Problem Sighting in My Red Dot

[bobbunny]

One day, I asked my dad if I could borrow his red dot (He used it on his shotgun) for airsoft. He said yes. When I went to sight it in however, it seems to me that it doesn't actually do anything. Possible problems? I mean, the only other thing I could think of is that it was sighted high and each click lowers it a really really small amount.

One of these: www.tasco.com/products/index.cfm?ClassID=13&FamilyID=163&ProductID=670

[Da Vinci - Да Винчи]

First off, it's Tasco, so don't expect perfect quality. That being said, first thing I would ask is if you knew how the adjustment knobs work. I know that sounds kind of dumb, but when you're turning the wheel in the direction that says "R', you are moving the sight picture, not the dot, to the right. Essentially, the knobs work in the opposite to the dot. Second, the site doesn't say what percentage MOA each "click" is, but you saying it doesn't seem to move much and the size of the dot, I'd imagine each click is 1/4 MOA. So, use large increments to twist until you get close, then do it only a few clicks at a time. If that still doesn't work, the threadings of it may be stripped, and the sight is worthless.

[bobbunny]

Derp. That makes sense. No wonder it keeps on going up -_-.
I'll try it again tom. and see what happens.

[Da Vinci - Да Винчи]

Hehe, yeah, welcome to the jacked-up world of optics...

[Knief]

Da Vinci,

That's two posts yesterday that have contributed absolutely dick to the thread. Stop doing that. If your post doesn't make a positive and informative contribution, then don't post.

[Da Vinci - Да Винчи]

The problem has most likely been solved, so it shouldn't matter anyways.

[M.S.-ARC]

It does matter because all you are doing is posting what is known as "noise". It's just posting for postings sake. It serves absolutely no purpose and just adds clutter and draws threads off topic.

You have to ask yourself before posting if what you are about to say is of any benefit to anyone who may be going through the same thing or would it be interesting to anyone else. If your answer is no, then don't post.

[Zorak]

May 20, 2012 20:22:15 GMT -5 Da Vinci - Да Винчи said:

First off, it's Tasco, so don't expect perfect quality. That being said, first thing I would ask is if you knew how the adjustment knobs work. I know that sounds kind of dumb, but when you're turning the wheel in the direction that says "R', you are moving the sight picture, not the dot, to the right. Essentially, the knobs work in the opposite to the dot. Second, the site doesn't say what percentage MOA each "click" is, but you saying it doesn't seem to move much and the size of the dot, I'd imagine each click is 1/4 MOA. So, use large increments to twist until you get close, then do it only a few clicks at a time. If that still doesn't work, the threadings of it may be stripped, and the sight is worthless.

If you haven't already done the math, it's illustrative to actually work it out. 1/4 MOA means 1/4" at 100 yards, or 300 feet. If you're firing at a target fifty feet away, that's six times closed, so the change in point of aim is six times smaller, or 1/24 of an inch. Even if the clicks are actually 1/2 MOA, which is possible for a Tasco, that would still be 1/12th of an inch at fifty feet. Given the limited accuracy of most airsoft guns, that's basically no change. Therefore, Da Vinci has the right idea: crank on that sucker until you get to the right general area, then use a couple clicks at a time to dial it in.

He's also right that Tasco is a low-end brand and the clicks may not be uniform, the adjustments may slip, etc, so you should be prepared for some frustration.

[bobbunny]

May 21, 2012 16:35:28 GMT -5 Zorak said:

May 20, 2012 20:22:15 GMT -5 Da Vinci - Да Винчи said:

First off, it's Tasco, so don't expect perfect quality. That being said, first thing I would ask is if you knew how the adjustment knobs work. I know that sounds kind of dumb, but when you're turning the wheel in the direction that says "R', you are moving the sight picture, not the dot, to the right. Essentially, the knobs work in the opposite to the dot. Second, the site doesn't say what percentage MOA each "click" is, but you saying it doesn't seem to move much and the size of the dot, I'd imagine each click is 1/4 MOA. So, use large increments to twist until you get close, then do it only a few clicks at a time. If that still doesn't work, the threadings of it may be stripped, and the sight is worthless.

If you haven't already done the math, it's illustrative to actually work it out. 1/4 MOA means 1/4" at 100 yards, or 300 feet. If you're firing at a target fifty feet away, that's six times closed, so the change in point of aim is six times smaller, or 1/24 of an inch. Even if the clicks are actually 1/2 MOA, which is possible for a Tasco, that would still be 1/12th of an inch at fifty feet. Given the limited accuracy of most airsoft guns, that's basically no change. Therefore, Da Vinci has the right idea: crank on that sucker until you get to the right general area, then use a couple clicks at a time to dial it in.

He's also right that Tasco is a low-end brand and the clicks may not be uniform, the adjustments may slip, etc, so you should be prepared for some frustration.

When I go do it, should I really just crank it all the way up/down and work from there?

[Fission]

I wouldnt say start from the top or bottom of the turrets necessarily, technically you could but it should be in the ring when starting out at least...if it's that far off I would not use the red dot at first. Shoot without it and just watch the bb's over the top of the gun, get them on paper, then look through the tube and see where it's at. If it's way above the paper, crank it down a lot, if its way below, crank it up, same goes for left/right. Give yourself a reference point to work from. Know where the BBs are going first, then put your tube on them. Sort of similar to a boresighting technique I suppose.

[Zorak]

I don't mean all the way, I just meant to give it 15-20 clicks at a go and get it moving in the right direction, then fine tune it when it gets close.