Red dot on Crossbow

[devildog]

So I got a Scorpyd Death Stalker last year to use when I hunted from the ground and shot a buck at 5 yards in some really thick cover. I kind of struggled finding the buck quickly in the scope. So this year I was thinking about using my Aimpoint pro on the crossbow. I don't think I will ever shoot a deer at longer than 35 yards, and I would zero it at around 27 so and hopefully be 2 inches high at 20 and 2inches low at 35. Has anyone used a red dot on a crossbow that can share their experiences.

 

[zurr4013]

I set my dad’s crossbow up for him this last summer with one of my aimpoint pro’s. We sighted in very similar to you. He was shooting maybe an inch high at twenty to an inch low at 40. It really helped him with his older eye sight and confidence. Interested to hear if anyone else had any ideas or tweaks.

 

[2Sloe]

Never tried that, but it sounds interesting. Of course some things to think about before you make the move. Consider the range at which you are going to shoot 80% of the time vice 5 or 10% of the time. I know that missing the opportunity on the 5 yarder sucks, but I would caution against a long term solution for a short term problem. At range, you benefit from better shot placement ability that comes with increased magnification. Also having only one “pin” limits you to lighter bolt setup due to trajectory, in that if you are going to shoot multiple ranges with one pin, you want the flattest trajectory you can get. You add 20 or 50gr to the pointy end and the trajectory goes downhill fast at anything over 40....and 30 to 40 can be a little sketch depending on bow speed. If you hunt quite a bit in the evening time you will lose some hunting time due to the loss of light gathering capability that comes with the scope vs the red dot. However, on the plus side you will have quicker acquisition in close and probably would be harder to fog a red dot on a cold day given the additional eye relief. There’s also the KISS principle that comes with the red dot. In the end, as long as you are good with the downsides, you should be fine if you are not shooting over 30 yards.

 

[devildog]

Wanted to bring life back to this thread. This year I ended up putting my Aimpoint pro on my Scorpyd Deathstalker crossbow, and it is awesome. I sighted it in at 30 yards and at 20 it is a half inch high and at 40 it is an inch low. I have hunted with it the last two weeks and it is awesome, I can shoot with both eyes open and can see amazing for low light shots, and find the target way quicker. I usually only hunt with my crossbow about 20% of the time now It might be all I hunt with. I just love how light and accurate this set up is.

 

[Red Beard]

I'm interested in this but I have zero prior knowledge about a red dot. How does it work? I looked at one up close and the dot actually moved inside the aperture.

@Zero One Actual

 

[Iron_llama]

I'm interested in this but I have zero prior knowledge about a red dot. How does it work? I looked at one up close and the dot actually moved inside the aperture.

@Zero One Actual

As I understand it, a laser projects a dot onto a window. The science is pretty complex. Unlike a traditional tube scope, red dots are not very critical about eye relief or head position - if you can superimpose the dot on the target, you will hit that target.

How a Red Dot Sight Works | Burris Optics

www.burrisoptics.com

 

[DelaWhere_Arrow]

My crossbow came with this triple red-dot. It looks like a normal bow sight, just laser-y. You can switch between Green or red. I find red helps me focus on the target better, at lower intensity, like level 2 or 3. Green makes me focus on the dot. That makes me shoot worse personally.
Might be what you’re looking for.
https://www.barnettcrossbows.com/premium-red-dot-sight

 

[Red Beard]

As I understand it, a laser projects a dot onto a window. The science is pretty complex. Unlike a traditional tube scope, red dots are not very critical about eye relief or head position - if you can superimpose the dot on the target, you will hit that target.

How a Red Dot Sight Works | Burris Optics

www.burrisoptics.com

So you're saying that as long as I can see the dot on the target, it doesn't matter where the dot is inside the glass (high-left quadrant for example)?

One of the issues I have with long weapons is that I often fail to get a good, repeatable cheek weld. This produces erratic and frustrating results when trying to zero a long weapon.

 

[DelaWhere_Arrow]

Also, something I thought about: at 5 yards, depending on the speed and arc of your arrow, I’d expect to be a little high on any target, especially an animal. I know it’s not as appreciable on xbow as it would be on vertical bows, but your bolt is technically still climbing its trajectory for 20 yd “pin” when it’s only at 5. So a 5 yd shot would still require you to aim a few inches below your intended impact point if my “math” is correct.

 

[bigmike23]

So you're saying that as long as I can see the dot on the target, it doesn't matter where the dot is inside the glass (high-left quadrant for example)?

One of the issues I have with long weapons is that I often fail to get a good, repeatable cheek weld. This produces erratic and frustrating results when trying to zero a long weapon.

Im not sure if it applies to all red dots, but any decent red dot will be 100% parallax free to a certain distance. Well beyond bow range.
Correct, cheek weld would be irrelevant. No matter where your eye position is, where that dot is where that arrow is going.

 

[Red Beard]

Im not sure if it applies to all red dots, but any decent red dot will be 100% parallax free to a certain distance. Well beyond bow range.
Correct, cheek weld would be irrelevant. No matter where your eye position is, where that dot is where that arrow is going.

Interesting and amazing. Might want to try this out then.

 

[Iron_llama]

So you're saying that as long as I can see the dot on the target, it doesn't matter where the dot is inside the glass (high-left quadrant for example)?

One of the issues I have with long weapons is that I often fail to get a good, repeatable cheek weld. This produces erratic and frustrating results when trying to zero a long weapon.

Yeah, pretty much. That's why it's so common among the tactical set, it's so forgiving with regards to cheek weld and eye alignment, at least at CQB distances. Shooting while moving, with a gas mask (ie, no cheek weld) and other bulky gear, and still able to achieve acceptable practical marksmanship at close range. On top of that, an M4 with a red dot zeroed at 50yd will have an MBPR of 300 yards; meaning, out to 300 yards you'll get every hit in roughly a sheet of notebook paper. To the point that going back to a traditional tube scope from a red dot takes a bit of re-training on those points. Definitely something to verify on the range before you take it live but if cheek weld is an issue, red dot sights are common and getting cheaper.

 

[Red Beard]

Yeah, pretty much. That's why it's so common among the tactical set, it's so forgiving with regards to cheek weld and eye alignment, at least at CQB distances. Shooting while moving, with a gas mask (ie, no cheek weld) and other bulky gear, and still able to achieve acceptable practical marksmanship at close range. On top of that, an M4 with a red dot zeroed at 50yd will have an MBPR of 300 yards; meaning, out to 300 yards you'll get every hit in roughly a sheet of notebook paper. To the point that going back to a traditional tube scope from a red dot takes a bit of re-training on those points. Definitely something to verify on the range before you take it live but if cheek weld is an issue, red dot sights are common and getting cheaper.

Perfect. Thank you!

 

[kyler1945]

Lots of info on reflex sites in koolaid thread

 

[Plebe]

Im not sure if it applies to all red dots, but any decent red dot will be 100% parallax free to a certain distance. Well beyond bow range.
Correct, cheek weld would be irrelevant. No matter where your eye position is, where that dot is where that arrow is going.

This simply isn’t true.

Hollographic sights are closest to parralax free, which is a different technology.

Reflex sights, aka “red dot“ scopes all exhibit parallax even at close ranges. Some are far better than others.

 

[bigmike23]

This simply isn’t true.

Hollographic sights are closest to parralax free, which is a different technology.

Reflex sights, aka “red dot“ scopes all exhibit parallax even at close ranges. Some are far better than others.

This is why I said not all red dots. Quality red dots are absolutely parallax free in our application of close range bow hunting. Burris and Aimpoint for example because that's what I own. Any parallax noticed for this application is so irrelevant it's not worth mentioning

 

[Plebe]

This is why I said not all red dots. Quality red dots are absolutely parallax free in our application of close range bow hunting. Burris and Aimpoint for example because that's what I own View attachment 93160View attachment 93161

Just read this:

Comparative Study of Red Dot Sight Parallax | Green Eye Tactical

I'd like to thank you for viewing this report. It took a considerable amount of time to finish. I would like to apologize that parts of it may not appear formatted properly in your browser. Depending on what browser you are using- some of the images may not be visible due to the .tiff format.

www.greeneyetactical.com

 

[Iron_llama]

To @devildog 's original post, no, my Xbow has a 4x scope on it, but I've got red dots on .223s and .22s and shotguns. Cheap red dot on a 12ga will kill a coyote at any range I'm likely to shoot buckshot at one, which I guess is pretty close to shooting with a crossbow. Go for it, your zero plan makes sense to me. Look at how big your dot is, and how much of an animal it will cover at 25yd; you can potentially do some very rough range estimation and holdovers with an RDS.

For @Red Beard I've shot Aimpoint H2, Eotech, SIG Romeo, Burris, Truglo, Bushnell, and probably some cheaper stuff on semiauto rifles. Cheaper sights don't hold up, or hold zero, effectively, but you don't need to break the bank on something made for space shuttle door gunners either. I've got an $80 Burris on a 300BLK pistol I'm entirely happy with, for what I'm doing with it.

 

[bigmike23]

Just read this:

Comparative Study of Red Dot Sight Parallax | Green Eye Tactical

I'd like to thank you for viewing this report. It took a considerable amount of time to finish. I would like to apologize that parts of it may not appear formatted properly in your browser. Depending on what browser you are using- some of the images may not be visible due to the .tiff format.

www.greeneyetactical.com

View attachment 93164

As I keep saying for this application it's perfect. 4 of the most extreme angles I could get out of my phone. The dot is in the white part of the door frame. At it's most extreme it's off by an inch and a half. And there's no way your eye is going to be that off from center in a normal situation.
For archery hunting it's essentially parallax free.

 

[Plebe]

As I keep saying for this application it's perfect. 4 of the most extreme angles I could get out of my phone. The dot is in the white part of the door frame. At it's most extreme it's off by an inch and a half. And there's no way your eye is going to be that off from center in a normal situation.
For archery hunting it's essentially parallax free. View attachment 93166View attachment 93167View attachment 93168View attachment 93169

That’s not how it works. You need to shoot and record where you hit.