Cheap Red Dot Recommendations

Buddy wants to shoot service type loads (230 ball) in his newly acquired full rib Ultra Dot wadcutter gun.  Told him to be ready to eat the rib and red dot.  He doesn't want to spend much to get it ready.  Slide does not have a rear sight dovetail.  I'm thinking take the full rib off and mount a short piece of weaver rail for one of the cheaper ninja red dots.  You guys have any good recommendations?.

Put a 9000sc on it. Or...25 different cheap scopes.

9000SC For a slide mounted red dot on a hardball gun?

AMU uses the 9000SC on their slide mount 1911 BE pistols with an extension tube. But 9000SC is not cheap. Sighron would be a good choice. S30 at OP is $170
Would have to be careful mounting 9000SC, AMU had problems until they changed the mount. I think it was caused by thermal expansion.
 Don't think Red Dot is allowed on Ball Gun unless rules were changed as they were for rifle.

I'm confused. If it's got a rib and Ultra-Dot why change anything? An Ultra-Dot is about the cheapest red dot scope I would recommend, along with Sightron, Holosun and the other AP Micro knock offs that start about $150.

IMO any red dot scope under $100 is junk and should not be used. You might get lucky and get one that has good glass, repeatable clicks and is durable, but the odds are not in your favor. In the factories that make them, cheap is more important than anything else.

What is he trying to accomplish? As Froneck mentioned he can't use a RD on a ball gun if he wants to use it for service pistol. Second, what is it that he doesn't like about the existing UD? I love 9000SC's and would work fine but can get heavy for some people.

I'm not sure and it's only a guess but I think the cheap scopes are those being made for some of the top brands that didn't pass inspection. Some look quite a bit like the better ones. Didn't last long, I seen copies of Aimpoints from China but they quickly disappeared.

This guy is NOT a competitive shooter.  He lucked into a Bob Marvel wadcutter gun that he wants to shoot full power loads in for simple plinking..

You're still not telling us why he wants to ditch the full rib and UD... They are perfectly good options.

[quote="Froneck"]only a guess but I think the cheap scopes are those being made for some of the top brands that didn't pass inspection.[/quote]

I worked in Beijing for many years and visited many factories producing machinery and components for the energy industry - all over China. I was very much into golf at the time and also visited all of the "knock-off" golf club shops that sprang up in Beijing.

It is possible that some products come "out of the back door" of OEM suppliers - I remember buying an absolutely perfect Nike hybrid club one time that was said to have come out that way, but the reality in China is that there are always multiple component producers and device assemblers (often all grouped together in one small town or district). They are intensely competitive and shave their costs down to the last fraction of a penny.

I have seen hundreds of "knock-off" red dot sights, mostly in Air-soft stores in various countries. Most of them work perfectly fine on an air or CO2 rifle/pistol, they may even be OK for a 22, but they are unlikely to survive a 9mm or 45 which will just recoil them to bits. They also tend to burn through batteries very fast. YMMV

The gun owner is the range owner's cardiologist.  He enjoys shooting.  Does not compete.  Personally I'd never recommend anyone take a Bob Marvel built custom wadcutter gun with a full length rib and ultra dot and shoot 230 ball through it.

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A cardiologist can probably afford one 9000sc in his lifetime. A 9000sc on a 1911 slide? No problem. Like Tabasco is good on everything. But best on hot things.

Axehandle wrote:The gun owner is the range owner's cardiologist.  He enjoys shooting.  Does not compete.  Personally I'd never recommend anyone take a Bob Marvel built custom wadcutter gun with a full length rib and ultra dot and shoot 230 ball through it.

 Why shoot full ball? It was required in EIC matches a while ago because it was run by the Army and ammo was issued! There was a reason for it, the Army seen that shooters were quick to learn Marksmanship when called to serve. In addition if required the civilians would make a good homeland Army. So the Military weapons and ammo was selected for competition.
 Only reason that guy wants to shoot ball is to have a blaster and tell everyone he's shooting it. If nothing is changed he'll wreck that wad gun! There is also another reason, he probably can't shoot so as an excuse he will point out he's shooting ball!

Thanks for the input guys....  Question seems to have evolved into something much more than it was.      SIG, Vortex, Bushnell, Burris,... Etc... We will work it out.

Might help if you explain what the intention was. What reason doe he have being a Cardiologist? Personal Protection? Seems to me he shouldn't have issues with cost.

One thing to tell him is that he WILL need to replace his recoil spring.  IFR he’s going from Wadcutter loads to 230 ball I’d go back to a standard 16 pound spring and adjust from there.

Axehandle wrote:Thanks for the input guys....  Question seems to have evolved into something much more than it was.      SIG, Vortex, Bushnell, Burris,... Etc... We will work it out.

Sometimes what seems like a simple question isn't really as simple as we think. Especially when we don't have much information about the intended use case. Good/bad, better/worse, expensive/reasonable will totally depend on the user plans and means. There's no need to put an Aimpoint on a gun that will be shot twice a year, but there's also no reason to put a cheap scope on a gun that is going to shoot 50,000 rounds per year.

I think Sig & Vortex are good, but don't have any direct experience. Holosun, Primary Arms and Ultra-Dot are all pretty good. 

Aimpoint and Trijicon are great, but expensive. 

Leupold, Nikon and other quality brand names are somewhere in between depending on the price and who they have making the particular scope. Lower end scopes are probably on a par with Holosun and Primary and top end scopes are probably on a par with Aimpoint, but I don't have any direct experience with their red dots.

Burris and Bushnell I am less fond of. They can be good. They can be cheap. I'm tempted to put Ultra-Dot in this category, but I think they are still a small step above these two.

Avoid Konus, Barska and anything priced under $100.

I suggest you recommending him to find a good cardiologist and neurologist (shrink would be good advise too, but I'm sure that is already covered, - SOP requirement for the profession) before using wad gun as a ball gun, and trying to get away with cheap dot.

Sorry, I just can't hold myself back on this.  Many friends and customers in this field over the years!

AP