All my guns have red dots. I always put buis on my guns but I am 53 and use the same power readers. Your point here is absolutely valid as I can’t even see my irons when without readers and the backup is point shooting…
Interesting. The jurisdiction I am in the LEOs have a RMR with suppressor height iron sights. It comes down to what an individual is comfortable with. You have clearly found what you are comfortable with. I appreciate the explanation. One thing that you mentioned was basically about sight picture. In a proper sight picture for iron sights (without the need of vision correction) the rear sight should be a little out of focus, the front sight in focus, and the target a little out of focus. You mentioned when you started using the "readers" the front sight was in focus, but the target not in focus. That actually should be the case if you are front sight focused. A red dot system (as you already know) allows for simply target focus with both eyes open. With irons one eye or the other has to line up the sights. I am a little bit younger than you, but have used glasses or contact lenses since first grade.
Gotcha. I carried the 320 X-Carry for several years with the Romeo. It had sights but the Romeo sat higher than the rear sight except it had a "channel" in the Romeo that allowed me to see the front sight albeit not truly a cowitness. It was more of a "in case of emergency break glass" situation. For normal red dot use, it kept the front sight mostly out of frame. I like optics. I prefer green definitely. I might go back to using them to carry again in the future. For now I'm back to irons and pushing the muscle memory of point shooting. Good to see you Rob.
I am still shooting iron sights, I have been thinking about crossing over to red dot Because of needing cheaters. Training is the key . Stay safe brother
I always enjoy hearing your thoughts on things. I just started using red dots about a year ago. My carry P365 is not optic ready. I train with both and feel comfortable with either especially in a defensive situation.
Nope, I don't run backup irons on my EDC either. In the rare case my optic would happen to go down, I can still use the pistol and optic body to generally align the pistol well enough to make good hits.
I thought (in my infinite wisdom😂) i would never understand no backup sights, im 48 and my iron sight shooting is getting worse. This really makes sense, thanks for sharing your experiences.
Yeah, Pops at 59 my eyes have limited my handgun accuracy with irons. I have 4 pistols with Red Dots. 2 have visible irons, 2 do not. I prefer that irons are visible through the window but, I can see both sides of it. I would have no problem hitting a target at defense distance without sights. My little Hellcat the factory sights are just barely visible through the window. So if you flush the rear with the front. The tritium front dot is cut about in half so it is the best of both worlds.
I decided to give it a try and see if that works for me or not. I love iron sights and I normally shoot at 25 meters only but you never know. One thing I noticed when I tried a friend's gun with red dot is that it is a very good training tool because you can actually see if you go lower right / lower left and therefore you can learn how to correct yourself... all I just wrote not applicable to pros like most of you guys of course.
Can easily imagine a dot right in the center of your window and aim with that imaginary dot. I was blessed with that ability to point shoot effectively. Wish i had the ability to move around fast enough to actually compete, but probably run out if things better the time limit. I really enjoy watching the guys shoot that are typically in your videos and Rick & Ray are great.
I agree with you when the target is "open", but a target with a "no-shoot" or some kind of partial obstruction/cover is a bit different. The former target is much more forgiving than the latter. Using the electronic optic window provides a frame of reference for the rear of the handgun, but not for the front. Deviation from the intended target is possible/likely without some reference for the front of the handgun.
I've been on board with this for years. Iron sights have almost no usefulness with a dot. Depending on the amount of tint/ notch filter your particular optic has, they can be almost impossible to see clearly in anything but direct light. They are only useful (slightly) if the battery or electronics die and everything else is perfect. Cracked lens, dirt, mud, whatever, and you can't use the irons anyway. Not to mention the mental shift that has to occur to go from dot to irons is harder than you think without dedicated training. Might as well just practice to shoot from index or using the edges of the optic housing. I haven't had iron sights on a carry gun in a while now. #ironsightsarejustdumb
As far as seeing the iron sights, I think that it depends on the type. Fiber optic night sights should not be difficult to see/use as a backup to an electronic sight. The mental transition primarily would be realizing that the electronic optic was not working, so that the need to transition to backup sights is recognized. Training is necessary for many things, and I agree that shifting between electronic and available irons is necessary to train for. The mud, cracked lens, other opaque vision obstruction is an issue, but it hampers both sighting types. It does not mean that backup iron sights would not be useful in a number of instances.
