Dot vs Irons Test Revisited... Range Report

This afternoon after work I got home and used my range behind the house. I don't normally shoot there. I don't have 50 yards that's why. I have the space for it but I haven't built it yet. 

Any way I wanted to get back to my Ruger MKIII Target pistol. I had put a Bushnell Trophy red dot on it last year and played with it just seeing if I liked a red dot or not. It's not a favored red dot but it was given to me so it was a cheap experiment. I reversed the mounting rail limiting me to only utilizing two of the three screws to mount the rail to the gun but it allowed me to back the dot up so it wasn't so front heavy. 

15 shots got me zeroed. First target was a timed fire and I couldn't believe the spotting scope. 100-1X. Looked like I shot a partial circle around the X ring. Next a rapid fire 98-2X. I work in a warehouse so I was getting tired and dropping my arm and with it the muzzle and dot. And I knew it because I could see the dot drop. A lot easier to see than the front sight dropping. Then I found some 50 yard reduced or 25 yard slow fire targets in the garage... I don't think they are the right size though.... but I shot one anyway just to see what a short line 300 or NMC would look like. 

A 92-1X. 290-4X overall. Not bad I thought for a cheap red dot! And I'm an open irons guy! SO! I had to know. What about my S&W M41? So I shot another agg with it. No warm up. No sighters. The gun should've been zero'd so I just shot. A 288-12X. I have to feel like because the 25 yard slow fire target wasn't the right dimensions the gun wasn't zero'd for it. I tried to hold lower to compensate through out the target but I let too many shots go high. At least with the red dot you zero it for point of aim more or less. 

So final thoughts..... I need to get the red dot out at 50 yards and see what happens. AND I think for all the guys shooting just indoor leagues or matches or just 22 and maybe find themselves shooting a lot of short line or reduced distance courses the Ruger MKIII Target has a lot of bang for buck potential. Mine has some vulquartsen (spelling?) parts. Not many. Trigger, and Hammer and a MKII hammer bushing. 

M41 Irons                              Ruger MKIII Dot
Wolf Match Target                   CCI Standard
100-4X                   Timed      100-1X
99-5X                     Rapid       98-2X
89-3X                     SF           92-1X
288-12X                 NMC        290-4X

Tim


Your reduced target looks right . they are a b-16.

jglenn21 wrote:Tim


Your reduced target looks right . they are a b-16.

Shouldn't the amount of black be the same? I measured and reduced 50 yarder is a 1/4" smaller.

B-16 is the correct 25yd slow fire target.  They do not simply scale from 50 to 25yds or 50 ft.  Somewhere on here is a good explanation of why that is, but it is complicated.  The best evidence that they don't scale is to just compare the B-16 10-ring with the B-6 10-ring.

The black is reduced because the 8 ring is reduced.  It was a decision made long ago to reduce the black size to keep it as the 8 ring.  I'm not sure if there are any aiming blacks on reduced targets that go over a ring.  

It won't make that much difference to most shooters.

So do you have the confidence to go compete in full matches now?

Not with a dot sight at 50. I need to practice that. My irons at 50 with the 22 are in the 90's. If I can't do that with the dot then I'm sticking irons. And my 45 is not close in comparison and tires me quickly. I'm a black powder shooter and 22 shooter so I'm accustomed to low recoil. Although I'm working with the 45 trying to get ready for my first full 2700 in three or four weeks and then again in September.

The smaller than scaled reduced targets are that way because of the difference in bullet diameter. Think of it this way, if you shot a reduced 50 yard target at 25 yards that was simply reduced in diameter by 50%, then effectively your 45 caliber holes would represent a .904 diameter hole at 50. There is a further slight reduction of reduced targets to ensure that your 45 caliber holes on the 50 yard reduced represent 45 caliber holes at 50 yards.

I was told years ago by Fred Kart when he was at Perry that the reason for the Black 8 ring at 50 yards was to compensate for trajectory. Being that both the .22 long Rifle and .45ACP (factory) had the same mid range therefore using 6 o'clock hold there would be no sight adjustment. Thought it seems that at 50 yards with the black 8 ring a shooter will be lowering the gun but in reality it's being raised. If the line of sight were to be extended past the bottom of the 9 at 25 yards (6 o'clock hold) it will be much lower than the 8 ring at 50 yards. That will cause the aiming point to rise if the bottom of the now black 8 ring is used at 50 yards.

I will let you know how that works soon.

I have decided to go all irons.

Going to change things up after using dots since the beginning.

Gives me something to shoot for