sights for my 22/45

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SO, I got the 22/45 target model the other day and have yet to get it to the range.
For the last year I've been shooting the SR22 and now I have something with a little more size,
bigger sights too. I'm a bifocal wearer which gives me the choice of tilting my head back and seeing the sight
or tilting forward and seeing the target. Since it came with a mount I've been looking at
red dots and holographic (reflex?) sights and seeing them in the $40.00 range!!!
I've never used either, but for $40 I'm willing to try.
What are the basic differences and any other input would be appreciatted.
Thanks.

Re: sights for my 22/45

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I don't think you will find a true holographic sight in that price range. However, you can get some reasonable reflex sights for that or a little more.

I have a 22/45 target model with Williams Fire Sights (fiber optic). It's a good shooter. I just mounted a TruGlow red dot on it but have not sighted it in yet. This is the second time I had it mounted on the pistol. I was not happy with the whole setup last time but I thought I would give it a second chance.

My main problem with the red dot is that its axis is so far above the bore axis. It may be two inches or more at the pistol. This makes it sensitive to the distance at which you zero it. If you zero at, say, seven yards, you may be off by an inch or so at ten yards. Just draw a picture of the two axes intersecting at seven yards.

This time I am going to zero at 25 yards using a rest. I will accept the fact that the POI will be low it intermediate distances.

In re cheap red dots, I think it is worth raising your price bar to about $100. You can get parallax-corrected (not paralllax-free) sights with selectable reticles and variable brightness, etc. at that price point.

I have a Sightmark and a Mueller on a couple 10/22s and they work pretty well. I can shoot < 1 inch groups at 25 yards with either. The limitation is my eyesight.
Last edited by Bucolic on Thu Jul 24, 2014 11:33 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: sights for my 22/45

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Bucolic wrote:I don't think you will find a true holographic sight in that price range. However, you can get some reasonable reflex sights for that or a little more.

I have a 22/45 target model with Williams Fire Sights (fiber optic). It's a good shooter. I just mounted a TruGlow red dot on it but have not sighted it in yet. This is the second time I had it mounted on the pistol. I was not happy with the whole setup last time but I thought I would give it a second chance.

My main problem with the red dot is that it's axis is so far above the bore axis. It may be two inches or more at the pistol. This makes it sensitive to the distance at which you zero it. If you zero at, say, seven yards, you may be off by an inch or so at ten yards. Just draw a picture of the two axes intersecting at seven yards.

This time I am going to zero at 25 yards using a rest. I will accept the fact that the POI will be low it intermediate distances.

In re cheap red dots, I think it is worth raising your price bar to about $100. You can get parallax-corrected (not paralllax-free) sights with selectable reticles and variable brightness, etc. at that price point.

I have a Sightmark and a Mueller on a couple 10/22s and they work pretty well. I can shoot < 1 inch groups at 25 yards with either. The limitation is my eyesight.

+1 on the FireSights. I also have a Holosun red dot on mine - great little beast (compact) but not below $100...

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"We have met the enemy and he is us." Pogo.
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Re: sights for my 22/45

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Plus 2 on the Firesights. I haven't gotten around to mounting a reflex/holographic on mine yet because I've been happy enough with the fiber optics for now, but it's on my list for down the road.
“Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.”
- Maya Angelou

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Re: sights for my 22/45

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shinzen wrote:Plus 2 on the Firesights. I haven't gotten around to mounting a reflex/holographic on mine yet because I've been happy enough with the fiber optics for now, but it's on my list for down the road.
Have to admit, the Holosun is because if my tired old eyes focus on the foresight, I can't see much else... The Holosun lets me focus on the sight AND the target at the same time. :)
"We have met the enemy and he is us." Pogo.
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Re: sights for my 22/45

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Bucolic wrote:Nice looking rig. If you don't mind my asking, at what distance do you zero it? Thanks!
Also, where did you get that short rail? Did you cut down the factory one?
Thanks (all I have to do nowis learn to shoot it strainght....)

Zero was set at 15 originall, and the drop of lack thereof is imperceptiblle at 10 ir 25. as my grouping gets better, it may show up, but right nnow I just set the target where it liokes and pop away. :)

Yeah - rail was cut down, ground smooth and given what the boatbuilding world calls "Portuguese Anodizing" (Black Sharpie) to keep it looking right. I couldn't take the overhang on it with the short sight, and can always get a longer one if I decide to try to real scope. :)
"We have met the enemy and he is us." Pogo.
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Re: sights for my 22/45

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So, off I went to the range today with the stock adjustable sights and the pistol worked flawlessly,
even with Remington bulk!!!! Can't say that about my SR22.
At about 15 yards, with some serious resting on the plastic box the gun came in a quarter sized group, not including the flier.
so I'm happy that my eyes were able to put that together.
The slide stop function was sort of funny, but worked like the inst. book says it's supposed to.
All in all, fun gun to shoot. I think I'll stick with open sights for the immediate future and shoot it a bunch more.

Re: sights for my 22/45

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I ordered the rail last week and it arrived this morning. Here are some images with the Truglow red dot mounted. The whole thing looks silly, I think, and I should have gotten the rail in black but, what the hell, red dots are the friends of old eyes.

I took it to the range this morning and zeroed it at 15 yds. Supported on the bench but not on a rest, it was shooting 1.5 in groups. I am pretty happy with it. Next I want to see how it shoots at 7 and 25 yards. I would use one of the ballistic calculators but I don't have a chronograph so I have no idea what the muzzle velocity is. The axis of the optic is a full two inches higher than the bore axis. I expect the POI to be about 1.3 inches high at 25 yards and one inch low at seven -- good enough for snapping turtles.

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Edit: I forgot to add that the rail does not obscure the Fire Sights so I can pull the red dot with two thumbscrews and use the fiber sights.
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Re: sights for my 22/45

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I shot the pistol last week just to check it out. The rail bolts loosened so I remounted the rail, loctiting the bolts. Went to the range this morning to check how it works. I am pretty happy with it. I zeroed the red dot's elevation at 25 yards with the pistol supported on a bag on a rickety bench. Not the best setup but it worked okay. I made a windage adjustment and moved to 25 yards. Shot another group, another windage adjustment, and shot a group at 7 yards. Target is below.

As I expected, the pistol shot about an inch low at seven yards and an inch high at 25. Not much point in trying groups at 50 yards given my old eyes. However, I am pretty happy with the groups. I cannot do this well with iron sights.

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