Red Dot Sights rated for Air Pistols

[dremlap]

I was looking at red dot sights for my Crosman 2300S air pistol at Primary Arms. I found one I was interested in but wasn't sure about mounting. So I emailed them a question about a mounting adapter for this particular red dot sight. The next day I received a response answering my question but adding this statement: "We do advise that our MD-RBGII and other red dots are not rated for pellet and air guns."

Does anyone know what it means for a red dot sight to be "rated for pellet and air guns?" Does it have something to do with recoil? And what red dots ARE rated for air guns?

It seems to me that any red dot sight that works on a handgun (firearm) would work fine on a pellet pistol. Am I wrong in assuming that?

 

[Metalmaniac]

Red dots are ok to use on a pcp or co2 or multi pump air rifle or pistol. Spring guns will tear regular powder burner scopes up fast o matter how expensive because they are not made to take the foward and reverse shock that a spring does to a scope. That is why magnum springers are called scope eaters. People that are not into air guns don’t know the difference between a springer and a PCP gun. They immediately think of a spring gun when they hear pellet gun or B.B. gun and tell you their product won’t work and no warranty etc. Hope this helps ,Steve

 

[RC1947]

Yes, you can use any red dot you prefer. You will more than likely need a dovetail to Picatinny/Weaver adapter. Easily found on airgun sites. RC

 

[dremlap]

In complete agreement with what Metalmaniac and RC1947 have stated above (thanks for those ?), Primary Arms replied again (I'm impressed with how communicative they are) with a link to an article on Bearing Arms titled "Is your scope strong enough for an airgun?". In this article they talk about the "'whip crack' reverse recoil" caused by the spring in springers. This is what damages an optical sight made for firearms where the "unidirectional physical reaction" of firearms is "from an engineering standpoint, relatively easy to design an optic to withstand."

They did not know of any red dots rated for airguns, but suggested I seek out "specialty optics...from sellers of that type of equipment."

I replied that my pistol is CO2 powered, thus not subject to the "reverse recoil" of springers. But I also stated that I doubt there are any red dots (you can substitute all optics here) "rated" for CO2 airguns. Indeed, I doubt there are ANY red dots "rated" for ANY airgun. (Am I wrong about this?) And I strongly hinted that this may be a way out of their warranty should I purchase one for my 2300S.

What if my red dot fails for some reason during the warranty period? Might the vendor come back to me and say, "I'm sorry but your warranty is void because our product is not rated for airguns."? 

Does anyone know of any red dots rated for airguns? If so, I bet they are much more expensive because of the extra engineering required to put them on springers.

 

[RC1947]

I can't imagine your pistol having any ill effects on any type optics, and so, I wouldn't worry about needing warranty service. I have used red dots on springer pistols and never had a problem. Most airgun stores sell red dots without a caveat regarding their use on springers.

 

[Locker50]

I don't think your pistol being co2 will destroy any half way decent red dot. As for warranty if ever needed, you dont have to tell them it was on an airgun, even if it was on a springer.

 

[daystate395]

I use this Air Sports red dot reflex sight for my PP700 S/A pistol and it works perfectly. I have no problem with it tracking or the lights going off. Iv'e been using it for over a year now without any problems at all. It will fit on a picatinny rail or you can get a picatinny rail adapter if you have 11mm slots. For 30.00 you cant beat it.