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Red Dot Sights

Red dots and reflex sights are perfect for certain situations; we select a few options…

Telescopic sights are just the thing for a lot of shooting disciplines but for when you need fast target acquisition, shooting with both eyes open can pay dividends. Fast moving quarry, or other situations when targets need to be engaged rapidly, can make a magnified optic un-usable; therefore, a non-magnifying sight is just the job.

  • BSA TW30RDLL Sight

    The BSA Tactical Weapon Red Dot Sight With Laser (TW30RDLL) houses a Red Dot and a laser in one unit, with a Picatinny rail on top of the alloy body; the compact 140-Lumen torch can be fitted to it using a single thumbwheel. The TW30RDLL is therefore perfect for all manner of short-range shooting applications, including vermin control after dark. The sight has a one-piece, 30mm body and the red dot features a central dot that is adjusted via screw cap covered elevation and windage dials. Beneath the main tube is a 650-nm laser, complete with small windage and elevation dials. The intensity of the central dot is controlled by the rotary dial on the left of the body, with power levels from 1 to 9. The dial also controls the laser, with one ON position. Mounting is taken care of by the two thumbwheels on the right of the base. It was a simple job to zero the Red Dot at 20-yards and a little bit more fiddling to align the laser with the fall of shot at 10-yards. I was very surprised by how bright the torch is, and the beam can be adjusted from flood to spot via the rotating collar at the front. OK, it’s not mega tight on the narrowest setting but it’s still very useful.

    This sight did everything asked of it as far as targeting things with the Red Dot and laser and the torch did a great job too. The unit is well designed and made and works well. The torch can be easily removed and used as a stand-alone unit, but I think it could benefit from a remote switch when employed on top of the sight.

    Reviewer: Graham Allen

    Name: BSA TW30RDLL

    Price: £149

    Contact: BSA Guns.

    bsaguns.co.uk

  • Enfield red dots

    Enfield red dots

    1X32 Red Dot

    This sight looks rather like a very famous brand, but is a fraction of the cost. The alloy body is very tough and I doubt anything could damage it easily and the sight is attached via a Weaver mount and thumbwheels that are slotted if you need to tighten them further. The dot has five brightness settings in red or green and power comes from three small button cells that are fitted into a tube at the rear of the alloy housing. Elevation and windage adjustment is taken care of by relatively small adjusters but it keeps the whole unit nice and compact; however, it is quite heavy due to its beefy construction. Weight: 13½oz. Length 6-inches.



    1X24X32 Holographic Sight

    This sight also has a rather militaristic look about it and also has a Picatinny mounting system and a single thumbwheel is used. The red or green illuminated aimpoint is projected onto the screen that you look through and is then placed on the target with both eyes open. It may look quite bulky but it’s lighter than it looks. Power comes from four 4 LR44 batteries and mounted on a silenced air rifle, this scope would be perfect for a spot of rat control or for shooting steel plates against the clock with a rimfire. Weight: 8oz. Length 4¼-inches.

    Reviewer: Graham Allen

    Name: 1X32 Red Dot

    Price: £47.95

    Name: 1X24X32 Holographic Sight

    Price: £47.95

    Contact: Armex Ltd. armex.co.uk



  • UTG 4X32 T4 Compact Prismatic

    UTG 4X32 T4 Compact Prismatic

    The Leapers UTG 4X32 T4 Compact Prismatic telescopic sight uses prismatic refraction technology, which offers increased light transmission and clarity in a compact and handy package and is nitrogen-filled and shock, fog and rain-proof. It has a bi-directional/reversible Picatinny base, a 34mm body tube and all lenses are multi-coated for maximum light transmission and glare reduction. The reticle is a simple circle dot and is glass-etched. A little over the top, in my opinion is the EZ-TAP® Illumination Enhancing (IE) system with red/green dual-colour mode and 36 more in Multi-Colour Mode (M-CM). You can elect for red or green then adjust the brightness, or in M-CM literally blend/mix the options to give other colours. Click values are ¼ MOA @ 100m in lockable, tactical-type turrets, parallax is pre-set at 100m.

    Eye relief is 2.3-inches and, unlike the ACOG, the reticle is focusable. Image quality looks good with a crisp and sharp, colour-accurate view. At 17.3oz it’s light and only 142mm long. There are two reticle options; the Circle Dot (SCP-T4IECDQ on test) and the T-Dot (SCP-T4IETDQ). The former is self-explanatory and at 100m the dot subtends 1.8 MOA and the circle 36 MOA, so pretty much 2- and 3-feet accordingly. The latter consists of an open ‘T’ with a dot in the centre, probably 1.8MOA again?



    Multi-coloured

    The rheostat is located on the left of the body with the battery compartment at the front and two rubber-covered buttons in front marked R (red) and G (green) accordingly. Turning ON/OFF is just a one-second push, this is the default setting. To go to the RGB Multi Colour Mode, hold both buttons down for one-second.

    The circle dot reticle is quite slim and in black can be hard to pick up on certain backgrounds or lighting conditions. In use, I found red or green good enough for my needs and of the two, green seemed to give better definition in bright sunlight.

    Reviewer: Pete Moore

    Name: Leapers UTG 4X32 T4 Compact Prismatic

    Price £198.99

    Contact Rifleworks. rifleworks.co.uk

  • Hawke Spot-On Red Dot Sight

    Hawke Spot-On Red Dot Sight

    The Hawke Spot-On 1 x 25 red dot sight offers 1x power (no magnification) with a 25mm objective lens. The dot size is 4MOA, which means it will subtend around four-inches at 100-yards; so, not too bad for general use for most needs, although I prefer something a tad smaller. Optics are 25-layer multi-coated and it comes with a QD, high, Weaver/Picatinny mount and a low (bolt-tensioned) base options, it’s parallax-free with a fixed focus, nitrogenpurged, water/shock-proof and offers a solid aluminium alloy build, plus Hawke’s two-year warranty. All in, at sub-£150, including bikini lens covers, cleaning cloth, mounting tool and CR2032 battery included, it’s well worth a look.

    It weighs 5.6-ounces and is a compact package at 2.8-inches long, 1.7-inches wide and 2.6-inches high measured with the high mount from the rail. It has traditional, capped turrets, only much smaller, with finger-adjustable, 1-click = 1MOA @ 100-yards drums. The battery compartment is on the right and does not include the rheostat; this, instead, is combined with the twin, rubber-covered buttons on top that control ON/OFF and the six illumination levels. Press either +/- for ON and press and hold again for threeseconds for OFF. Dabbing the buttons increases/ decreases the brightness in stages.

    Hawke says that they are ‘all-calibre’ rated; to test this, I put it on a 22 rimfire semi-auto and then switched to a 30-06 straightpull to take them from one extreme to the other without any problems on integrity or drifting off zero etc. When zeroing, be aware that the dot physically moves in the view and to adjust the group it must be moved in the opposite direction; shooting left, dot left to swing barrel right.

    Reviewer: Pete Moore

    Name: Hawke Spot-On 1X25 #12 125

    Prices: £149.99

    Contact: Hawke Optics. hawkeoptics.com

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