to dot, or not to dot Marlin model 1895 SBL .45-70 Aimpoint, or Eotech

So I purchased a new Marlin 1895 SBL .45-70 for deer season in Ohio. Ohio just opened up rifle season to straight wall cartridges a couple years ago, previously we were limited to shotgun sluggos. Most of my rifles for very long distance have glass ( Leopold, Vortech, Nikon etc...), we are talking .300 Win Mag, .308 etc...these are for the Northwest.

Well, I have a Mini 30 for around the farm and slapped a "goin outa biz" Spark 2 red dot on it last year and have really enjoyed its quick target acquisition and ease of sight picture with diminishing vision up close as I creep into my 50s. My question is twofold:
Since the 45-70 tends to perform best under 200 yards, I have been considering a low, or no mag red dot Like the EOtech 512, or the Aimpont 9000l rather than glass.

Does anyone have experience on this platform using either of these sights? Also, I know theres a big internet stink between Aimpoint and Eotech, but again for this platform, alota brush potentially, and looking for the under $500 optic with a lower profile than traditional glass.

Any experienced shooters insight would be much appreciated.

a reply to: BlueJacket

Hmmm, so it appears to me the EOtech rests awfully high, maybe a Burris Fast3 for the snug profile and huge cash saver over Aimpoint.

Not your brand, but the Primary Arms sights are gaining huge popularity for being inexpensive and holding up.

a reply to: iTruthSeeker

thanks ll look into them, Im looking at Vortex too, they have an ironclad warranty. Honestly I am not too familiar with the full range of dots. Kinda new to my old arse

a reply to: BlueJacket

I was about to point you at Vortex. I bought a 1-4 for my AR, and it is a true 1 (which is rare enough), and man that thing is tough and clear as day. Top notch glass for $180. My dad has a 1.25-4 Leupold that looks like crap in comparison and is scratched.

I've heard good things about their red dot, too.

May I suggest not going with a 1x dot, because I think you would be much better off, with say....a 1-4x/1-6x/1-8x telescopic scope, for an outdoor hunting venue; that sometimes require magnification, for better visibility and target identification.

originally posted by: BlueJacket
a reply to: iTruthSeeker

thanks ll look into them, Im looking at Vortex too, they have an ironclad warranty. Honestly I am not too familiar with the full range of dots. Kinda new to my old arse

Yes Vortex as well. I hear their warranty and customer service is excellent. But I am not sure about their red dots. I would imagine they have what you are looking for.

Forgot to add that if you are interested in some low profile stuff around the $500 range, kick in an extra $50-100 and get a Trijicon RMR reflex. Midway has the dual illuminated one under $500, actually. Fiber optics feed sunlight into it, great during day time.

Well, I just grabbed a vortex Razor from my local armory to play with and see if I like it. I can appreciate what Erno86 said above, but with my mini 30, ive been great out 100yds +, and I wont be shooting the .45-70 beyond 200 yards.

ill let ya know how she goes.

a reply to: BlueJacket

I'd just make sure you get that thing set in good, loctite everything, with the recoil of that .45-70.

a reply to: Excallibacca

Oh yeah. I have blue loctite tubes in the barn, and safe. It's a standard condiment around our table.

Eta: actually pulling out my lead sled and tuning her in from boresighting in a few minutes.

a reply to: Excallibacca

Yeah that Trijicon is really nice, I considered it seriously but went with budget warranty and proximity this go round. Appreciate your info.

a reply to: Erno86

I do have an unused (at the moment) 3-9×40, so I can go glass...I have just been so pleasantly surprised with a dot on my 762 that I thought it worth trying a higher end dot on my 1895sbl given brush and woods rarely gets over 100yds open...heck 20-40 Is pretty common

originally posted by: BlueJacket
Well, I just grabbed a vortex Razor from my local armory to play with and see if I like it. I can appreciate what Erno86 said above, but with my mini 30, ive been great out 100yds +, and I wont be shooting the .45-70 beyond 200 yards.

ill let ya know how she goes.

That sight looks sweet! I don't think you will be disappointed.

originally posted by: BlueJacket
a reply to: BlueJacket

Hmmm, so it appears to me the EOtech rests awfully high, maybe a Burris Fast3 for the snug profile and huge cash saver over Aimpoint.

That burris would come apart under recoil of a 45-70.

I would recommend going with trijicon MRO, Aimpoint micro, or an RMR if you're looking into small optics.

Use an Aimpoint on my Duty M4. Get it zeroed and anything within 50 meters you'll have to center the dot, anything beyond 50 meters wherever the dot is, is where the bullet will hit. Out to maximum effective range of weapon. This is due to the parallax offset of the device with Aimpoint.
a reply to: BlueJacket

Have a Leupold 1-4 shotgun scope on mine,if I were going to put a dot style sight on it it would be a Leupold Deltapoint.Got one on a 1187 Turkey gun,fast sighting and has held up for years under 3-1/2 turkey loads so shouldn`t have problems with a 45-70-even shooting 400 gr.Speers at 1870 fps.That load is good for deer to shooting down trees,lol

a reply to: BlueJacket

I have had and used both on ARs killing feral pigs.. Both are good sights.. It just depends on your preferences.. the older I have gotten the more I prefer glass...but that is just me.. Glass with both eyes open for target acquisition seemed to work just about as well for me..

originally posted by: iTruthSeeker

originally posted by: BlueJacket
a reply to: iTruthSeeker

thanks ll look into them, Im looking at Vortex too, they have an ironclad warranty. Honestly I am not too familiar with the full range of dots. Kinda new to my old arse

Yes Vortex as well. I hear their warranty and customer service is excellent. But I am not sure about their red dots. I would imagine they have what you are looking for.

I used Vortex red dots and they work as well and stay together as well as much higher priced equipment.. Again though all my stuff was mounted on AR-15s

that is a cannon.....I am so friggin jealous

I got two boxes of Garrett ammo for dangerous game in Africa.....45.70's with 530 grain hardened .30 meplat bulletts

a frontier pionneer guides gun....shoot two grizzly's with one shot, wait till they line up ...so jealous