The advantages of using a red dot on your firearms are a real boon to the shooter. We are finally free of all that stuff iron sights require. Well, sort of, kind of, but not really entirely.
Red Dots have different issues, and you must overcome them. Which is really easy if you just get out of your own way.
You naturally, when you first began shooting, focused on the target. This is a no go with “Iron Sites” which require front sight focus. (You yahoo’s that want to remind me about flash sight pictures and other aiming techniques, save it, I am aware of them.)
We taught you in Basic Pistol that you have a Master Eye, which is not only true, but essential knowledge to succeed with iron sights.
A Red Dot says, “I don’t care about a Master Eye, use either one, or switch I don’t care”.
A Red Dot REQUIRES target focus. This is great! It both requires that you do what you want to do naturally and coincide conveniently with the fact that in a stressful situation you are going to focus on the threat anyway!
The Red Dot does not give a damn about which eye is your master eye. It doesn’t matter. It wants you to look through the glass, see and focus on the target, and put the dot where you want the bullet to go.
But, George, “the battery can go dead in the moment of truth!” Calm down Nancy and listen to what you are saying. When was the last time you had to replace the engine in your car because you forgot to add oil? Ok then, pretend your Red Dot is an engine and change the oil at regular intervals as required by your battery budget!
And even given the fact that many Red Dots are nearly indestructible, we do need a contingency. Oh geez, somebody has thought of that too. They are generally called suppressor height sites. You can see these generally through the lower portion of your Red Dot glass, in the event the Dot fails for ANY reason! You have BUIS on your AR, right? In case the battery dies, or the sight falls off, or is disabled. Why would your carry gun deserve anything less?
Now, low and behold, as if appearing the on the whim of some cosmic force co-witnessable height sights are beginning to arrive on guns which are optic cut at the manufacturer. Somebody in the cosmos is paying attention, and I’ll bet they use a Red Dot.
OK, I have answered your objections, now stand by, I have a few (hundred) of my own. They are called students, and I have seen more permutations of errors when they are learning than Einstein used to discover any of his theories. Trust me, you are unique. Let’s fix that!
Now any time we discover a problem which requires a cure, we first need to diagnose the situation to narrow down in a process of eliminating the cause or causes, as one frequently leads to a whole chain of others. It is amazing how much your shooting will improve in so many other areas by doing this, if you will be attentive. Improvement will not be due to the Red Dot being easier to use (which it is) but more than anything else because you were infected with so many bad habits. You were standing between yourself and a good target result. (Picture that and let the thought sink in for a moment.) (Blissfulness break concluded.)
If you have had any training at all, you should have been taught a position from which to start.
If you have been taught by Uncle Festus out behind the barn, all bets are off on this one. I am talking about instruction by a person with the actual correct knowledge to instruct and convey an honest understanding of what is involved. If this sounds like a Certified Instructor, it may be and likely should be. For the cost of a dozen or so boxes of ammunition to hire an instructor, you will save that amount many times during your career. And you’ll have fun all the time. (End of a commercial break.) (Actually, in my classes we either have fun or we just don’t do it!)
So, let’s begin. Stand up STRIAGHT! Bend very slightly from your waist. (Just until you feel weight on the balls of your feet.) Your nose will likely be about over your toes, or close. This helps mitigate recoil and returns your body to “battery” for follow up shots.
OK Raise your arms to shoulder height and extend them with your trigger side index finger pointed forward and straight ahead.
Now bring your hands together palm to palm on the centerline of your body! (If you are standing up straight that would be the middle) Stand up Straight.
Next comes the head, which is full of all of your bad habits. We are going to tell it what to do for the first time in our lives. Can you guess what you are going to tell it to do?
Head ERECT! You are not a turtle! This ducking your head down is pure idiocy, crap, unnecessary, and in addition IT IS WRONG! Did I mention I’d like you to hold your head erectly?
Now if you don’t care for my tirade, by all means go to your safe place and heal. I’ll continue with adults.
You have now demonstrated sufficient courage to get through the next part of the exercise. Relax!
Stand erect as before, hands at your sides head erect looking forward at a fixed object in front of you at eye height. The screw on a light switch is great for this, and ubiquitous too. Now with your hands at your side, each hand will form the “thumbs up” gesture, bent downward at the knuckles and will maintain this position through the end of the exercise.
Bend your elbows so that your hands are at your waist and parallel to the floor or ground. Now, keeping your thumbs up in their bent fashion move your hands together in a trigger and support hand “air grip” leaving your thumbs bent together as before. If this looks like position three of the draw stroke, it is!
HEAD ERECT DAMN IT! Your hands know where they are, using kinesthetics. (If you don’t know what that is read about it here: Kinesthetics Proprioception and Neural Pathways.
Now pay careful attention: Imagine a straight line, it begins at your thumbs and angles upward at a straight angled line which will bring your thumbs into your line of site where you are focused on your target object, as your arms reach full extension. Go slowly; the line of travel of your hands must put them precisely on the line and come to rest with your thumbs in their folded position. If your grip and folded thumbs are correct, the space between your thumbs should be forming a “V” (Red Dot? or your iron sights on your gun?) At your target. Do not get your gun out and try this with the dot yet. You have not earned that level, but take heart, you will shortly.
Do not skip this part. Sometimes using a tool (your gun) is helpful; this is not one of those times.
Now, withdraw your hands back to the starting point or position three.
Repeat! Repeat! Repeat! Repeat! Have I suggested that good shooting can ONLY BE ACHIEVED by REPETITION (of the correct skill) and with CONSISTENCY over time. (read the article linked above)
Now that you are confident that you have this down perfectly, let’s burst your bubble. Close your eyes before beginning the trip to the line of sight and only open them after the final position has been achieved.
Is the target properly oriented with your thumbs such that if it they were actual
sights the shot could be fired?
Good, this is what we want the result to be.
Now do this 50 times, and if you miss it more than twice, keep practicing. When you can do that, without error, you are ready for the gun!
Don’t cheat yourself! Remember this could be yours or a loved one’s life at some unknown future point. The last thing you want flashing through your mind is, “I wish I hadn’t cheated US!”
The Red Dot will add quite nicely at this point, but first just a little more thumb work. We had been using our thumbs as quassia sites earlier, now we are going to teach them the discipline which the grip requires
At shoulder height arms forward again as before, thumbs straight up sign again. Sound familiar? Good. Drop your trigger hand to your side. Now rotate your support side wrist and thumb so that you are pointing at the target in the same manner as you would use your index finger to point. Notice how the wrist joint is now “Cammed Over” and locked. This is part of the secret of The Red Dot and a Major Part of recoil control. Listen carefully; you must have the SUPPORT WRIST cammed over every time you shoot. You guys out there who are comfortable with “Weaver stances” work it into your routine, to many variations to presume I can define your need from a keyboard. Sorry, it sucks to be me!
Check your gun and ensure it is clear many times before proceeding! Chamber Empty, magazine out and all ammo in another room. MINIMUM. Extra points for doing more!
Now, without the gun in your hands, your support side grip should look like this!
Now we add the gun!
You can easily achieve this grip again by following directions. With the gun grasped slide up in your support hand around the slide just forward of the trigger guard, hold it at a comfortable height, about waist high will do. Extend your trigger hand like you were about to shake hands with a friend. Maintaining the position of the trigger hand, place the gun into it and close your hand to grasp it. Make sure to jam the web at the base of your thumb high into the beavertail of the grip. No gaps, Gaps allow recoil, “No gaps for you!” Remove your support hand. Look at what you have!
Your trigger hand index finger should be indexed along the slide, the higher the better to keep it free of the magic trigger finger grabber the evil gun manufacturers are putting on all guns. In other words, KEEP YOUR BOOGER FLICKER OFF OF THE BANG SWITCH UNTIL YOU HAVE DECIDED TO SHOOT.
The middle finger on the trigger hand should be held up against the trigger guard with moderate pressure. If it hurts back off a little cupcake.
The ring and pinkie (what a cute name) grasp the grip below the middle finger. Now grip the crap out of the gun! Squeeze, squeeze as hard as you can. Look at your fingers and repeat after me “George is not sympathetic to my pain.” “You are correct, somewhat; I have a purpose here. So, squeeze you whimp!”
As you look at your hand after putting the gun down, if you have done this right, you will have very distinct grip impressions on the fleshy part of your palm just below the first knuckles and again on the meaty part at the heel of your hand. These are where the grip is touching. You should have NO redness in the center of your palm. If you do, change your habits, this is contributing big time to your lack of success. We compare this grip to a “C” clamp for a reason; you should see this clearly in your trigger hand. We need to work the trigger without disturbing the sights to hit what we are attempting to hit. The palm of the hand bearing against the grip will cause movement and promote “milking” which should only be done to cows. Suffice it to say your gun will always move during the trigger squeeze if you don’t get it right.
Now I know this is a Red Dot article, but in so far as the consistent grip is such a big part of success, we might as well go over it here. It is a huge factor in aiming and sight picture stability.
Oh, yeah, you also have a support hand. Let’s get it on the gun too. It plays more of a role than you might imagine.
Place your trigger thumb straight up as you bring the fatty part of the heel of you support hand into the gap on the grip formed by your trigger hand. Good.
Now starting with the pinky, place it directly on top of the trigger pinky, the ring finger and the middle finger over their trigger hand counterparts. Now you have an index finger on your support hand dangling in space. This is not good. What shall we do? Let’s cause more pain, yeah, who wants more pain, we do! We are gun nuts and fanatics. We really like pain. Well, we all know that when you get right down to the truth, we are really just a bunch of marshmallows looking to snuggle with a smore around a campfire. What a pleasant visual. Get back away from me and stay off my damn lawn!
That index finger is going to be a wedge pressed hard against the bottom of the trigger guard, adding more resistance to recoil as it becomes an isometric point of contact.
Your support thumb is just under the trigger thumb (which is now relaxed from it’s previous “hitchhiker” position and both are pointing toward the muzzle. The thumbs are also relaxed, contrary to popular teaching, they don’t do anything except stay out of the way! The support wrist should be cammed over at this point and will now assist in the correct presentation for our sights. In this case, a Red Dot.
THIS IS WHAT A PROPER TWO HAND GRIP LOOKS LIKE!!
INSERT PICTURE HERE PLEASE
Now, let’s have a brief discussion of grip pressure. Do not overthink this! Grip the gun as hard as you can; you will notice that the sights are shaking violently. OK, now back off the pressure slowly until the hands stop shaking. This is proper grip pressure. Save the discussions about parentage and that for the AAR at the bar. They have no place here, and even if they did, none of us could quantify them. But I can surely see it in my sight when my grip settles down to correct it.
This is what your proper two-handed grip should look like.
PLESAE INSERT PICTURE HERE
If yours doesn’t, take off your readers, and go practice achieving it until you get it right every time.
Now, let’s learn to pick it up or grip it before pulling the gun from the holster, a table, or in any place or attitude from which you might have to deploy it.
Using only your trigger hand, pick it up and look at the grip. If it is not a “full firing grip” as described above, practice, practice, practice. This is done firing hand only 50 times without error or start over at the beginning with rep one.
Have I mentioned that “Amateurs practice until they get it right, but professionals practice until they can’t get it wrong! This is big league stuff here cubbies, man up!
You are now essentially home free, the rest is easy and should come very quickly.
With your proper consistent grip on your pistol held at position three, raise your gun as you did with your thumbs bent as rear sights, though now they have nothing to do except hang out and help you look good. As you get to the completion of your presentation, your Red Dot should appear from 12:00 into the frame and end up somewhere inside the frame as the hands stop. (which is where and when the shot is actually fired) If not keeping your support hand cammed, adjust your hands to the grip. (A real quick cheat for reading this far) If you get your hands up and the dot is not within the window, do a grip flinch with both hands. (trigger finger high on the frame please) I am giving you this tip for free, imagine what you might go home from a class with!
Now there may be a bit of adjustment necessary, so let me explain the principles here, then you will be able to adjust just for you.
When we were practicing with just our hands and our thumbs were used in place of sights. The top of our thumb was just about the same height as the Dot on the Red Dot. This exercise puts us into habits and demonstrates the importance of consistency.
Now, think about this before you begin to tinker and mess all of your good work up. As you bring the gun from position three to the end of the presentation, you will notice that closer to your body the muzzle on the gun is elevated somewhat higher and flattens along the line as it is presented. Do not look down at it. NEVER take your eyes off of a threat, remember. Just notice in your lower periphery that this is happening. The closer you get to full elevation, the faster the muzzle comes toward level until it reaches the end of presentation. You hear the instructor tell you to drive the gun. You drive a nail. You drive a golf ball. Though controlled perhaps, they are both violent actions which impart full speed impact before slowing in the follow through. In shooting we need all the momentum eliminated in the presentation of the gun such that your sights fall onto the target smoothly rather than erratically propelled by all the excess energy some gun guru thought sounded cool. To thinking shooters, it just sounds stupid!
Go as fast as you like or can from empty hands to hands joined on the gun in position three, but please “present” the sights to the target so that the shot can be broken immediately and on a proper line to the target.
With a little less entusiasm it will amaze you as to how fast you can be
Now is the last part. The Red Dot is mounted higher above the bore than iron sights would be. Depending on the distance to the target and the zero distance of the Red Dot, the muzzle might appear depressed slightly when the shot hits the target lower than where it was aimed.
This is normal. It has a name. “Mechanical Offset” I am not going further than this about it now.
A good zero distance for a Red Dot is 15 yards. With that zero you will put your shots in a defensively accurate circle from 0 to 25 yards or a bit more, with no practical need for offset consideration. If you like 10 yards, do it.
“But George, If I zero it 25 or 50 yards, I can shoot way further.” Listen up Pythagoras, anything further than 25 yards might be a stretch to justify in a defensive shooting. (According to studies done on defensive shootings using thousands of actual cases, approximately 90% of all such uses occur within 10 yards, are four to five seconds in duration and require 4 shots to conclude.
I know, I know FBI says blah, blah, blah. The FBI stats are based solely on law enforcement use of deadly force. Have you been involved in handcuffing, fist fighting, being stabbed by a perp, or had any reason whatsoever to be within three yards of an attacker? Cops are contacting people; you are not required to do what they do!
Also, you are not considering your very diminished capability under stress to perform. I can guarantee you the guys on either side of you in a battle are good shots on a flat range, but if just a couple of the enemies leave the battle per ammo can fired by your squad, it’s a good day. There is also that lawyer attached to your bullet that wants to know why you were so far away and didn’t run? Stand your ground is great, but you don’t want to get a jury who knows you could have run but instead CHOSE to stand your ground. Stand your ground does not mean an automatic pass or acquittal. It is just another tool. Use the right tool, PROPERLY.
For clarification a “broad” definition, which can vary, so consult with a competent self-defense attorney for local and state law where you may find yourself. I am not a lawyer, nor did I stay at a Holiday Inn recently.
“You have the right to defend yourself if you are confronted with a situation where deadly force would be justified as long as you are in a place where you are legally present.”
There is nothing in that quotation that says you can’t run. And if possible, you will see my butt headed away before you will see my gun! Are we clear?
How much of your hard earned cash are you willing to spend defending an action you could have avoided?