The slow fire accuracy came pretty quick, but it took me 6 months of daily dry practice to really get the speed back to irons. At least a half hour each day running a specific dry fire program.
The slow fire accuracy came pretty quick, but it took me 6 months of daily dry practice to really get the speed back to irons. At least a half hour each day running a specific dry fire program.
David S.
Yea it’s faster at distance and small targets and great on the range. That’s why competition shooters have been using them since the early 90’s. The problem is they don’t really offer any advantage inside 15 yards where most gunfights happen, and they add a massive failure mode to the pistol of something that could go wrong. I think they’re fine for concealed carry use by an enthusiast who maintains and monitors their own equipment, but they are still a poor choice for serious duty use and mass issue.
Last edited by Gio; 06-21-2019 at 09:19 PM.
I would disagree. Inside 15 yards it has some pretty big advantages for me. Most of which are definitely not the flat range. But moving, behind cover, from awkward positions, one handed dominant or not, it is much easier to make hits with the mrds than irons.
I guess if we are talking about a gunfight where we are squared up and no one is moving and there is no obstructions or obstacles to worry about then it probably is not that much better.
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For me, there were two keys to regaining close in speed with the red dot on a pistol.
1) realize you don’t need to bring the dot into the scoring zone, and hold it steady — you just need to release the shot with the dot somewhere in the scoring zone.
2) you need to be visually patient, and look for the dot on close targets, rather than point or index shoot. That second point may seem opposite, but up close, waiting to see the dot speeds me up.
Likes pretty much everything in every caliber.
George I'm interested to see what you can do with the RMR. I feel like if you really made a commitment to it you'd do just as well as anything else. Last summer I was getting acclimated to a red dot and shot about 10 Rogers tests with a G34 MOS with an RM02. I topped out at 102, but made tons of errors. I feel like I could have done an advanced score with more dry fire and commitment. I was used to a g19 so the 34 wasn't indexing for me very well.
I don’t think professionals are only looking for flat range accuracy. I think the points here mentioned about shooting from cover or awkward positions are very valid. Additionally, shooting from a shield, gas mask, or nvg’s is much easier with a red dot. Shooting with strong or weak hand only is also improved for individuals like K9 handlers. There is also the additional benefit of a target focus with both eyes open vice a hard front sight focus (I realize many effectively shoot irons with both eyes open but many shooters do not). I also believe there is value for a plainclothed officer or civilian for that matter who is present during an active shooter or similar event. They would have a more effective weapon with more range and accuracy from cover. With all of that being said, I don’t think it is a great idea to just allow large numbers of individuals to mount any rds they can get their hands on because it does take a level of maintenance, practice, and dedication that they may not understand up front or fail to accomplish for the sake of having what is new.
Your last point is huge. And why it piggybacks what GJM said about replacing it with 1911. It does take dedication and training to truly grasp all the benefits and downsides. And honestly with the problems some have. The bigger the department the bigger the possibility for failures.
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I completely agree. When I was first exposed to red dots on pistols I adapted to it quickly and felt like everyone should have one immediately. At this point I would still choose to have it for myself but would be against a department level policy that just lets everyone mount whatever optic they want, however they want, and simply pass a static qual to start carrying on duty.
I have shot an RMR enough to form an opinion — that I like the RMR more than iron sights but less than other optics with a larger display for performance shooting.
I believe, circa June 2019, the red dot is not ready for adoption by mainstream LE users. Enthusiast users and specialized personnel yes, but a train wreck in the making for whole departments. Hopefully the optics become more mature, and widespread adoption makes sense soon when their value/performance approaches what an Aimpoint on a rifle offers.
Likes pretty much everything in every caliber.