[greytail]

I have a Ruger Mark II bull barrel that I have had for a few years. The open sights and my bifocal specks aren’t working out too good these days so I’m thinking of a new sight for it. I have been looking at the Bushnel Holosight. I will be using it for small game and target use. Does any one use one of these sights and if so how does it stack up for small game hunting on the mark II?

 

[uglydog]

I don't have a Holosight on a pistol but I do have one on an AR-15. I don't consider this type of sight to be the type to use for precision work but instead it is made for fast aquisition to get a round on a largish target. On mine, the dot is a little "fuzzy" which makes it a little hard to get a sharp focus on the target. Turning the brightness down allows for a little sharper picture but the "dot" begins to fade out depending on the brightness and light angle. From personal experience with other electronic sights, this is pretty much true of all "Dot" type optical devices, they are mostly for fast acquasition rather than precision. If you need precision, a scope would be the way to go.

 

[greytail]

Do you have the Bushnell holosight on your Ar-15? I assume the scope would have more precision but with sell offs. Like eye relief, field of view and slow getting on moving targets. I know several that are using traditional Redots with small MOA on their rim fire handguns for small game and was thinking the holosight may be a upgrade from the reddot. I sure don't need anything fuzzy dot on it I'm blind enough as is. LOL

 

[uglydog]

Yes, I have the Holosight XLR mounted on the AR-15. As I mentioned, if the brightness is dialed back the dot comes into better focus but one can still lose the dot in some light conditions, particularly when the lighting is varied between the shooter and the target. I have a 1 MOA red dot sight and it is better for accuracy than the more common 3 and 6 MOA dots but still not the equal of a simple 2x scope. It is probably better than iron sights and thinking upon it, I would say a large part of my opinion is based on a difference in need and training. I use an optical sight for rapid target acquisition rather than short range precision. This is the way I have been taught and I choose and use other tools for precision work. If you can find a red dot with a recticle no larger than 3 MOA (and smaller would be much better), then you might find it to work well. After all, at 50 yards the dot would only cover an inch and a half and that should be not be too much bigger than a squirrel's head at that range. Of course, the problem then is if only a portion of the head is showing, there still may not be enough visible to get a decent sight picture.
For the cost of a Holosight ($250+), one could easily pick up a red dot of some type and a scope, plus some rings for each to compare, and still have money left over for a scoped pistol holster and some ammo to compare them with.
I prefer the tubed models that look like a standard scope versus the HUD types as they fit in a holster much better. TruGlow, Bushnell, Millet, and even BSA have a few models that should work. These are under $100 and often come with rings. The BSA 2x handgun scope is a decent value and I have seen them in the $70 range without rings. One of the better places I've found for optics is Natchez Shooters Supply at www.natchezss.com. There are other places but this is one I'm personally familiar with. Take a look at them online and use to help compare costs and features.