Practical tips for living with/CCWing a dot?

[Notorious E.O.C.]

After 2,200 rounds through my first optic-equipped pistol, I am comfortable enough with the dot to switch over to it for most of my CCW needs. However, I'm aware that I don't know what I don't know. The technical resources here are great but (perhaps because I'm posting before the caffeine takes hold) searches are not giving me a concise breakdown of what the practical considerations are for CCWing a dot as opposed to irons. So, for those who've been doing it for a while, what are your experiences, solutions, hacks, and cautionary tales - if any? Or is it really as simple as "check battery, check witness marks on screws, remove lint, and don't be a dumbass?"

[YVK]

Or is it really as simple as "check battery, check witness marks on screws, remove lint, and don't be a dumbass?"

That's about it although I still leave a room for myself to be a dumbass.

I regularly check for a possible dot shift against backup iron sights. That has happened to me once.
You need to figure out how to manage the brightness settings. There are really two practical approaches, rely on auto-adjust or set-and-forget for the brightest possible ambient conditions. I don't think that dinking with the brightness up and down as the day goes by is that practical, although I've done that too.
A smaller point related to travel, assuming you take your gat with you, is having a spare battery and tools to replace it.

[RJ]

Following.

About to transition back to a dot after a year or so mostly shooting irons due to:reasons. All I got is something something dry practice but am interested in any suggestions in the thread.

[Pnut]

Set dates to change the batteries. Depending on your optic, that could be once a year, twice a year, etc. Since it’s your CCW, I’d change it wether you need it or not…. Better safe than sorry.

[crosseyedshooter]

I keep a can of compressed air on the dresser so I can blow the lint off every few days or so, taking care to check the emitter lens. I lock the brightness level to be visible in the Texas daytime, which means it's bright enough for use with a weapon mounted light, but the dot blooms under typical indoor lighting. This messed me up at an indoor IDPA match where they had head-only targets at 20 yards, or so, and my astigmatism saw a blooming dot that obscured the whole head. If I dim it down for a clear dot indoors, I wouldn't be able to see it in sunlight.

[HeavyDuty]

Weekly checking for cowitness at the start of the day, the same time I use a Rocket Blower to clean things out. Having yearly battery change calendar reminders. Not much else that jumps out at me.

[GearFondler]

All the above but additionally you should periodically check the witness marks on any mounting screws.

Edit: just saw that the OP already mentioned this.

[1Rangemaster]

All good suggestions here, and endorsed. My main dot is an ACRO P2, and I have witness marks on the clamp mounting screw, which I try to glance at daily. After a shooting session, with the piece unloaded, I physically “wiggle” the sight. Caught loosenesses twice over about 5 years, not with this sight but with a P1.
I change the battery on the 4th of July-2032 on the P2. I had the original battery in for~18 months. I carry a battery in the Glock frame cavity. It’s what I changed to 6 weeks ago, and so far so good. Powered down when stored; I do adjust intensity if circumstances demand/allow. For example, I met some friends Saturday for an outdoor session: bright day, white steel, adjusted up. Decreased that evening. It’s the price of having more complexity that is very beneficial-one has to tend to the gear.
I think it was HCM who said his agency SOP is for the operator to draw to confirm sight on/operating. I do that in the early AM, before leaving for work. At bedtime, power off to store and/or check/change intensity.
YVK suggestion of having a traveling tool is good. I have a microfiber cloth in my pack to wipe the lens.
My only other suggestion is to turn it off every so often and work a drill or qual with the backup irons.

Edit to add: I’ve put the Tango Down front lens guard and battery cap on my unit and a few others. They seem very good quality, but I check their security when I clean the gun every few weeks. For other sights, I’d have spare screws, clamps, etc..

Add one other note(sorry!): I have the Aimpoint tool on my keychain, and I almost always have a micro tool in a pocket. Supplies at home and office. And, as a dedicated nerd, I have a backup setup…

[G19Fan]

I carry an eps carry red on circle only at highest brightness about 5 am to 12 am each day. I change the battery quarterly.

I have an identical training gun tbst gers majority of my practice rounds. I do check dot for wiggle on all guns post shooting.

Someone said travel with a spare battery and screw and that is a good one

[breakingtime91]

I have two mrds kits. Both have a holosun tool for the optic, extra screws, cat crap spay and wax, lense wipes, and a micro fiber. One stays on top of my safe and one in my truck

[Utm]

I don't find it to be that complicated really. I set the dot 1 down from brightest setting when I get up and wipe with a microfiber cloth as needed. Change the battery 1 time a year and thats about it.

[HCM]

All good suggestions here, and endorsed. My main dot is an ACRO P2, and I have witness marks on the clamp mounting screw, which I try to glance at daily. After a shooting session, with the piece unloaded, I physically “wiggle” the sight. Caught loosenesses twice over about 5 years, not with this sight but with a P1.
I change the battery on the 4th of July-2032 on the P2. I had the original battery in for~18 months. I carry a battery in the Glock frame cavity. It’s what I changed to 6 weeks ago, and so far so good. Powered down when stored; I do adjust intensity if circumstances demand/allow. For example, I met some friends Saturday for an outdoor session: bright day, white steel, adjusted up. Decreased that evening. It’s the price of having more complexity that is very beneficial-one has to tend to the gear.
I think it was HCM who said his agency SOP is for the operator to draw to confirm sight on/operating. I do that in the early AM, before leaving for work. At bedtime, power off to store and/or check/change intensity.
YVK suggestion of having a traveling tool is good. I have a microfiber cloth in my pack to wipe the lens.
My only other suggestion is to turn it off every so often and work a drill or qual with the backup irons.

Edit to add: I’ve put the Tango Down front lens guard and battery cap on my unit and a few others. They seem very good quality, but I check their security when I clean the gun every few weeks. For other sights, I’d have spare screws, clamps, etc..

Yes- we teach a dry presentation before putting on the gun for the day to ensure the dot is on/working.

We do not teach / recommend turning the dot off at night or changing intensity. If the gun is needed at night it will usually be in conjunction with a light if some type and the light will wash out a dimmed dot.

[1Rangemaster]

Yes- we teach a dry presentation before putting on the gun for the day to ensure the dot is on/working.

We do not teach / recommend turning the dot off at night or changing intensity. If the gun is needed at night it will usually be in conjunction with a light if some type and the light will wash out a dimmed dot.


Understood, sir-thanks for the clarification. I should have been a bit more specific: the power down/off is my procedure. I did remember your SOP of draw to check dot(and it gets one presentation in).
Any comment on how your organization deals with battery life? Thanks in advance

[breakingtime91]

An enclosed optic with the new rmrs auto feature would be awesome. Sage dynamics said the auto features is for a lack of better words, perfect

[HCM]

Understood, sir-thanks for the clarification. I should have been a bit more specific: the power down/off is my procedure. I did remember your SOP of draw to check dot(and it gets one presentation in).
Any comment on how your organization deals with battery life? Thanks in advance


We are supposed to change batteries every 6 months.

The issued SIG optics have “shake awake” to maximize battery life. Those who have not changed batteries have been (unintentionally) getting a year and half or more. Standard setting is max setting minus 1.

Presently the only other approved optics are type 2 RMRs which have battery life over 1 year.

[JCN]

I carry an eps carry red on circle only at highest brightness about 5 am to 12 am each day. I change the battery quarterly.

I have an identical training gun tbst gers majority of my practice rounds. I do check dot for wiggle on all guns post shooting.

Someone said travel with a spare battery and screw and that is a good one


I have two mrds kits. Both have a holosun tool for the optic, extra screws, cat crap spay and wax, lense wipes, and a micro fiber. One stays on top of my safe and one in my truck

As these gents said, if you can swing a carry gun and a separate training gun it minimizes likelihood of breaking wearable parts at inopportune times.

In addition I would say: check zero with your carry ammo with your irons. A lot of BUIS aren’t quite where they should be in terms of elevation.

[ECK]

I think all of the above are good suggestions, I especially like the idea about a can of compressed air to blow all the belly button lint out of the optic. I usually use my T-shirt tail…. I check the dot after I put the gun on, and again when I take it off. Just a habit thing. I also tend to run the dot a little brighter than I need for indoors since it’ll appear dimmer in full sunlight.

Witness marking the screws is a good practice, so is setting a calendar reminder to change batteries (I do it once a year in January for all my dot guns).

I’d say the main thing is to practice regularly with your carry gun regardless of dot or no-dot. Admittedly my CCW gun(s) get carried a lot and shot much less than my comp gun, but I try to make a point of shooting them periodically throughout the year. For example, attended a CCW class with my wife last week and I shot my carry gun during the class range exercise. Or I shoot a couple IDPA matches a year and I like to take the opportunity to shoot my CCW gun in whatever street clothes I happen to be wearing that day.

[paherne]

I've been abusing a G48 MOS-mounted Holosun 507k-x2 for well over a year. I set the dot to almost the brightest setting and run the circle dot reticle. It gets carried 10-12 hours per day, every day in a JM Custom kydex IWB on my right side at 3:30. The optics window collects detritus from my hippopotamus-like hide. So, every night I perform several draws and check my presentation and picking up the dot. I check dot intensity and the amount of schmutz on the window. When it gets really bad, I use an alcohol wipe and q-tip to clean. Since it's been about 18 months since I started using it, I'll change the battery tonight. I've seen more Glock front sights fail than decent MRDS...

[G19Fan]

I've been abusing a G48 MOS-mounted Holosun 507k-x2 for well over a year. I set the dot to almost the brightest setting and7 run the circle dot reticle. It gets carried 10-12 hours per day, every day in a JM Custom kydex IWB on my right side at 3:30. The optics window collects detritus from my hippopotamus-like hide. So, every night I perform several draws and check my presentation and picking up the dot. I check dot intensity and the amount of schmutz on the window. When it gets really bad, I use an alcohol wipe and q-tip to clean. Since it's been about 18 months since I started using it, I'll change the battery tonight. I've seen more Glock front sights fail than decent MRDS...

I miss the bigger battery of the 507k vs the eps carry battery. Love the eps carry for everything else but swapping battery every 3 to 4 months is annoying.

I thought maybe it was a unti issue but my other eps carry all need same schedule

[AMC]

We are supposed to change batteries every 6 months.

The issued SIG optics have “shake awake” to maximize battery life. Those who have not changed batteries have been (unintentionally) getting a year and half or more. Standard setting is max setting minus 1.

Presently the only other approved optics are type 2 RMRs which have battery life over 1 year.

Interesting. I've intentionally run dry the batteries on my Romeo1 Pro twice. Both times it failed at almost exactly 9 months. 2 settings up from medium.....whatever that is.

So I'm gonna do the 'every 6 months' schedule as well.