So, what % of you have an RDS on your primary carry pistols, and what’s the models and brands you landed on and why? There’s a lot of choices and options out there these days.
I’m in the RDS camp. My dad ended up with bifocals, at some point I will too. Seeing iron sights was a challenge for him for many years.
So I adopted the RDS because I want to, and in the future when I might struggle to use iron sights it won’t matter because I’m already decent with the RDS.
I have a G43x COA that I really like. Small enough to carry without much in the way of clothing restrictions.
My example shoots pretty well.
Only red dot i have is what came on my Walther PDP. Its a C&H red dot. I have an astigmatism. So i can not use any red dot. Hoping tech gets better and they get do etched reticle for them.
I started out with smaller dots, but now that I know what works best for me and the shitty glock grip angle I run mostly these 507 Comps. I have a slide cut G35 waiting for the even BIGGER 507 Pro Max when it’s released.
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I have two primary carry guns: G48 MOS with a Holosun 407K that I carry in the summer, and a Zev OZ9c sporting a Steiner MPS which recently replaced a Trijicon RMR.
I switched to the MPS on my Zev from the RMR because I had instances in gun classes where rain has gotten onto an open emitter and made it useless and battery compartment location. The Aimpoint Acro is 2x the price but not 2x better, so the MPS seemed to fit the roll. The other option was a Holosun 509 but oddly enough, I found a better deal on the MPS.
The slimline 407K is perfect for the narrow frame Glock and has thus far been perfect. The side battery compartment means I can swap batteries without having to re-zero the gun every time. I change batteries once a year even thought they are supposed to last longer, just to be safe. I may switch to an EPS Carry to move to a closed emitter optic. Had the G48COA been available at the time I would have gone that way but even now they don’t seem to exist in the wild.
There is no such thing as an etched reticle in a red dot sight. It is literally not possible.
Exactly my point coal dragger. Pistol red dots are useless to me.
This debate is never ending over on Glocktalk.
If a shooter can target focus and run irons, by all means. I can do it good enough for 10 yards and in. Beyond that a dot (as a former hardcore anti pistol dot man) the dot gives you more of a precise aim.
There’s plenty of guys running pistol dots who don’t know how to use them effectively. The best analogy I’ve seen is Ben Stoeger’s. He likens the dot to your computer mouse arrow. You look at what you want to click/shoot and you move the dot to it. A lot of guys focus on the dot or hunt for the dot.
When you get used to the ideal usage of the dot, going back to irons is a small pay cut. It’s not crippling, but it’s not as good.
It’s funny to look back to when we were trained to focus on the front sight post. I’ll still revert back to that for a 50 or 100 yard shot, but for gunfighting, that idea is comical these days.
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Does not help me at all, when the dot is bigger than the front sight. and add its an odd shape to boot.
EDIT: I am also partially color blind, so that’s also against me.
Some guys like those big 6 MOA dots. I can run one, but I definitely like the smallest dot possible.
Almost all shooters who take the task of learning the dot will prefer it over irons. But the important thing is running what works best for you.
I had a piece of shit C&H dot flicker out on me one session and I had to use back up irons for several mags. I was shocked at how well I shot.
One of the other nice things about a dot is you can call your shots/misses. You see that subtle gun movement when the trigger breaks much more than irons.
I have not seen the bigger MOA dots. And I agree, the C&H is a crappy optic. But it came with the PDP. I am “OK” with it. I am faster with it, but the blurry as hell reticle makes it hard to be precise. I am still waiting to see a holosun. None are on display locally to test one. And I refuse to buy another with out checking it out.
Also, EOtechs do not work with my eyes either.
I’ve moved to dots exclusively on my pistols and definitely prefer them to irons. I feel just as fast with them up close, with noticeable accuracy advantages at distance.
As for the models, I’ve run dots from Holosun, trijicon, vortex, sig, burris, leopold, and aimpoint., and for smaller carry pistols (I EDC a P365 variant), I prefer the holosun EPS Carry with multiple reticle system, as it has an enclosed emitter and the larger circle is easier to see quickly on presentation than just a single dot.
It seems nowadays there are a lot more solid choices when it comes to pistol red dots which is nice.
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Yeah. The choices are good right now. I waited years to get into the dot sight system for pistols. It used to be that they were always (every weekend) going down and or falling off. Now none of my Glocks have a sight ever go down or come loose.
I’ve even had 2 glock slides cut and re-nitrided for direct mount. I have this G35 waiting for the 507 Pro Max’s release:
I started out on the Holo SCS MOS. Perfect sight in every way for me except that it was too small of a window for my fight with the Glock grip angle.
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Haven’t been on the site in a while Markm but i remember the days when you were anti dot 
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I have an SRO on my Staccato and an old PFI on a G19. Gotta practice and dry fire a lot to get used to them.
I have one on an M&P 2.0 .45 and use it for training but the gun i carry (same model) is irons.
I’ll probably stay irons until my eyes aren’t up to it anymore.
Pappabear wore me down. I was waiting for a better/standardized mounting platform, but it never came.
Similar to @tekiwap , I shot Pappabear’s Staccato P Duo with an SRO on top. That set up won me over. Just put that dot on any piece of steel, and it was a guaranteed hit.
Now I’m:
Have you looked at a green dot? Allegedly they are better for some people with an astigmatism.
For some reason i thought Eotech was making a holographic pistol dot, but not so.
FN has started making one though.
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407k 6 moa on a P365
507c on a Walther Q4
SRO on a Walther Q5
I still practice with irons.
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I got my first red dot in March 2001, a Dr, Optic in Germany. My son still carries it on his carry pistol.
I have run RMR, Leupold Delta micro on Glocks, which is my favorite red dot.
When I built my MK3 firearms custom Hi Power I asked the lads which green dot fit the Hi Power slide best. They told me Holosun ESP carry, so I got it . I am pleased with it.
I saw Joe Rogan say that a red light bed has healed his macular degeneration. So I am serious thinking of getting one and do what he did lie in it with my eyes open and see what it can do for my messed up eyes.
Did anyone see the new sight that Tyler Grey ex Delta lad is pushing for a carry gun. It is basically a back sight on the front of the pistol.