My first ever red dot

[Deleted member 46449]

I may well have screwed up, but I bought a Hatsan 1x30 Red Dot for my Mod 25 Supercharger. I have never owned a red dot. I had plenty of scopes on my powder guns, but never opted for a red dot. I read a couple of threads on here saying you can't keep a red dot or scope zeroed on the Mod 25. Hopefully I won't have too many issues with that. If I get along with this thing and get used to it, my next one will probably be a much nicer sight.

Is there anybody that has used one of the Hatsan Red Dots that would care to share an opinion? And is there anyone that has used a red dot or scope on a Mod 25 that has had a good experience with it or at least not had too much trouble?

Here is the one I got: (Didn't buy it from Pyramyd)

https://www.pyramydair.com/product/hatsan-1x30-red-dot-sight-fits-11mm-dovetail?a=6662

 

[MikeVV]

To start with, this Hatsan sight quality will be on the pretty low side.
This sight may last 20 shots, it may last 20,000 shots. It will be the luck of the draw. Remember, some dot sights can cost up to $1000 ! So...a $30 sight is...well...
It...(shooting a springer type gun) "shouldn't" be a problem for a quality sight. I have three (higher power than yours) springer pistols that have done NO damage to my Holosun, Leupold, Delta Point, dot sights. But again, see my note above.

One of the bigger things, depending on "your" eyes, whether the dot is a nice crisp round dot... Or will it, because you have an astigmatism (weirdness in your eyes !) you may have, the dot may take on one of several odd shapes. None being very clear or sharp.

You can work around this...don't stress as MANY do.
1) Remember, you AREN'T shooting at the "dot", you are shooting at your target.

2) DO NOT turn the light intensity up too high. I "always" keep the dot in my dot sights (a bunch !), just barely bright enough to see it. Whatever the ambient light is, keep the dots brightness low. No matter how good or bad your eyes may be. You don't want the dot to be your main focus.

3) Remember (see #1), you aren't shooting at the dot ! Look past, or through the dot to the target for the best results.

Have fun...

Mike

 

[Deleted member 46449]

Thanks loads, Mike. That's the kind of response that makes a forum work.

I know this thing is a real El Cheapo. I deliberately bought a cheap one to start with. I have some eye problems, for sure. I just had cataract surgery a few months ago on both eyes. WOW! That made a difference. The problem now is that we seem to be having problems getting my eye glass prescription just right. I wear trifocals and have for a lot of years. We'll eventually get the bugs worked out and get each of the three levels tuned in just right.

But, for now, I have no idea if I'll even be able to use a Red Dot. That's why I opted for the cheap one to start. I had some VERY nice scopes on some of my powder rifles. The funny thing is, my favorite scope was a Tasco Silver Antler 4x32 that I bought at a local gun shop when another guy brought it back in. There was a heated discussion between the gun shop owner and the customer. I intervened and asked the customer how much he'd take for the scope right then and there. He looked at me funny for a minute then said, "Hell, I'd take a damned twenty dollar bill for this piece of junk." I gave him the twenty, he left, I turned to the shop owner and said, "Just mount that on the rifle I just bought." I had purchased a Savage Arms Mark II for a new squirrel gun. I had gone into the shop to buy some ammo, but got to looking and had a couple of bucks burning a hole in my pocket, so opted for one of the low cost .22s just to have a new gun to hunt with. Yep, that combination made me an absolute perfect squirrel gun. No, neither item cost much. Maybe I got lucky or maybe because of my eyes, but whatever the reason, I could place shots in a 1" group at 30 yards all day long off the bench. I always went for head shot when I hunted squirrels and I slayed a truck load that year with that inexpensive .22 and a cheap scope that another guy returned. Not a bad day's investing.

I'll head your advice when setting the intensity on this thing. I can see where having it way to bright could easily overshadow the target. Makes perfect sense. I'll probably spend as much time tuning in the Red Dot as I will tuning the Mod 25. LOL! I had a friend highly recommend a Red Dot for me. He knows about the problems I've faced trying to get a scope setup for my tri-focal eyes. You guys that have tri-focals know what I mean. I will say that using a scope with tri-focals is much better than trying to use open sights. I can never get a clear line of sight when using iron sights. My head kind of bobs up and down as I try to get the three points in focus. Same thing goes for doing any work on a computer. I can't wear my tri-focals when I'm on a computer. My head is constantly moving up and down. After about 30 minutes, my neck is sore. LOL! So, I have a set of 2.5x readers I use on the computer.

Thanks again for the tips, Mike. I'll reference this a few times in the near future.

 

[MikeVV]

Yeah, I wear bifocals. It's funny, when getting glasses, I ask for the "close up" vision part of the lens, to be just a hair "above" the center of the lens. This helps greatly while at the computer. The Optometrist's thinks I'm crazy, but it works well. Even for hobbies...like shooting ! I do cylinder head work on car engine also. Same thing, I don't need to have my head facing the ceiling and my eyes straining to look down. Sometimes, like watching TV, I need to pull the glasses down my nose just a little to see through the upper part of the lens. For driving...it works great, getting the lenses ground this way. Been doing it this way over 30 years, (retired now) .

If you have a problem with the dot style sight, look at the "prism" sights. They are a cross between a dot sight and a scope.

You can be practically blind (not a dig on your sight !!) and be able to use a prism sight.
These are on sale now - https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1008761722?pid=159323

They work well. I have an older copy of the one above I like. I have three other brands also, but they are more money.
The one thing that many miss... You NEED to adjust the front lens, so that YOU, can see the reticle clearly. Kinda like adjusting binoculars.

Have fun.

Mike

P.s. - I like your "grumpy" note at the bottom. Much like myself !

 

[CoctomusPrime]

You can take a look at primary arms red dots, they make some decent budget friendly red dots that have pretty decent build quality.

 

[Deleted member 46449]

Mike, I didn't have this problem when I wore bifocals. It wasn't until I had trifocals that I began having the problem of my head bobbing up and down. The part of the lens that I use to see stuff arm's length away is a narrow section between the other two magnifications. So, to see a computer screen clearly, I have to move that narrow band into focus, thus causing the head bob thing. It was about ten times worse when I tried a pair of no line trifocals. I thought I would go nuts with that pair of glasses. I went back within about two weeks to get a different pair. I get my health care via the VA and they aren't understanding at all when a guy needs a second pair of glasses within 12 months.

I checked the prism sights out. That might be what I look at when I decide whether or not I like the Red Dot. I've got it bookmarked for future reference. Thanks for that info.

You can take a look at primary arms red dots, they make some decent budget friendly red dots that have pretty decent build quality.

I bookmarked Primary Arms website too, CoctomusPrime. Those prices aren't too bad at all. Thanks for that info.

 

[Deleted member 46449]

OK. Now I have a big question. I took time to put the Red Dot on my Mod 25 Supercharger. I installed the battery and set the illumination on level 3. I have no problem seeing the dot and it is a small, round dot and not a disfigured red blob. My question concerns how to line the dot up. There are no reticles of any kind in the sight unless I'm not doing something correctly. Just playing around here in the living room gave me reason to be concerned. When trying to "sight" a small candle the wife has in here, it was awfully easy to move the barrel quite a distance and still have the dot somewhere near the center of the sight. Is that normal for a Red Dot? Did I do something wrong? Am I not looking correctly into the sight? Or am I just supposed to "learn" how to place my eye to see through the sight correctly? It just seems weird that there is nothing to "center" the dot on in the sight.

 

[MikeVV]

Yep...that's the way they work.

Sight the dot to either "cover" your target, or sit just "under" your target, makes no difference.
Be sure that you understand the "distance" that you are doing the sighting in at.
If you sight in the dot, at 10yrds, it will be off at 25yrds. !
So you must understand the "holdover" or under while attaining the sight picture !

Ok, now for moving the gun around.
Again, yes, this is the way that the dot sights work. If you are looking through the window (both eyes open), and the dot...AND the target are in the upper left corner, pull the trigger !
With the dot sighted in at your desired distance, and you are shooting at that distance, the dot/target can be any place within the window and you are good to shoot.

Sound funny...verify in YouTube. There's probably many, many videos on "sighting in" red/green dot sights.

One thing that I DON'T agree with in a couple of videos that I've seen. They seem to want to tell you to mount the sight as far forward as you can get it.
I don't agree. I've tried it both close up and as far away as the rail allows... I like the sight close up, as close on the rail as is comfortable to my face.

Remember...
It's YOUR gun, it's YOUR sight. Experiment... Find out what YOU...like best !

Mike

 

[Deleted member 46449]

OK. I just needed to be sure there was nothing wrong with this Red Dot I got and also to be sure I am seeing the right thing in the sight. From here, it seems what I REALLY need to do is get a trap setup and start shooting some paper. I have a decent little pistol rest I'll be using to sight everything in. I just need to get some rounds down range now. The Red Dot and I are going to have to spend some serious time together. It's sure nothing like using a scope. LOL!

Thanks loads for the feedback!