Shotgun sights

A discussion about Turkey guns, rifles, black powder, handguns, chokes, cleaning, and accessories.
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hobbes

Shotgun sights

Post by hobbes »

I’ve missed more birds over the last half dozen years or so than the sum of all those before.  I’d like to attribute all those misses to the change in my eyesight, but the fact of the matter is I’ve developed a bad habit of not getting down on the gun and shooting without lining the double bead system up.  The occasional necessity for a quick snap shot along with tight patterning ammo is a recipe for disappointment and frustration.  In addition, while not blind by any means, my eyesight has gotten to the point of needing bifocals (Ive not relented and bought them).  My glasses are great at distance, but I must take them off for anything close, so shotgun beads (at least the closer one) are a blur when I’m looking through my glasses.

I say all that to make an excuse for finally accepting that I’d be better off going to some sort of sights on my turkey gun.  And………………regardless of my previous insistence that I wouldn’t, I did something completely financially irresponsible and just received a couple pounds of (I hate to say it) Tungsten Super Shot.  Danged if I want to be whiffing this expensive stuff off into space.

I’m considering having my old 870 turkey special set up to mount either a Vortex Venom or a Burris Fastfire on it.  However, I’d consider other options if someone had suggestions.  Anyone?

 
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HunterGKS
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Re: Shotgun sights

Post by HunterGKS »

I have been using a Leupold VX-1 1-4x20mm Turkey scope for several years & really like it. When set at 4 power & the turkey's head fills the circle reticle, the bird is at 40 yards so it acts like a range finder kinda, sorta.

It's not cheap but you can probably find it for less than the Leupold store.

https://leupold.factoryoutletstore.com/ ... mid=465332
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howl
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Re: Shotgun sights

Post by howl »

The bead shouldn't be a blur. The turkey should be the blur. Of course, that does you no good if you can't focus on the front bead. These things can change with prescriptions, but that's off topic.

I've had issues enough with clamp on sights to not trust them. If you're into red dots, go look through one or order from somewhere you can easily return. How clearly you can see the dot varies greatly with makes and models.
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GLS
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Re: Shotgun sights

Post by GLS »

Presbyopia is a natural occurrence of aging when the eye won't clearly focus on near objects. It starts at about 40. Don't spend another season without a red dot. Your inclination towards either Vortex or FF is good. The lead flies where the dot lies or in your case, TSS. I started out failing to see the rifle sights in low light conditions and ran a string of misses. It got better with an Aimpoint in 1996. The optics have gotten smaller over the years going to Trijicon Reflexes to FFIII. Can I still miss? Yes, I am still breathing. Gil
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Re: Shotgun sights

Post by turkeybuster »

Yep,a C-more railway has helped my problems,99% not talking bout that 1%.....
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Re: Shotgun sights

Post by Hognutz »

Red dot. Problem gone. I’m a total believer.
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Re: Shotgun sights

Post by guesswho »

I was reluctant to take the plunge. Finally went with a Venom Vortex, and now wonder why it took me so long. Should have done several years before I did.
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Re: Shotgun sights

Post by DBLGBL »

x2 for the 1x4 Leupold.

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swampchicken
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Re: Shotgun sights

Post by swampchicken »

My father wears bifocals and likes shooting turkeys with a scope Leopold 2-7 power. Says it makes all the difference on shots past 25yds compared to just a bead with the bifocals.
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youngoutdoors
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Re: Shotgun sights

Post by youngoutdoors »

I vote for a red dot!

Love mine. I've even shot clays and crows with one.

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Re: Shotgun sights

Post by 2Shooter »

Burris FastFire III, or Vortex Venom. Both are small, compact, and lightweight!!! :thumbup: :thumbup:
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Re: Shotgun sights

Post by SwampDrummin »

Nikon turkey pro scope if you can find one. I’m not 40 yet but the reddot was giving me trouble in low light situations. The low magnification of scopes is a lot nicer than you would think. It’s also nice to be able to look across a field and have something better than your eyes to see if a bird has a beard or not. Sometimes they’re still too far but it beats carrying binoculars around. Plus you’ll forget to turn a Reddot on at some point. That being said, I used an aimpoint 9000sc that I never missed with. The cool thing about them is that you can leave them on for several YEARS before the battery runs dead. I use it every now in then just for got kicks. It’s a scopes reddot. I used a model similar to a fast Fire but I always found a way to dig that thing into the dirt. It was like having a tiny shovel on your gun.
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GLS
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Re: Shotgun sights

Post by GLS »

The OP mentioned not "getting down on the gun" to line up the sights. A feature of the red dots, those that are parallax free, and most are, is the dot doesn't have to be centered in the optic. It can appear anywhere in the "window" and as long as it is on what you want to hit, it will do so regardless of where the eyeball is in position to the optic. Gil
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Re: Shotgun sights

Post by MAK »

Tru Glow Universal - fully adjustable windage / elevation - I wear trifocals and had the same problem - u can shoot both eyes open

This peep site gives me quick acquisition of target from either hand, I had real problems when I tried a scope and had to make one of those off hand shots

Had them on 2 guns for several years - Full disclosure, when you fall on one, and land on a rock, it will break. I still kilt that turkey......only had the front bead and the remnants of the peep
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Spuriosity
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Re: Shotgun sights

Post by Spuriosity »

Now age 56, I started having the same problem about 10 years ago resolving two fiber optic sights as well as the turkey. Put FFs on both my turkey guns and never looked back. TSS will only make the problem worse. I much prefer 1 oz red dots to 12-16 oz scopes. Your confidence will go up markedly, knowing that if the bird is in range and you put the dot on his noggin, he is dead.
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Re: Shotgun sights

Post by decoykrvr »

I started turkey hunting w/ young eyes and a single bead shot gun. I saw the advantages of a mid-bead and had guns tapped and threaded to assist w/ my POA/POI. The advent of the Star Dot fiber optic sights was a real game changer and enabled you to shoot a shotgun much like a rifle w/ increased accuracy. I became a dealer for Highland Sports and installed the Star Dots on a lot of turkey guns. As I got older and my presbyopia became more noticeable, I too found my shooting abilities at stationary targets w/ a shotgun diminished. About 15 years ago, I bought and mounted a Nikon VSD red dot scope on my favorite turkey gun. What a difference the red dot made in my shooting accuracy, speed and effectiveness. Without sounding pompous, if the gobbler is within range for the load and shotgun, the gun has a good clean breaking trigger, and the red dot is on the base of the neck, you've got a dead turkey. I'm currently setting up a new 20 gauge, and thanks to the input from folks on here, it will sport a Vortex Venom 3 moa. When buying a red dot scope utilize the same considerations which you would when buying a quality rife scope. A real indicator of quality optics in a scope is the ability to look through the outside edges of the scopes objective lens without seeing any distortion in the image. With inferior scopes or red dots the shooters eye must be in perfect alignment w/ the center axis of the lens to preclude lens distortion which obviates the advantage of being able to simply place the crosshair or red dot on target, regardless of eye alignment.
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Sloppy_Snood
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Re: Shotgun sights

Post by Sloppy_Snood »

Reflex or holographic or red dot sights. <-- take your pick.

Personally, I don't use turkey riflescopes as I never want to be in a position where I could have an issue with head placement behind the ocular.

Of course, your mileage will vary.
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Re: Shotgun sights

Post by boone5252 »

I'll also put in a vote for red dots. After missing a bird at 39 yards standing still about five years ago I went to a Tru-glo red dot with a saddle mount and now have several. I've read negative comments about Tru-glo products on here but they have held up good for me on my shotguns.
20 years ago, I started my son out turkey hunting with a youth model 870 with a saddle mount and Leupold 1x to 4x scope and he loved it and had good luck with it. My advice would be, if you put a rifle scope on a shotgun is to buy one with the widest "field of view" (FOV) you can find so when you have a moving target--such as a turkey-- you can find the target in your scope in a hurry. With the evolution of tighter and tighter turkey chokes and shells over the recent years especially shooting birds close when the pattern is real small, we need to think of our shotguns as shooting a "wide bullet". So it's really helpful to have some sort of aiming device on our shotguns so we are more precise in aiming.
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Re: Shotgun sights

Post by GLS »

Glad someone pointed out the need for clean trigger break. Reasonably safe amount of pull, but glass-like break with no creep, will help avoid misses.
hobbes

Re: Shotgun sights

Post by hobbes »

Thanks for the info. I've ordered a Shurshot stock for my old 3" 870 turkey special and will likely purchase a Vortex Venom 3 MOA. I've got a saddle mount, but think I'll take the gun to a local gunsmith and have the receiver drilled and tapped. I want to purchase the Venom locally (likely same shop as gunsmith) unless they are significantly more expensive, so will look this weekend.
I also need to order all the components to load up this new shot, but don't really need to get in too much of a rush. Season is only 2 months away, but it's too dang cold to even think about shooting. Monday's high was around 1 and today's high was 16 and we had more snow last night.
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howl
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Re: Shotgun sights

Post by howl »

Some of these component are a royal pita to catch in stock.
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Re: Shotgun sights

Post by Sloppy_Snood »

Whenever anyone gets sick of the multitude of issues you will have with a saddle mount on a shotgun, take the plunge and have the DaMar Shotgun scope mount professionally installed on your turkey shotgun. You will thank me later.

LINK: $55 DaMar Shotgun Scope Mount (Click Here)
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GLS
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Re: Shotgun sights

Post by GLS »

If you go with the FFIII, there is no better or more practical mount than the one made by Sumtoy. It is a low mount contoured to fit the shape of the receiver and has the 4 short corner posts tailor made to accept the FFIII, etc. Someone who has the Vortex can tell you if it is interchangeable on the Sumtoy or 336 mount. There is no need for the Picatinny base on the FFIII using this mount or the 336 mount. Gil
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