Scope or Red Dot Sight on Ruger Superredhawk 44 Mag

[bevills1]

Has anyone here had experience with scopes or red dot sights on revolvers for deer hunting? I have a Ruger Super Redhawk 44 mag that I'm thinking of adding either a scope or red dot sight.

Today I read the article at https://answers.fieldandstream.com/...-the-fiber-pipes-and-my-handguns-all-have-fib to learn many posters there prefer open sights. In post #5 it says "Long eye relief scopes inside the woods are frustrating at dawn and dusk, oddly right where rifle scopes step up." If that's true, then a pistol scope would not be a good choice at those times. According to the last post #10 a red dot would be a poor choice for me since I have had astigmatism all my life.

I found a comparison of red dot vs scopes, and under "Our Opinion" near the bottom of the page they say a scope is the better choice. At https://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=593796 many posts have good things to say about the UltraDot and post #8 says an illuminated really helps for scopes. Another post that I don't recall which points out scope magnification also magnifies any movement you may have which is something I'd not considered. Which do you think is better for deer hunting? I'd be especially interested to know if anyone who has astigmatism has had experience with red dot sights on handguns and whether you had any issues.

 

[frankwright]

I have been primarilly a handgun hunter during firearms season for the last 15 years and a lot of what you already know is true.
Yes you will not be able to shoot quite as early or late with a pistol scope as you would with a big, wide rifle scope.
Also you will be able to see with a Red Dot about the same as you would with open sights. In other words when it gets to dusky to see your open sights you have almost no time till you can't see the Red Dot.
I have astigmatism also and I do not see a super clear dot either. But keeping the brightness as low as possible helps and the dot will still allow you to make pretty good shots at game distances. Maybe 100 yards or less.
The Redhawk .41 started with a pentax 2X scope and I killed several deer with it and then changed to an enclosed Red Dot and have continued to kill deer. The dot is faster to me!
Good Luck!

 

[Mr Bya Lungshot]

Whatever you use also have a great rest and you’ll then hit where you aimed.
I prefer scopes over red dots

 

[transfixer]

I've had a Redhawk 44mag with a scope and a S&W 41mag with a scope, I wouldn't want a red dot on something I was hunting with, in my opinion red dots are for fast target acquisition , like on a defensive pistol, Scopes let you be more precise ,

 

[tcward]

I tried a dot on my .41 Blackhawk but went back to a scope.

 

[bevills1]

There are several gun shops in the metro Atlanta that have shooting ranges and rent guns to use on their ranges such as Range Guns in Forest Park, Autrey's Armory in Fayetteville, et al. Does anybody know of any that rent guns with scopes and/or red dot sights? I think the best solution for anyone would be to try both sight types to best determine which is best for each person.

 

[Lilly001]

I have some scopes on my handguns, RSRH .44 mag, Contender 30-30, contender .223.
Red dots on others, S&W 460, Glock G40, Contender .357 max.
The scopes are better for longer range work and the red dots excell for closer, faster work.

 

[bevills1]

Reply #8 in the last link of my originaly post says that an illuminated reticle really helps with scopes. Has anyone here tried illuminated reticle, and does it help for you. I don't find many that have illuminated reticle when I search for pistol scopes.