Red Dots

Some of us are older in age and have seen stuff over the years being introduced and thought that is a gimmick to sell things.  I am sure that when Red Dots first came along to replace iron sights or scopes there were many that thought this way about this new technology, but time has proven them wrong.  Let’s discuss why I think so.

What is a Red Dot

There are several different types of Red Dots, but the ones I am going to talk about are the style you see mounted on the top of the slide back by the rear sight in the picture above.  There is a red light that is projected from behind and on to the vertical glass.  There are a bunch of styles of “Dots” some are green, some are rings, you can make it brighter or darker.  The concept is, you put the “Dot” on the target where you want to shoot it. 

Focus On the Target

First let’s explore why you might want to consider Red Dots for a handgun.  Many people like to look at the target rather than the front sight.  This is especially true in a defensive engagement as we want to look at the person attacking us.  The way you use a Red Dot is to focus on the target and let that Red Dot be a blur on the target.

Far Sighted

For those that are far sighted – can’t see up close (ie your front and rear sight), a Red Dot prevents having special prescription shooting glasses.  This might be helpful for a home defense situation where you don’t have time to get your readers to see the sights or if they are knocked off in a fight.

Simple to Use

As described above using a Red Dot is simple, you put the dot where you intend to shoot.  There isn’t the equal height, equal light and trying to get two objects to line up on the target.  People generally find this very quick to engage targets because of this.

Eye Dominance – No problem

You use a Red Dot with both eyes open.  Because of the way it works and you are focused on the target, eye dominance is not as big an issue as compared to iron sight.  Different people may argue this, but in general I have heard many say it has been a solution for them.

Get use to the Movement

One of the challenges is the perceived shake or movement.  When you use iron sights you might see a sight move, but it is not that distracting.  When you use a Red Dot, the movement appears to be worse.  Remember the Red Dot is the projection of where the dot is at the target in essence.  As a result, it really is showing you how much you move.  Some people find this distracting until they get used to it.

Where is the Dot?

I think one of the biggest challenges for people that just start shooting with a Red Dot is trying to find it on the glass.  You will see them doing circles or “angling” the gun up or down to try and find the dot.  There are a couple things that fix this.

-       Practice:  If you are consistent with your presentation, you will see the dot each and every time.

-       Tall sights:  Some guns and Red Dot sights allow the combined use of Red Dots and Iron Sights.  The Iron sights would be tall enough to be able to see them through the glass.  If you align the sights, you will see the dot. This also acts as a back up in case the electronics fail.

-       Front sight:  Another option is to pick up just the front sight in the glass, center it low in the glass then start raising the muzzle and you should see the dot.

The key to consistently finding the dot is to practice and get use to the presentation.  This will make you quicker and more accurate.

Stigmatism

If you are like me and have a Stigmatism you know from driving at night and you see star bursts when cars drive at you vs just two head lights, that looking at a red dot can actually look like a big fuzzy blob rather than a clean small dot.  There are some brands that supposedly do better like Holosun, but the best thing I have found to do is lower the brightness of the dot and it helps quite a bit.

Give it a “shot”

If you haven’t had a chance to shoot a Red Dot, give it a try.  The technology has come a long way to include durability and battery life.  They can help keep someone with aging eyes like mine continue to enjoy the shooting sports and allow me to continue to be defensive ready.  See ya on the firing line!