scoping a .357 revolver

T

thequickad

New member
I am looking for a 6" .357 revolver to add a dot-sight or scope for improved accuracy. Can any one shed some light on this subject? Is SA better than DA? Should the gunsmith drill and screw the scope base into the top strap of the revoler for a stronger mount? :)
 
All S&Ws have been drilled and tapped since 1990 or so. The holes are hidden under the rear sight assembly but you can see them from the underside of the receiver. A number of companies make bases, an aluminum weaver costs about $7, some rings (I like steel Burris Zee rings), the sight, and your good to go. I've got a 5" 629 set up this way with a 30mm Ultradot, it's a nice setup for deer.

A buddy of mine did his 686 with a steel Leupold base, Leupold turn-in rings, and a Millett Redot. It's nice set up too, he spent 4 times as much on the rings and base but it looks really nice.

B-Square and others sell no-gunsmith bases for just about any kind or handgun you can thing of.... though personally I think the drill-and-tap method makes for a better rig. -- Kernel
 
A strong suggestion

Before you go to the trouble and expense of buying a pistol scope, base and rings, shoot a scope handgun.

I did and I lost any desire to scope one of my handguns. I find it extremely difficult to see my targets through handgun scope. It slows down the shooting.

So if I can not hit my target with an open-sighted handgun, I will pull the rifle out and use whatever sighting arrangement is necessary.

Doc Hudson
 
I have a red dot on my 6" s&w 686. I like it alot. Great for my tired old eyes. I had a 2 power scope on it for a short while. It was mainly good for shooting from a rest not off hand. A red dot is much better all around. My revolver wasn't tapped (made in 1998) so I used a weaver no tap mount and it is very solid. It is suprising how well one can shoot a revolver double action with a red dot.
 
Doc & RR make some really good points. It's almost impossible to shoot a pistol offhand with a scope powered over 3x, and even then it takes practice.... lots of practice. Finding the crosshairs can be a real problem, especially in a snap-shooting situation. With a lot of practice bringing the gun up and having the crosshairs appear on target becomes almost second nature.

Dot sights are more natural. IMO they're even faster than open sights since there's nothing to line up, you can focus on the target and not the front sight, and you can use them with both eyes open. The only downside is they take batteries (and anything that takes batteries will eventually be dead sometime when you really need it), they're bulky to carry vs. open sights, and dot sights aren't as accurate as magnified sights for long shots at 80yds and beyond.

For me the ultimate hunting handgun has both a scope and iron sights, with the turn of a couple of knobs the scope comes off and the iron sights are there if you need them. That's one thing I hate about the S&W and other common set ups, in order to install the scope base you have to physically remove the rear sight assembly.-- Kernel
 
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