Are you "Gun Amish?" Or do you have a Red Dot on your pistol?

[drobs]

Got a Red Dot on my APX. Initial thoughts, I don't like it. It gives me the impression that I am shooting downward. Although I am not. Weird. No worries, I will continue to try it out to see if I can get used to it.

I also got that impression shooting this gun the other day with the RDS. I 1st started finding the sights / then finding the dot - and went through about 4 mags with 50% hits on a 10inch gong. Then for the last couple of mags I tried just finding the dot and firing when it lined up with the target. That sort of seemed to work.

This Glock 43X is my go to the big city gun and I had an appointment in Springfield, MO. I swapped back to my iron / night sighted slide for that trip.

I also prefer quality RDS (Aimpoint, Eotech, Trijicon) on rifles. I swear my Aimpoint Comp M4 and Eotech were more or less sighted in at the factory. I've used some cheaper RDS on rifles that took a lot of sighting in.

I'm not a convert to RDS on pistols yet but am trying.

 

[SDGlock23]

I'm gun amish for sure, now I don't mind red dots at all and in fact, they're pretty cool. That being said, I don't feel the need for them at this point, let me rephrase, I don't feel the need for them on all my guns. If it's a range gun only, maybe. For use around the house, possibly, but for now, I don't carry a gun with a dot on it.

 

[drobs]

Ran 8 mags (130rds) through it again just now with the Red Dot - still not getting the hang of it.
A neighbor of mine is a Deputy & carries a Sig P320 with Red Dot, I'll have to go shoot with him again and get some pointers.

 

[.38 Special]

Ran 8 mags (130rds) through it again just now with the Red Dot - still not getting the hang of it.
A neighbor of mine is a Deputy & carries a Sig P320 with Red Dot, I'll have to go shoot with him again and get some pointers.

It took me several months and many thousands of rounds before I started beating my "iron sights" personal bests with a dot.

 

[buddyd157]

gun amish also

 

[tommy.duncan]

I swear my Aimpoint Comp M4 and Eotech were more or less sighted in at the factory.

I love the Comp M4, but I really love the Aimpoint PRO!!
My wife shot my AR/Eotech 512 combo...I spent my next 30 minutes installing MY 512 on her AR and sighting it in!!

EDIT: Grammar Correction

 

[sevt_chevelle]

I prefer dots.
Right now if it doesn't come Optic Ready, am not really interested.

 

[actionexpress]

On my CCWs, no - at least not yet. On my competition guns - absolutely. I only like the SRO, DeltaPoint optics, but the Holosun ACSS optics seem to help those that struggle with dots.

 

[actionexpress]

I have pistols with and without red dots. Doesn't matter either way. It's fascinating how some folks can't adapt to red dots.

I often wonder if those that struggle with them have their optic bore sighted/zeroed.

 

[AlexanderA]

Every additional accessory makes a gun more awkward to carry. Consider that 99+% of the times you carry, you won't actually draw and fire. So something like a red dot sight wouldn't actually be used, but it would sure be an annoyance to carry.

 

[jar]

I have a few red (and green) dots but they all sit in boxes in storage. I have never found any that help me and all I have tried have actually been an annoyance and hindrance.

 

[defjon]

Tis a fine sight, but sure tis no red dot English.

(Gun Amish, no red dots here)

 

[Charlie Martinez]

I too am somewhat Amish and although I like them and see their advantages I don't own one. The only pistol (S&W MP 45) I own that I would consider for a red dot sight is (I believe) not factory red dot ready. My other handguns are revolvers and 1911's and I can't in good conscience put a red dot on any of them.

 

[velocette]

CZ 75 PCR Compact. Red on the CZ, Green on the S&W K38 Target Masterpiece, (predates M 14.) Green on the Hi Std.

 

[Uffdaphil]

My only red dot pistol and the suppressed home defense gun. I’d have to get a lot quicker picking up the dot before I’d trust for carry. We will see if practice brings enough confidence.

 

[Bcwitt]

Suspenders, pitchforks & manure- stench clothing here. I dislike optics generally. Especially objectionable on a handgun.

 

[Tallinar]

I put a red dot on my son's 10/22 awhile back. Definitely fun to shoot. I see the merit of the red dot.

I just have a rough time bringing myself mentally to rely upon a gun optic that runs on a battery. There's definitely a mental barrier that prevents me from wanting to bring electronics into my firearms. These things don't go together to me.

 

[trackskippy]

With the better sights, batteries are not an issue. The red dots on my long guns are all 20+ year old Aimpoints, which are now "old school", and they "only" have a 10K battery life. Some of the new stuff is 50K.

I have two rifles that have had their Aimpoints on non stop, for the past couple of decades, and the total time being off, is the 5 minutes or so each year at the battery change.

 

[12Bravo20]

Every additional accessory makes a gun more awkward to carry. Consider that 99+% of the times you carry, you won't actually draw and fire. So something like a red dot sight wouldn't actually be used, but it would sure be an annoyance to carry.

I don't find carrying a pistol with optic any more awkward or an annoyance than carrying a pistol without an optic. It is all in what you are use to and the type of holster you use and the position you carry at.

I carry at the 3:00 position using IWB holsters and having an optic or light mounted doesn't cause any issues. Again it is what you are use to or willing to try.

 

[Buzznrose]

There are a lot of answers here that don’t make sense, regardless of the posters preference. Red (or green or amber) dots improve both speed and accuracy. That is undisputed. It may take a minute to get used to them, but if you’re good at finding your front site lined up with your rear sight, the red dot would be there. The difference is, you have a clear sight picture on your target because you no longer have to focus on the front sight and have a blurry target. All you do is look through a window and overlay a red dot on your clear target.

I don’t have a red dot on my pocket, carry, but every other carry gun that goes in a holster on my belt wears a dot. I am currently up to a half dozen pistols with red/green dots, and few guns in my future won’t be optic ready.

If you don’t want to put an optic on your pistol, that’s perfectly fine. But there is no denying they are an advantage. I agree that you should stick with quality gear, and Trijicon is probably the gold standard, but I’ve bought plenty of Swampfox dots and all are still going strong.

 

[.38 Special]

There are a lot of answers here that don’t make sense, regardless of the posters preference. Red (or green or amber) dots improve...accuracy. That is undisputed.

It is very much disputed in the Bullseye community. The all-time Bullseye record was shot with irons, unless that has changed very recently.

 

[Buzznrose]

It is very much disputed in the Bullseye community. The all-time Bullseye record was shot with irons, unless that has changed very recently.

Interesting. I honestly don’t follow the bullseye community, but for everyone I’ve introduced red dots to, they all start hitting targets much farther out with dots than irons. And groups get tighter.

 

[.38 Special]

Interesting. I honestly don’t follow the bullseye community, but for everyone I’ve introduced red dots to, they all start hitting targets much farther out with dots than irons. And groups get tighter.

I suspect that the better one gets as a handgunner, the smaller the difference. In other words, mastering irons is a lot harder than a dot, but once you're there, the dot won't improve your accuracy.

 

[Buzznrose]

I suspect that the better one gets as a handgunner, the smaller the difference. In other words, mastering irons is a lot harder than a dot, but once you're there, the dot won't improve your accuracy.

You can suspect that, but the fact is a dot sight gives the shooter a clear point of aim and impact versus a clear sight and fuzzy target. Same as an optic on a rifle.

We can argue the 6 vs 3 vs 2 MOA dots, but a front sight on a handgun will likely be less precise than a typical 3 MOA dot.

 

[.38 Special]

You can suspect that, but the fact is a dot sight gives the shooter a clear point of aim and impact versus a clear sight and fuzzy target. Same as an optic on a rifle.

We can argue the 6 vs 3 vs 2 MOA dots, but a front sight on a handgun will likely be less precise than a typical 3 MOA dot.

And yet the record stands.