Considering a Red Dot, How Do I Start?

[joedirt199]

I am surprised at how many people shoot irons with one eye closed. Been wanting to get into pistol red dot sights and have an extra slide for my p07 that could be milled so I can keep the original slide stock in case of resale even though I don't sell guns.

[OhioGuy78]

Start shopping, or start shooting?

I got a pre-milled slide for my P-07 from CZ Custom. It was cut for a Trijicon RMR. If you plan on running a lot of rounds and doing a lot of training, based on all reviews just about everywhere, I'd suggest ponying up to Trijicon. I have had zero failures of any kind over 2500 rounds during the last 12 months. It hasn't lost zero in the slightest.

Unfortunately there's really no good way to stick your toe into the red dot waters, unless you have something like a Ruger Mark III/IV with a rail on top, and can buy a relatively cheap red dot at Cabela's to plink with. That gives you the feel, at least.

But if you go all-in, the most important thing you can train to do is bring your pistol up to eye level with the sights aligned. Even before you have the red dot, get used to bringing up the pistol with sights in near perfect alignment. Otherwise, you will (like me) spend months wondering where on earth the stupid dot went. When your irons are off, you can see it quickly and adjust. When the dot is gone, there's no reference. It's just gone. So coming up on target with your sights aligned will make your life so much easier. Eventually you'll find that dot every time and the irons will just be backups.

[Vinny]

Start shopping, or start shooting?


But if you go all-in, the most important thing you can train to do is bring your pistol up to eye level with the sights aligned. Even before you have the red dot, get used to bringing up the pistol with sights in near perfect alignment. Otherwise, you will (like me) spend months wondering where on earth the stupid dot went. When your irons are off, you can see it quickly and adjust. When the dot is gone, there's no reference. It's just gone. So coming up on target with your sights aligned will make your life so much easier. Eventually you'll find that dot every time and the irons will just be backups.

Just a suggestion.....If you draw up and press outwards from the chest looking with both eyes at your target the dot will 'appear' more readily.  You can practice this at home dry-firing at a spot on your wall. - Vinny

[radagast]

I Guess I'd fall somewhere between M1A4ME and inletman.
     After a 40 year hiatus from shooting, things seemed to be amiss UNTIL I rented a P07 & P09 at a range quite distant from home. It felt akin to "divine intervention" ! While I've never considered myself a competitive shooter, I sure never felt like a slouch on the range. At 70, My Vision and hand strength are taking their toll, and I noticed the beginnings of a tremble while  pointing a heavier 1911. The CZ P series pointed so naturally for me, that I managed to gain back a lot of my old confidence.
     I shot my Brother in Law's Glock 19 with a well zeroed Dot and felt like it was Prom Nite all over again ! Between grip angle and newness to the Red Dot, I knew I'd need a lot of range time to feel comfortable.
     The wife and I both have P07s, so if I can survive N.J. until the wife retires, I'll probably p/u a machined slide and red dot in order celebrate a move to N.C.

Thank you folks for a great thread !

[M1A4ME]

Just got my Holosun 507C Friday in the mail.

Now, as soon as I can get to the range the targets will tell me whether it will go on the XD 5" Tactical .45 or the P09 .40 S&W.

Amazing (in the you tube videos) robustness, unreal battery life and the price are the draw.  Price and battery life are proven.  I'll have to see how it holds up for me.  If all are good I'll have to get another one, for another project.

[canthelpit]

OK, so I have a question about red dot's.   When I look through one, what I see is not a dot, but
an elongated blob: I call it the caterpillar.  Someone suggested it's because I have an astigmatism,
but whatever it is, it makes shooting one difficult.  I've experienced it on different brands of red
dot.

Anybody else have this experience, and is there anything I can do about it?

[s0nspark]

OK, so I have a question about red dot's.   When I look through one, what I see is not a dot, but
an elongated blob: I call it the caterpillar.  Someone suggested it's because I have an astigmatism,
but whatever it is, it makes shooting one difficult.  I've experienced it on different brands of red
dot.

Anybody else have this experience, and is there anything I can do about it?

Definitely astigmatism.

The extent of the effect it has on dot shape does vary a bit from brand to brand, model to model. Dot size also plays a role with me at least... Smaller works better for me.

[M1A4ME]

I know exactly what you mean.

People say one good way is to turn the illumination level down so it's not so bright.

Another is to buy one with a small dot.

If you're like me, the front sight is invisible without my glasses but I can put a fuzzy got on a clear target.  So I don't get too tore up about what the dot looks like, as long as I can see it.  Now, I don't feel that way about a rifle.  If there's a fly or a bullet hole on my target and I want to shoot at it then I need a nice, small, well defined aiming device and a fuzzy red dot won't get it done.  Fortunately, the red dot in the center of illuminated scopes is a nice round red dot.  For me, anyway.

[canthelpit]

Yup, I've noticed that the shape does vary with brand.  My son has a Vortex on his AR, and that one looks like the caterpillar.
I shot a friend's rifle the other day with a C-More: it presented a long skinny line with a "hook" at the end.  Weird.
Illumination level doesn't seem to help much, though maybe a bit.  I'll try to look through some others and see if small dot
size would help.  I currently don't have a gun to put one on, but I'm planning on buying an SP-01 and at some point
I'd like to.  My eyes aren't getting any better. 

[Squonk]

I have an astigmatism yet have never had a problem with various brands red dot sights. Weird. Maybe mine's not that severe.

[s0nspark]

I have an astigmatism yet have never had a problem with various brands

Severity does play a role. Mine is on the milder side and I see a little deformation but mostly blooming as the illumination intensity increases.

[Squonk]

Severity does play a role. Mine is on the milder side and I see a little deformation but mostly blooming as the illumination intensity increases.

Oh, well yes, I do get some blooming when I turn up the intensity too high. I set mine where it just begins to bloom (in a dark room). Is perfect in daylight and when I use my weapon light. 

[JamesCC]

Thank you for posting this -- bookmarked!

I'm 45, not quite ready to give up on iron sights yet, but I can tell it will only be a couple more years at best before I need to make the switch.

If you could insert links to some of the posts and websites you mentioned, that would be super-helpful and merit making this a sticky, IMHO.

Ditto- took the feedback out of my mouth

[MFI]

Thinking about the Shield SMS with RMS/SMS mount. Any thoughts?

[kmanick]

Thinking about the Shield SMS with RMS/SMS mount. Any thoughts?

I have the 8moa on my M&p 9L (I had the 4moa on there originally)
I use it for steel challenge
the pros:
sites very low so you can co-witness if desired
very light
decently priced
pretty easy to find the dot the window size is not bad
mine has held zero through thousands of rounds
auto adjust is very good on this unit
Cons
the lens scratches very easily
over tightening the windage or height adjustments will kill the unit.
I had to send mine first one back to Britain because of that and it took almost a month to get it back.
battery is under the dot and needs to be removed. I change mine once a year but have to re zero each time I do it 

I'm kind of thinking about milling the slide on my M&p9C and putting the 4moa dot I have sitting around on that
 I like the idea of an RMR on my carry and the shield sight is pretty narrow and sits low enough to co witness.