RDO on a Marlin 1894 Trapper

[Crazy Dane]

I found out that the Holosun circle dot reticle is very usable for me and now I want to put a RDO on my trapper.

My son put the 510 on his, this is how I found out.

My wife has the SCS on her duty Glock and she changed the reticle so I could check it and confirm that I can use that one on pistol sized optics.

I spent several hours in Bass pro waiting out the storm Sunday and checked out the c-dots models and seem just as clear as the one on the 510. I just don't remember what models I looked at.

I now have a list of pistol RDOs that I want to get back in my hands.

Purpose of the rifle is to have a handy little rifle to carry through the woods with the main quarry being southeastern whitetails.

So, up for discussion;

It looks like the easy option is the Holosun AEMS but even with the 1.22" low mount it seems tall.

Pistol RDOs under consideration;

507C

508T

509T

EPS full sized

Mounts readily available without the use of adapter plates,

509T

RMR/507C

Holosun K

Last but not least, irons or no irons.

Sorry for the amount to digest,

Thanks, CD

[HCM]

I found out that the Holosun circle dot reticle is very usable for me and now I want to put a RDO on my trapper.

My son put the 510 on his, this is how I found out.

My wife has the SCS on her duty Glock and she changed the reticle so I could check it and confirm that I can use that one on pistol sized optics.

I spent several hours in Bass pro waiting out the storm Sunday and checked out the c-dots models and seem just as clear as the one on the 510. I just don't remember what models I looked at.

I now have a list of pistol RDOs that I want to get back in my hands.

Purpose of the rifle is to have a handy little rifle to carry through the woods with the main quarry being southeastern whitetails.

So, up for discussion;

It looks like the easy option is the Holosun AEMS but even with the 1.22" low mount it seems tall.

Pistol RDOs under consideration;

507C

508T

509T

EPS full sized

Mounts readily available without the use of adapter plates,

509T

RMR/507C

Holosun K

Last but not least, irons or no irons.

Sorry for the amount to digest,

Thanks, CD

510/512 and AEMS are going to look and balance funny on a lever gun.

I’d be looking at the pistol optics or one of the Holosun or SIG Aimpoint micro pattern optics like the 403/503 and the Romeo 5.

[Crazy Dane]

Well, I did a thing... Took the wife out to dinner and after we dropped by Sportsmans so I could compare models I was looking at. They had the 507C on sale for 269$. I did compare it to the 508 and EPS. Considering this is the experimental phase, I went with cheaper option. I have a mount coming from EGW.


If all of this works the way I hope it does, I'll do my .44 too.

[gato naranja]

Well, I did a thing... Took the wife out to dinner and after we dropped by Sportsmans so I could compare models I was looking at. They had the 507C on sale for 269$. I did compare it to the 508 and EPS. Considering this is the experimental phase, I went with cheaper option. I have a mount coming from EGW.

I can't see myself going back to an open emitter RDS at this point in my life, but never say never. They are certainly the less intrusive route for keeping things small and low (and agreeable to the CFO).

I'd agree on the AEMS maybe looking a bit gawky, but depending on the mount, the Aimpoint ACROs and Micros (and the "homages" to same) can be that way too. Going through the optics left on my "Island of Misfit Gun Accessories" did not turn up any obvious candidates save one Micro currently on a QD mount that puts the line of sight up on the the 17,000th floor landing,* so at minimum I would need a much lower mount for the inbound SBL.

*"Alarmingly high."

[gato naranja]

It's an old pic with the homebrewed carry strap not trimmed to its final length, but this has been a nearly ideal setup for me that has been in use about ten years. It was an "outside the box" attempt a minimalist optic/mount to keep the rig as slick, low and simple as I could manage at the time, without being too delicate. I still regret the need to use an optic on a .357 carbine, but "needs must," as they say.

The 25mm Ultradot is mounted just far enough forward to clear the rear aperture, but not so far forward that it overhangs excessively. The rear sight/rail is an early XS LeverRail that has had the forward portion cut off to be even with the front of the low Burris "Zee" ring (after the fore-and-aft placement was established). The irons are too low to co-witness, but I really don't care too much; as long as I have a coin or my SAK handy, the dot with rings still attached can be easily removed from the front by simply removing two screws.