Fiber optic vs. scope

[turkeygirl]

What are the pros/cons of having fiber optic sights for turkey hunting vs a scope like a Red Dot or whatever?

I'm thinking about taking off these factory sights and getting like a TruGlo Magnum Gobble Dot to put...something a little better at least....I also hear alot about the scopes.

I don't know that I want to pay like $50 for a scope....kinda pricey....though I'm wondering if it's any easier to adjust with patterning and hunt with overall...

So thought I'd ask.

I'm going to go shoot my gun today again if it doesn't rain, and try to get a good photo of what the gun is throwing pattern wise.

[elnor]

I personally like the simplicity, size (small, close to barrel), brightness, unobstructed view, and no-need-for-battery operation of fiber sights.

I did find the factory provided rear sight on my Mossberg 835 to be low quality, but when I sent the gun into Bass Pro's gunsmith (I bought it there and they'll do free work on your gun if you did, too), they replaced it with a better rear fiber sight for no charge.

YMMV of course.

[M00N]

It's really a matter of personal preference as to which is a better choice for you Ruth. All the choices have pros and cons and all when used correctly and setup correctly will get the job done on a turkey. I'd go with whatever setup you're familiar and comfortable with using.

I personally prefer a front and rear fiber optic sight over a regular scope. I'd like to have a red-dot scope, but just simply cannot afford a good one and won't settle for a cheap one. Right now I'm using a set of Truglo Remington Shotgun/Rifle sights with windage and elevation adjustments. It's what came stock on my gun from the factory. If I was ever to replace them I'd probably still stick with Truglo, but with their Pro-Series Magnum Gobble-Dot set. If I ever did go with a red-dot scope it'd be a red & green dot one with a shoot through setup (with my fiber optic sights underneath) and no magnification.

Here's my opinions on pros and cons of fiber optic sights, red-dot scopes, and regular scopes.

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Fiber Optic Sights

PROS
- They have a great field of view when aiming.
- They come in styles that allow both windage and elevation adjustments.
- They lock into place after sighting them in and don't lose their zero unless physically abused.
- There are a lot of styles on the market specifically meant for turkey shotguns.

CONS
- They can be hard to see in some low light situations, especially in a blind.
- Some brands can be a bit tricky to get adjusted while sighting in.

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Red-Dot Scopes

PROS
- You have a simple dot to aim on the target.
- You can see your dot even in low light conditions.
- Some brands have a shoot through setup available allowing you to keep your fiber optic sights on the gun and use them if needed.
- Some brands have the option of red or green dots and different styles of dots allowing you to see them better in different lighting situations.

CONS
- They require batteries to illuminate.
- A good red-dot scope can be quite costly.
- They can lose their zero from the recoil of the shotgun.
- The lens could fog up or get wet and obstruct your view.
- If they have magnification you could misjudge your target's distance.

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Regular Scopes

PROS
- You have a simple crosshair to aim on the target.
- Some brands have a shoot through setup available allowing you to keep your fiber optic sights on the gun and use them if needed.

CONS
- They can be hard to see in some low light situations.
- A good scope can be quite costly.
- They could lose their zero from the recoil of a shotgun.
- The lens could fog up or get wet and obstruct your view.
- If they have magnification you could misjudge your target's distance.

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[GobblerBuster618]

great post moon. says a lot of info right there!

[wtnhunt]

Great reply by MOON there Ruth. Pretty well covers it.

[maytom]

It's really a matter of personal preference as to which is a better choice for you Ruth. All the choices have pros and cons and all when used correctly and setup correctly will get the job done on a turkey. I'd go with whatever setup you're familiar and comfortable with using.

Here's my opinions on pros and cons of regular scopes.

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Regular Scopes

PROS
- You have a simple crosshair to aim on the target.
- Some brands have a shoot through setup available allowing you to keep your fiber optic sights on the gun and use them if needed.

CONS
- They can be hard to see in some low light situations.
- A good scope can be quite costly.
- They could lose their zero from the recoil of a shotgun.
- The lens could fog up or get wet and obstruct your view.
- If they have magnification you could misjudge your target's distance.

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I feel that any site will be hard to see in some low light situations, except that a scope will actually "gather light", so I disagree with this statement.

Yes, a good scope can be costly, but you do get what you pay for!!!

I never had the zero on my Leupold 1X4 shotgun scope fail me yet, again, you get what you pay for!! Cheap scopes fail!!

Yes, the only down fall if you want to call it that, is if the lens gets wet from rain. They do make scope caps for that though.

Disagree with your last statement, since it's similar to what Strut10 stated as well.
If your using a 1X or a 2X power setting, I don't see how anyone could be misjudging your target? You look over the scope and check out the distance before hand, then settle onto the birds neck/head with the reticle. Pretty simple? I have to actually ask you this question, did "you" ever use a scoped gun for turkey hunting? Many guys state their personal opinion's on "scoped turkey guns", but have never actually used one set up like that. Soooo, I guess scoped guns don't work, just because they said so?

I have used fiber optic sights before, and feel that they are too flimsy, fragile, and cover up too much of the target with certain models(HiViz). I never used a Red Dot optical site, so I can't comment either good or bad on them because I have never used one before to form an opinion either good or bad.
But since I have been using a scoped turkey gun since 1992, I guess you can say I do have some personal experience to back up what I'm saying.

[Rhino]

Red-Dot Scopes

PROS
- You have a simple dot to aim on the target.
- You can see your dot even in low light conditions.
- Some brands have a shoot through setup available allowing you to keep your fiber optic sights on the gun and use them if needed.
- Some brands have the option of red or green dots and different styles of dots allowing you to see them better in different lighting situations.

CONS
- They require batteries to illuminate.
- A good red-dot scope can be quite costly.
- They can lose their zero from the recoil of the shotgun.
- The lens could fog up or get wet and obstruct your view.
- If they have magnification you could misjudge your target's distance.

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Since maytom addressed his disagreements with your post regarding scopes I'll try to cover this one.

First off...I have a holosight on my turkey gun but I've used red dot scopes before too.

Cons

Yes they require batteries but new batteries will last through an entire season with power to spare. If you replace the batteries before each season this is a non-issue.

Yes...they do cost more but as the old saying goes...you get what you pay for. However; they are relatively inexpensive when compared to cost of scopes we mount on the firearms we deer hunt with.

I've never had a problem with either a red dot or a holosight loosing zero due to recoil. That statement is simply not true.

Yes red dots can fog up...holosights do not. Both can get wet obstructing your field of view but it's less of a concern with a holosight. Scope covers can cure that with a red dot. I didn't know until recently that there are covers available now for a holosight.

I'm not sure if there are any red dot scopes that have magnification. If there is, they weren't available when I first had one. No holosight has magnification so it's a non-issue.

PROS

Yep a simple dot on both red dots and holosights except holosights also have an outer red circle. Target acquisition is quicker and easier with both compared to open sights.

Although you can see your sight in low light, target acquisition is not as good with a red dot scope as it is with open sights. Target acquisition with holosights is better than open sights but not as good as a good light gathering regular scope.

You can get see through mounts on red dot scopes...you can't with a holosight. A holosight mounts directly to the base.

I've never had a problem seeing a red dot (red circle too on a holosight) under any kind of lighting conditions. From the low light at dawn to the brightest sunshine you can possibly have. You do have an intensity setting for both a red dot and a holosight. Low settings are used before sunrise, higher settings after sunrise.

Additonal PROS

It is a lot easier to zero your shotgun to your turkey load of choice. Different shells shot through the same shotgun can have different zeros.

You have the ability to kill a turkey from unusual sitting positions if need be. No need to have to line up 2 points to aim...just put the dot on his waddles and he's toast.

Unlimited eye relief on both red dot scopes and holosights.

Here's the bottom line regarding why I chose to put a red dot style sight (holosight in my case) on my turkey gun.

During a 3 year span prior to putting a holosight on my turkey gun I missed 4 gobblers using open sights. That's right 4 misses in a 3 year span. Missed some birds prior to that too but those 3 consecutive years still haunt me. Since I put a holosight on my turkey gun (I think it was 9 years ago now but might be 10) I've missed 2 gobblers. One from misjudging the yardage and I still don't know how the other one got up and ran off (even blood trailed him in the snow covered mountains of New Mexico). I've put a lot of gobblers in the bag since then hunting multiple states, not to mention some rookie hunters I've taken that used my turkey gun to bag their birds too.

For me a red dot syle sight = fewer crippled birds and more gobblers slung over my shoulder.

[Horton4life]

A scope meant for your shotgun, and tightened properly will not lose their "zero" from recoil.

[HUNTINGMAN]

I was going to get a red dot for my benelli but changed my mind,I am going to see how it shoots with just the bead that come from the factory.If it doesn't pattern well I will go with tru glo fiberoptic sights.I am planning on doing some rabbit hunting and mayby try duck hunting and dont want to keep removeing a scope whenever I decide to hunt something diferent.

[PA_Spike_King]

Well for the last 8 years or so I have used the tru-glo sights on my Win 1300 and now that I'm getting closer to the 40 mark I'm having problems with the tru-glo sight looking blurry and that is not good. With talking to Strut and getting his opinion I have bought a Burris 135 speed-dot and have not had time to get it sighted in yet BUT I will let you know how it goes. So far I think I'm going to love this set up.

[Strut10]

Been pretty well covered her. I'm a "red-dot convert". The red-dot has the best of both worlds.

...zero parallax.
...small, precise aiming point.
...lightweight and un-obtrusive.
...HUGE field-of-view.
...simple, simple, simple to use.
...pretty much indestructable
...price range for everyone's budget.

[maddhunter]

I chose the red dot for my son and I for 2 main reasons,(1) you can see the whole target (turkey) and not just what is above your gun barrell and (2) my pattern density is just off center to the right, and I can get a much better pin point aim with a scope.
And what them other guys said too !!!!!!!

[turkeygirl]

Anyone have a picture of a red dot on your gun, so show how you can still see your fiber optics with the scope mounted on?

[Strut10]

This is obviously not a pic of the sighting plane of my gun. But look at the rear of the vent rib. You can see the mounting rail that the red-dot sits on (it's the solid blac mushroom-shaped blob there). If I put a flashlight where my right eye is.....the blob would be all lit up. The underneath of that rail is, in effect, an inverted "U" shape. It makes a sort of tunnel the whole length (underneath) of the mount. You can look right through and see the beads on the rib.

[Mach1]

Proud user of a TruGlo fiber optic sight (front & rear). No problems out to 50-55 yds with my 870. I have no need or desire to put a scope on a turkey gun. For me, it would be a waste of money.