In handgun iron sights vs reflex optic part 1, Aaron compared accuracy and speed from 3, 5 and 7 yards. Well he’s back with part 2, and this time he’s shooting from 10, 15 and 20 yards, as well as a transitional drill on a 6 plate speed rack.
Is a reflex sight faster or more accurate than traditional iron sights? Find out.
A couple of things:
1: Shooting static targets in a static position really doesn’t give the right venue for the RDS to shine. Shooting on the move and shooting moving targets I get a huge improvement with the RDS. Regarding static shooting, I (emphasis on I) do better as I find the RDS to be the best thing for cross dominant shooters.
2: Mounting the gun. Yes, you will “chase the dot” at first, if you start running a RDS you need to mount the gun higher to get that RDS into your line of sight. Unless you’re going straight into a RDS equipped gun, you’ve got to get all Yoda on it and unlearn what you have learned and start building….I hate saying it…new muscle memory to get the gun higher during your draw stroke.
3: Small dots. I have a really bad tendency to try and get that little tiny dot in the dead center of that target. Bigger dot, put the dot where you want the bullet to go and press the trigger. Currently I’m running a Leupold Delta Point on a HK P30S, it’s got a 7.5MOA triangle, I’ve got a Glock 17 pending install with a 6.5 MOA dot. At 100 yards, these dots will cover the down zero of an IDPA target with a little room to spare, up close they are not huge. A 3.5 dot in my VERY limited opinion is too small for handguns. We’re not trying to get 100/200 yard MOA out of rifle with a Glock. A larger dot will not obscure targets in conventional handgun range.
4: I give the guy props for doing the work, but try as he might it’s not going to be a level playing field until for both systems until he gives the dot more work. The first video was in September, this one in mid October, I might have missed it but we don’t get a real grasp for how long he’s spent with the RDS.
I haven’t totally dedicated myself to the RDS yet, that will start to happen when my RMR comes in as I’m transitioning from the HK to Glock but even going from between the two (Optics to irons) I get better performance with the RDS.
YMMV.
Reflex optics are just one more thing for people to spend money on that won’t make them a better shooter.
Reflex optics are one more tool for those of us who only need reading glasses as we age and are unable to focus on the front sight.
I love the idea of a red dot sight for a pistol… My problem lies in the fact I cannot change the sights on my issued duty pistol, and do not want to change/learn/un-learn the sight acquisition I have now. If I was a civilian and didn’t have an issued pistol I would totally drop the coin for a RMR