Pistol Optics

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So my eyes suck, I am right handed with dominant left eye which has poorer vision than the right. I can barely focus with left eye on the sights. And yes due for a visit to eye doc.
I tend to close left eye and use right and that doesn't work well at all. Using right I see better but not really shoot better.

I would like to explore optics. Are there any videos/websites showing the difference one sees with reflex sights vs iron sights? I don't think I need a scope on a compact frame.
I am interested in home and personal defense distances, not long range target shooting.

Any help or guidance is appreciated. Most off threads I can find are rifle/AR related and really eyesight deficiencies for closer ranges

Would I be better off with a red or green dot and dialing it in?
 
So my eyes suck, I am right handed with dominant left eye which has poorer vision than the right. I can barely focus with left eye on the sights. And yes due for a visit to eye doc.
I tend to close left eye and use right and that doesn't work well at all. Using right I see better but not really shoot better.

I would like to explore optics. Are there any videos/websites showing the difference one sees with reflex sights vs iron sights? I don't think I need a scope on a compact frame.
I am interested in home and personal defense distances, not long range target shooting.

Any help or guidance is appreciated. Most off threads I can find are rifle/AR related and really eyesight deficiencies for closer ranges

Would I be better off with a red or green dot and dialing it in?

Provided you don't also have an astigmatism, a red dot could help out a lot to solve your current issues. I'm also right with left eye dominant. Red dots have been a life saver on rifles, but are very useful on pistols as well for both eyes open shooting. It superimposes the dot over your natural field of view if done properly, and you don't have to worry as much that one eye is weaker. As long as it is zero'd properly, it should still maintain point of aim/point of impact even with a weak eye, as long as you're using both eyes.
 
I'm planning on getting at least one of my current pistols machined for mounting a dot (RMR pattern HoloSun) also due to aging eyes. I'm going with the HoloSun since it offers the ring and dot reticle option. I already have one of those that I'm using on my Ruger 22/45.

There's plenty of opinions out there on the whole red vs green subject.

I do have an astigmatism (plus need prisms in my glasses) and find shooting with a dot/optic easier than with irons. Of course, I really can't see much of anything more than a few inches in front of my eyes without help.

@Greatwhitewing If you want to check out the HoloSun on the Ruger, let me know. Once I can get the other pistol machined for mounting a dot, that could be an option too.
 
I like pistol RDSs, they make hitting plates easier at distance, but you will have to train with it. Presentation is important, and if it's not consistent you will spend a few seconds searching for the dot every time and you will hate it. I have taken several of this guy's classes and use his draw technique. There are other videos that are more in-depth but they require you to sign in to youtube. This is a good overview:



Basically, keep a thumb/torso index till you are in close-contact, then drive the gun straight out. Using this technique it only took me a few draws to get used to the RDS. I have a swampfox liberty on a G19 and love it....super long battery life with "shake-n-wake." I actually got the green dot to be different and really like it, but I don't really have a strong preference red/green.
 
So my eyes suck, I am right handed with dominant left eye which has poorer vision than the right. I can barely focus with left eye on the sights. And yes due for a visit to eye doc.
I tend to close left eye and use right and that doesn't work well at all. Using right I see better but not really shoot better.

I would like to explore optics. Are there any videos/websites showing the difference one sees with reflex sights vs iron sights? I don't think I need a scope on a compact frame.
I am interested in home and personal defense distances, not long range target shooting.

Any help or guidance is appreciated. Most off threads I can find are rifle/AR related and really eyesight deficiencies for closer ranges

Would I be better off with a red or green dot and dialing it in?
Hey there, I have almost the same issue, Iam blind in my right eye 20/40 in my left I’m right handed but I have to shoot lefty, I put a red dot on my FNX9 about 4yrs ago it has a 6mil dot which is big for target practice but I cannot find the smaller dot when I tried it. I started with the vortex & I bought a mounting plate made for my gun I drifted the rear sight off installed the plate mounted the RMR & it is Awesome. I got so used to useing the red dot that it is second nature to me now. You will not regret buying one, the only issue is your holster may not work I had to buy a new one Good luck👍👍👨🏻‍🦯
 
Provided you don't also have an astigmatism, a red dot could help out a lot to solve your current issues. I'm also right with left eye dominant. Red dots have been a life saver on rifles, but are very useful on pistols as well for both eyes open shooting. It superimposes the dot over your natural field of view if done properly, and you don't have to worry as much that one eye is weaker. As long as it is zero'd properly, it should still maintain point of aim/point of impact even with a weak eye, as long as you're using both eyes.
I miss spoke, I meant to say laser vs red dot which I think you understood.
 
I'm planning on getting at least one of my current pistols machined for mounting a dot (RMR pattern HoloSun) also due to aging eyes. I'm going with the HoloSun since it offers the ring and dot reticle option. I already have one of those that I'm using on my Ruger 22/45.

There's plenty of opinions out there on the whole red vs green subject.

I do have an astigmatism (plus need prisms in my glasses) and find shooting with a dot/optic easier than with irons. Of course, I really can't see much of anything more than a few inches in front of my eyes without help.

@Greatwhitewing If you want to check out the HoloSun on the Ruger, let me know. Once I can get the other pistol machined for mounting a dot, that could be an option too.
Thanks for your reply I said red dot thinking that was a laser dot on the target and not an image in slide mounted optic.
I would like to see how and optic works but would render my holsters useless not that the deciding factor.

Thanks
 
I have an RMR for my Glock 34. I'm not the best pistol shot to begin with although it's probably gotten close to reasonable over the years. I did find, however, that I was extremely bad at finding the dot on the RMR on the pistol.

I can shoot with RMRs on rifles with no problems, but boy could I use a class on red dots and pistols. because i suck, hard.
 
Red dot > laser

If you’re worried about red dots not working with your current holsters, how would a laser not also render them useless?
 
I can only speak for me but I currently have two pistol red dot optics, a Holosun 507C with the ACSS reticle, which is a 100+ moa circle and an 8 moa chevron. The circle is huge so that when you present the optic and the chevron isn’t lined up, you can see the curve of the circle and you automatically shift so that the chevron gets centered. It works great but I still haven’t gotten used to using the tip of the chevron as an aiming point.

The other is a Holosun 407k X2 with a 6 moa dot. I love this thing. It’s small so I present the pistol as if I’m using irons and the dot is right there and the 6 moa dot is a perfect size, much better than 2 moa which I’ve tried before. This is far better with my astigmatism than the smaller dot. Both dots are red btw, I’ve tried green ones in store and they all seem to flicker. Not sure why.
 
I miss spoke, I meant to say laser vs red dot which I think you understood.
Laser isn't an optic. Mounting a laser under the muzzle is completely different than having a dot mounted on the slide (or to the frame). IMO, a laser is a lot less useful than an optic/dot on the pistol. For one thing, you CAN dial in the dot/optic. Not to mention the laser putting the POI on the target means the lighting needs to be better for such. Easier to adjust brightness on a mounted optic/dot than laser. Plus a laser will only work out to a certain range before it either shifts too far, or fades to nothing. No such issue with a dot/optic.

Before anyone posts, yes, I know that there are 'laser grips' out there. Just seems like more of a PITA than it's worth.

Get a slide RMR cut as well as co-witness irons for backup. Although with ones like the HoloSun (with the solar panels) your battery life is crazy long.
 
Laser isn't an optic. Mounting a laser under the muzzle is completely different than having a dot mounted on the slide (or to the frame). IMO, a laser is a lot less useful than an optic/dot on the pistol. For one thing, you CAN dial in the dot/optic. Not to mention the laser putting the POI on the target means the lighting needs to be better for such. Easier to adjust brightness on a mounted optic/dot than laser. Plus a laser will only work out to a certain range before it either shifts too far, or fades to nothing. No such issue with a dot/optic.

Before anyone posts, yes, I know that there are 'laser grips' out there. Just seems like more of a PITA than it's worth.

Get a slide RMR cut as well as co-witness irons for backup. Although with ones like the HoloSun (with the solar panels) your battery life is crazy long.
Thanks, good to know
 
So my eyes suck, I am right handed with dominant left eye which has poorer vision than the right. I can barely focus with left eye on the sights. And yes due for a visit to eye doc.
I tend to close left eye and use right and that doesn't work well at all. Using right I see better but not really shoot better.

I would like to explore optics. Are there any videos/websites showing the difference one sees with reflex sights vs iron sights? I don't think I need a scope on a compact frame.
I am interested in home and personal defense distances, not long range target shooting.

Any help or guidance is appreciated. Most off threads I can find are rifle/AR related and really eyesight deficiencies for closer ranges

Would I be better off with a red or green dot and dialing it in?
Optics = C-More. Awesome.

As far as closing one eye ... when you close your left eye, your right eye becomes the dominant eye. If you see better from your right, and shoot right handed, you should shoot better.

I am also right handed but left eye dominant - I shoot right handed with my right eye. No issues.
 
i love my holosuns, with the green 2moa dot and 32moa circle, as it helps to find the dot faster. red dots with my stigmatism, look like a squiggly circle line that's hard to center. have them on a few pistols, and they really help me and my old eyes. and the "shake awake " feature means never having to turn them on or off. pick up the firearm, and sight is on. let it rest for 5 minutes and it shuts off, great for those aging forgetfull minds too.
 
I miss spoke, I meant to say laser vs red dot which I think you understood.

I was talking about red dot sights. Were you talking about aiming lasers? I'd suggest red dots over lasers, if that's what you meant. Buy hey, to each their own.

As far as red vs green. Green picks up a lot better indoors and low light, but green also washes out a lot easier with bright light and against foliage backdrop. So it is kind of more specific to where you shoot, I guess. This seems to apply to both lasers and mounted optics.
 
i love my holosuns, with the green 2moa dot and 32moa circle, as it helps to find the dot faster. red dots with my stigmatism, look like a squiggly circle line that's hard to center. have them on a few pistols, and they really help me and my old eyes. and the "shake awake " feature means never having to turn them on or off. pick up the firearm, and sight is on. let it rest for 5 minutes and it shuts off, great for those aging forgetfull minds too.
Well I can I "see" I have some more homework to do. Your first sentence is Greek to me but I will research and attempt to translate.
Still haven't found a place, website, gives me a good representation of what I would see. Know a little bit about optics it's hard to show sometimes. I have experience with metrology optics but not the same thing
It's a chunk of money to buy just to try so hoping to get a good idea of what I would see.

Thanks for your help
 
So before I had my cataracts fixed, I really had trouble using any sight. I ended up putting both a red dot and a laser on my FNX 45 and, while it made an already large pistol huge, having both the laser and red dot sighted in to the same point of aim at 25 feet let me make sure I was on target from anywhere from 7 feet to 50 feat (if the laser and red dot came close to overlapping, I was good to go). Even now, I still have them on it since I found that I have use cases for all three sights on the gun. Normally use the red dot (Vortex Venom) with both eyes open. Use the laser (Viridian X5L green laser with light) when I want to be able to practice shooting from cover where I can’t bring the gun to eye level. The Viridian has the advantage of also including a tactical light for night situations. Still practice with the irons (they’re suppressor hight in the FNX tactical so they co-witness with the red dot) in case the red dot fails. If I lived in a free state it would be suppressed. Instead I put a Kaw Valley liner comp on it, which at least directs all the flash and bang forward. It’s my home defense handgun, so I don’t really care that it’s impossible for me to carry.

FNX 45.jpeg
 
My eyes aren't that bad but the next one, a Hellcat OSP, I'm going to go with a red (or green) dot. I've no real need for one but what the hell. I'll be getting it without Sigs options and will pick-up something else, I'm leaning towards a Swampfox instead. Seems to be the better selection through my readings as for now. Still saving my pennies so I've got a couple weeks to decide and continue reading up on choices.
 
Well I can I "see" I have some more homework to do. Your first sentence is Greek to me but I will research and attempt to translate.
Still haven't found a place, website, gives me a good representation of what I would see. Know a little bit about optics it's hard to show sometimes. I have experience with metrology optics but not the same thing
It's a chunk of money to buy just to try so hoping to get a good idea of what I would see.

Thanks for your help
if your in central MA, i have a few you can try, so as to test the waters before you dive in?

check out a few vendors websites like sig, holosum, c-more, vortex, trijicon etc
 
I actually got the green dot to be different and really like it, but I don't really have a strong preference red/green.
(A trivial factoid I discovered with my bargain-basement ChiCom Red/Green reflex sight
is that putting it in green mode made it easier to use my Bushnell red laser boresighter -
I could figure out which dot was which).

But I'm sure that there are far more important pros and cons from
physics and biology. Jus' sayin'.
 
I was talking about red dot sights. Were you talking about aiming lasers? I'd suggest red dots over lasers, if that's what you meant. Buy hey, to each their own.

As far as red vs green. Green picks up a lot better indoors and low light, but green also washes out a lot easier with bright light and against foliage backdrop. So it is kind of more specific to where you shoot, I guess. This seems to apply to both lasers and mounted optics.
I don't "plan" to shoot except at a range with lighting under controlled and good conditions. I have issues even there.
What I want to be prepared for is that bad guy in my hallway trying to do evil or a roving mob looking for my stuff.
Not
if your in central MA, i have a few you can try, so as to test the waters before you dive in?

check out a few vendors websites like sig, holosum, c-more, vortex, trijicon etc
I am in very southern Worcester County

I will check out those sites. Thanks
 
I am also Left Eye dominant and right handed. I got sold on Red Dots went I took a Pistol Class at Sig and both Instructors had Red Dots and 80% of the class. I've since added Red Dots to several of my Pistols and went back to Sig and took Pistol Optics 102 and learned a lot.

This is the Instructor I had:

 
I have a Holosum 507C with the green 2moa dot and 32moa circle on my VP9L. What a difference in shooting! The green dot is a lot easier on the eyes. You do have a little trouble finding the dot at first. It will add enjoyment to your shooting.
I also use shooting glasses from TacticalRX that helps me focus on the front sight when shooting iron sights.
 
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I don't "plan" to shoot except at a range with lighting under controlled and good conditions. I have issues even there.
What I want to be prepared for is that bad guy in my hallway trying to do evil or a roving mob looking for my stuff.
Not

I am in very southern Worcester County

I will check out those sites. Thanks

I think you'd just have to take a peep at both then. Green picks up and tracks faster, but some people like myself find it almost a bit too eye catching, and thus a little distracting. Particularly if that's a circle dot. I stick with red and pump up brightness to match the backdrop. But I also have an astigmatism, so I can't go too bright or it turns into a fuzzy mess.
 
you'd just have to take a peep at both then. Green picks up and tracks faster
absolutely go to some shop and try them at extended hand distance, you'll need to look at them with glasses and without, ina shade and in a sunlight. in a shade dot distortion is usually worse.
the astigmatism is the big problem. green dots have a tendency to behave worse than red ones.

i have heard that some holosun dots that have a big circle with a dot inside somehow produce less visible astigmatism caused distortion - but i did not try it.

i can handle my SRO fine, and leupold too, but some other cheap ones i have - like green truglo 3moa were plain horrible.
 
absolutely go to some shop and try them at extended hand distance, you'll need to look at them with glasses and without, ina shade and in a sunlight. in a shade dot distortion is usually worse.
the astigmatism is the big problem. green dots have a tendency to behave worse than red ones.

i have heard that some holosun dots that have a big circle with a dot inside somehow produce less visible astigmatism caused distortion - but i did not try it.

i can handle my SRO fine, and leupold too, but some other cheap ones i have - like green truglo 3moa were plain horrible.

I have starburst astigmatism, so I have to keep the red dots on low or use them in conjunction with peep sights. I have a green circle dot, and between the astigmatism and green just picking up more, its a distracting blob for me. But everyone is gonna be different there and mine is not holographic.
 
I put a Romeo red dot on my Sig P320 and man, it's almost like cheating. As soon as I work more on my trigger squeeze, I'll be ripping the center out of my targets.
Did you install it with a tourqe inch lb screwdriver? Just got my romeo 1 today for the p320
 
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