockoff was sold to competitors by the then National Champion in conventional pistol.
NRA Bullseye scope , aim point history
Good place to ask. http://www.bullseyeforum.net/ I remember scopes being first used in the 70's when i was competing. I remember a shooter having a perfect 300 on the indoor Gallery Course with 22lr.
I tried a 4x on a High Standard Victor Dec 1980, to much power for me. Shot worse.
Good place to ask. http://www.bullseyeforum.net/ I remember scopes being first used in the 70's when i was competing. I remember a shooter having a perfect 300 on the indoor Gallery Course with 22lr.
I tried a 4x on a High Standard Victor Dec 1980, to much power for me. Shot worse.
Shot a lot of indoor with this system. http://i338.photobucket.com/albums/n420/joe1944usa/Firearms%20%20and%20%20Reloading/Bullseye%20%20Scoring%20System/BullseyePistol01.jpg
Last edited:
Thanks to all for your insightful inputs. But I'm still wondering when you could "legally" start using an "optic" at NRA sanctioned Bullseye matches, like at Camp Perry. Were the rules changed to accommodate optics or did shooters just start using them because they were never officially prohibited? Velocette said "around 1989." Was there an "official" mandate issued from the NRA?
jwrowland77
New member
Email the NRA. They'll probably be able to give you an exact date!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Still looking. Found this
Date of photo not found.
Photo from http://bulletin.accurateshooter.com/tag/brian-zins/
Date of photo not found.
Photo from http://bulletin.accurateshooter.com/tag/brian-zins/
Last edited:
My understanding is that it wasn't "allowed" or "prohibited". The rules never addressed sighting methods. As mentioned earlier, Gil Hebard introduced pistol scopes, and the rest is history.
Basically, the rules didn't prohibit optic sights because no one considered the possibility in the 1940s and 50s.
Basically, the rules didn't prohibit optic sights because no one considered the possibility in the 1940s and 50s.
QUOTE: "...Basically, the rules didn't prohibit optic sights because no one considered the possibility in the 1940s and 50s..."
I guess that makes about as much sense as anything else does. I'm just surprised the sanctioning body(s) didn't take into account the sights like they did almost everything else (size of pistol/barrel length/trigger-pull weight, ammunition, etc.).
I guess that makes about as much sense as anything else does. I'm just surprised the sanctioning body(s) didn't take into account the sights like they did almost everything else (size of pistol/barrel length/trigger-pull weight, ammunition, etc.).
Optics
"Irons are the way to start with and end with".
I disagree (and I shoot with irons).
Easier to shoot better? Are they? Have the records increased substantially since optics were allowed? Bill Blankenship's record of 2674 stood for many years. Shot with irons. It was eclipsed in 1974 by Herschel Anderson's 2680. Still the National record - also shot with irons (iirc). Second place since 2012 has been John Zurek's 2679...don't know what sights Mr. Zurek used.
Are optics easier to use? Y'know, with irons one at least gets the illusion that the sights stop moving. With a dot sight, that never happens. The dot always dances. What the optic does is allow focus on the both the dot and the target together. That allows shooters with failing eyesight to continue to shoot when
their eyes will not accommodate irons. That is a good thing.
In any case, shooting well involves much more than the differences between iron and optical sights.
The magic is still trigger control.
"Irons are the way to start with and end with".
I disagree (and I shoot with irons).
Easier to shoot better? Are they? Have the records increased substantially since optics were allowed? Bill Blankenship's record of 2674 stood for many years. Shot with irons. It was eclipsed in 1974 by Herschel Anderson's 2680. Still the National record - also shot with irons (iirc). Second place since 2012 has been John Zurek's 2679...don't know what sights Mr. Zurek used.
Are optics easier to use? Y'know, with irons one at least gets the illusion that the sights stop moving. With a dot sight, that never happens. The dot always dances. What the optic does is allow focus on the both the dot and the target together. That allows shooters with failing eyesight to continue to shoot when
their eyes will not accommodate irons. That is a good thing.
In any case, shooting well involves much more than the differences between iron and optical sights.
The magic is still trigger control.
Last edited:
spacecoast
New member
I stuck it out with iron sights for about 4 years and switched to an inexpensive Bushnell red dot on my 1958 Hi Standard Supermatic Trophy in 2014. I think it's added an average of 15-20 points (at least) to my 900 score. Most of the advantage, I believe, comes at slow fire where I used to be happy to average 80 and now am disappointed if I don't average at least 86 or 87, and have been as high as 97 in a round.