Advantages of red dot vs traditional cross hairs?

Question

I am buying a gun and the guy said that he will throw in a red dot scope or the regular cross hairs. I was wondering what the pros and cons are of both these scopes. Also if you could tell me how they are to use and which is better in your own opinion. Thanks

I know this guy fairly well and he is my aunt and uncles best friend. He gave one set price for the gun and a scope of my choose. It is very unlikely that he is trying to cheat me

Answer 1

A red dot can be nice if it fits the firearm. If you are shooting a rifle over long distance then it won't help you, but anything short range will work fine - as long as the red dot is good quality - meaning you can see it clearly. I've had some that I thought were great and others that were not so great. I wanted to put one on my bow because its easy to see past compared to multiple pins - but the dot was too fuzzy to focus on - so I skipped it.
So back to your rifle - if its a .22 or something where you will be shooting close - within 100 yards - then a red dot might be good for you. Keep in mind though that a red dot has no magnification so if thats something you want or need then I might recommend the regular scope.
Pros and cons of the two: The red dot has unlimited eye relief so it can be set wherever you want. Red dots have fast eye acquisition so you can generally shoot faster but still accurately. Red dots are usually small so they won't weigh down your rifle.
Conventional rifle scopes with cross hairs are time tested and still the most commonly used in the world. Having two razor sharp lines running perpendicular to each other means you can determine whether or not your scope is canted to the left or right. Scopes have specific eye relief - usually 2-4 inches. Ups and downs of that - you have to be more consistent in how you shoulder the rifle so you can see through the scope.....meaning you get the same cheek weld to the stock every time. Its a little slower, but you will develop muscle memory on holding that rifle and by doing that every time - the end result is you will shoot more accurately. I say go for the regular scope with the cross hairs

Answer 2

Scope Vs Red Dot

Answer 3

Red Dot Vs Scope

Answer 4

A red dot is a holographic projection inside the scope. It's faster for target acquisition and parallax free, but can't reliably be magnified more than a little bit. The normal crosshairs in traditional scopes will take a little longer to line up, but are usually magnified for longer shots, and do not require batteries like a red dot will. Many rifle scopes are either set to be parallax free(meaning that your position on the rifle will not affect the point of impact relative to the crosshairs) at a certain range, such as 100 or sometimes up to 200 yards, or have a parallax adjustment on them somewhere.

As far as which one is better, that's all personal preference, as well as what you're going to use it for. I have a semiautomatic Saiga in .308 with a red dot on top for fast shooting at closer ranges, and a bolt-action Savage with a long range tactical rifle scope for longer range shooting.

Answer 5

Have a look through both and make your choice, some people prefer one, some t'other. Red dot may have some advantage at dusk, personally I prefer cross hairs.

Answer 6

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Personal preference is the first and foremost factor,as is what works best for YOU.......

The ONLY advantage of a Red Dot Scope is the ability to keep BOTH of your eyes open for easier target acquisition.
Since Red Dot Scopes don't have magnification capabilities for the most part, they are only useful for close range and moving target applications, and various low-light shooting conditions..As a Dealer and Competition Shooter, I've had personal opportunity to use several of the industries "Top Brands" of Red Dot Scopes and to be honest, I wasn't impressed and didn't care for them much.

Give me a 2-7 Leupold with crosshair's anytime and you can keep the Red Dot......

Answer 7

A red dot is made fore fast target acquisition and usually has no magnification. With a little practice shots can be taken at 100 yards but 50 yards is about the normal maximum range. They are real good for tactical application such as CQB. A scope with cross hairs is usually magnified and made for taking longer shots. I have competition AR15s set up both ways. It just depends what kind of match I am shooting, long or short range, to determine which one I use that day.

Answer 8

Red dots are great for close range tactical work with low light and moving targets, when "sorta close" to hitting the target is sufficient. Perfect for less-than-accurate calibers and semi-auto 'tactical' style carbines. You must deal with batteries, and nothing sucks more than being in the field ready to shoot with dead batteries.

Cross hairs are much more accurate at longer distances. For full powered centerfire rifles capable of accuracy and distance, this is the only choice, and for .22s and other smaller calibers too.

The first rule of Economics is "There is NO free lunch". Never forget this.

If he's 'throwing in' a scope, trust me, you paid for it.

Answer 9

I think a red dot sight is a scope with a red dot that is internal only and a laser sight projects the dot on to the target

Answer 10

godhonest.....you have been reported. We don't need your kind here.

Personally, I like both but I have found several crosshairs that actually light up and perform much like the red dots do. A hybrid of sorts.