Sighting scope - using a gun sight?

[keithatrochdale]

Hi

Not over impressed by my sighting scope; has anybody tried using a gun telescopic sight?

You can get illuminated ones too and they seem a third the price of a 'proper' sighting scope.

Been looking at 3-9x 50mm, I assume wider field would be useful?

Just wondering if it is worth it or just keep the supplied 5x 24?

[Merlin66]

They work pretty well.

I used one to polar align my barndoor camera platform. Also used it on the 12" reflector for a while.

[Psychobilly]

You will probably want to keep the coarse alignment adjustment by moving the scope and just use the reticule adjustment for the final tweaks... the zoom function will give you the change of FOV that your after...

Peter...

[Macavity]

Whatever works? I think many of the commercial Red Dot Finders have supposed roots in "military applications"? And, notably, the EXCELLENT (though expensive) Baader Skysurfer V, which I love!

But, after a lot of "messing about", with the DEFAULT offerings that come with e.g. Skywatcher scopes, I felt the investment worthwhile. In the main, the problem (under UK skies!) is that the front, reflective element, of RDFs, can loose a couple of magnitudes, limiting sighting to brighter stars only! This latter fault is corrected in the Baader, which has CLEAR optics.

Despite such innovation, many people will still attest to the need for BOTH a Red Dot Finder and an "active" 6x30, 9x50 RACI etc. finder (on the same scope!), for directly seeking out FAINTER objects, once the general region is located with the RDF...

[Astro_Baby]

Agrree with Macavity and I have a Baader Sky-Surfer V as well - its brilliant. The next step up for me is an Antares 8x50 finder with RACA and also illumination for finding stuff like comets.

[Deneb]

Agrree with Macavity and I have a Baader Sky-Surfer V as well - its brilliant. The next step up for me is an Antares 8x50 finder with RACA and also illumination for finding stuff like comets.

I would have to agree with you, The Baader Sky Surfer V is the Biz & well constructed, a Quality RDF. I used to have one with my 200P, im wandering what would it look like on a WO 66SD.

[Astro_Baby]

I used to have one with my 200P, im wandering what would it look like on a WO 66SD

Would be almost as big as the scope

A few people at SSP had a look at my Sky-Surf in actyion and liked it - the fact that the elemts are clear glass is brilliant and also the see through dust caps are a great idea as well.

[Macavity]

Well, I did stick a 9x50 RACI finder (Replaced by Skysurfer) on top of a MAK 90... and it looked rather cute! Almost the IDEAL portable setup... A mini-me "planetary" MAK, plus wide-field refractor!

[acey]

I'm sure a rifle scope would work fine but top quality ones aren't cheap. I was in a field sports shop the other day (I'm a fisherman) and noticed a top-of-the-range model on sale for around £700.

I use the 50mm finder that came with my scope and it's fine for my needs. I used to use a 30mm finder with my previous scope and that was fine too. Tried mounting an 80mm refractor but found it was over-kill.

Most important things are a decent star map and a dark enough sky (so you can actually see enough stars through the finder). I found 30mm sufficient from my dark site but in my light-polluted back garden it was no use. Your 5x24 sounds too small and I think you should be looking to 50mm instead.

So on the face of it a 3-9x50 gun sight would do, though personally I don't see any need for variable magnification, and in any case at lower mag the circle of light at the eyepiece - exit pupil - would be larger than your dilated pupil: at x3 the exit pupil is 17mm when your own pupil would be no more than 7mm. It would be difficult or impossible to hold the image - you might see no stars at all. Also I believe that on low-end variable magnification gun sights you tend to get image-shift when you change magnification, which defeats the whole purpose.

So my advice would be to go for a standard 7x50 finder.

[keithatrochdale]

Hi and thanks for the comments, it is just I can get a

New 4-16x40E Red Illuminated

for £30 odd, or a

3-9X50 SCOPE ILLUMINATED RETICULE

for about £47, are either worth a try?

[acey]

An illuminated reticle is fine for bright objects but will make it harder to see faint ones. I have a Meade illuminated reticle eyepiece that I got in order to measure sizes of galaxies, but even at the lowest setting it's too bright for that. I have no trouble seeing the unlit cross-hairs on my finder.

By all means take a chance on it but you should be able to pick up a tried and trusted 50mm finder for the same sort of price.