An Optic Can Reveal a Multitude of Sins

What I have gained from using a red dot.

Before mounting my 507k two months ago I had no prior experience with dots. I had played around with a friends dotted gun months back, but other than that, nothing.

I’ve heard a lot of people say, “I’d like to get an optic because they make shooting easier.” Mmm...I feel like that’s a bit of a misconception. Once you figure them out, sure you could say that they make things more simple, but right out of the gate they can take some getting use to.

A dot can reveal a multitude of sins, but I’m just going to hit on one in this post. If you are not presenting your sights to alignment upon presentation then the dot will show that to you immediately. Finding the dot after presenting your sights all wonky will likely prove to be a challenge.

I think a lot of new shooters get focused on being really fast out of the holster, but forget that inconsistencies can and will lead to searching for their sights or their dot upon presentation which can take a considerable amount of time. The goal is to have your sight/dot alignment upon presentation, not presentation and THEN go looking for your sights. If you’re paying attention then you’ll notice yourself doing this inefficiently with irons, but it’s impossible to miss when using a dot...because without that alignment, you essentially have no sight other than your iron back ups.

Yesterday I worked on some dry fire with my 42, that only has irons, after only using the dot for 2 months. I couldn’t believe the improvement I had made. After 2 months with the dot I can present my irons to alignment almost every time AND easily keep both eyes open. Previously I had struggled not only to keep both eyes open, but to choose a dominant eye. My dominant eye would switch around at its own will, which made consistency a lot more difficult. All of that to say...the dot life is a good life...once you figure out those initial quirks.