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Thread: Getting started in Optics on handguns

  1. #1

    Getting started in Optics on handguns

    Hello to all,

    After much deliberation and nashing of teeth and wallet, I have decided to enter the world of optics on pistols. I have shot iron sighted pistols since I started shooting. I am now the owner of a Glock 17 Gen 5 MOS.
    I will be using this pistol primarily for IDPA Carry optics and personnel training.
    My questions to the experts are:
    1. What holsters are good and bad?
    3. Options for back-up sights?
    4. What optics should I avoid, what has worked and what hasn't?
    5. Any "dot" specific drills?
    Thanks for the info.

    NOTE: I don't want this to turn into a "this vs that". Just info on what has worked and what should be avoided.

  2. #2
    Site Supporter Olim9's Avatar
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    Sep 2016
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    Miami, FL
    You can find most answers in the archives but some people to listen to would be @GJM, @AsianJedi aka Scott Jedlinski from Modern Samurai Project and Aaron Cowan from Sage Dynamics. Aaron has a plethora of information about red dots including what works and what doesn’t. Both Aaron and Scott have Youtube channels and written articles on dot guns.

    Some things to remember when you start using a dot
    •Duracell CR2032 batteries tend to make a more reliable battery connection on red dots than other brands
    •Witness mark your adjustment knobs and screws (I actually need to do this)
    •red dots have a learning curve to them
    •treat your lens with Rain-X and Catcrap
    •prepare to do a lot of dry practice
    •the ‘internet’ can turn into a shitstorm when you start talking about red dots on handguns

  3. #3
    I’m not sure if I’m a freak but I didn’t find the transition to be difficult to red dots. My scores on testable metrics went up after a couple of hours of dry fire the day prior to live fire. I have then repeated those scores several range days in a row.

    Drills:
    Bill drill
    The test
    Scored B8 at 15/20/25

    Don’t let other people tell you it’s harder. Just try it, you won’t be disappointed.

  4. #4
    Site Supporter
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    Aug 2016
    Location
    Henderson, NV
    Dry practice as much as you can to bring your pistol out with your natural point of aim ending with your dot on target.

    Thank you Tactical Performance Center.
    With liberty and justice for all...must be 18, void where prohibited, some restrictions may apply, not available in all states.

  5. #5
    Thanks for the current info. Should I buy once cry once for optics (IE; get a RMR) or start with a less expensive option?

  6. #6
    Quote Originally Posted by Steve m View Post
    Thanks for the current info. Should I buy once cry once for optics (IE; get a RMR) or start with a less expensive option?
    Pretty much every available pistol optic has flaws, but with the Acro so close, I wouldn’t buy anything until the Acro begins shipping.
    Likes pretty much everything in every caliber.

  7. #7
    Member Wake27's Avatar
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    Jun 2017
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    Eastern NC
    Quote Originally Posted by breakingtime91 View Post
    I’m not sure if I’m a freak but I didn’t find the transition to be difficult to red dots. My scores on testable metrics went up after a couple of hours of dry fire the day prior to live fire. I have then repeated those scores several range days in a row.

    Drills:
    Bill drill
    The test
    Scored B8 at 15/20/25

    Don’t let other people tell you it’s harder. Just try it, you won’t be disappointed.
    I think it can be for some people, but I was largely the same way. The learning curve for me was nowhere near what I expected based on all of the internet knowledge.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  8. #8
    Member ubervic's Avatar
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    Mar 2011
    Location
    Mid-Atlantic
    I acclimated fairly quickly to the red dot on my G17.3, getting comfortable with it with perhaps 200 dry-fire draws and within 500 rnds of live fire.

    For me, the driver to transition to a red dot was failing/aging vision----while my overall vision is decent, I have begun to struggle to get a sharp focus on my front sight. The notion of focusing largely on the target with the rds, rather than focusing on the front iron sight, is very appealing and opens up a new world of visual information processing during the shot process. An unexpected, big benefit is that the rds definitely serves as a full-time shooting coach relative to trigger control, grip, index, etc., which almost immediately improved my iron-sight shooting as well. Win, win, win.

    I don't shoot nearly as much as many forum members on here (up to 700 rnds per month), and I don't carry every day, so my pistol use is largely recreational. I chose to go with a lesser-cost Vortex Venom rather than the Trijicon RMR, arguably the current top dog in the rds world. I like the Venom just fine---it's easy to use and offers a relatively large window/field of view. I took a Dremel to my Mastermind Tactics holster to relieve a bit more area for the red dot, and it's worked fine. Adding the rds made zero impact on concealability or comfort in my AIWB setup. I went with 3-dot Trijicon suppressor-height iron sights; they work great for my vision yet don't clutter or distract from the field of view.

    I can't name any specific drills, per se, to enhance rds use. But anything that will help you attain the most consistent & repeatable index during presentation will be a big benefit.

  9. #9
    Site Supporter Rex G's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2011
    Location
    SE Texas
    Quote Originally Posted by Steve m View Post
    Hello to all,

    After much deliberation and nashing of teeth and wallet, I have decided to enter the world of optics on pistols. I have shot iron sighted pistols since I started shooting. I am now the owner of a Glock 17 Gen 5 MOS.
    I will be using this pistol primarily for IDPA Carry optics and personnel training.
    My questions to the experts are:

    4. What optics should I avoid, what has worked and what hasn't?

    Thanks for the info.

    NOTE: I don't want this to turn into a "this vs that". Just info on what has worked and what should be avoided.
    I would wait until GJM has had a chance to put a serious quantity of rounds through a pistol, using the new-to-market Acro. (My aging hands do not handle high-round-count shooting sessions very well, so I let others do the heavy-lifting, and post their reports. )The Acro may well be the better mousetrap, but it remains to be proven, in the wild.

    If I just had to act now, for a defensive carry pistol’s slide-mount, it would be a second-generation Trijicon RM06, based upon the experiences of others, who are experts. I briefly tested the concept, for my eyes, on a Glock MOS, with a Trijicon dual-illuminated RMR, with the green triangle, but as I had expected, the green triangle works best in a narrow range of environments. (I bought the green-triangle RMR to use as a secondary sight on a long gun, but first tried it on the MOS.)

    Actually, I later acquired a pre-owned Suarez slide, cut for an RMR, so may well buy a 2nd-gen RM06, anyway, but the Acro may be worth the wait, for someone who has yet to aquire anything.

    I am no expert.
    Last edited by Rex G; 04-10-2019 at 09:51 AM.
    Retar’d LE. Kinesthetic dufus.

    Don’t tread on volcanos!

  10. #10
    RMR works for a lot of people but has limitations (window size and open emitter). I look forward to handling an acro but I doubt ill be able to conceal to the level I will want. The rmr works well because the tallest part sits at the belt and the shirt drapes over the "body" of the optics and doesn't print for me. I have the feeling the acro will look like a tumor on my gut or hip. I hope I'm wrong.

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