Suitable Dot Scope for Ruger Mk III ?

[frodo9mm]

Hello - I have a Ruger Mk III Target 22 LR and want to put a dot scope on it for Bullseye. At age 60 my eyes are struggling with the iron sights.

Question - What are a few decent pistol dot scopes ?

I have a budget but do not want to under or over spend of that matter.

I am new to bullseye. I have shot 3PAR and Service Rifle but am looking at possibly shooting bullseye pistol with a league this winter.

Thank you,
Fletcher

[Pitt Willett]

It is a matter of preference but my recommendation would be a regular 1" tube Ultradot with 4 moa dot. I have shot them for years in BE discipline without many problems and their customer support is good. Your Ruger Mk3 probably came with a scope mount and the rings supplied by Ultradot will fit. A tube offers some advantage over panel type sights in that it is less affected by glare when shooting outdoors. As far as cost new it is generally in the middle of the road. Sometimes you can find used ones for sale here or Bullseye forum.

[SteveT]

Ultra-Dot tube style red dots are extremely common on the bullseye line. 1" are lighter and cheaper. 30mm give a little bigger field of view and more dot options. 20 years ago almost all of the dots were 1" Ultra-dots. Since then lots of different options have appeared, but the 1" UD is still really common. The Four-Dot and Match-Dot offer 4 different dot sizes, but most people are happy with a standard dot size.

Aimpoint Micro and 9000 series are common, especially with the best shooters. They are expensive, but they are very well made and batteries last a really really long time. The 9000 series is too heavy for some shooters. I love my Micros.

There are a bunch of Aimpoint Micro knock-offs. The cheapest (around $100) are not worth it in my opinion. They are OK if you just want something to mess around with, but if you want a reliable, quality scope Holosun and Sig Sauer are pretty good choices. I have a Holosun. I have no direct experience with the Sig scopes, but hear good things.

I tested a Konus and a Barska knock-off and I would avoid them and anything else in that price range for competition use. Primary Arms come up in discussion on the bullseye list sometimes as a decent inexpensive scope, but I have no direct experience with them.

Open frame or holo sights, common in IPSC competition, are not very common on the bullseye line. They can work on a 22, but not for anything that needs sight adjustment, very few of them, and none of the reasonably priced scopes, have click adjustments, the adjustment is pretty course and backlash is common.

[crankythunder]

Hi Fletcher:

I have run a bullseye team and currently shoot with four separate teams in the winter and three in the summer around the area. As such, I have had the pleasure to set up a number of newbie handguns for bullseye pistol shooting. The following is a list of red dots that I own and have experience setting up newbie shooters and provide the following recommendations.

First off, most bullseye shooters like the tube style dots. Precise and repeatable adjustments are a priority while the frame helps us keep the dot on the target during sustained fire strings. The shoot and scoot guys, the Ipsic, IDPA, the run and guners, they like the reflex style sight. They prefer a less cluttered sight picture and do not require the accuracy or adjustments us bullseye shooters require. Most bullseye shooters prefer either a 2 MOA dot or a 4 MOA dot, whereas the shoot and scoot people like 8 MOA or larger. I also shoot IDPA and have firearms set up specifically for those disciplines but really enjoy the comradery of the bullseye competition.

Aimpoint is generally considered the top of the line, their H-2 Model in 2 MOA or 4 MOA (if you can find a 4 MOA H-2). The 9000SC and 9000L models, while no longer in production, are highly regarded although they are a bit heavy. I can personally recommend the Aimpoint and have postitive experience with their warranty program.

Ultra dot is the most popular red dot on the line, either their standard tube style model or the ultra dot match dot with the variable MOA dot. Excellent sight, excellent company. The only issue with ultra dots are that lately they have displayed a slight negative magnification in their optics. This does not bother some people but drives me nuts and I prefer the Aimpoint H-2.

Sig Sauer- Their Romeo 5 red dot is a excellent red dot. the only issue with the Romeo 5 is that it has pushbutton controls and sometimes shooters turn the thing off inbetween strings trying to adjust the brightness of the dot due to changing overcast conditions. If you can find it on eBay, the out of production sig sauer STS-081 is a top notch red dot with a rotary brightness adjustment that is excellent.

Holosun: All models are good, the differences being the difference in reticles with dots, cross hairs, circles. A simple dot works best for bullseye and they have a rotary adjustment model that is excellent. I do not have the model numbers but a quick research at Optics Planet or CameralandNY will get you the information you need on Holosuns.

I have extensive experience with the above red dots and own one or more of each of the above. I see a lot of vortex red dots on the line but I have no experience with them so I will not comment on them.

I have also struggled with a number of off brand cheap red dots that newbies have purchased and there are quite a few that will not be sufficient for bullseye. Also have gotten discouraged with some name brand red dots that did not track positively and as such, they are not on the above list. As such, I have collected a handful of good proven red dots that I loan out to newbies so that they can try different models before they purchase their own.

Tube size: Most experts and master shooters prefer a 1 inch tube although 1 inchers are getting difficult to find. Newbies like the larger 30mm tube to reacquire the dot during sustained fire.

Brightness adjustment: Some shooters are comfortable with the pushbutton brightness adjustment. Personally, I have turned off my dot adjusting the brightness during a match and as such, recommend a simple rotary adjustment for brightness.

Most shooters prefer a red dot but I have seen some people using green dots and have read positive reviews of using a green dot for bullseye. I simply have not used a green dot so I do not know anything about it.

Personally, I use a Aimpoint simply because of the reputation of Aimpoint being the best. I like the rotary adjustment and the positive repeatable windage and elevation adjustments although I wish you did not need a special tool to make the adjustments. I would have no problem using a Holosun rotary adjustment, a Sig Sauer STS-081 in place of the Aimpoint H-2 but have had so much sucess with the H-2 I do not need to change it out.

Hope this helps you out and if you have further questions, shoot me a pm. Might want to check out the Bullseye-L forum as well. Also, if you ever find yourself over here in Michigan, track me down. We got a spot on the line for you!

Regards,
Crankster

[ric1911a1]

Aimpoint.

Holosun.

Ultra Dot.

All of them are good. A lot of the cheaper micros are actually made by Holosun........

Ric

[frodo9mm]

Thank all you guys for the outstanding information. This really helps and I will be searching for the right dot scope thanks to you all. Most of those fit my budget. And I will def stay away from the cheap knock off brands.

My 16 year old son is a "shoot and scoot" guy, like Cranster says. He shoots USPSA and IDPA, and right now does not like Bullseye. Hopefully it will stay that way. LOL

That way I only have one dot scope to buy, and it will be a good one. He is a good kid, but at 17 he consumes ammo like he does food. He does buy most of all of his own equipment, kit and some ammo. I do enjoy doing defensive pistol with him. But the Bullseye guns I am building will be for me.

Thanks again and I will le you all know what I find for the 1st dot scope.

Best Regards,
Fletcher

[TonyT]

I have used the Tasco Pro Point BG (Big Dot) for many years. The Ultra Dot is also an excellent product.
You cannot go wrong with either sight.

[frodo9mm]

Thank you all for the scope info. I purchased a new match dot on a black friday sale, mounted it, and installed a volquartsen accurizing kit as well. Photos below.





Only got to the range twice to sight it in and then shot my first match last night. The .22 match was very challenging and I will do that again. Turned in a humble 261-8x. Experienced moments of glory in the timed string with a 94-5X. Looks like the match dot and ruger will do its part if I do mine.

Thanks again,
Fletcher

[Pitt Willett]

That's a sweet looking rig. The two tone look is great. A 261-8 is a great start IMO with all the new add ons and sight picture. Those changes will take some time to get used to. You don't want to start with a 300-30 because it would be even harder to improve :)

[PeeWeeDaddy]

I use the UltraDot on my MKIII as well.
But during a hunting trip to Wyoming I needed a scope for the prairie dogs so I bought this sweet 2X Swift in Sheridan:
BTW, my eyes at 77 shoot open, dot and scope sights very well.