I'll be mounting a red dot on my ruger 480 and would appreciate some recommendations. It will primarily used for hunting. I'm looking especially for a scope that can take heavy recoil and not lose zero.

Thanks,

JimC

My Millet scope lost zero on my 454 Ruger. Had to move it to my 30-30. Beware

Bill

Thanks BronchoBill for the quick reply. That's the kind of information I need, I actually considered purchasing a Millet.

Thanks

JimC

I bought a Nikon for my wife's gun.

We actually sent it back, and bought a standard scope.
(Burris 1x pistol scope)

But the Nikon was cool, as it is the only red-dot scope I know
of that has a 1 MOA dot. You can change the size of the
dot, and intensity. (and it cost close to $300)

The only thing I didn't like about it was that it has it's own
mount, so it can't use your rings. It has to go on a
Weaver style base.

We looked at a Bushnell that had various kinds of "dots".
One was a bullseye, one crosshairs, and two different size of
dots. It was 1/3 the cost of the Nikon.

Dave

Thanks for the reply dwebb.

Did the Nikon hold zero. What cal. is your wifes handgun?

Thanks,

Jim C

Aimpoint makes a great red dot; just ask the US military.
The "comp" series work very well. I personally have had excellent results with the "Comp M2" on my M4gery and Aimpoint's discontinued pistol series 5000 on my old Smith 22. They are pricey, however.
http://www.aimpoint.com
I have also heard good things about the old Tasco's. I have a like new one that has been slightly modified on the mount, but still VERY serviceable. It has served me well on my Marlin camp 9 rifle.

I'd be willing to part with it if you are looking for an inexpensive one. Email me if you are interested.


Chris~

Just for giggles Jim, what made you choose a red-dot scope. The reason I ask is that you are putting this on a hunting pistol. From a prior post you see that I tried a Millet dot scope, which did not work very well. The reason I chose it was for the quick acquisition. Then I started to think about what is really important when it comes to a hunting rig. After doing some thinking here's what I came up with...
I'd rather not have a scope that relies on a battery, those things always go dead at the most inopertune time. Nex't well at least my Millet was not sealed as good as I would like. Says waterproof but I don't believe it. I just knew it was going to fog up. Being weather-proof is a must. Lastly it had to handle the recoil. The Millet could not. I see that you are using a 480, which may not be the recoil of a 454 unless handloaded, but still a stiff hitter.
Final thoughts: I did speak with the people from Aimpoint on the phone, prior to getting the Millet, and I would higly recommend them if you must have a dot scope. They recommended any of their scopes that use two scope rings. Some use just one! I ended up with a Burris 2x scope and I cannot be happier.
My 2 cents

Bill

I'll be mounting a red dot on my ruger 480 and would appreciate some recommendations. It will primarily used for hunting. I'm looking especially for a scope that can take heavy recoil and not lose zero.

Thanks,

JimC
Go with an Ultra-dot, I have one on a Dan Wesson 44 mag. with a 1000 rounds so far so good. Have a Bushnell on a Browning Buck Mark (.22 rimfire) it died but, Bushnell replaced it. My self I like red dots over scopes for hunting with revolvers. Hippie

Aimpoint makes a great red dot; just ask the US military.
The "comp" series work very well. I personally have had excellent results with the "Comp M2" on my M4gery and Aimpoint's discontinued pistol series 5000 on my old Smith 22. They are pricey, however.
http://www.aimpoint.com
I have also heard good things about the old Tasco's. I have a like new one that has been slightly modified on the mount, but still VERY serviceable. It has served me well on my Marlin camp 9 rifle.

I'd be willing to part with it if you are looking for an inexpensive one. Email me if you are interested.


Chris~

Thanks for the offer Chris but I purchased a Sightron S33 4R. I haven't put it on my Ruger .480 yet but I did shoot about 50 light loads through my 45-70. So far it's held zero. Next time I'm going to shoot hotter loads and give it a true test.

Regards,

JimC

Just for giggles Jim, what made you choose a red-dot scope. The reason I ask is that you are putting this on a hunting pistol. From a prior post you see that I tried a Millet dot scope, which did not work very well. The reason I chose it was for the quick acquisition. Then I started to think about what is really important when it comes to a hunting rig. After doing some thinking here's what I came up with...
I'd rather not have a scope that relies on a battery, those things always go dead at the most inopertune time. Nex't well at least my Millet was not sealed as good as I would like. Says waterproof but I don't believe it. I just knew it was going to fog up. Being weather-proof is a must. Lastly it had to handle the recoil. The Millet could not. I see that you are using a 480, which may not be the recoil of a 454 unless handloaded, but still a stiff hitter.
Final thoughts: I did speak with the people from Aimpoint on the phone, prior to getting the Millet, and I would higly recommend them if you must have a dot scope. They recommended any of their scopes that use two scope rings. Some use just one! I ended up with a Burris 2x scope and I cannot be happier.
My 2 cents

Bill

Thanks for the reply Bronchobill86,

The reason I went with a Red Dot over a scope is that I'm also going to mount this on my 45-70 Cowboy. Because of the octagon barrel I have to use regular scope mounts rather than a forward mounted mount. I prefer to not drill new holes at this time. So, the Red Dot gives the eye relief I need with my 45-70 and I should be able to use it on my Ruger 480 also. I actually bought a Sightron S33 4R and so far it's fine.

Regards,

JimC

You might consider the EOTech. By the way, it is NOT the same as the Bushnell. EOTech started making them under their own label because Bushnell was taking too many shortcuts. I have a 512 on the .458 SOCOM and it has worked out very well. How it would stand up under heavy recoil I don't know as the SOCOM is a real pussycat with the brake on it.