An aging shooter

[Sheep-Dog]

Ok, so time has not ignored me. I have come to the conclusion (after using a friends pistol with a red dot) that I can shoot much faster and accurately with a red dot style sight. My dept. has moved to allowing this as well, sooooo I am looking to get a red dot sight. I have always been the one operating the weapon, NOT the one operating ON the weapon (beyond cleaning). I will need to change my sights to allow use for dot malfunction. NO problem, but this is where the question comes in. If i raise my sights wont the zero on my pistol be off? or does the front get raised more to bring POA back to POI? (or am i just over thinking this).


So follow up question, Glock 19/17/34 I would want night time usability, steel construction, and most likely 3-dot presentation. Anyone have any suggestions?

Last question, anyone shoot the dot over dot? ( 8 ) style (likes/dislikes, faster?) or the dot over post ( i ) style (likes/dislikes)


Thanks,

[HCM]

Ok, so time has not ignored me. I have come to the conclusion (after using a friends pistol with a red dot) that I can shoot much faster and accurately with a red dot style sight. My dept. has moved to allowing this as well, sooooo I am looking to get a red dot sight. I have always been the one operating the weapon, NOT the one operating ON the weapon (beyond cleaning). I will need to change my sights to allow use for dot malfunction. NO problem, but this is where the question comes in. If i raise my sights wont the zero on my pistol be off? or does the front get raised more to bring POA back to POI? (or am i just over thinking this).


So follow up question, Glock 19/17/34 I would want night time usability, steel construction, and most likely 3-dot presentation. Anyone have any suggestions?

Last question, anyone shoot the dot over dot? ( 8 ) style (likes/dislikes, faster?) or the dot over post ( i ) style (likes/dislikes)


Thanks,

Suppressor height sites are just like tall Heinie style sites versus lower traditional night sights, It is the ratio between front and rear that determines point of impact, not the height of the sites.

As for your second question, remember just like on a carbine the red dot will be your primary sighting system. The back up iron sights are just that back ups in case of an emergency. Unless mandated by department policy you may want to consider all black back up sites or a plain black rear with a fiber optic front. The red dot will be your primary nighttime sighting system And if you are like the other Helio on POF you are either running a weapons mounted light or don’t go anywhere without a handheld flashlight. Night sites are not an issue during daylight but when you go to shoot the red dot optic in low light the night so it can become a distraction.

I don’t understand the last part of your question. Are you asking about two Dot versus Bardock back up night sites or are you talking about relating the red dot to the iron sites?

If the latter put that idea out of your head. If you have a good draw and presentation the dot will be there. If you are drawing and the dot is not there it is because your draw and presentation is not as good as you thought it was. As you may know from shooting a carbine the mental and visual process for using a red dot sight is different from using iron sights.

Selection of particular back up iron sights is going to depend on which optic you choose and how you will be mounting it. Several manufacturers make back up iron sights for The Glock MOS guns with the RMR and similar optics. I am partial to the Heinie version Sold by Heinie and Suarez. Dawson precision makes two different height sets, one for the RMR And one for taller optics like the Leupold delta point pro. Ameriglo makes BUIS sets different heights from XL to 5XL.

You’re back up sights should be no higher than a 1/3 coat witness, a 1/4 cup witness is better. Some people want the iron sites as a crutch and wind up blocking half or more of the optic window and defeating the point of having the optic.
.

[Sheep-Dog]

Suppressor height sites are just like tall Heinie style sites versus lower traditional night sights, It is the ratio between front and rear that determines point of impact, not the height of the sites.

As for your second question, remember just like on a carbine the red dot will be your primary sighting system. The back up iron sights are just that back ups in case of an emergency. Unless mandated by department policy you may want to consider all black back up sites or a plain black rear with a fiber optic front. The red dot will be your primary nighttime sighting system And if you are like the other Helio on POF you are either running a weapons mounted light or don’t go anywhere without a handheld flashlight. Night sites are not an issue during daylight but when you go to shoot the red dot optic in low light the night so it can become a distraction.

I don’t understand the last part of your question. Are you asking about two Dot versus Bardock back up night sites or are you talking about relating the red dot to the iron sites?

If the latter put that idea out of your head. If you have a good draw and presentation the dot will be there. If you are drawing and the dot is not there it is because your draw and presentation is not as good as you thought it was.

Also, as you may know from shooting a carbine the mental and visual process for using a red dot sight is different from using iron sights.

Last part was just wondering about different styles of sights. But I think I like the black (rear) fiber optic (front). An yes, weapon light (tlr1-hl) and a hand held for just general looking around lol....


Thanks for the info

[psalms144.1]

Like HCM said, when you buy "Suppressor Height" sight sets, you'll get sights with the proper ratio of front to rear height so you shouldn't have much POA/POI issue.

On sight picture, my experience is the more of the irons you see in your visual field, the more likely you'll be to try to line the irons and dot up simultaneously, which will slow down your shooting, screw with your accuracy, and generally give you hissy fits. I like the tops of the irons to be JUST BARELY VISIBLE in the glass of the optic, so I can pick them up if I need them, but otherwise they're not messing with my limited amount of aiming concentration. This might not work for you, especially if you want the dots to be visible through the glass, as most tritium inserts are set a goodly way below the top fo the iron. My only thought on that subject is, with a WML and/or good hand held light, if you can see your target, you'll be able to see the plain black irons if your optic craps out on you.

On the question of 3-dot vs dot-over-dot, I prefer three dots, having shot both configurations (and front NS only) quite a bit. But, that's VERY subjective, and there are plenty of folks on here who've seen the elephant a lot more than I have that prefer front NS only, or dot-over-dot.

[1Rangemaster]

Good advice from earlier posts. I have been working with “red dots” and studying here for going on a year.
GLOCK is my department issue, and I have a G45MOS and personally own a G19MOS. A Trijicon RMR mounted on the G45, with an Aimpoint ACRO on the 19. JMO, but for duty I would only consider those two, and they each have their pluses/minuses.
Regarding buis, I have Heinie “suppressor” sights on one, and plain AmeriGlo on the other(less expensive-dept.issue). I “think” multiple dots/fiber optics/etc could be confusing and complicate the sighting process-but I haven’t really put it to any testing. FBI HRT reportedly runs a single tritium tube on theirs, and that makes some sense(though more cost-but hey, tax dollars).
Whatever you do, I’d recommend strongly dry fire and shooting before ever going on the street. For me, it was several hundred rounds of focused drills before I even started to be comfortable. I continue to dry fire(presenting from holster)weekly, and try to get a live fire session monthly. Shoot a Qual/eval with the sight off-just use buis to verify.
Your other probable purchase will be a holster; Safariland is the standard, but they are way behind(according to rep) due to demand.
All this, but it’s been worth it to me. The sights aren’t a magic amulet, but if one works at it, IMO, very beneficial. Best of luck

[Darth_Uno]

Most suppressor/cowitness sights are .315” above the slide front and rear. These work well for a milled RMR setup. If it says “suppressor” and doesn’t list any specs, it’s probably those dimensions. I know for a fact, having owned or currently owning them, that Suarez, L2D Combat, Trijicon, Steel City Arsenal, 10-8, and Dawson are all ~.315”. All that said, I prefer a .315 front with a .335 rear. Not all mine are set up with a .335 rear, but .315/.315 seems to always hit low to varying degrees. YMMV.

.395” sights are usually for the MOS platform, where the RMR sits higher. They’ll work for a milled slide, but occlude more of the optic’s window.

As far as 3 dot/Straight 8/fiber optic/black....that’s preference. What some call clutter, others call feedback. Remember, you’re using the red dot or the sights to aim, but not both at the same time. Iron sights are just there for backup so get whatever setup you like best.

[Sheep-Dog]

Good advice from earlier posts. I have been working with “red dots” and studying here for going on a year.
GLOCK is my department issue, and I have a G45MOS and personally own a G19MOS. A Trijicon RMR mounted on the G45, with an Aimpoint ACRO on the 19. JMO, but for duty I would only consider those two, and they each have their pluses/minuses.
Regarding buis, I have Heinie “suppressor” sights on one, and plain AmeriGlo on the other(less expensive-dept.issue). I “think” multiple dots/fiber optics/etc could be confusing and complicate the sighting process-but I haven’t really put it to any testing. FBI HRT reportedly runs a single tritium tube on theirs, and that makes some sense(though more cost-but hey, tax dollars).
Whatever you do, I’d recommend strongly dry fire and shooting before ever going on the street. For me, it was several hundred rounds of focused drills before I even started to be comfortable. I continue to dry fire(presenting from holster)weekly, and try to get a live fire session monthly. Shoot a Qual/eval with the sight off-just use buis to verify.
Your other probable purchase will be a holster; Safariland is the standard, but they are way behind(according to rep) due to demand.
All this, but it’s been worth it to me. The sights aren’t a magic amulet, but if one works at it, IMO, very beneficial. Best of luck

Ya, Safariland was about the only Lv III retention that would take a light and optic. I use a ITarget (laser dryfire) for at home drills and hit the range about weekly if not more. So getting used to them will not be too hard ( I hope) lol. I am thinking i will start with my 19, get used to it, figure what i like and dont like then go to the 34. But as someone once said....Best laid plans of mice and men..... lol