The red dotters are right!

[Roscoe2212]

After some reluctance, I fitted a Holosun to my Shadow 2.  It seems like cheating!  I went from 4 inch groups to 2 inch
groups in one session. I went home with targets that had huge holes in one spot where many rounds hit again and again.
If you have trouble seeing the target, are old, with poor eyesight, the red dot will make you happy.

[2morechains]

Plus your follow-up shots are faster. 

5 years ago I started having difficulty focusing on my iron sights, especially the front sight.  I persevered for a year or two with special glasses, but in 2018 succumbed to the inevitable and switched over to red dots on my pistols that I use for competition as well as EDC. 

[Rmach]

I will never give in.  I don't want an electronic gismo on any of my handguns, especially if they are ugly and bulky. Fiber optics is your friend after 60.

[Philosurfer]

After some reluctance, I fitted a Holosun to my Shadow 2.  It seems like cheating!  I went from 4 inch groups to 2 inch
groups in one session. I went home with targets that had huge holes in one spot where many rounds hit again and again.
If you have trouble seeing the target, are old, with poor eyesight, the red dot will make you happy.

Yep, my vp9 is a bleeped video game now...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[M1A4ME]

What electronics??



Just fiber optics and tritium.  Fiber optics good for life.  Tritium for 10 to 12 years (they say).  This one is about 10 years old now.

I know, without my glasses, I can't see a standard front sight anymore.  I need to take the Tac. Sport out and see what the green FO front sight looks like without my glasses.  Just to know for sure.

[AZ_GunGuy]

My experience -

For whatever reason, I have a lot of trouble getting the front iron sight into focus.  Call it lack of training, or poor eye sight, I really dont know why. So my shots are pretty slow with irons.

With a red dot I just focus on the target, look for the dot then BLAMO    But seriously, I'm waaaaay better with red dots.

[Dutch70]

Being cross eye dominate I struggled a bit with chasing the dot on my P365xl with a 507k mounted on it. After a few hundred dry fires I'm now good to go, I've been shooting pistols for almost 50 years. Now I want to mount red dots on all our applicable pistols. My wife who isn't cross eyed dominate took to it like a duck to water, she now wants one for her P365.

Yesterday we were shooting a P-01 and new P-10c side by side and we're both excited about getting dots for those, I have a green dot 407c in the mail for the optic ready P-10c and I need to find a mounting solution for the P-01. Midway had a good price on the 407c and I only use the dot instead of the circle or circle dot options so I didn't see the need to spend the extra +$100 for the 507c. I think they are otherwise the exact same sight.

We're working the Kyle DeFoor Hat qual, and our range recently installed a 15 yard dueling tree. We may try our hand at a monthly bowling pin match at 12 yards if we can get up to speed on the Hat qual, and will most likely be using the P-01 and P-10c.

Yesterday I did poorly with the P-01 at 15 yards with the stock irons, I just can't make out the front sight. I did much better with the new P-10c because that front sight pops, even though the trigger and fit to my hand is better with the P-01.

[oneoff]

My old eyes like’em too, but as was stated, not on all guns.
  I’m quite effective within 15 yards with my most familiar handguns, and consider the red dot to be so much baggage in a short range emergency situation.
  One problem I’ve had, which admittedly could be a training issue, is that I do not always default to the dot “line of sight”, and it slows me down.  I’m sure if I committed I’d get it, but fiber-optics and gold work well for me still. 
  But I do use red dots for testing ammo now.  I can’t compete w/ irons at 25 yds. + anymore!

[lewmed]

 I've been using red dot sights for range use for over 20 years but for SD my choice is a green laser it's much smaller and for me faster to get on target.

[M1A4ME]

We've got lasers on the Shields.  Don't remember the brand.  One (wife's) is green, mine is red.  Both are set up to come on when you grip the frame.  You can turn that feature off and use a button, but then you have to use the button and the trigger.  Different than my usual carry guns so I set them for the laser to activate when gripped.

Never shot them farther than 7 or 8 yds, so far.  No idea how the laser looks at 15 or 20 yds.  Meaning how easy/hard it is to see in varying light conditions.

[JBruns]

I used to carry with the Crimson Trace green laser with the grip activation, and tested it quite a bit in all conditions. In bright sun, it was much better than the red laser, but still could get hard to see beyond 20-25 yards. Good system, but I decided to go red dot a few years ago. I just prefer red dots personally.

[Winston_Smith]

I will never give in.  I don't want an electronic gismo on any of my handguns, especially if they are ugly and bulky. Fiber optics is your friend after 60.

Yes! Someone else who is OG like me.  If your vision is going because you are getting older (like me), get enhanced shooting goggles.  Made all the difference for me.

[Joe L]

I've been shooting dots for nearly 10 years.  I used to shoot irons in IDPA and got very comfortable with them before moving on to bullseye with red dots.  That was maybe 8 years ago.  Now, when I take the iron sight guns to the range, I struggle a little.  I have to use my computer progressive lens eyeglasses to focus on the front sight.  I have to use a 6 o'clock zero on a bullseye target.  I need a wide front sight to center easily. 

But it is a skill I need to work on, so I am shooting the iron-sighted P-07, 75B, and a new Marvel .22 conversion for my 1911 for the next few weeks as a refresher.  But I don't think I'll be able to shoot any sub 2" groups at 50 yards from a rest with irons.  Maybe 4".  Maybe.

[2morechains]

I will never give in.  I don't want an electronic gismo on any of my handguns, especially if they are ugly and bulky. Fiber optics is your friend after 60.

Yes! Someone else who is OG like me.  If your vision is going because you are getting older (like me), get enhanced shooting goggles.  Made all the difference for me.

Do you wear those goggles all the time, i.e. whenever you’re carrying your gun?  I have a pair of glasses with the right diopter for me to see my front sight in focus and doesn’t blur out the target too much.  I wear them when I shoot iron sight guns.  However I don’t wear those glasses outside of the range, doing you know, everyday stuff. 

[RSR]

With astigmatism and COD, I don't find red dots to be any more accurate than irons on handguns. 

Also, pretty much any underrail mount weaponlight is sufficient for minute of man aiming at self-defense distances. 

Add a laser if you want additional precision. 

But if you're shooting beyond 10-20 yards, self-defense is going to be extremely hard to argue. 

And if you are planning for engagements beyond that range, then we're talking about WROL and the need to have a rifle, rather than a handgun. 

That said, I understand the benefits for things such as competition, but also see a lot of red dot pistol folks without BUIS -- and they're trading the devil they know for one they don't.  Even if my nearly universal for defensive carry pistol's tritium and/or lasers don't work the iron sights themselves always do...