KIT: RED DOT SIGHTS

JOINING THE DOTS

MORE AND MORE OF US ARE ROUTINELY CARRYING PISTOLS FITTED WITH RED DOT SIGHTS THESE DAYS, AND ALTHOUGH SOME MAY KNOW THE SCIENCE BEHIND THEM, BILL THOUGHT IT WOULD BE A SOLID TOPIC TO DIVE INTO SO THAT WE ALL CAN GET A TRUE UNDERSTANDING OF HOW THEY WORK, AND HOW THEY MAY JUST GIVE YOU THAT ALL-IMPORTANT EDGE IN-GAME!

If there’s one handgun that I’ve been waiting for during 2021 it’s undoubtedly the latest model in the RAVEN Hi Capa GBB family, and that’s the short-barrelled, uber-compact 3.8 version! You may ask why this is, and as I will tell all and sundry (at least those who care to listen!) I honestly believe that RAVEN have created to me what is the ultimate airsoft “fighting pistol” in their RAVEN Hi Capa, and although I already have the excellent 5.1 and 4.3 models I do love a compact sidearm, and the new 3.8 REALLY fits the bill if you’ll forgive the intentional pun!

There’s just something about the RAVEN Hi Capa that I love! Sure, during my long-term torture-testing both existing models have stood up well to massive abuse and continue to shoot reliably and accurately, but it’s the overall simplicity of the RAVEN that totally sings to me; there’s no extraneous parts, no intricate styling to catch on clothing or a holster, and it just screams “get the job done” to me. There’s a rail for a taclite sure enough, and you can easily add a suppressor with a simple adapter, but that’s all she wrote, and the pistol is better, and eminently more functional, because of this.

I’ve dabbled a little with red-dot sights on my pistols, but that far my RAVENs have remained unadorned with such modern technology and iron sights alone have proved that I can get on target using the hi-vis fibre-optics easily enough; but have I been missing a BIG trick? I was recently involved in a conversation in the “real steel world” about the increasing adoption of red-dot sights, or RDS, on everyday carry pistols, and given the size of the new RAVEN it fits perfectly into that category (and into my Kydex Customs holster!). I’ve been using my “Green Ravens” as a part of my PAMG setup, so I sought some insight on the truth behind the RDSphenomenon.

Luckily, as I have a foot on both the airsoft and real steel worlds, I have knowledgeable friends to turn to when I have a question about the true “mechanics” of shooting, and in this case it was my colleague Jim WenzeI; Jim is a prior-service U.S. Marine veteran and a retired Law Enforcement Officer, and these days an NRA/USCCA Instructor and NRA Chief Range Safety Officer, so you could say he knows a thing or two about the mechanics of shooting!

Specifically with red dot sighting options in mind I asked Jim the simple question; is the pistol RDS a friend or foe, and this is what he had to tell me…

Is a pistol optic for you? I asked myself this very same question several times over the course of the past year. I’m a bit of an old school shooter, even at basic training in Parris Island, our qualifications pushed us out to 500 yards with iron sights with our issued rifles. For years when I heard “optic”, I thought long range precision shooting with a long gun.

Then as I was retiring from Law Enforcement in 2018, I saw that one of the alphabet agencies was in the process of transitioning to pistol red dots for their employees. My initial gut reaction was “Why are we going

to a piece of equipment that can fail” and secondly, “I’ve seen enough yearly qualifications where people fail or barely pass a qualification due to not being able to apply the fundamentals as it is”.

I will admit that I was extremely sceptical with this change. I didn’t feel that agencies would put in enough training time or do so properly. I can recall when they came out with the new spring for Glocks that had a laser in it. It didn’t improve accuracy as the agency thought it would, nor was it essentially cost effective as the spring was much weaker than the standard Glock spring which led to the springs breaking and making the pistol inoperable. The agency went back to the standard Glock spring after that.

Now to the present, since retiring, I became a civilian firearms instructor and during that time I have come across many new shooters and some experienced shooters that come to a class and are carrying their firearm with a red dot. It was due to this uptick and trend that I knew in order to help students that I would have to invest in a red dot, open my mindset, and get myself trained up.

FUNDAMENTAL BENEFITS

Contrary to some beliefs, there are some fantastic benefits to picking up and learning how to utilize a pistol red dot. For one, we are reducing the

amount of focal planes being used.

Traditional iron sight, firearm

fundamentals of shooting use three focal planes. A shooter has to look through their rear sight, identify the front sight, and then place the sight on target. This is done with an emphasis on focusing on the front sight and blurring the target in the distance. An issue with this is that we won’t be able to quickly recognize if a threat is still present. We are putting a lot of focus into a fine motor skill which is relatively non-existent under stress. Hence, why point shooting is taught for close range

“WITH THE DEVELOPMENT AND UNDERSTANDING THAT COMES WITH USING A SINGLE FOCAL PLANE SIGHTING SYSTEM SUCH AS THE RED DOT, ONE CAN MORE EFFECTIVELY KEEP THEIR EYES ON A THREAT DURING AN ENCOUNTER WHICH CAN MAKE A LARGE IMPACT ON THE OUTCOME OF THAT ENCOUNTER.”

IMAGE CREDIT: DAVID BAHDE - PERSONAL DEFENSE WORLD

engagements, at the very least, if you point the firearm at the intended threat at close proximity, you will hit the target. In relation to your context, that of airsoft scenarios, small tight groupings from precision shooting are not required, you need to get rounds on target as safely and quickly as possible.

Now that we covered the proper use of iron sights, let’s jump over to the red dot side of things. The pistol red dot reduces the focal planes down to two, some will say one. I leave that debate up to each individual. We acquire the red dot through the optic and place it on the target. We are able to then have a focus on the intended target while using the red dot. I’ll talk about this more later in the article.

The main drawback that is common with any tool is the risk of mechanical failure. Batteries could die, the sight could hit something and fall off, or the glass could break. Good old Murphy’s Law, “Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong.” With this in mind it is imperative to ensure that you don’t disregard and stop training the basic fundamentals with your iron sights. In which I also add, implement training where the iron sights have broken off or aren’t operational. If you fail to prepare, you prepare to fail.

Points to Ponder…

Searching the pistol optic that is right for you can be a difficult yet fun task, some things to consider are: • What is the purpose the optic will be used for (professional-personal, competition etc.)? • How large is the sight? Can you conceal if necessary?

Batteries: • Where is the compartment, does a battery change mean you have to re-zero the optic? • How long does the battery last? • (Editors Comment: And how easy are the batteries to find, are they a common size?)

ZERO IN

Still being relatively new to implementation of the pistol red dot system into my training, I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was for me to find the red dot on my chosen model, the Leupold Deltapoint Pro NV FDE. I had tried other sights before that my colleagues had, and it was difficult to pick it up at first. The Deltapoint Pro didn’t disappoint. I

“I FOUND THAT AFTER PUTTING IN MANY HOURS ON THE RED DOT, IT HAS INCREASED MY ABILITY TO PICK UP ON THE FRONT SIGHT. I NOW USE MY IRON SIGHTS AS A FAILURE DRILL EXERCISE, AND IF BOTH FAIL, MOST ENCOUNTERS HAPPEN UP CLOSE AND THIS WILL ALSO ENHANCE YOUR POINT SHOOTING ABILITIES. ”

was able to acquire the target quickly and effectively put rounds on paper where I wanted them. I set up my zeroing targets and benchrest position. I worked from the 3,5,7,15,20, and 25 yard lines respectively utilizing five round groups to zero in the red dot.

With the zero acquired, it was time to see what the red dot hype was all about and as I mentioned earlier, will it be our friend or foe when it comes to utilizing this tool? What I found out relatively quickly is that there is a distinct difference between the traditional iron sights and the red dot system, which is that while utilizing iron sights, a person’s eyes have to perform a number of complex functions, contrasting those using a red dot in which uses one function. This is a very important mention to me, but to many of you as well, as in some stressful environments we have to make rapid decisions.

With the development and understanding that comes with using a single focal plane sighting system such as the red dot, one can more effectively keep their eyes on a threat during an encounter which can make a large impact on the outcome of that encounter. It will not only increase your reaction time due to quicker target acquisition, it allows you to have a higher degree of focus on the engagement as opposed to the traditional iron sights.

Let’s dig a bit further into this, from our understanding of human behaviours; we note that humans have a natural tendency to focus on whatever is threatening us during a fear (fight, flight, freeze) response. It becomes very difficult for someone to take their eyes off the threat and put the focus into their pistol sights, which in relative terms are tiny objects outstretched an arm’s distance from us.

With this being said, part of my evaluation of the red dot system was to increase my relative stress level (increase my heart rate) while performing several drills going between the red dot and traditional iron sights. What I found is that the red dot allowed me to make faster follow-up shots as I didn’t have to go through the process of aligning my sights after each shot was fired. I believe this will be an “AHA!” moment for those transitioning to the red dot from a new to experienced shooter, as you will see it makes it easier for someone to be able to shoot with both eyes open. Most shooters, although they try and put in the training hours, struggle with this. This occurs due to having to hyper focus on the front sight, the red dot eliminates that and allows you to acquire the target with both eyes and helps speed up your scan for additional threats as you now are no longer fighting one eye blind.

There is, however, a bit of a learning curve for those of us that are veteran pistol iron sight shooters. Due to this fact, we will have developed for the sake of red dot shooting, the bad habit of looking at the front of the pistol to find the front sight. We have to change our mindset from being front sight focused to target focused. This is countered by training and putting in the repetitions.

This will take time and training. Contrary to many new and experienced shooters’ beliefs, adding the red dot does not instantly make you a better shooter! The red dot only simplifies two of the seven principles of marksmanship, sight alignment and sight picture. It does not fix a poor stance, bad grip, or terrible trigger control. Where the red dot is most beneficial in my opinion is that one can see what the dot is doing in relation to your target and your hits on target. For instance, you can see where the dot is on the target and if you anticipate, flinch, or jerk the trigger you can see where the red dot is in relation to the target, allowing for quicker corrections.

Finally, if you’re looking to implement a red dot into your training development, I will say that you have a friend when it comes to this tool. When applied properly with your fundamentals, you will see improvement over time. I found that after putting in many hours on the red dot, it has increased my ability to pick up on the front sight. I now use my iron sights as a failure drill exercise, and if both fail, most encounters happen up close and this will also enhance your point shooting abilities. For those of us that are aging, the red dot is a great option as it makes it easier for those to acquire targets and their sights, which are now dependent on reading glasses for example.

So, with all this information in hand it was a simple decision to add an RDS-equipped RAVEN 3.8 to my PAMG setup, and I look forward to reporting back fully on how this cracking little GBB performs at a later date! My sincere thanks go to Jim for agreeing to let me use his wise words here, and if you’ve got, or intend to get, a pistol that has a full-time red dot then the old adage is still true… training leads to perfection! AA