5 Year Law Enforcement Report on Red Dots on Handguns

https://www.police1.com/police-products/...21-u6_9pBg

[The Shooters Apprentice]

Interesting that over 50% of them had less than 1 year with a mounted optic and also majority of them had less than 1000 rounds in training. It took me 1000 rounds jsut to get the same thing dialed in.

Also the percentage of them who were displeased with the performance or couldn’t see the dot during the incident is interesting.

I’ve been using dots for about 7 years now. Currently only 3 of my pistols wear them. From a competitive stand point, I learned to like them, but I do not find that I can shoot more accurately or faster with the dot than I can with irons. None of my carry guns wear a dot.

My hunting 10mm has a dot, it’s a P80 Glock 20 clone. And I have one ‘Zombie’ gun, a Glock 34, with a dot. My Zombie runs with it are about the same score as iron sights.

When I’m shooting I always wish the sight were much bigger and when I’m carrying it, I’m either glad it’s not any bigger or wish it was smaller.

Had a G19 slide milled in 2012 I think it was & turned that pistol into a Roland Special

Learning the dot has a steep curve and lots of people never learn how to use the dot properly and instead say how crappy it is and on and on

It’s all about focusing on the target & seeing the dot come into view, don’t focus on the dot

Take some tape & cover the optic, this forces you to focus on the target

If you are shooting the dot properly the lens size does not matter

Here is a side-by-side comparison between the new Aimpoint COA with the new A-CUT mounting system and the Aimpoint ACRO P-2 on a Gen.5 Glock MOS slide.

I can’t imagine the study is all that beneficial given the minuscule numbers of cops using dots. Just not that many do, yet.

Dots to me are a benefit, but they aren’t the end all be all. No piece of equipment fills that pipe dream role. Not to mention if you have bad fundamentals the dots just amplify that.

I can’t imagine the study is all that beneficial given the minuscule numbers of cops using dots. Just not that many do, yet.

Dots to me are a benefit, but they aren’t the end all be all. No piece of equipment fills that pipe dream role. Not to mention if you have bad fundamentals the dots just amplify that.

Dots have been extremely beneficial in law enforcement circles from what I’ve seen and been told 

Yes fundamentals are important but under stress bad fundamentals with a dot have greater chances of hits vs iron sights 

quality instruction in the proper way to use a dot is incredibly important 

More and more cops are using dots, some very large departments are phasing them in on all duty guns…….

In 10ish years all cops will have dots on except the old grandfathers in guys

I've been running dots on pistols for a few years now. I'm easily more accurate with the dot, than without, especially as we push the distance out. I run a dot on my duty gun at work as a school security monkey. I've not been super active on here because I'm also in the police academy and just don't have much time these days. While we haven't gotten to the "fun" part of the academy yet, when we do finally make it to the range, I know over half of my classmates are planning on having dots on their guns, others are waiting till they get to a department to see if the department has recommendations or policies RE dots. Our firearms instructor has told us that we can use the dots after he verifies we can shoot with irons, which just means we've got to turn the dots off to begin with.

I switched up duty guns recently - going from the Glock 34 (great gun) to a Springfield Echelon. Once US Duty Gear releases their new Beretta holsters I'm tempted to make the jump back there, because the Beretta is still the gun I shoot the best with, consistently because of its superior ergonomics and trigger. I'll say the Echelon is a good gun, I really like some of the features baked into it. Jury is still out on the robustness of the optic mounting system, but overall I really like it, and I like how it lets me cowitness with standard irons vs suppressor sights.

Also working in healthcare security, I see a lot of cops. My non-scientific observations? In the Houston area its about 50-50 I see that have dots vs those that don't. There are still some that don't even run a WML. Most departments here are BYOG - bring your own gun - and there's a wide latitiude in what I see guys carry. Working the hospital last week, I saw a deputy with a Walther PDP, dot, Surefire, magwell, and extended mags. Another was toting a Staccato. Lots still toting Glocks and M&P's.

The instructors in my academy that are current LE almost all have dots and lights on their guns. Half of the retired officers teaching us have dots, even on the micro guns.

When I took active shooter training last year for work, the instructor (current HPD officer) had dots on all his guns, and on the sim-guns we used for the FoF part. I saw the dot on more shots I took than I didn't - and the times I didn't were when I was more focused on the badguy's hands than when I was looking thru the sight. Given the evolving threats police face, as well as Joe Citizen, I'm in the dot camp. While most shootings are still up close and personal affairs, we've seen a lot of body cams / dash cams of shootings are far, far longer distances in less than terrific conditions (lighting, weather) and the dot gives you an edge, so long as your shooting skills don't go to shit. When you're taking shots at 30-50 yards with your pistol, and your backstop is potentially innocent people - take every edge you can get.

My only complaint with the dot is when the sun is low directly behind me. The dot goes away in the glare. Other than that, I like it.