Switching between a dot and irons on a defensive pistol

[Kirk]

Is this like sport Judo vs. fighting as an analogy?

Only in so far as the judo guy and the USPSA guy will likely have a massive and overwhelming skill disparity vs. your average “street brawler”/“self-defense shooter” type

[JCN]

I just wanted to say I’ve really enjoyed reading this thread. So much good information.

In my very narrow lane (shooting steel with dots and irons - *only for performance/not defensive shooting*), I’ve had no real difficulty maintaining my irons proficiency. I’m obviously faster with the dot, but I still have relatively comparable times. I know none of us are this guy, but I believe Nils just won the World Speed Shooting title in CO and did pretty dang well with irons (I think Limited). Yes, he’s a freak, but I think maintaining your irons skills for something like SCSA should be pretty doable with maybe 1 irons day per week or a few minutes per session. USPSA could certainly be more challenging and require a different approach, I don’t know. This season in SCSA (I’ll start competing later this month-October), I’ll be running 2 dot guns and 1 irons gun. I’ll track my performance, see what the data shows, and might bump this thread with what I discover.

Nils has a lot of iron time under his belt.

It’s also notable that his CO time was slower than the winner of Production.

His CO time was also slower than Jesse Harrison’s Open time by a whiff.

So is he an iron shooter than has a deficit when he dabbles in optics?

Rather than an optic shooter who has a deficit when they dabble in irons?

[YVK]

Max has dominated the CO and before that was pretty dominant in Open, at least in SC. Interesting that he doesn't have much of irons results to show for lately (ever?).

[Kirk]

Max has dominated the CO and before that was pretty dominant in Open, at least in SC. Interesting that he doesn't have much of irons results to show for lately (ever?).

I’ve always wondered what Max could do with irons. I remember when Grauffel (sp?) was dominating production, I always thought Max could’ve beat him if he focused on production. You’re right though, I don’t think I’ve ever seen Max compete in a match without a dot gun.

[GJM]

I’ve always wondered what Max could do with irons. I remember when Grauffel (sp?) was dominating production, I always thought Max could’ve beat him if he focused on production. You’re right though, I don’t think I’ve ever seen Max compete in a match without a dot gun.

[YVK]

I’ve always wondered what Max could do with irons. I remember when Grauffel (sp?) was dominating production, I always thought Max could’ve beat him if he focused on production. You’re right though, I don’t think I’ve ever seen Max compete in a match without a dot gun.

My memory is poor and I don't remember the time frame exactly but I think anywhere from 3 to 5 years ago, probably closer to 5, Max went to shoot A3 with irons. Ben did Ben thing (shot match with 3 Cs or something like that) and I think Max realized he didn't have much chance in irons divisions. That's my theory only though.

[Kirk]

Dude is just unreal. Those splits at around the 50 second mark are basically full-auto level.

[JCN]

Dude is just unreal. Those splits at around the 50 second mark are basically full-auto level.

I love how he has the full range of splits though. Like he doesn’t just rip splits at difficult targets, he meters his vision and pace to his mechanical requirement.

[1Rangemaster]

I went back to the OP, after a little personal experiment today. Had the opportunity to shoot a GSSF match with an irons guns and a carry optic gun(ACRO). I just switched slides on a GEN5 G19 so that took some variables out. Results: dot gun better than iron gun by several seconds,but not alarmingly different.
So, if I just shot the dot gun all the time, I do believe the irons “skill” would deteriorate. That’s a hazard. But by shooting both with some regularity one can maintain reasonable proficiency. There might be some occasions where one has to go to irons, so it would be wise to maintain proficiency.

[Clusterfrack]

So inspiring to see someone performing at the limits of human ability... This is why I love Production so much.