Red-Dot Pistol Sights

If I had to prognosticate I'd say they're here to stay.

A couple months ago I purchased a Canik TP9SFx with the Vortex red dot.

That red dot sure helps my old eyes. My buddy, who's a few years older than I am has decided to pick up the same setup.

You'll start seeing more and more people using them on their EDC.

I've got reflex red dots on several pistols. Most are 22s. S&W Victory,M&P 22, Ruger Mk4 Hunter. These are all 3MOA dots. My Ruger 22/45 Lite has a FF3 with the 8 MOA dot. I recently bought a M&P CORE and mounted a FastFire3 with an 8 MOA dot on it. I'll be shooting it next week at an IDPA match.

It takes a little practice to "find the dot" with most of these pistols, but the M&P CORE has higher sights and the dot almost co witnesses. To me this makes it easier to find the dot, at least in testing. We'll see how it works at the match.

The 3 MOA dots should allow for a finer sight picture, but for IDPA or shooting steel I think the 8 MOA will be fine. I believe the Romeo is available with a 6 MOA dot and that might be an option. I think it also has automatic turn on with motion as well.

Did you find that you had to "aim lower than you'd expected" with the red dot? I find that to be the case and when I let other shoot my pistols I always point that out to them.

Once they get used to them, I’ve found that most people’s shooting improves with a red dot on their pistol. The main things holding them back right now are cost, durability, battery life, and compatibility. All of those will improve with time as the technology constantly gets better.

Eventually, I predict they’ll be as common an upgrade as night sights and fiber optic sights are now.

I forgot to mention that I've had red dots on some of my Ruger MK pistols for years.

I don't want them on a defensive handgun. I find iron sights quicker. The big, bulky red dot sights are close but slower and last are the small reflex sights. Add in the time to turn them on and the irons are much faster. That's how they work for me.

I do have a couple of Ruger MK pistols with the dovetail mounted reflex sights and I can shoot them much more accurately that way than I could with their iron sights. I have the tube type red dots on a couple of air pistols. Same deal.

I have a Burris Fast Fire 3 on my PMR 30. It really improved my accuracy past 50 feet.

doubleh said:

I don't want them on a defensive handgun. I find iron sights quicker. The big, bulky red dot sights are close but slower and last are the small reflex sights. Add in the time to turn them on and the irons are much faster. That's how they work for me.

I do have a couple of Ruger MK pistols with the dovetail mounted reflex sights and I can shoot them much more accurately that way than I could with their iron sights. I have the tube type red dots on a couple of air pistols. Same deal.

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Your don’t turn them on under stress; you leave them on all the time you are carrying. The batteries last nearly forever and only cost a buck or less in bulk. The smartest plan is to not depend upon projected battery life, Just keep the sight on whenever you are depending on the gun and change the battery once a week or so. It won’t let you down that way. Much like a smoke alarm, you change the battery long before you could actually need to so you won’t be let down.

Michael A Ferber said:

I use all my guns for fun and self-defense. Three dot night sights work just great for me. I can't image a gun with a Romeo under a live or die situation.

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Why not?

There is a Galloway mounting plate for the Burris to fit it to the dovetail on the Ruger LC9s. The plate has iron sights front and rear. Very short radius, but the iron sights pull you eye right to the red dot and could sub for it in a pinch. Very nice for an SD application.

To answer the question, a brief perusal of any a late edition handgun magazine will show you how well entrenched the red dot sights are. Many guns being advertised with red dot included.

I have a Vortex Venom on my Ruger MKII. For an old guy like me they really improve my ability to break clays at 50 yards. That's the only pistol I have a dot on. I wouldn't want one on my EDC, too slow.

http://www.vortexoptics.com/product/venom-red-dot-3-moa-dot

I have a FF3 on a Ruger 22/45 and an ultra dot on my SRH 44 Mag. Both work very well, particularly at longer ranges.
I tried the FF3 on a Glock and could not shoot nearly as quick as with open sights. With enough practice I think a dot would be quicker.
For a carry gun I'll stick with night sights, at least as long as my eyesight is good enough.

Michael A Ferber said:

Here to stay or just a passing fad? I rented a 9mm Sig Sauer with a Romeo red-dot. I had a heck of a time using it. I guess it's just me, give me a good set of standard night sights.

How about the rest of you!

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I have them on plinkers, and like Gary STL mentioned, practicing to find the dot is important. If all my guns were exactly the same in size, build, and grip, I would be proficient with fast acquisition of the dot on handguns by now. But, all my handguns are all slightly different if not very different. So, I have to get used to the gun alignment with each plinker before each range trip.

Still, I think they are a fantastic sighting aid for older eyes that can't see handgun sights clearly anymore.

chicharrones said:

I have them on plinkers, and like Gary STL mentioned, practicing to find the dot is important. If all my guns were exactly the same in size, build, and grip, I would be proficient with fast acquisition of the dot on handguns by now. But, all my handguns are all slightly different if not very different. So, I have to get used to the gun alignment with each plinker before each range trip.

Still, I think they are a fantastic sighting aid for older eyes that can't see handgun sights clearly anymore.

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I know about the "front sight" mantra and agree with it, but you have to see the target too. You can focus on the front sight and still shoot at anything at all. If you don't align the front sight with the rear and put it on the target, you won't hit the target. The red dot makes it easy to see the sight and put it right on the target where you want it. Easy-peasy.

Once you learn how to use them, they are very effective, particularly for older eyes like mine.

My eyes are no longer able to see close and I simply can't shoot irons anymore.
I put a Trijicon RM06 Type 2 on my SIG P220 and it is a game changer for me.
I can shoot again.

Update 10/15/2018
Have a look here (post 50) and see the SIG P220 with the Trijicon and what I was able to do with it.
What are your three finest shooting autoloader?

I have one on my MKII.
Its just a cheapo, but it sure makes fast work of ringing my gongs.
Im a believer.

I'd say that red dots on pistols are here to stay ... particularly since so many of us with aging eyes can recapture our former glory days of being able to actually have sights that we can see. One thing you absolutely must have on your gun if you're using any type of optic is a really good trigger.

But yes, there is a bit of a learning curve, and for most of us, it takes more than one range session to adapt. Don't give up. I got frustrated myself the first time I tried one of these ...

They've been around for 40 years and they're only getting more compact and more efficient. They're here to stay.

I only have a red dot on my Browning Buckmark. It did take some getting used to since the line of sight is higher, but I've had a TRS25 on that gun for about 3 years now and it's second nature by now. I've never measured, but it seems like the time to get on target is much faster. Accuracy at 25 yards or less is probably about the same as with my Ruger Mark I with irons, but once I back up to 50 yards the red-dot gives me a huge advantage.

Here is what the FF3 red dot did for me today on my Ruger SR1911 9mm Commander. The first image is 20 rounds at 7 yards. The second image is the first one plus and additional 20 rounds at 11 yards. I can't put the same number of rounds into a circle twice as large with iron sights. I'm pretty sure I could trim that 11 yard circle quite a bit if the red dot were even smaller than 3 MOA and if the point of aim didn't get obliterated by the previous shots making such a large hole. The aim point is all over the place after several rounds.

Definitely here to stay, but you can write a book (and at least one has been written) about picking the right sight and mounting it properly. The big problem is that a top-quality RDS will set you back $500. And the whole business of having a separate mounting plate is a lousy solution - mounting the RDS directly to the slide is far more efficient.

Having said that, anyone over 40 shooting iron sights needs to invest in a proper pair of prescription shooting glasses. Competitors in the precision disciplines figured this out decades ago.

Mike OTDP said:

Definitely here to stay, but you can write a book (and at least one has been written) about picking the right sight and mounting it properly. The big problem is that a top-quality RDS will set you back $500. And the whole business of having a separate mounting plate is a lousy solution - mounting the RDS directly to the slide is far more efficient.

Having said that, anyone over 40 shooting iron sights needs to invest in a proper pair of prescription shooting glasses. Competitors in the precision disciplines figured this out decades ago.

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I disagree with you completely regarding the red dots except for them being here to stay. The need for a $500 sight is old news and no longer true. Half that amount or less will buy a very competent model. There comes a time when we just have to take stock of the technological advancements that have occurred. To pretend that the quality has not trickled down to lower priced models is not good for us the consumers.

And the dovetail mounts do a fine job. They just plain work for a very decent price. You can throw your money after imaginary “requirements”, like milling, drilling, and tapping the slide, and no doubt such work makes for a nice end result, even a superior one. But necessary? No, not at all. The dovetail mounts are more than sufficient.