Unpopular Opinion September 2024

Stating an unpopular opinion here - red dots for pistols are still a fad, and always will be one as long as they persist. 

James Yeager felt and never really came off this opinion that red dots on a pistol are a fad. Red Dots on CCW Pistols - Part 1 (youtube.com)

A RED DOT DOES NOT INCREASE SPEED WITH A PISTOL

A red dot on a rifle is a speed aiming apparatus. A red dot on a pistol is a precision apparatus. It is fairly easy to teach a student a combat proficient level of accuracy using iron sights on a pistol within a the first day of a larger two-day class. Meanwhile, most people wear a pistol for self defense. Self defense situations are widely known to be situations where time is of the essence. You won't have time to find that dot and line it up. 

YOU WILL HUNT FOR THE DOT.

Oh, you think that you can fix that? Yes - it can be fixed. No, it has little to do with "proper fundamentals," like so many YouTube videos would have you believe (that's just how they explain how come they can do it and you cannot). Like anything else, if someone has done something 10,000 times, and you have done it 100 times, it is no surprise that they can do it better and faster. The Japanese in martial arts had a saying: "ukemi sannen" - or three years must be spent on breakfalls (before mastery). That is true for everything. You aren't going to take a weekend class, do a hundred dry fire draws after that, and have a decent red dot presentation.  

YOU WILL HUNT FOR THE DOT.

Here is a YouTube video on how to fix the error of not finding the dot. Didn't work for me and has not worked for any of my students. Warrior Poet - See the Red Dot EVERY Time (youtube.com) Point of irony - I released this video prior to Lovell's, and you can see my drawstroke suffers from neither of the errors he mentions. My draw is neither canted, nor pointed down. 

Here is another video teaching a different way to find the dot. Essentially, the advice is to intentionally have the muzzle high, and sweep it down so as to get a flash picture of the dot, and when you "get a reasonably accurate sight picture," then you depress the trigger. Pistol Red Dot - Acquiring the Dot - Modern Samurai - YouTube

YOU WILL HUNT FOR THE DOT.

I have fired a pistol with a red dot on it about 100 total rounds. Several different pistols. Out of those 100 or so rounds fired, I've seen a red dot about 5 times. The first time I presented a pistol with a red dot, I had to do the little rotate the gun around to try to find the dot. And I swore then I would never do that again, as it is not a good habit to get into for a device worn for a martial application. 

YOU WILL HUNT FOR THE DOT.

In an exercise at a class where I was borrowing a pistol with a red dot for a "speed" drill, I was able to get a sub-1.5 second draw and hit on target (center mass vital area) five straight times without seeing the red dot once. I kept asking the owner how to turn on the red dot. He confirmed after those exercises that it was on. Then he pointed out it was a green dot. No, I am not color blind. The dot never appeared. I still question if that one works. I was doing a rough "aim" using the side of the slide as a reference point as no aiming apparatus was functioning at the time. The fact that I could get it on target, and do so in that time frame shows my mechanics are solid, but that the dot is not. 

RED DOTS FAIL

Red dots fail. Often. The Essential Pistol class I taught in August 2024 was the first class where we had no red dots fail. I have witnessed every major manufacturer of red dots experience failure on pistols. Including Aimpoint and Trijicon - my favorites. And yes - Holosuns fail as well, and fail often. Last year was the first time we had seen a red dot last the entire class for the first time. Red dot specialty trainers almost universally advocate having co-witnessed iron sights, as well. 

RED DOTS ARE FOR SPECIALISTS

Gun instructors who teach them. Gun competition contestants who need a slight advantage. That is where the red dot can shine after MUCH specific muscle memory training. The average concealed carry person simply will not put in the work to get to a point where he / she doesn't have to hunt for the dot. This is not a knock on them, it is yet further proof that a red dot is not a device suited for defensive carry. Yes, there are a few persons who are exceptions to this rule. Exceptions prove the rule. 

RED DOTS ARE RANGE TOYS

Yes, I said it. For most firearms enthusiasts, the red dot on a pistol is a range toy. And that is fine. And that is not a derogatory statement. 

IF YOU HAVE A RED DOT ON A CARRY PISTOL

Make SURE to have co-witnessed iron sights. All the good trainers advocate this, and it is good advice.