I have a S&W 627 PC and am thinking of putting a scope on it.  As my eye sight gets worse I am having a hard time focusing on the front sight.  

 

Just soooooo much easier to hit the target with a red dot or a laser on my handguns, but a scope????

 

Was thinking a nice silver Simmons (around $100) would be worth a shot.

 

So my questions:

 

(1) I'm cross dominate (shoot right handed but aim with left eye).  Will this make a handgun scope hard to use? (I would think not since I use isosceles stance).

 

(2) I'm not planning on hunting with it so is a Simmons good enough, or should I save up for a Leupold?

 

thanks so much,

FamilyMan

 

 

 

 

I would go with a Nikon personally, and if I had more disposable income, a Leupold.

 

If you need to go less expensive then maybe consider a Bushnell.

 

I personally would stay away from Simmons, and I'm a cheapskate.

Somehow putting a <$100 scope on a >$1K handgun seems blasphemous. Kind of like wearing a $10 helmet. You may be better served by a red dot or similar, where eye relief and alignment (especially with cross dominance) isn't so critical.

 

If you decide to go forward with the scope, I have a black EGW Picatinny rail to sell - drilled to fit the factory drilled & tapped holes in the top strap.

 

Maybe rather than optical set-ups you may want to explore different sight arrangements. Fiber optic fronts are great - moreso outdoors than in, but dependent on the amount of ambient light, OK indoors too. The other thing is to get more light visible around the front sight blade. OE S&W sights are .125" rear notch with a .125" front blade (the longer the barrel the better with this set-up). If you leave the rear sight stock at .125", then go to a .100" front sight blade (preferably w/FO). If the front sight has to stay at .125", then try a .140" rear notch. These are the set-ups I have on various guns that I use for IDPA.

 

Good luck.

 

Adios,

 

Pizza Bob

Great responses!!!!

 

I'm open to spending more (getting to Pizza Bob's point) but I'm unlikely to be shooting past 50 yards.  So maybe a fixed 4x Nikon???  

 

I have a Wegand rail which I put my EOtech 512 on just for fun.  Worked great (almost felt like cheating), but looked soooooo odd I took it off.

 

Fiber optics could be nice, and recommendations on brand. 

 

I like the gold dot on the front, but its a little big (or so it seems) for accurate work.

Unless you need a scope for longer distance shooting I would steer towards a red dot. Something like a Burris fast fire 3 which is ultra compact for pistol mounting. They run about $250 and they make mounts to fit specific pistols

 

 

Here's mine on my vector so you can see how small it would be. Red dots are better for people who are cross dominant since you shoot with both eyes open

 

 

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Unless you need a scope for longer distance shooting I would steer towards a red dot. Something like a Burris fast fire 3 which is ultra compact for pistol mounting. They run about $250 and they make mounts to fit specific pistols

 

 

Here's mine on my vector so you can see how small it would be. Red dots are better for people who are cross dominant since you shoot with both eyes open

 

 

This signature exceeds the 15 character capacity

Fiber optics could be nice, and recommendations on brand. 

 

I like the gold dot on the front, but its a little big (or so it seems) for accurate work.

 

As far as fiber optics, I have used Dawson Precision and Hi-Vis, but there are others out there that do equally well. Depends on what you need and the type of front sight you currently have. If the 627PC has the DX type interchangeable blades, then go with Hi-Viz and change it yourself. Hi-Viz sights for S&W are the stock width (.125") so consider a wider rear sight notch. Wiegand makes a blade for the S&W sight that has several notch widths. I found that I like the .140" notch with the .125" front blade. The same would be suitable for your gold bead - which is most likely .125" in diameter. Word of advice - if you are going to go for the Wiegand rear, send him your sight assembly and let them do it. Many DIY'ers end up with the blade being loose.

 

We may have very different priorities. You mention precision shooting, whereas my concern is rapid sight acquisition, so you may want to go in steps -  just replace the front sight first and see how it is with the stock rear, before you go all in and change them both.

 

Adios,

 

Pizza Bob

If you are interested in trying fiber optics give sdm fabrication a try. Ive tried em all and like them the best