Like a grumpy old man struggling to use his new “space box” to scour those interwebs for pictures of his ugly grandkids, we felt clueless as we fumbled around to actually find the red dot and get it on target in anything resembling a reasonable time. Technology seems to have left us far behind when it comes to the red dot revolution. Every armchair operator and strip mall commando has adopted the MOS variant with salivating revelry. So, not ever being one to shy away from the latest trends, we slapped on this seemingly unnecessary hunk of hardware and headed to the range. It didn’t take long for us to decide… We hate red dots on handguns.
First and foremost, no matter what your position is on these damn things, they can and will fail. They will break, run out of batteries and even the “shake awake” feature ours supposedly had only worked properly a fraction of the time. Now, we have listened to all the experts when they say, like anything else, this needs to be trained with and gotten used to. We get this and agree, but it just seems that the effort required to essentially relearn how to shoot isn’t actually worth the payoff.
According to the FBI, the average distance a self-defense engagement occurs within is seven (7) yards. That’s not very far. Getting good with iron sights, especially some Trijicon-HD night sights and even having a bright as hell light on your defensive firearm seems to be a much more reliable and practical platform to bet your life on. Keeping it simple seems to always be best. Right?
As with anything, this is a very personal decision. We’re sure there could be just as many arguments made for this as against it. Our opinion is just that, an opinion. But, if we do happen to see you at the range with this high-tech wizardry bolted to your poor firearm, we promise not to make fun of you… Much.
