Optics for my ruger super red hawk .44 mag, suggestions please

rep308

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I am looking for optic choices for my Ruger Super Redhawk as my 60 year old eyes need help. Pistol scopes seem to be a thing of the past. I really don’t need any or much magnification as I’ll be taking 25 maybe 50 yard max shots. My main concern is a clear focus view and am planning in the $200-$400 range if possible but I want a good solution. Option to select different reticles, dot v crosshair, would be nice. I shoot hot loads and don’t want a wandering zero. My knowledge in this area is 10 years old.

Thanks.
 
Your knowledge is mostly still current - as you noted, pistol scopes are things of the past. I've been getting used ones on ebay and Gunbroker, mostly. Doesn't get you much in reticle choice, sadly.

I've used older Leupold, Burris, Nikon, and Swifts. They have all been fine. Simmons or early Japanese Tasco I wouldn't trust on a 44mag. I barely trust them on a 22LR. Current production Burris 200279 or 200299 2-7x have their ballistic plex reticle, and will last. Not sure Leupold still makes them at all anymore. If I had to have one today, new, I'd get a Burris 2x20mm. Older Thompson Center's should be fine, but I haven't tried any yet.

Good luck!
 
Well, if you have astigmatism red dots are a problem - the nice clean dot becomes a little starfish. Usable, maybe not as precise as a clean dot. The Trijicon RMRs are tough as hell, and priced accordingly. The RMR Dual Illumination doesn't have a problem with astigmatism, as they use ambient light through fiber optic and tritium instead of an LED, but even pricier. I've had a Holosun on an AR for 5 years or so, and a Primary Arms on another, no complaints on either. Some of the Holosuns use solar cells to recharge and more importantly for me control the brightness automatically. Anecdotally, green or amber dots starfish less for those of us with astigmatism. Haven't tried that yet, but it's next on my list.

If you want to try out the concept for short money, I've got a Bushnell TRS-25 that's been on 308s, a 50cal muzzleloader and a 12ga shooting slugs and turkey loads. Battery life isn't up to current standards, but it's got to be 15 years old and still works. Just carry a spare battery.

There's lots of other decent dots on the market that I haven't used. I'm not sure on what you'd use for mounts on the Redhawk. I assume someone makes a mount that puts a piece of Picatinny rail up there, and a lot of the dots use an adapter plate of some kind. Someone surely has sorted that out, somewhere.
 
I’m open to red dot options, I just have limited knowledge in this area. Please share your thoughts and ideas.
I was going to mention an UltraDot. You wont wear it out and it will be useful at the distances you mention. I do a lot of handgun hunting/distance shooting, but for many of my hunting wheel guns, I like a fixed 2x Leupold or 3x Burris. The older quality fixed power optics are pretty easy to find and affordable. Seems everyone want the latest and greatest variable with a fancy reticle. A nicely priced variable that I enjoyed on one of my 44s was a Bushnell pro-hunter. Have used the older TC recoil-roof pistol scopes in the past with zero complaints as well.
 
Anecdotally, green or amber dots starfish less for those of us with astigmatism. Haven't tried that yet, but it's next on my list.

While this is true for many, unfortunately it's not true for all. I found out the hard way that green is actually worse for me.

Do yourself a favor and Google 'online astigmatism test' (or similar) before spending money on a different color dot. You'll look at different color objects in the dark. Might save you some grief.
 
Do you still have the factory scope rings that came with the pistol? Did you want to utilize those, or are you ok with aftermarket options for mounting?

I'm only throwing this out there because it is so cheap, despite being a bit bulky but lighter than other scope options, but the fixed 3x magnification is probably just what you'd need, and the adjustable diopter should help with any fuzziness, as well as it coming in red or green.




Even if you hate it on the redhawk, it's the same cost as two boxes of ammo, and can be put on basically anything.

hold on, I didn't think about eye relief. I need to look into it

yeah, eye relief blows. 3 to 3.5". Not gonna work for your needs.

Eye relief is going to be the bitch.
 
Well, I went old school and got a used pistol scope off of eBay:

Nikon Force XR 2.5-8x28mm BDC Reticle 1" Tube Matte EER Handgun / Scout Scope

Product Overview​

With a huge field of view and a large exit pupil, the compact Nikon Force XR EER Pistol Scopes are the perfect choice for hunters, varminters and competitors. Extended eye relief allows scopes to double as a natural for the scout rifle or forward mounted carbine. Scopes are fully water, fog and shockproof and covered under Nikon's Lifetime Warranty. All Nikon products include Nikon USA's full or limited warranty.
 
Well, I went old school and got a used pistol scope off of eBay:

Nikon Force XR 2.5-8x28mm BDC Reticle 1" Tube Matte EER Handgun / Scout Scope

Product Overview​

With a huge field of view and a large exit pupil, the compact Nikon Force XR EER Pistol Scopes are the perfect choice for hunters, varminters and competitors. Extended eye relief allows scopes to double as a natural for the scout rifle or forward mounted carbine. Scopes are fully water, fog and shockproof and covered under Nikon's Lifetime Warranty. All Nikon products include Nikon USA's full or limited warranty.
it is all cool, but i tried once to handle such a rig - a guy i know has such a long barrel hunting revolver - and that thing was already as heavy as a car, and with a scope on it, it is just difficult to handle for long.
but, a very interesting thing to play with, for sure.
 
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