Pistol scope Redfield Golden Five Star 4x fixed. Is it good enough for T/C Contender .357 Rem Maximum? Kauko.

I can't address that particular scope but, in admittedly limited experience, I found that the pistol scopes I've tried didn't transmit enough light for hunting at dawn or dusk. They weren't high-dollar scopes though, more midrange. I switched to a Millett red dot sight for my .44 Mag Super Redhawk for hunting and stuck the scope on a Ruger Mk II for plinking or varmints. In daylight the scope worked well.

Many thanks Mike. I use my pistols in daylight only. I hav 1,5-4x20 Hakko with Anschutz Exemplar .22LR. Hakko 2x 20 fixed was breaking down with .357 Rem Max. There was dark and class sounds jingling. What are Yuo thinkig, is Redfield recoilproof enough? How many MOA is the size Millets red dot?

K.W. wrote:

Pistol scope Redfield Golden Five Star 4x fixed. Is it good enough for T/C Contender .357 Rem Maximum? Kauko.

If this is one of the old Denver-made Golden Five Stars, it will handle about everything except a 454Casull and a 500 S&W. If it is one of the newer Pac Rim made scopes, all bets are off.

The Millett has a 3 MOA dot, 1 inch tube. THe scope I tried on the .44 Mag was a Bushnell 2-to-6X. It held up the little bit I shot it but I could see that it moved in the rings a little.

Thanks pirate and Mike. Here in Finland are those NIB/Redfields with half price 190€ = $ 275. Maybe it makes Yuo lucky becausen live in USA. I think 3 MOA red dot is quite big. 3" / 100 yard. Maybe it is smalest ones.

Hi KW... I currently use a Weaver 2X fixed pistol scope on my 454. 3 years - no problems. However, it's marginally o.k. at dawn/dusk in terms of light. I have shot with a guy that has the 4X model. No problems either. I do like the 4X magnification better.

I have an old Readfield on my Ruger MKII that’s pretty good. i.e. Solid tube, well built. However, the newer ones don’t seem to compare in terms of tube quality. Optics-wise, with all the advances in glass making, the optics are probably better on the newer ones.

I tend to agree with “buy the best optics you can afford”. Doesn’t always mean you’ll get good, quality optics, but you’re probably more likely to. Here’s the place to go for info/feedback: www.opticsplanet.com/msgboard/ This group has a lot of experience and knowledge when it comes to optics.

What do the scope users here think of the light gathering capability of your scopes at dawn and dusk? I've only tried one pistol scope, a mid-priced one, and found that I couldn't see through it in low light, as the sun set. While it was still light enough to shoot the scope was too dark to see game or crosshairs. I'm comparing this to my rifle scopes, which actually let me see better in low light than my "bare eyes".

My experience prompted me to switch to a red dot for the hunting revolver and put the scope on a .22 target pistol, where it performs admirably during broad daylight.

As for the 3 MOA dot size, given my generally limited shooting ability, I think 3" at 100 yards is perfectly acceptable for deer, etc. The best group I've ever fired with a handgun at 100 yards was a ten shot 2.1" group with the Ruger Mk II pistol using the scope I mentioned above. That was shot from a concrete bench and sandbags, several years ago. With the .44 Mag and 270 grain bullets I'm more in the 5" group range. Lighter bullets might help, I'm not sure I'm stabilizing the 270s well.

I have used the Loopy 2x on all my SBH's and they di very well , I like them , the is a 2x Loopy on the SRH 480 nowadays , I may get rid of it for the ultradot tho ..

5" at 100 aint nothin' to sneeze at slanger ..

This 200 yard approximately 1.5 inch group was shot with a Leupold 2.5-8X scope. That particular scope with handle heavy recoil and comes with the Leupold lifetime warranty even if you're not the original purchaser. In my opinion, it's also good enough to use in dusk light conditions.

The first time I slapped a scope on a pistol it was on an XP100 in .221 Fireball. The scope was a Burris 7X because that was what Bob Milek said was the only one to use! Later on I put a Burris 1-4X on my XP in 7MM BR and moved the 7X to an XP in .223. Not happy with the field of view of the 1-4X, I looked around and found a supply of various Tasco Silhouette scopes including a 6X pistol scope. (These were all made back when Tasco actually made a good scope...at least in this series.) The 7mm BR wears that scope to this day.
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Bottom line: It is more true today than ever before that you get what you pay for...within reason. Burris, Loopy's and Redfields cost, but they will probably outlast cheaper ones.

Help, I am an avid hunter and used to shoot a lot of pistol 25 years ago with open sight. Recently acquired a 29 in 44 mag and want to hunt with it. I am thinking of a red dot or a like scope. I have never hunted or shot with a dot scope but my son has an eotech on an ar-15 and it's cool. I am concerned about recoil effect, cost and being old school with cross-hairs.
Suggestions,
Thanks, Greg

As mentioned above I have a Millett red dot on my Super Redhawk .44 Mag and it has held up well so far. I liked it enough to buy another for a turkey gun and plan to buy a third to put on a .40 S&W carbine, Ruger PC4. By the way, a Tasco red dot came apart on the PC4. Midway had the Milletts on sale in December for $60.

Other than the customs like the one pictured above, my question would be why put a scope on a pistol like a revolver. That's like putting a scope on a jack-handle(30-30).

d_hoffman wrote:

Other than the customs like the one pictured above, my question would be why put a scope on a pistol like a revolver. That's like putting a scope on a jack-handle(30-30).

Hey Hoff Man...I put a scope on my Mod 94 "jack handle", and it shoots a treat with it. I initially tried a Tasco PDPF4 Dot, but went the scope route cause I needed it.

Reason I went that way is 'cause my eyes are pretty much worn out from lookin' at all the good lookin' girlies on the beaches over here in OZ, and I could no longer see the sights on the rifle. I had a choice between focusing on the rear sight, the fore sight or seeing the target, but I could not have even two out of the three. A scope overcomes this problem.

Not all, but most I know that opt for scopes on firearms that just don't seem to need a scope is for the above reason....it extends our shooting life by many years.