Reddot

[Huntinbull]

Anyone know if Tasco reddot scopes are firearm or crossbow specific? I have one I bought for a shotgun on my crossbow and I am getting erratic results. It holds a group but the group moves. Alot!

Huntinbull

[FinsnFur]

They aren't that I know of.
Is there any cracked or loose mounts, screws or anything?

[alscalls]

I would consult your local bow shop to be sure, but I would imagine it cant hold up to the violent back and fourth motion of the bow string.....Gun scopes are designed knowing that the barrel harmonics are consistent and for the mass of the barrel flex it is one directional.
Kinda like what happened to ......bushmaster......when he added weight to the end of his barrel by adding a compensator.
The harmonics can get very violent in doing that......but with a bow? The harmonics of a bowstring are always violent.
So the scope needs to be built.....IE glued differently to compensate for this.....Some scopes are more versatile than others but it sounds like this is what is happening.
                                                       I hope this makes sense.

[slagmaker]

I would consult your local bow shop to be sure, but I would imagine it cant hold up to the violent back and fourth motion of the bow string.....Gun scopes are designed knowing that the barrel harmonics are consistent and for the mass of the barrel flex it is one directional.
Kinda like what happened to ......bushmaster......when he added weight to the end of his barrel by adding a compensator.
The harmonics can get very violent in doing that......but with a bow? The harmonics of a bowstring are always violent.
So the scope needs to be built.....IE glued differently to compensate for this.....Some scopes are more versatile than others but it sounds like this is what is happening.
                                                       I hope this makes sense.

What he said^^^^^

[Hawks Feather]

While I am not sure about crossbows I do know that if you put a regular scope on one of the higher power airguns that it will knock the crap out of the insides fairly quickly.  Years back I sold one of my Beeman air rifles to a guy that said that it wouldn't shoot.  He had put two different scopes on it and neither would hold a group so it had to be the gun.  I went out with him, put a peep site on it, and both he and I had one ragged hole.  I asked him which air gun scope he was using and he said that he was using a Tasco.  I said I didn't know that Tasco made a scope for air guns and he said that they were two that he had bought for his .22 and not used.  I looked at them and as you would rotate the scope the crosshairs would move.  He finally coughed up the money for an air gun scope and no longer had any problems.

Jerry

[FinsnFur]

So the air guns punching harder then a centerfire?

[HaMeR]

The springer airguns are reverse recoil,, they recoil forward  ,, & will detonate the inner workings of most rifle scopes.

Springers are also known as break barrel air rifles.

[alscalls]

So the air guns punching harder then a centerfire?

It is the violent back and forth of the spring inside that does it......
Recoil of a rifle is one direction...... Its like casting a fishing pole Vs. cracking a whip.

Ever seen a bow as its fired in slow motion?  The string of the bow is even more violent.

[slagmaker]

Yeah in slow motion you wonder how the heck the thing even stays in one piece. It isn't a unidirectional recoil either, the bow twists and turns and that puts a very violent torque on the scope.

[FinsnFur]

Well now, that one we got in our BowHunt banner seems to be beautifully straight , smooth, firm......

[alscalls]

 :roflmao: :roflmao: :roflmao:

[nastygunz]

Also the high power air guns r a beeyotch on mounts...I had to use double mounts on mine as 2 mounts would result in movement after a few shots and shots all over the place....when I put double mounts on the problem stopped, just guessing but the forward/backward hammer might be the same with a bow:


   " Well there are a couple of things happening here. First we have to realize that unlike regular firearms, 99.9999% of spring-piston recoil is NOT generated by the pellet and the air being expelled out of the muzzle. It’s actually being generated by the piston and spring, both of which are very heavy components, especially the large steel spring. When the sear is released, the highly compressed heavy spring will jump forward with tremendous force pushing the piston ahead of it. As the spring and piston are moving forward, the gun is recoiling back against your shoulder with significant pressure. Now here’s the part that many people don’t understand. As the piston comes to the end of the compression chamber it will actually strike the wall with substantial force, and the gun will now bounce forward, recoiling away from you.

     So the essential elements to be remembered here are that recoil from a spring-piston air gun is not light but actually fairly considerable, and that there are two recoil pulses in opposite directions i.e. one to the rear and one forward. For a scope to withstand the recoil pulse away from the shooter, it has to be constructed specifically for that task. Most scopes are not."

[nastygunz]

"A crossbow recoils both back and forwards. The net is normal recoil (as you'd expect from conservation of momentum), but the "reverse recoil" occurs in a shorter period of time and so you feel it as more jarring. The reverse recoil is actually caused by the stopping of the shot - i.e., you feel normal recoil as the bolt is accelerated, and then reverse recoil as the bow-part and string come to a sudden halt."


Hunter® Mult-A-Range® 4x32 Crossbow Scope - Item SS047
Price:$109.00
Please Select Your OptionsQuantity:       Features five crosshairs for varying yardage at approximately 10-12 yard increments (depending on crossbow model). The Mult-A-Range can be used on any crossbow allowing for scope mounting. Specially designed to withstand reverse recoil from crossbows. Optically engineered with a 2 1/2" eye relief. Fully coated optics are shockproof, waterproof and fogproof. Includes 1/4-minute windage and elevation adjustments, duplex reticle, 50-yard parallax. Length: 10"; FOV @ 50 yards: 34 ft.

[bushmaster]

well, nasty done did his homework didn't he?  He's right ya know... I didn't believe the guy at the store when i bought a gamo about 10  years ago.  I put an old tasco .22 scope on it and that was short lived.  I dont know nothin' about crossbows but Al, if your reeadin' this... There's no way in hell that yer gonna convince me to put an air rifle scope on my .338

[alscalls]

Thats not what I am suggesting at all.........

Your case was probably, changed stress........I have done the same thing. Ya leave a scope on a gun for a long time with no trouble..... Then you change the barrel harmonics with out changing the scope.  The scope  gets stretched in a direction its not used to and with an aged scope...... it failed.
I have seen 22 LR do this adding a flash hider for no other reason than to look cool  .......... the cal. is not the problem.......simply a change in direction.....You should have no problem with a new scope.

[KySongDog]

I have had scopes that just go haywire for some reason.       Groups jump all over the target.  I can recognize the symptoms pretty quick now so I don't waste as much ammo trying to sight in a hopeless scope as used to.    I got one of those laser bore sighter thingies and it helps cut down on the range time too. 

[bushmaster]

We will see my friend, we will see.  Hopefully by the first or second week of october

[nastygunz]

well, nasty done did his homework didn't he?  He's right ya know... I didn't believe the guy at the store when i bought a gamo about 10  years ago.  I put an old tasco .22 scope on it and that was short lived.  I dont know nothin' about crossbows but Al, if your reeadin' this... There's no way in hell that yer gonna convince me to put an air rifle scope on my .338

I did have a little prior knowledge cuz I had a sumbitch of a time with that damn airgun....just could not get it to keep sighted in...I almost wrapped it around a tree a few times....put it on Craigslist for sale once....threw it in the closet n forgot it for a year ...then started reading a bunch on the airgun forums and finally just double mounted the SOB and problem solved...

[bushmaster]

ya did better than me.  i did rap it around a few trees.  Finally gave up and discovered CB's.