r/canadaguns • u/mistert9 • Mar 20 '26

Buy recommendations 12 Gauge optics

Wondering what kind of optics people have had good luck with on their shotguns. I know many will say the standard irons or beads are all you need, but I'm looking for an upgrade, and I'm torn between Utg pro flip ups or an actual red dot...for the latter, what would hold zero consistently but also not be silly on the price end? I am aware you get what you pay for, but I'm always for paying less (or reasonable) for quality.

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u/Parking_Media Mar 20 '26 edited Mar 20 '26

I think the optics "controversy" thing is from classic clays games like skeet and trap. Optics are probably not useful for those - speaking for my skeet obsessed self, they would be actively worse (I don't even look at the gun).

For other stuff, yeah I can see it. Especially 3 gun, turkey hunting, dedicated slug gun, that kinda thing.

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u/ReturnOk7510 Mar 20 '26

I maintain that wing shooting with any sort of optic is going to result in a lot of missing behind. The bead isn't even really a sight, it's more a way to ensure you've mounted the gun consistently so you can point and shoot instinctively. But for other shotgun uses, ghost rings, red dots, holos, etc definitely have their place.

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u/mistert9 Mar 20 '26

Yes, I was always under the impression that for hunting bird, the standard bead is all you need and anything else could throw you off. I have a Mossberg 500 for turkey and that one works just fine for me with the bead. I guess I just thought most people shunned an optic on a shotgun, for any reason