Ghost rings or Red dot

[Doctawho]

Having trouble decide whether to go the good ole fashion ghost ring route or use a rail + red dot. I'll be using the shotgun primarily for HD and target shooting out to 50 yards.

Which would allow for faster target acquisition in a low light environment?
Which would be more precise for targets out to 50 yards?
Would standard red dots be able to handle the recoil from a 12 gauge and hold zero?

On a side note:
Which type of ammo is most accurate for 50 yards with the proper choke?

[FatalKitty]

what's wrong with a bead sight

[xLusi0n]

I like my Trak Lock Ghost Rings.

[NSR500]

The benefit I can see for having a red dot is for shooting slugs at distance. Otherwise, ghost rings are great.

[rojocorsa]

Ghost rings don't need a battery. Just keep that in mind.

[slobson]

FWIW, one school of thought (Gabe Suarez) would tell you neither; he is a fan of having the same non optic sighting method across every platform, and recommends AK style iron sights on shotguns.

[maxwellca21]

you should install a big-O 23-100x50 glass on it. Just do it and then post many pictures so others can envy you.

[wilson_wwsc]

vote for bead sight here

[aippi]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KdW2TAfN3mQ

click on this video and watch it. Then decide which sight to put on an HD. Many here may disagree, so if they know more the Clint Smith, take their Advice over his. I have not met to many people that Know more then Mr. Smith. His thunder Ranch is what all the others are based on.

I agree that a bead sight is all that is needed on an HD shotgun. You mentioned range shooting. You can do that with a bead and become proficient. GR's and Optics are not needed and they will only hinder you when you need that weapon to protect your life and the life of your loved ones.

Again, this always starts a This -v- That debate. No way to avoid it so hear what the others guys are saying but decide by giving wieght to the expirience of the person giving the adivce and by what is best for you.

[-hanko]

Having trouble decide whether to go the good ole fashion ghost ring route or use a rail + red dot. I'll be using the shotgun primarily for HD and target shooting out to 50 yards.

Which would allow for faster target acquisition in a low light environment?
Which would be more precise for targets out to 50 yards?
Would standard red dots be able to handle the recoil from a 12 gauge and hold zero?

On a side note:
Which type of ammo is most accurate for 50 yards with the proper choke?

Only a bead...if the gun has a rib, a middle bead may also help. For shooting in low light, get a tritium bead.

On your side note, you need to TRY a few different brands and figure out which works best.

Shotguns are pointed, not aimed. If you can't mount a shotgun so it naturally points at what you're trying to shoot, you need a few lessons or perhaps need the gun fitted to you. The gheyity of ghost rings and red-dotss is not required.

-hanko

[BigDogatPlay]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KdW2TAfN3mQI have not met to many people that Know more then Mr. Smith. His thunder Ranch is what all the others are based on.

Actually Mr. Smith is, in large part, a disciple of the late Col. Jeff Cooper and the American Pistol Institute, aka Gunsite where he was Operations Officer and Dean of Instruction after serving in the Marines and as a LEO for many years.

That said, I don't argue (much) with Clint Smith when it comes to fighting a handgun, a rifle or a shotgun. My experience is in line with his that the bead sight is the preferred type for a shotgun that is going to be used for home defense.

GRS and red dots are for more precise fire at distance and usually with slugs and that isn't the kind of shooting you'll be doing inside your home at three in the morning if you are forced to.

[Crawfish141]

I like having both, co-witnessed.

[bigthaiboy]

Only a bead...if the gun has a rib, a middle bead may also help. For shooting in low light, get a tritium bead.

On your side note, you need to TRY a few different brands and figure out which works best.

Shotguns are pointed, not aimed. If you can't mount a shotgun so it naturally points at what you're trying to shoot, you need a few lessons or perhaps need the gun fitted to you. The gheyity of ghost rings and red-dotss is not required.

-hanko

Forget red dots on HD shotguns. HD shotguns sit around for months on end loaded and ready. Batteries die out or you accidently forget to switch it off, so there's a chance it's no use when you actually need it.

Check out the tritium sights. They illuminate 24/7 for about 12 years. No batteries, nothing to switch on & off: http://www.xssights.com/store/shotgun.html

[an actual gun]

I don't like red dots for utility but I get the fun of using one at 50 yards with a few boxes of slugs. Could always put a red dot on and leave the bead on. Can easily remove the rail/sight if you don't mind re-zeroing next time. Ghost rings are also fun to shoot when you're shooting distance. I think if you practice with your shotgun enough in pretty much whatever configuration you keep it in, you'll do just fine. You'll also learn what doesn't work, and if the gurus out there believe their theories about shotgunning to be true you will eventually see that truth.

I am not an elite combat expert and do not have any credentials but ghost rings don't hinder my ability to point a shotgun. Just like staring at the bead doesn't get me on target every time.

Feel free to correct me or disagree but at across the room distances you might be better aiming a shotgun more like a rifle. The one inch per yard rule of thumb and all. The shot has very little time to spread and you want as many projectiles on target as possible in a life/death situation. To me that means having a rear sight reference picture for proper alignment can be an advantage. Not that this is unequivocally the truth, the reality, the only way to do it, but that it can be one way.

[prc77]

bead