Iron Sights vs. Red Dot: Making the Switch on Your Pistol

Switching from iron sights to a red dot is one of those upgrades that feels small on paper but huge behind the trigger.  Red dots, technically called pistol mounted optics, provide a clearer sight picture, faster target acquisition, and a confidence boost that shows up in every drill. In this post, let’s walk through what to expect during the transition, from choosing the right red dot for your needs to basic mounting, zeroing, and the first drills that’ll make the red dot feel like an extension of your hand. 

Choosing the Right Optic

First and foremost, when choosing a red dot, or what we will refer to as the actual optic, the firearm in which it will be installed needs to be optic ready or have an optic cut slide.  If your firearm slide is not currently optic ready, there are many companies, like C&H Precision who can mill a slide.  Milling takes an existing slide and cuts the optic groove and mount points to be able to receive an optic.  Do some research to make sure that your slide can be milled as some slides have components in the slide, in the area that an optic would be mounted, that make it impossible to mill.  There is an option for a plate to be mounted via the rear sight dovetail, but these are prone to failure due to the G-forces the mount has to endure during each shot.  

It is best to either direct mount an optic to the slide, or mount to an optic cut slide with an adapter plate.  There are multiple mount “footprints” that are used by manufacturers, some of which are even specific to a brand, so it’s important to know what footprint is compatible with your slide.  Many gun manufacturers offer adapter plates for the different footprints for their firearms with pre-cut slides, and there are also many after-market offerings as well.

Once you know if your firearm can have an optic mounted, next the firearm size and optic size should match, or be as close as possible.  Carrying a small, thin pistol with a full size optic will make the pistol print more in concealment.  Also having too large of an optic could also throw off the balance of shooting that pistol.  Dot manufacturers offer multiple sizes of optics to meet sizes of firearms.  Compact sized optics work best for compact pistols, just as full sized optics work well with full sized pistols.  Shooting competition?  There’s also even larger optics with bigger windows for full sized and competition pistols.

Once the size and possible footprint is determined, then there is the decision about the reticle.  The reticle is the object shown in the optic window (where the term “red dot” originates from) in which you will use to aim the pistol.  Reticles come in different shapes, sizes and colors, which can make the choice difficult because these are all personal preferences.  One of the first decisions is to decide color.  Red and green are the two most common colors, but gold is also available in some optics (thus the term red dot is blanket slang since optics are different colors now).  People generally have a tendency to see one of the available colors better than another.  Reticle shapes vary from a single dot to larger circles, chevrons and combinations, like a circle and a dot.  Reticle sizes also vary widely, which are measured in minute of angle (MOA).  The higher the MOA, the larger the reticle.  Choosing a reticle shape and size can be highly dependent on the primary usage of the pistol and again is a personal decision.

The best way to determine what reticle is best for you is to try out some optics.  This could be as simple as looking through different optics at a retail store to see what you might like or see best.  Consider renting some pistols to shoot with optics to get a feel of how different reticle styles work for you.  Just remember that not all options are available in all footprints, so it’s best to understand ahead of time what footprint(s) you can use with your pistol.

Mounting An Optic

Mounting an optic is a critically important process.  Don’t just screw an optic on your pistol and think you are good to go.  It is imperative to follow the manufacturer guidelines for mounting your optic (and your firearm if you are installing an optic plate).  Mounting a plate and/or optic requires the use of a torque driver and thread locking compound.  

A torque driver is a special screwdriver or driver attachment that allows you to tighten screws to a specification, for example 15 inch-pounds (in-lbs).  Manufacturers of optics and plates will have a recommended torque rating to tighten the mounting screws to.  You might think going tighter is better, but that will begin to stretch the screw threads, causing them to fail prematurely.  The last thing you want is your optic flying off of your firearm while you are shooting!

It is also key to use thread locking compound on the screws whether it’s mounting an optic plate or the optic itself.  Many manufacturers will have a recommended brand to use and some optics even come with thread locking compound already on the screws that you will use to install the optic.  It’s key to read the installation instructions thoroughly before installing your optic to know what tools, torque and locking compound is needed.

Zeroing An Optic

It’s important to know that an optic is not zeroed out of the box.  Zeroing involves adjusting the elevation and windage of your optic to have the point of impact match the point of aim at a specific distance.  Outside of that specific distance, you will have to use offset or holdover to adjust your point of aim to get the point of impact that you desire.  This means that first, you will have to decide what distance to zero your optic to.  There are many schools of thought on which distance is best, but ultimately it is a decision that is personal to you, and more importantly, the primary use of the firearm.

For personal protection, most experts recommend a zero between 10 and 25 yards.  If the firearm is primarily for competition, it depends on the average distance of the targets that are used.  For example, Steel Challenge, the average shot is 15 yards, but there are multiple stages that have 20 yard shots, and sometimes it’s easier to zero to the longer distances and use offset for the closer targets.  For IDPA or USPSA, depending on the stage, a closer distance may be desired.  Just as many concepts with a red dot are a personal preference, it’s what distance works best for you.  

To zero an optic, use a zeroing target set up at the desired zero distance.  It’s best to dim the dot so that it isn’t so bright that you cannot see your target.  Then take 3 to 5 very still shots.  It’s best to do at least 3 shots to find consistency.  If you know that you pushed a shot, then don’t use that shot and just use the 3 best shots you can do.  If you are struggling to get at least 3 good shots shooting free hand, then consider using a benchrest or a table to stabilize your arms to shoot.

Then analyze your 3 shot grouping and adjust the reticle using the windage and elevation adjustments based on the grouping and recommended “click” adjustments.  Then repeat 3 more shots with a clean target, adjust as needed, and continue to repeat until you have a relatively centered grouping at your chosen distance.  If you are struggling to get a good 3 shot grouping, consider seeking out an instructor with red dot experience to help you.

Drills

We just covered the easy part of the red dot transition!  The hard part is getting used to having an optic on your pistol and getting confident in your dot showing up quickly and reliably in the window with each shot.  This is one of the biggest hurdles and fears for someone putting a red dot on.  With some deliberate practice, you can quickly acclimate to the dot and its presentation and to start out, this is best done in dry fire.

One of the most beneficial drills in learning pistol presentation with an optic is moving from high compressed ready out to arms extended, aiming at the target since this is the last part of the drawstroke.  First, start with the pistol fully extended and find the dot.  Close your eyes and feel how your wrists might be angled, albeit slightly, differently (due to height over bore) or even your arms might feel a bit higher than with shooting iron sights.  So often we forget to know what it feels like to have correct alignment.  Then open your eyes and see if the dot has moved out of the window.  If so, what direction or what corrections with your grip, wrists or arms might you need to make?

Once you can present the pistol, and reasonably keep the dot there, then from the presentation with a view of the dot, bring the pistol to high compressed ready and then push the pistol back out to presentation and see if the dot appears in the window.  If not, recognize the adjustment you need to make for it to appear.  It’s also key to know that you should not move your head trying to find the dot.  If you are moving your hands and your head, you have multiple planes of movement and it will become very difficult to locate the dot.  Keep your head and body as still as possible during the presentation.

For most people transitioning to a dot, the gun is not angled downward enough to account for height over bore.  Many students I have taught believe that they feel like they are angling the gun downward too much, but it’s just a different feel from iron sights because the optic sits higher on the slide.  Having a flush mounted optic on the slide will also help the transition go quicker and feel more natural.  Engaging the pinkies will often bring the dot in from above and is a good practice to have as a part of your grip.

Repeating the presentation back and forth from extension back to high compressed ready will help myelinate the new feel and the dot should more regularly appear in the window.  If it’s still a struggle, there is a good drill that adds a visual cue to help your fundamentals bring the dot into the window during presentation.  It involves working very closely with a target or piece of paper and you will place a dot for where you want the dot to fall (generally eye level) and can even put a line for where the top of the slide would be and present to that target very closely and deliberately, ensuring that there is no additional movement by the head or body.

If you have a MantisX unit, running the Open Training Drill using the Ready Position of Other [Beep], replicating the Extended Prep and Press for each shot is a great way to add a trigger press in once your dot is on target and will time the presentation to the shot.  You will see more motion in the blue hold movement, especially if you are “fishing” around to find your dot prior to the shot.  The important thing is to recognize that an optic should not change your trigger press.

Here we see normal hold movement, and the second picture shows the blue hold movement coming from the top of the screen, when pushing the muzzle of the pistol down to get the dot into the window.

Another important aspect of shooting with a red dot is changing your focus from a front sight focus to a target focus.  It is also good to know that it’s more natural to shoot with both eyes open using a red dot versus trying to shoot with both eyes open using iron sights.  With having both eyes open and focusing on the target, using an optic allows you to see and observe more.  If you perfect this skill, your eyes are working in stereo.  This means that your dominant eye will be looking through the optic window at the target, capturing the dot, and the non-dominant eye will strictly focus on the target. 

In these example pictures, a right eye dominant person would capture the dot in their right eye and the target with their left eye.  Then the brain overlays those two images together allowing the blue tape to fade out and the dot to be superimposed on the target.  This takes some work so it’s important to practice until it becomes easier.

The downfall of an optic is that we tend to want to watch the dot like a cat chases a laser pointer.  To help train the eyes to remain target-focused is to run the occluded optic drill.  This drill involves putting some painters tape over the front side glass of your optic.  Drive your pistol out to the target and with both eyes open, if you are dot-focused, all you will see is the dot on the tape.  The key is to focus on the target and relax or soften your vision so that you essentially are “looking through” the tape and able to overlay the dot onto the target.  This is a learned skill and will require some practice before it becomes natural.

Laser Academy is a great tool to practice the occluded optic drill because it helps verify point of aim vs point of impact.  When using Laser Academy with an optic that is not flush-mounted to the slide, you can choose to calibrate the “Laser Offset” within Settings prior to running the drill.  This will allow you to set your aim exactly to the point of impact instead of manually accounting for holdover for the occluded optic drill.  It’s also a good idea to practice without an offset so that you become familiar with your holdover on different target distances.

Set up a couple of targets and occlude your optic with tape.  Then run the Open Shooting - Multi-Target drill and work to make a shot, move to another target and shoot.  Using multiple targets will really help build the target focused skill because you have to use your eyes to move back and forth to targets.  The occluded optic drill is a great tool to build the skill, but it is also not recommended to run an occluded optic extensively.  Work on the drill for a short time and remove the tape and work without the tape.  The tape is just like training wheels on a bicycle.  It’s something that we only want to use sparingly until we can train our eyes well enough, even if it’s still a bit wobbly, to work on the skill without the tape.

Finally, consider taking some training from a local or national instructor who has some instruction experience with red dots.  Taking a private lesson or two will help identify and flush out issues you may be having with acquiring your dot.  Another set of eyes can be invaluable to helping identify and correct issues to make the transition to the dot easier.

Whether you’re a weekend plinker, a competition shooter, or someone who carries for personal protection, the goal is the same - shorten the learning curve so you can quickly find the dot and place your shots where you want them to go. Start simple, practice deliberately, and by the end, you’ll overcome the concern of “not being able to find the dot” and experience the benefits that an optic has to offer.