Lioness - all the tactical types have reflex sights on their handguns. Is that a thing now?

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roscoe

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Has this become standard with the bearded hat-backwards operater types? I need to stay up on these things!
 
I have one on my target 9mm and had one on my target 22. My carry gun won’t accept one but if I could I’d put one in it too.

They take some practice to acquire the dot quickly and the tube type Aimpoint style I had on my 22 is not fast. On a rifle it’s very nice, which is where it is now. The stability of a shoulder, cheek, and both hands makes them much quicker on long guns.
 
It is interesting what is happening to "small" carry guns. After one puts a dot on them, then, many put a comp on it as that helps to find the dot again after one fires then they are almost the same size as a full size pistol without the dot and comp on it. Yea, they may be thinner but I think that may be about the only gain.

I'm not a dot guy on a carry gun, yet, I may get there but doubt it. I like them in some cases but that isn't one for me.
 
roscoe said:

Lioness - all the tactical types have reflex sights on their handguns. Is that a thing now?​

Has this become standard with the bearded hat-backwards operater types? I need to stay up on these things!
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First up, I’m not sure who Lioness is? 😛

Second up, us regular middle aged guys that can’t see sights well can make good use of a red dot on a handgun. 🙃
 
I see this immediately shifted to carry guns. I can go either way, as long as the “iron” sights are some sort of high visibility type.

For a red dot on a carry gun*, I find it imperative to have the red dot co-witness with the red dot. It aids to learn finding the dot quickly (with practice), but also allows being able to transition from one sight system to another (on the same gun) depending on lighting conditions.

*disclaimer - I personally see value of a red dot on guns with 3.5” barrels and greater. Less so on smaller guns.
 
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Tallball said:
It's an excellent way to make sight acquisition slower. :)
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For the untrained yes, for those who have put in the work with them, no.

One type of sighting system you can have a “target focus” one type you can’t. A dot will always be quicker with equal training. With a dot one only has to line up one thing on the target with the target being in focus. And that one thing doesn’t have to be centered in the glass, only on where one wants to place hits on the target.

I don’t see a lot of military using irons as opposed to red dots on their carbines, why’s that? It’s because irons are terribly slow as compared to red dots. It’s the same on the streets, in the backyard and in competition for civilians.

As with anything muscle memory takes time. Remember how terrible we all were shooting an iron sighted pistol in the beginning?
 
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Dots are trending. Lots of folks want to try them to see what it's all about. I put one on Ruger MKII and it's more fun to shoot. I then put one on a 625 revolver and it's also more fun to shoot. So I put one on my Mini-14 and I hated it. But then I've had some time on a precision rifle and used scopes all of my life. I put the 4x scope back on it. I've never had one on a pistol I might carry but don't feel a need for one. The time I would have to spend to learn to use it for self defense just isn't something I want to do. I don't have any compact pistols that would mount a dot anyway.

Personally I can shoot just fine without a dot at 15 yards which would be my max range for a self defense situation. If someone else wants to buy the gear and train with it, full speed ahead. If it's military or LE it won't be your money paying for the gear and training so no down side there.
 
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pbearperry135 said:
I have tried a few friends Dot sights, but they really slow me down.
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I took me quite a bit of repetitive practice time with my own gun to make the dot appear on target with regularity. I’m talking with snap caps in the house nearly daily, plus time at the range.

I can tell you that I can feel the way my hand goes on the grip whether the dot will be on target or not. Same goes for the “iron” sights, by the way.
 
I like the show but the gun handling isn't very good. Pistol optics have taken a strong foothold these days and it's not just former operators who are embracing them. Police departments are adopting then in droves as well as competitive shooters and serious self defense shooters.
 
If all they did was slow us down, why don't the iron sight guys let us play in their divisions?

Probably because they know, in the right hands, they are an advantage.

If you are not drawing the firearm and ending on target, you just need more practice. That goes for sights or a dot.
 
Dots aren't slower. They're faster at any distance.

They feel clumsy and slow if you just shoot a box of fifty through a friend's gun but if you spend some time getting used to them they outshoot irons handily and will double your effective range.
 
I enjoy the series. Interesting that I think they are carrying Shadow System pistols.

I did get an interesting tip on one episode. During the episode when they were running the chopper pilot through the shoot house and she was supposed to shoot in a very ackward direction, the trainer told her to “point her knuckle at the target”. I actually tried that a few times at a private range bay and it works pretty well once you get a feel for it.
 
roscoe said:
Has this become standard with the bearded hat-backwards operater types? I need to stay up on these things!
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Why the need for stereotyping?

They have been popular with competitive shooters for as long as I can remember. The aging shooters that I shot with 15 years ago were using dots and lasers when needed. Like mentioned, law enforcement has been using them for a few years now.

If you practice and get good with a red dot, they are very fast and easy to aim. I own a pistol with a dot, but still prefer the simplicity and low maintenance of standard sights.
 
Iron sights may be going the way of analog watches. It won't surprise to me to someday start running across handgunners who don't actually know how to use either one.
 
I said what I said above, and I still really enjoy using iron sights as well. But I know that as my eyes age, I'm going to really appreciate knowing how to use a dot.
 
C-More sights have been used in steel challenge for quite a long time by now. I believe, they were hitting the competition market in the mid-90's, not sure if the operators were bearded with hats backwards or not back then.
 
For years all I have heard from gun folks is “We need smaller guns with more capacity and more power”
Now it’s “Hey, we have these really cool efficient, compact, moderate capacity guns for ease of concealed carry…let’s add a big sight on top!” 🤪
 
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