Updated: 4/24/06; 4:18:12 PM.
Dan Small Outdoors
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Sunday, April 16, 2006


A couple months ago, I received an email from Bob Musinsky, a regular viewer of Outdoor Wisconsin, about a hunting segment where I used a laser-type sight on a shotgun for hunting. The sight in question was a first-generation Bushnell Holosight, and I was hunting ducks on the Mississippi River with Dan Dattilo and my son, Jon. Apparently Bob had not seen that show, but a friend had and told him about it.

If you're not familiar with the Holosight, the viewfinder projects a virtual reticle (65 MOA circle and 1 MOA dot) 50 yards in front of your gun. You simply put that on the target and pull the trigger. You can sight-in a Holosight the same way you would a standard rifle scope. It operates on batteries (in the case of the one I have, AAAs), so you must check occasionally to make sure it is still operating, but battery life is very generous (100 hours). The entire unit weighs a mere 12 ounces

Here, then, is Bob's message, followed by my response. Bob got me thinking about how well I shoot with the Holosight. If you've never tried one, youmight want to consider it for turkey this spring and maybe even for wingshooting in the fall.

Hi Dan,

I have seen and enjoyed your show many times. I had a friend tell me the other day that he had seen your show where you had been using a Red Dot sight for bird hunting. I guess I[base ']m kind of excited that someone else has figured out the advantages of an Electronic sight for shotgun use. I have not used mine for hunting yet. Primarily I shoot American Trap, and then just for fun.

Many years ago I learned why shotgun fit was so important [^] a consistent sight picture (pointed, not aimed). The gun was best if it patterned 60% above center. The high rib allowed you to [base "]see[per thou] around the shotgun barrel. The double bead would provide visual clues to head proper head position and so forth. As I see it, there are 2 elements to hitting something with a shotgun. 1. Proper fit to maintain proper relationship to the gun (sight picture) and  2. the swing of the shotgun to the target.

When the Aimpoint first came out, I saw one, realized the advantage and mounted one to my Ithaca side by side. Now to make it work. Things must prove themselves, you know. I couldn[base ']t get enough adjustment out of the sight alone so I built an adjustable weaver mount and screwed it to the rib. While the tube was only about a half-inch in diameter, shooting with both eyes open allowed me to see past the barrels. I could also move the pattern anywhere I wanted it. My friends, of course, looked at the set-up with great skepticism. I could hit what I pointed at but none of my friends were willing to try. I moved to the next model Aimpoint (when it came out - Mark III?) on the Ithaca, then to a Benelli M-1 and a Tasco pro point. One friend actually tried the Benelli and shot better than usual. Despite this success, he stuck with his conventional shotgun.

Currently I am shooting the Benelli (with a full pistol grip) and an Eotech Holosight. I believe the reticle pattern (a 65 min. of angle circle at 100 yds. (hey that[base ']s 32.5 inch circle @ 50 yds.) around a 1 min. of angle dot) is superior to just the dot for fast target acquisition. The bottom line is that head position, to get the proper sight picture, is much easier to acquire and just not as critical. If you can see the target in the sight it[base ']s mostly toast (still have to lead the bird). You can see all the way around the bird. I can dial in the pattern to best advantage. It is much easier to judge lead. But, of course, you still have to swing the shotgun.

When I go somewhere to shoot, I usually attract several curious people and many questions. Despite offers I have had no one willing to try it out (Trap shooters are a conservative bunch). I suppose no one will really notice unless someone with an Electronic sight wins some competitions. I still have not however, ever met another person using an Electronic sight. It was good to hear that someone else was willing to try something different. May all your hunts meet with success.

Sincerely,

Bob Musinsky


Hi, Bob,

I borrowed an old Red Dot about 30 years ago or whenever they first came out, put it on my 12-ga. 870 w/26-in. IC barrel and ran 5 ruffed grouse straight (over two hunts, but that's five kills without a miss). It felt a little funny to do that, almost like cheating because all I did was put the dot in front of the bird. The one drawback was the added weight to an already heavy (for grouse) gun.

Then many years later, I shot a Holosight at a writers conference. Again, I hit everything I shot at.  Again, it felt a little gimmicky, so I didn't pay much attention to it and stuck with my Ruger RL O/U 20 ga. w/26-in bbls and IC/Mod chokes for grouse, pheasant and some ducks.

Fast-forward to five or six years ago. Bushnell loaned me a Holosight, which I put on a Knight Disc Rifle and shot a doe @ 90 yards. I then put the sight on my Mossberg 835 for turkey hunting and missed two birds - both my fault. One I shot at flying when it flushed suddenly after my brother had shot its pal. The other, I missed because I had not noticed a fencepost at the level of the barrel when I set up quickly to call to a bird I heard gobble while I was moving. I saw the bird's head clearly in the sight, but when I pulled the trigger, he flew off. When I looked over the situation, I saw I had destroyed the top two inches of the fencepost (which had completely absorbed my shot charge).

Since then, I have drilled three turkeys with the Holosight and missed one more - another shot I should not have taken at a running bird probably just out of range.

I returned the original Holosight and now have a newer model, lower in profile, which helps eliminate that fencepost problem.  Bottom line: I love it, at least for stationary targets, now that I have learned to use it properly and not take shots that I shouldn't. On several occasions in the past four years, I have also shot geese and ducks with it with amazing results (including a hit on a screaming GW teal @ 20 yards - a typical grouse shot), although the 835 is far from my favorite bird gun. I probably ought to try it on pheasants - I'd probably stop missing those deceptive angling-away shots.

Earlier this spring, I called turkeys for a novice hunter who is right-handed, but left-eye dominant. With the Holosight, she was able to close her left eye and aim with the right, even though that felt rather awkward. She killed the paper turkey every time, but never had a crack at a live bird.

I plan to use the 835/Holosight combo on turkey hunts in both NY and WI this spring. I'll post a full report of my success (or lack thereof) right here.

Later...

12:09:32 PM    comment []

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