Red Dots.. I'm behind the curve...

[santahog]

I know I'm generally late to popular activities.. I never watched an episode of Magnum P.I. that aired in regular season. Same with Home Improvement..
I installed/used a Red Dot for the first time this week. A rifle..
ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!! THIS IS OFF THE HOOK, KINDA GOOD!!! I'M POPPING 300 YARD MILK JUGS AS FAST AS A SODA CAN AT 15 FEET WITH A HANDGUN!!
WHY DIDN'T SOMEBODY TELL ME ABOUT THIS???!! THIS IS THE BEST THING SINCE BIRTH CONTROL PILLS!!!
 

Okay.. Now that that's out of my system..

If these work as well on a handgun, (with adequate holster) these need to be on any defense/carry gun that goes out the door!!

[fightingquaker13]

Yep! I loves my Eotech on the AR. I will never own another defensive carbine/brush hog hunting rifle without one. I haven't tried one on a pistol yet, but both eyes open and minute of bad guy/hog at 100 yards? When did this start, and why wasn't I informed? I'll save the glass for the deer rifles and range toys. Its Eotech, Aimpoint and Triijicon for me, dependening on my wallet.

[crusader rabbit]

I put a laser on my Glock 27.  Loved it. 

Took it off when I realized that the plastic cap on the laser battery compartment (that replaces the entire factory recoil spring assembly) was subject to breakage during use.  If/when that bit of plastic gives way, my Glock would become an expensive club.

Loved it when it worked.  Feared it would disable my gun just when I might need it most.

The lasers that are fitted to the externals of a handgun are just fine...  But just how far are you going to be shooting your handgun?  If you can't hit your target at 30 feet, you simply need more practice.

Crusader

[tombogan03884]

CR, He's talking about Red dot sights like the little Aimpoint .
Gabe Suarez has been playing with the "RMR" on a Glock for a while and I think MB has been experimenting with the idea as well.
The only real modification needed for the holster is a notch to clear the sight.

[jnevis]

USPSA has been shooting red dot sights on pistols for a LONG time. It wasn't until a couple years ago that a version came out that was small enough to be considered possible for a defensive arm. 

[Sponsor]

[Solus]

I have a laser on all my defensive hand guns but one...and it has one in a box to be installed.

Red Dot and Laser sights do pretty much the same thing....they put your front sight on the target instead of on the end of your barrel.

No parallax with good red dots so if you see it on the target, that is where the bullet goes.

One benefit the Laser has over a Red Dot is that you can be way out of stance or position and still see exactly where you shot will hit.   Might not be as useful on a rifle or shot gun unless you are shooting from the hip, but on a handgun it is a great advantage.

Downside is they are more prone to failure/damage than iron sights.  

On a handgun, they are a great training aid as they let you see your wobble area and show any trigger pull movement of the sight picture while dry firing.

They can't (shouldn't) replace being competent with your iron sights but do a better job as long as they don't fail.

[DonWorsham]

If these work as well on a handgun, (with adequate holster) these need to be on any defense/carry gun that goes out the door!!

Why? If most self-defense situations are 3 shots fired in 3 seconds at 3 yards, you likely won't have time to use your sights.

[Magoo541]

Why? If most self-defense situations are 3 shots fired in 3 seconds at 3 yards, you likely won't have time to use your sights.

So why carry anything bigger than a S&W J frame, that would give you two extra rounds just in case...

But seriously thinking about and training for the likely self-defense shooting is a trap that could have serious repercussions.  In truth if we could avoid EVER shooting someone we would but there are those times when you need to "deliver the shot" like the guy that shot a bad guy that was shooting at at cop from what 75 yards?  Or the guy with a CCW and an opportunity to shoot the guy going into a Waffle house but didn't because he didn't think he could hit the guy from 75 yards and how many died and were injured?  Or the other side of the coin were two of NYPD's finest fired 16 rounds from 7' and managed to miss 9 times.  The point is every advantage we can from gear get is great and we need to train to further that advantage.

[jnevis]

While red dots are great and do make follow up shots faster and more accurate, I'd be leary of actually putting one on a SD gun.
First is the whole battery question.  It WILL fail when you need it most, Murphy be damned.  Without the battery most of them are to big to get a good sight picture with, although as stated you're probably to close to care anyway.
Second a good prosecutor will nail you to a wall.  A laser is grey area, and getting to be more "accepted" but red dots on handguns is still the realm of Rambo and competition shooters.

[ellis4538]

MB is awaiting a Glock 19 w/some sort of rd imbedded in the slide!  I await his review.  That being said, I had one on a ss .38 super yeaaaaaaars ago and it didn't work for me.  Probably because I wasn't able to practice enough with it.

YMMV


Richard