If you’re looking to get faster shots at shorter ranges a red dot might be for you — let Warne Scope Mounts help you learn how to mount a red dot sight.
If a red dot is not a laser, what is it?
To keep it simple a red dot sight is an optic that uses a led to transmit a light to a special coated angled glass that only reflects light to create a holographic dot. It should not be confused with a laser that projects onto a target. They do not have magnification like a traditional scope, and they do not require a front and a rear sight like traditional iron sights.
Why would you want to use a red dot?
A red dot allows a shooter to get on target quickly with a wider field of view. They work exceptionally well for short range to mid-range but reaching out to smaller targets at longer ranges can be very difficult.
This led to the development of the 45-degree angle compact mount like the Warne A645. With this mount a shooter can mount a magnified scope on top of a rifle and mount a reflex red dot on the 45-degree mount so a shooter can quickly go from long range to short range just by tilting his rifle 45 degrees. This was a big game changer.
Mounting the Red Dot to the top of the rifle.
Simply attach the red dot anywhere on your picatinny rail that you can quickly see through it and see the dot when you go to aim then tighten the mount down to manufacturers torque specs. Since a red dot reflex sight can be put on anything from a handgun to a shotgun to a modern sporting rifle (MSR) like an Ar15 certain mounting solutions may be needed to get the correct height. Some red dots are sold without a riser because the manufacturer does not know what kind of firearm you will be mounting it on. You may not need a riser for rifles with a low cheek weld like a shotgun or hunting rifle and no riser for a handgun but for an Ar15 sporting rifle which has a high cheek weld you will need a riser like the WARNE 6101M, 6102M or 6103M.
If you are using red dot that uses a tube a 1” or 30mm ring like the Warne QD Maxima is a simple quality option.
Sighting In a Red Dot
Once you get it installed, then sighting is your highest priority. Sighting in a red dot is similar to sighting in a rifle scope with a windage and elevation adjustment. They are best suited for short range but finer dots can be used as far as your eyes can make out a target so you may want to consider what range most of your shots will be when zeroing.
You’ll need to bore sight the red dot before zeroing to save ammo just like a magnified scope. And then zero using the windage and elevation dials. Because of the dot is above the bore and a bullet does not travel perfectly straight and is subject to droppage due to gravity your bore line and sight line will never look like an equal’s sign (=). Those lines will cross, making an X. The goal of sighting is to control the distance where that X will form and that is your zero point where your sight and bullet come together to hit a bullseye.
If you are looking for mounting solutions let Warne help you out check out their website