Who Has An Optical Sight On a Handgun?
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I’ve got a couple of semi auto pistols with holographic sights, some like the RMR, but C-More STS has proven itself for me.
Also a tube type red dot on my 44 mag wheel gun. They are nice in some instances. Targets for sure. For hunting they’re a big plus. Quick acquisition yes, but they also lend to precision shooting with a handgun. In the case of my hunting pistol, I’ve taken animals at 70-80 yards with a non magnified dot that I’d never have shot at with open sights.
So I’d say optics on a handgun have the potential to extend the range as well as ensure hitting the target quicker and more often for most shooters.
Also a tube type red dot on my 44 mag wheel gun. They are nice in some instances. Targets for sure. For hunting they’re a big plus. Quick acquisition yes, but they also lend to precision shooting with a handgun. In the case of my hunting pistol, I’ve taken animals at 70-80 yards with a non magnified dot that I’d never have shot at with open sights.
So I’d say optics on a handgun have the potential to extend the range as well as ensure hitting the target quicker and more often for most shooters.
FWIW I have a Deltapoint Pro on a Glock 19, a Sig Romeo 1 on a Sig P320 X5 and a Cmore Slide Ride on my competition gun.
They are definitely good for faster sight acquisition, target transition, etc. The caveat is that it takes awhile to get used to a dot - how to find it, how it tracks in recoil, etc.
If you go with a dot on a defensive/carry gun, I'd recommend lots of dry fire and live fire practice.
One common "habit" to watch out for and break early is incorrect focus, i.e., staring at the dot, not the target. When shooting a dot, you will almost exclusively be target focused - this is how you pick up the speed. Shooting iron sights, we have to do a dance with our eyes between the sights and the target.
One good way to break this is to put a piece of tape over the lens of your optic. This will force you to focus an the target, and the dot will appear superimposed on the target. It will also show you if/when you are looking at the dot and not the target.
Best of luck!
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They are definitely good for faster sight acquisition, target transition, etc. The caveat is that it takes awhile to get used to a dot - how to find it, how it tracks in recoil, etc.
If you go with a dot on a defensive/carry gun, I'd recommend lots of dry fire and live fire practice.
One common "habit" to watch out for and break early is incorrect focus, i.e., staring at the dot, not the target. When shooting a dot, you will almost exclusively be target focused - this is how you pick up the speed. Shooting iron sights, we have to do a dance with our eyes between the sights and the target.
One good way to break this is to put a piece of tape over the lens of your optic. This will force you to focus an the target, and the dot will appear superimposed on the target. It will also show you if/when you are looking at the dot and not the target.
Best of luck!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I have a Primary Arms micro red dot (tube type) on a Ruger .22LR Mark 4 pistol, and i can shoot 6 inch groups (8 rounds) @100 yards, off a sandbag rest. I could not do that @ 50 yards with the irons. Red dots on a pistol make it possible for pinpoint accuracy, and help compensate for older or slightly impaired eyesight, even with corrective glasses. And sighting a target at distance is much quicker.
Read the articles on line (there are many) and the recommendations above, a red dot on a pistol or revolver is truly a "game changer".
Read the articles on line (there are many) and the recommendations above, a red dot on a pistol or revolver is truly a "game changer".
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This afternoon I will. I got a Vortex Venom last week and picked up a Glock 17 MOS yesterday. I ordered a custom plate from C&H Precision Weapons to remove the sight gap inherent to Glock's "one cut for every rds" system and it should be delivered today.
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JoeLiberty
Well-Known Member
I put one on my ruger 22/45 just for fun. Accuracy is great, but I'm still having trouble picking it up quickly. Once I find it, yes, the target-focused shooting is weird and wonderful. But that first shot is significantly slower for me. Maybe a different gun that had a very natural point of aim would help, but right now I would not put one on a defensive weapon.
BenjaminDewalt
Member
I switched from iron sights to a Trijicon Type 2 RMR this past March. Changed the game for me forever. Took a bit to get used to the sight acquisition, but once you get used to it, and learn to trust it, it's epic.
Helped my distance game greatly. I was always pretty spot on 15 yards and in, but the red dot upped by 25+ yardage shots.
I still run several other guns without an optic, and oddly the red dot seems to have helped me shoot better with iron sights too, due to the focus concentration.
I have optical sights on four hand guns. Three Thompson Center Contenders and a Ruger Charger. My pistol for the primitive weapon season is a Contender in .35 Remington with a three power leupold on it. My other Contender in .22 caliber has a Thompson Recoil Proof three power,for squirrel hunting.Two others donated to the for H shooting sports program, that I have in the gun safe a another Contender with a 3x-9x Burris and a Charger with a Cross fire 6x-18x, used in NRA hunter pistol competition.
To anyone having problems picking up the dot, only advice I have is, forget about it. Literally, ignore the sight sticking up from the top of the pistol. A few times bringing the gun up to target, both eyes open and focus on the target. When the pistol gets between your dominant eye and the target, the dot will be there. I don’t even see the optic itself when I shoot. I only see the dot superimposed on the target. Try different brightness settings and if your optic has color choices, see if they work better for you.
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haha! Awesome! I showed it to my wife and asked, *honey, you want one?* Then she just made that crazy grimace face and shook her head no. I swear, you would think I asked her to ..... do something...nasty or something.
Plate Killer
Trijicon Ruggedized miniature reflex sight, Vortex Tactical reflex sight, Burris Red dot reflex sight... All pretty much the same and improve accuracy over open sights 1000%. Good for the range but not for EDC.
Please explain. Why is it not good for EDC?
Not really made for a concealed handgun and sight acquisition is slower. However, a duty sidearm with a reflex sight is a real advantage in a tactical situation.
Sight acquisition speeds up with practice. With enough practice, acquisition becomes faster than with open sights. If you've ever seen a pistol RDS in person, you would realize they are quite small. The do not add much to a concealed carry gun. Should you pick one up today and carry it tomorrow? No. But after practicing a bit, it provides as much advantage on a concealed carry gun as it does on a duty carry as they are both most likely to be used in similar situations.
I gotta agree. I wouldn’t wanna have to draw from concealment with anything tagging along for obvious reasons. If I thought I needed a sight assist I’d opt for laser grips, op rod laser or some other stealthy small and out of the way laser.
I’m sure there are operators who can pull off a slick quick draw with a dot or light on the pistol, but I’ll spend my training time on hitting the target without either.
If you're drawing from concealment, moving the clothing out of the way should be part of training. Generally speaking, if there's room for the weapon to clear, there's room for the red dot to clear. There are no sharp points on red dots to catch and the red dot does not stick out very far from the weapon. Most red dots have a rounded hood and/or rounded corners. Also, the surface area of the back of the slide is usually as big or bigger than the surface area of the part of the red dot that may be of concern. Snagging the red dot should be a non-issue with the training to effectively draw a weapon without a red dot.
The draw with a good red dot should take no more time than the draw without one. The red dot should either be on already or have an auto-on feature. Battery life is also a non-issue with the proper maintenance, i.e., changing the batteries regularly on a schedule once you learn the run time of the red dot.
But the proper training should lead to the shooter being able to hit close enough to center mass without needing the sights or a red dot. Once someone has trained enough, they should be able to draw and, using muscle memory, aim such that the sights/red dot are almost lined up right where they want it. Since most self-defense incidents occur within about 10 feet, proper training should also include drawing as you take a half a step back to create a little more room to draw and shooting effectively from the hip. Obviously, no sights or red dot will help you there either.
One of the few situations where you may have time to spend that second or less lining up the best shot would be an active shooter situation where you are not in immediate danger. Because that may be a longer shot (25 feet or more), a red dot and the proper training can only help you.
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