To Red Dot Or Not

Boy, I'm sure excited to see who the tech world has impacted on the firearms industry. Recently some friends and I found ourselves debating a new topic in the 2A world. Red Dots vs Iron sights. Why or why not?  We really had a great time discussing the reasoning behind using or not using red dot sights on pistols. So, I thought I would share it with you.

There are obviously two schools of thought on this. Pro and con. Just remember, I'm not here to tell you what to do, or how to do it. It's not an “I'm right, you're wrong” issue. I just want to share my experience and help you decide for yourself what’s best for your life/situations. Personally, I have found that I love a red dot on a pistol. When I first mounted the Halo Sun 507g, I was skeptical, like most. Is this thing going to hold zero? Is it really going to recharge from the solar panel on it? How hard is it going to be to find the dot quickly? And so on. All the same questions that everyone has about switching to a dot site. Not to mention what do you do if it fails. I'm almost 50 years of age, so I have vivid memories of tech NOT working as promised in its many forms. So, I was just as skeptical as the rest, given those experiences. Us older guys aren't as confident with tech as you younger cats that didn't live through the growing pains of tech development. lol.

I mounted the optic to my M&P and began using it. At first it was very hard to bring the pistol up and find my sight picture. That damn dot almost seemed like it moved around on me. I spent several weeks out on the range working with it. I shot around 1,000 rounds before I started to notice I was finding the dot quicker and easier every time I shot the gun. I was even getting some sub second draw + shot. So, I kept working on it.

After a few weeks of training, and it wasn't even daily, it just took a few weeks of time between my life schedule and such, but in time I did figure out how to acquire a quick sight picture and get quality "A" zone hits at various distances.

But there is still the question of the site taking a crap on you, getting broken in a high stress situation etc., etc. Those are correct worries to have. And that is why if you decide to put a dot on your pistol you will very much need to make sure the iron sights on the pistol co-witness to the red dot. Just in case you needed to punch that pistol out and your dot fails. Or under stress, you simply forget to turn it on. Which is another topic we need to discuss. 

If you plan to have a red dot, you should seriously look at the shake awake technology. In a high stress situation, you really do not want to have to remember to turn your site on. The new shake awake tech allows you to not be worried about turning your sight on or off. When you grab the gun, it comes on and once the gun is still for 10 minutes, it turns itself off. If you get the solar version, it even recharges itself. You really can't beat it as long as it's in the budget. There are more budget-friendly versions, but with the savings you also give up some of the cool bells and whistles that come along with the higher price. Remember, you get what you pay for. I highly recommend the Halo Sun brand of solar powered shake awake sites, however there are several other brands coming up that offer similar products for slightly less money, but remember... In the firearms world, you 100% get what you pay for. Spend cheap, you will certainly get cheap. When it comes to something you're counting on to keep you safe no matter what situation, one should at least consider spending up on their purchase.

Paul Riley

Therapy Range LLC

www.therapyrange.com