Scope or Red Dot for Long Barrel Handgun Plinking Fun

J

jg0001

New member
So.. thoughts on:
Scope or Red Dot for Long Barrel Handgun Plinking Fun?

I have both an S&W 500 w/ 10.5" barrel and a Browning Buck Mark w/7+" barrel... and both have factory installed rails on top, just begging to be accessorized.

I'd like to get a red dot or scope on one or both... this would be purely for range fun. I do not hunt.

I was thinking I'd get something on the cheaper end until I learned more and refined my preferences in what I wanted.

What are the pros/cons of one over the other?

The two guns in question are the top two in the picture below. You can see that the Browning Buck Mark (Contour Lite 7.25 URX) has a rail that runs the full length of the barrel. The rail on the S&W 500 is shorter, but still plenty long to allow placement choices. On the S&W500, I know a number of people say not to put a scope on it for fear of smacking yourself in the head, but I've yet to shoot a load from it that has caused the muzzle to rise enough for that to be a real worry... it is a HEAVY gun, esp with this barrel.

20upe1z.jpg
 
I have the older Pro-point type dot scopes on my low recoiling hanguns... & they work well... your boomer may require more quality for anything to hold up to that kind of recoil...

for plinking & distances less than 50 yards... the dots are the way to go... even low power scopes will "slow down" your shooting fun...

for the boomer, you could look at dot scopes designed around the shot gun slug guns... there are some lower priced ones there, but on even the shot guns, it's not uncommon to hear of guys changing out dot scopes every year, when using cheaper scopes...

my boomer Contenders either wear fiber optic iron sights, or good quality scopes...
 
It depends on the kind of plinking you do

As someone else mentioned, scopes slow down the follow-up shots.

However, they have the potential to actually make you more accurate, since they increase the resolution of your eyesight on the target.

Red dots help out by only forcing you to focus on one thing at a time, instead of three. They also weigh less than scopes, because there is less glass.

If you like rapid fire type plinking on bigger targets, red dot is the way to go. For slower shooting and smaller targets, a scope is the way to go.

I have a red dot on my Ruger Mk. II Target, and a 2X scope on my Redhawk. I prefer the scope for my type of shooting.

Also, scopes don't need batteries. No chance of you getting to the range and finding your battery: A) dead or B) leaking.
 
Red Dot on the .22

2.5x magnification handgun scope on the S&W. That's a long range handgun so some magnification is warranted.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top