Epeeist
Elite
So I am a huge fan of optics on handguns, and have been for years. My shooting group is all irons and I am the only CO person in the mix. I am constantly getting grief for being a "cheating bastard" with his "laser guided, computer aided wonder guns". And I am always winning among my peer group.
I am a good shooter, but I don't train more than about once a week. I also have gun ADHD and bounce around between action pistol, tactical rifle, 3 gun, precision rifle and different boom sticks within those disciplines. My point is that I am better than average among Joe gun owners, but worse than average as far as time, effort, and dedication when it comes to competitive shooters. The dot makes me just enough faster and more accurate than better shooters with iron sights that I can stay ahead of them. And I am betting it will help you too, once you learn the dark arts of basterdly cheating via the dot.
There are a few consistent things that I hear when the subject of dots comes up, specifically in relation to EDC on a defensive handgun, and that is what I will try to focus on here. If I miss something, or you have something to add please do so below!
I can't use a dot, I have an astigmatism: Yeah, me too. Sucks don't it? All smeary and nothing like the nice crisp dot we see in the adverts. A few thoughts though. First, buy a smaller dot. I run 3moa or smaller on all my handguns. A bigger dot will be a bigger smear. Second, quality and type of emitter/glass matter. Different brands will be more or less dot like for you. Generally the more expensive the dot, the better the clarity. Third, you are probably running it more brightly than you need to. The brighter the dot, the more "flare" there will be. Try reducing the power setting, or even taking a piece of clear tape and putting it over the autosensor if you have that style dot, to tone it down a bit. There may be a quality dot out there that is not overly bright by default to show up well under store lights and noon in Arizona, but I have yet to find it. Finally, just set your point of aim to the biggest part of the smear and train that into MM.
I hate having to "hunt" for the dot, it slows me down: If this is your problem, you are doing it wrong. There are a couple schools of thought on how to line up the dot and target with the draw stroke, so I will keep this kinda general. You do not focus on the dot. You focus on the target. When you present the pistol, the dot is just there, on the target. Its always there because you have trained your draw stroke this way. Until you do, you will hunt for the dot, just like new shooters hunt for the irons and then wave the muzzle around trying to cowitness and focus on 3 distinct points in space instead of just 2. This is really a non-issue, if you take a day or two to train it. But it is an excuse I hear a lot from the "new fangled dots are a gimmick" crowd.
I must cowitness my dot with irons: So you know your "mission parameters" better than I do, but I will say that for a lot of folks who are not on the job in a patrol capacity, you actually don't. Its a safety blanket, belt and suspender thing. The chances of you damaging a quality dot to where you can't use it AND needing to then make a shot at distance before you can replace or repair it, are pretty slim. If you are working at the office or keeping a gun by your nightstand, they are so vanishingly small as to be a non issue. However, if this is something that you need because you are wrestling with folks, falling out of buildings, taking your gun through day long patrols in Indian country, etc, you can find several options that will work. You can mill your slide for irons before/after the dot, use a dot that has irons built in, or run a gun that is milled for dot and irons at the same time. Which I think is basically most guns that aren't Sig.
What if my battery runs out: So most of the dots out there have a 20000 plus battery life. That's two and a half years. If it has a shake awake, solar strip, dual illumination source, etc, that can stretch to over 100000 hours. That's like 12 and a half years. For real people, this is not the double AA's in your Walkman from high school. These batteries LAST a LONG time. I use a sharpy to put the year I installed a battery on the battery itself, and I check it every year around my birthday. If its half life for that sight, I replace it. I have never, ever, in many years, had a battery die on me in my dot. In my ear pro, in my car, in my phone, sure. But not in my RDS. Like with many of the worries with dots, this one is more theoretical than practical.
What if my lens gets dirty/scratched/cracked: Who cares? I think this one is more from a lack of understanding of how reflex sights work when used correctly than a legit worry about something that happens in the field. I can't stress this enough folks, you can cover that lens in black paint and still run and shoot 100%, using the dot. Don't believe me? Take a piece of tape and cover that dot window. Now with both eyes open, present the gun and take the shot. The emitter projects onto the lens, and that light hits your eye. As long as you are looking at the target and not focusing on the dot, the system works. As long as there is a smidge of glass left in the housing, it will work. If someone is close enough to be smashing your gun with a hammer and shattering the lens of your RDS, I suggest you dispense with the aiming and get on with the shooting and praying.
What if I drop it in the swamps, and then dig it out only to be set upon by gator wielding swamp people before I have a chance to detail strip and clean it with my NutnFancy recommended bore snake and Frog Lube 3000 and the emitter channel is covered in mud: See my previous comment about times to forgo lining up the perfect shot and just Alluha Akbaring the mag in the general direction of those needing a good smiting.
So seriously, the emitter pocket is a weak point for the reflex sight. Most quality red dots protect the emitter either by encasing it in glass housing (looks like a bulb), putting it behind a small pane of glass, or both. But if there is a big ol chunk of something in between the lens and the emitter, you will not have a good sight picture. Just like you won't have one on your irons.
You remediate it the way our great grandpas cleared the sights on their 1911's in the trenches of WW1. You blow it out, wipe it off, swish it in the creek, pour your canteen on it, pistol whip bad guys until the obstruction falls free, etc. The exact same thing can happen to irons, but because people are used to irons, they don't think about it. If you live someplace that has a lot of blowing sand, factor that into your dot purchase. If you live in someplace where you might be in torrential rain or snow often, factor that into your dot purchase. But there is probably a dot that will work for you.
Final thoughts: So hopefully I have answered some of your questions about dots on EDC guns and some of the common worries that come up with them. Also keep in mind that running a dot your your tacticool boomstick will make you look 3 inches taller, 10 years younger, 20 IQ points smarter and 30 pounds lighter. Also you will shoot better. That could be what causes the other beneficial effects in perception shift from your peers, but I would need a grant to do a proper double blind study. If you would like to supply said grant funding, either through the university or directly to my private foundation, feel free to IM me. Otherwise go out and do your own independent research, and be sure to share your findings with us!
I am a good shooter, but I don't train more than about once a week. I also have gun ADHD and bounce around between action pistol, tactical rifle, 3 gun, precision rifle and different boom sticks within those disciplines. My point is that I am better than average among Joe gun owners, but worse than average as far as time, effort, and dedication when it comes to competitive shooters. The dot makes me just enough faster and more accurate than better shooters with iron sights that I can stay ahead of them. And I am betting it will help you too, once you learn the dark arts of basterdly cheating via the dot.
There are a few consistent things that I hear when the subject of dots comes up, specifically in relation to EDC on a defensive handgun, and that is what I will try to focus on here. If I miss something, or you have something to add please do so below!
I can't use a dot, I have an astigmatism: Yeah, me too. Sucks don't it? All smeary and nothing like the nice crisp dot we see in the adverts. A few thoughts though. First, buy a smaller dot. I run 3moa or smaller on all my handguns. A bigger dot will be a bigger smear. Second, quality and type of emitter/glass matter. Different brands will be more or less dot like for you. Generally the more expensive the dot, the better the clarity. Third, you are probably running it more brightly than you need to. The brighter the dot, the more "flare" there will be. Try reducing the power setting, or even taking a piece of clear tape and putting it over the autosensor if you have that style dot, to tone it down a bit. There may be a quality dot out there that is not overly bright by default to show up well under store lights and noon in Arizona, but I have yet to find it. Finally, just set your point of aim to the biggest part of the smear and train that into MM.
I hate having to "hunt" for the dot, it slows me down: If this is your problem, you are doing it wrong. There are a couple schools of thought on how to line up the dot and target with the draw stroke, so I will keep this kinda general. You do not focus on the dot. You focus on the target. When you present the pistol, the dot is just there, on the target. Its always there because you have trained your draw stroke this way. Until you do, you will hunt for the dot, just like new shooters hunt for the irons and then wave the muzzle around trying to cowitness and focus on 3 distinct points in space instead of just 2. This is really a non-issue, if you take a day or two to train it. But it is an excuse I hear a lot from the "new fangled dots are a gimmick" crowd.
I must cowitness my dot with irons: So you know your "mission parameters" better than I do, but I will say that for a lot of folks who are not on the job in a patrol capacity, you actually don't. Its a safety blanket, belt and suspender thing. The chances of you damaging a quality dot to where you can't use it AND needing to then make a shot at distance before you can replace or repair it, are pretty slim. If you are working at the office or keeping a gun by your nightstand, they are so vanishingly small as to be a non issue. However, if this is something that you need because you are wrestling with folks, falling out of buildings, taking your gun through day long patrols in Indian country, etc, you can find several options that will work. You can mill your slide for irons before/after the dot, use a dot that has irons built in, or run a gun that is milled for dot and irons at the same time. Which I think is basically most guns that aren't Sig.
What if my battery runs out: So most of the dots out there have a 20000 plus battery life. That's two and a half years. If it has a shake awake, solar strip, dual illumination source, etc, that can stretch to over 100000 hours. That's like 12 and a half years. For real people, this is not the double AA's in your Walkman from high school. These batteries LAST a LONG time. I use a sharpy to put the year I installed a battery on the battery itself, and I check it every year around my birthday. If its half life for that sight, I replace it. I have never, ever, in many years, had a battery die on me in my dot. In my ear pro, in my car, in my phone, sure. But not in my RDS. Like with many of the worries with dots, this one is more theoretical than practical.
What if my lens gets dirty/scratched/cracked: Who cares? I think this one is more from a lack of understanding of how reflex sights work when used correctly than a legit worry about something that happens in the field. I can't stress this enough folks, you can cover that lens in black paint and still run and shoot 100%, using the dot. Don't believe me? Take a piece of tape and cover that dot window. Now with both eyes open, present the gun and take the shot. The emitter projects onto the lens, and that light hits your eye. As long as you are looking at the target and not focusing on the dot, the system works. As long as there is a smidge of glass left in the housing, it will work. If someone is close enough to be smashing your gun with a hammer and shattering the lens of your RDS, I suggest you dispense with the aiming and get on with the shooting and praying.
What if I drop it in the swamps, and then dig it out only to be set upon by gator wielding swamp people before I have a chance to detail strip and clean it with my NutnFancy recommended bore snake and Frog Lube 3000 and the emitter channel is covered in mud: See my previous comment about times to forgo lining up the perfect shot and just Alluha Akbaring the mag in the general direction of those needing a good smiting.
So seriously, the emitter pocket is a weak point for the reflex sight. Most quality red dots protect the emitter either by encasing it in glass housing (looks like a bulb), putting it behind a small pane of glass, or both. But if there is a big ol chunk of something in between the lens and the emitter, you will not have a good sight picture. Just like you won't have one on your irons.
You remediate it the way our great grandpas cleared the sights on their 1911's in the trenches of WW1. You blow it out, wipe it off, swish it in the creek, pour your canteen on it, pistol whip bad guys until the obstruction falls free, etc. The exact same thing can happen to irons, but because people are used to irons, they don't think about it. If you live someplace that has a lot of blowing sand, factor that into your dot purchase. If you live in someplace where you might be in torrential rain or snow often, factor that into your dot purchase. But there is probably a dot that will work for you.
Final thoughts: So hopefully I have answered some of your questions about dots on EDC guns and some of the common worries that come up with them. Also keep in mind that running a dot your your tacticool boomstick will make you look 3 inches taller, 10 years younger, 20 IQ points smarter and 30 pounds lighter. Also you will shoot better. That could be what causes the other beneficial effects in perception shift from your peers, but I would need a grant to do a proper double blind study. If you would like to supply said grant funding, either through the university or directly to my private foundation, feel free to IM me. Otherwise go out and do your own independent research, and be sure to share your findings with us!
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