To many hunters in the United States springtime means one thing, Turkey season. Every year millions of hunters venture into the woods in pursuit of the prized game birds. Turkey can be hunted in 49 of the 50 states, Mexico, Canada and even parts of Europe and while many turkey hunting strategies and techniques have stuck to their ancestral roots, unchanged for decades, decoy, game call, camouflage, optics and firearm technology continues to advance. While new technology may provide certain advantages, comfort or convenience in the woods, at the end of the day it all comes down to making an effective shot on a small target.
Advancements in shotgun chokes and ammunition have allowed hunters to maintain tight shot patterns at longer distances, turning the humble scattergun into a more precise tool. However, all of the precision in the world matters not if you don't hit the target. Optics like red dots or holographic sights have been used on turkey shotguns for many years, but hunters who have an old favorite shotgun that is not purpose built for turkey hunting, or any shotgun for that matter that does not have a picatinny rail mounted to the receiver (most shotguns are not even drilled to mount a scope base) have been out of luck. If you are one of the many hunters who use a shotgun with no option for mounting optics you may be asking…
How do I mount a red dot to my shotgun?
The Warne shotgun Red Dot Rib Mount is a universal mounting system to allow reflex style, Aimpoint T1/T2 or Acro footprint optics to easily be mounted to any shotgun that has a vented rib. The Warne shotgun rib mount uses 2 specially engineered clamps that allow it to clamp to several different shotgun ribs without the need for any spacers, plates or additional hardware. The reflex version features a universal mounting pattern to fit most popular optic footprints such as RMR, Delta Point, Burris fastfire, Vortex Viper and many other fitments.
What are some advantages of using a red dot vs shotgun front bead?
While bead sights have been used on shotguns for a very long time, they are not exactly intended to be used as a precise sighting system. A bead is typically used more as a reference point for the front of the barrel that can be easily seen in the shooters peripheral vision while tracking clays or birds as they fly through the air. This reference point can be used to estimate the correct amount of lead to be able to hit a moving target. There are 2 main disadvantages of a bead sight when it comes to turkey hunting. The first is that the bead is not adjustable, so when you have the correct choke and ammo to produce a tight/shot dense pattern (which in many cases is ideal for turkey hunting) but the center of that shot pattern does not exactly line up with the bead for the distance you will likely be shooting, the shooter must estimate how far to hold off the target to deliver an effective shot. The other problem is that the bead being attached directly to the rib causes the barrel to obscure much of the target picture to the shooter which can lead to a less precise point of aim. This becomes especially problematic while hunting as shot opportunities can often take place under low light conditions.
Red dot sights solve these problems since the aiming dot is within the area of a lens, the target is not obscured and the shooter can gain a full sight picture, as well as the ability to adjust the red dot to the shot pattern center. For those less experienced hunters or those who are just starting in bird hunting, pattern density is the number of pellets that impact within a given target area. Typically a shooter wants the highest number of pellets within the target area as possible, this is why in turkey hunting full or extra full chokes are used since the target is very small. Pattern density is key to effective shots on game birds. shot size, speed and the shot material itself all play a role in how well a shot shell performs, but pattern density ensures the highest likelihood that pellets will hit the target. Typically, in turkey hunting the shooter is aiming for the head and neck region of the turkey, which can be a very small target at 30 or 40 yards away so pattern density and the ability to place that shot pattern exactly where you aim is paramount. Red dot sights can make it easier to precisely deliver accurate shots at common turkey hunting distances.
Many optics that mount to a picatinny rail suffer from the same issue when mounted to a shotgun, and that is due to the fact that shotgun stocks are designed to fit the shooter as if they were looking down the barrel. The optic height when including the picatinny mount and rail height can cause a shooter to have to lift their head unnaturally high off the stock. The Warne shotgun rib mount allows the shooter to maintain a more natural point of aim since the optic sits closer to the rib. Another benefit of the Warne shotgun rib mount is that it is as easy to remove as it is to install, requiring no modification to the firearm. The Warne shotgun rib mount is a revolutionary product that will breathe new life into your old faithful shotgun.
6108M, Red-dot Shotgun Rib Reflex Mount6112M
Red-dot Shotgun Rib ACRO Mount
6111M, Red-dot Shotgun Rib Aimpoint T1-T2 Mount
