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Thread: MOA dot size

  1. #1
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    MOA dot size

    for a .22 pistol, general target shooting or shooting pests (skunk, coon, squirrel, ect) in the back yard.

    3moa or 6moa?
    Just because something is legal to do doesn't mean it is the smart thing to do.

  2. #2
    MGO Member Ol` Joe's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by gjgalligan View Post
    for a .22 pistol, general target shooting or shooting pests (skunk, coon, squirrel, ect) in the back yard.

    3moa or 6moa?

    Would go as small as possible to keep the dot from hiding your target. 6MOA is fine for moving target acquisition, but not as precise on small targets. Most squirrels or coons will sit and look at you long enough to get a shot or two them unless you jump them up close. Beer cans just lay there and soak up your rounds
    "Saepe errans, numquam dubitans --Frequently in error, never in doubt".

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  3. #3
    MGO Member MCPO_SOCM_RET's Avatar
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    It depends on how far you're shooting and how good your eyesight is.

    A 6 MOA will cover about 3 inches of a target at 50 yards, half that for a 3 MOA.
    Half again for 25 yards.

    One other thing to consider is "washout".
    In bright sunlight you just increase the brightness of the dot right? But a dot can be adjusted too bright, creating a halo on the lens or the housing or blurring the edges of the dot.
    This can make acquiring a target harder, especially if your scope has a smaller dot. A larger dot size may not help as the bright sun can blur the edges of the dot and leave you with poor aiming conditions.

    Backyard shooting...either would be ok. It's up to your eyes.
    Target shooting...still either, but if you're going way past 50yds - then a 3.

    Decent write up here ---> https://scopesfield.com/3-moa-vs-6-moa/

  4. #4
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    Forgot to mention I am leaning towards a green dot. I have shot a couple of them and the green seems to stand out better in sunlight.
    Just because something is legal to do doesn't mean it is the smart thing to do.

  5. #5
    MGO Member MCPO_SOCM_RET's Avatar
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    yes they do

  6. #6
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    Dear gjg:

    If you have any inclination to try out bulleye competition pistol shooting, the forum at Bullseye L did a poll on what size dot did people prefer. It was almost even between the 2 MOA dot and the 4 MOA dot with 3 Moa being a very distant third place. 6 moa was way down the list. Having used my competition pistols for hunting I can tell you that 6 MOA might be a bit large for squirrels, chipmunks, and skeeters.

    I think that the reason that 3 moa did not post a better following is that there are not that many quality red dots out there with a 3 MOA dot.

    Personally, I use a 4 MOA dot and have posted a 98 point slow fire target at 50 yards where the 10 ring is about 3 inches.

    You might want to invest a afternoon checking out a bullseye pistol match. our winter leagues are just starting up and I know of a couple of matches in your area. shoot me a pm for details but be prepared to suffer an addiction to the highly contagious sport. You will be able to examine all the equipment and probably test them out personally at the end of the match. Lotsa fun!

    Regards,
    Crankster

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by gjgalligan View Post
    for a .22 pistol, general target shooting or shooting pests (skunk, coon, squirrel, ect) in the back yard.

    3moa or 6moa?
    Both! I originally started with a 2.5 moa dot way back when red dots were just coming of age. It worked, some days it worked better than others. I typically shoot a pistol at 20 & 25 yards to warm up then move to farther distances as my shooting or training dictates.

    I now mainly shoot pistols with 3 moa & 6 moa dots as I have different guns with different dot sizes on them.

    My preference was (I say was) a 3mm dot as I thought that would make me more accurate so never even tried a 6moa dot.

    I ended up with a couple of 6moa dot sights from buying a used gun with a 6moa on it and even bought a new gun that only came with a 6moa dot at time of purchase. To my surprise some days I actually shot the 6moa better than the 3moa I have on other guns.

    Over the years I still find there are days that I shoot a 6moa more accurately than a 3moa dot, it seems to depend on how steady I am with the gun and how smooth I am on the trigger.

    On a day when I am rock solid so the dot settles right down on center target and stays there as well as my trigger pull is smooth and straight back then the 3moa will typically shoot a better group.

    On the days when I might have had a couple too many cups of black coffee, or am in hurry to get my shooting in as I have other projects in need of attention then the 6moa dot will typically shoot better groups for me than the 3moa dot.

    There is another thing to keep in mind, that is how far you intend to mount the dot from your eye. The closer the dot is mounted to your eye the larger the dot will look and the more of the target the dot will cover. Just find a target of some sort at about 15-20 yards then hold your index finger up as a sighting dot (use the fingernail as the dot) you will see more of the target being covered the closer you move your finger to your eye.

    You mentioned a .22, for some reason I seem to mount my dot a little farther forward on some of my .22 pistols that have a long rail.

  8. #8
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    One thing that I forgot to include in my above post is;

    If you have any astigmatism in your eye sight then you probably want to evaluate both the smaller 3 moa and the larger 6 moa as far as the dot sharpness and dot shape looks to YOUR eye before committing to either one.

    I never had any astigmatism issues until just recently (I'm 75 and don't wear glasses, except for reading glasses for up close).

    I am just starting to see a little astigmatism in my right eye so what I am going to say is just how it effects me (might effect others differently).

    Since I now have a little astigmatism the dot no longer looks round to my eyes, some days it is almost round and fairly sharp, other days the dot looks ragged with a non round shape. Both the 3moa and the 6moa dot have the problem but with the 6moa being larger in diameter the ragged edges and irregular shape appears more pronounced.

    I have been using a red dot for a very long time now so I look through the dot at the target and not at the dot itself so it really doesn't bother me at all with the dot not being round with sharp edges.

  9. #9
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    I've owned both 4 MOA and 2 MOA and much prefer the 2 MOA. All my red dot's are 2 MOA now.

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