Red Dot vs. Iron Sights: Which is Better?

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James Tarr Bio

On the street side, I worked in uniform briefly for two police departments, spent two years in plain clothes for a local sheriff’s department serving papers (mostly restraining orders), spent a year and a half driving an armored car in Detroit, and for over 15 years worked as a private investigator in and around the Detroit area.

On the shooting side, I made it to Master Class in USPSA shooting a 1911 in Limited Division and, when I switched to a Glock 34 in Production Division, eventually earned a Grand Master Class rating. I’ve won state and area championships. The first red-dot-equipped pistol I remember shooting was World/National Champion Jerry Barnhart’s custom 1911 race gun equipped with the then-prototype Bushnell Holosight (circa 1995), which eventually became the EOTECH HWS.

I’ve received instruction on red-dot pistol shooting from Gunsite, Sage Dynamics, and the Modern Samurai Project (through Walther Defense) among others, which is a long way of saying that I can shoot very well, know a lot about red dots, and know how to run a pistol with a red dot. My position is that, unless you are predominantly wearing night vision goggles while running your handgun or truly can’t see your sights at all, a red-dot optic on a carry gun offers more disadvantages than advantages, no matter your skill level. I don’t recommend them.

Rich Nance Bio

Unlike Jim, who was an experienced shooter before becoming a cop, I learned to shoot in preparation for the police academy. Although my background was much more slanted to the defensive tactics/arrest and control side of the house, I was a proficient shooter. In 2005, I became a firearms instructor for my department, a position I held until my retirement in 2023. I was also a member of our department’s SWAT team for 12 years. I was appointed to the role of Team Leader, initially as an officer then later as a sergeant.

Through my writing career, I’ve trained with some of the best shooters and firearms instructors in the country, including many Tier One operators. My department was forward-thinking enough to allow me to incorporate what I learned from these high-level instructors into our curriculum. One of my most influential firearms instructors was Kelly McCann, a former special operations Marine. McCann was one of the first (if not the first) to shoot a pistol with a red-dot sight. I’ve received instruction in the use of pistol-mounted optics from McCann, Dave Spaulding, and Will Petty, among others.

I’ve long been a proponent of red-dot sights for pistols because it’s a simpler aiming solution than iron sights, which require you to shift your focus from the threat to the sights. With a red dot, you simply overlay the dot on the target. Since everything is on the same visual plane, there’s no need to take your eyes off the threat. Red-dot sights promote shooting with both eyes open, which enhances situational awareness. They also enable you to see more of the target, which can improve accuracy, especially as distance increases or the target size decreases. If you don’t believe me, try shooting a 3x5 card at 25 yards with iron sights and then with a red-dot sight.

PRO RED DOT: Richard Nance

Aiming

With a red dot, your aiming point and the target are on the same visual plane. Rather than struggle to align the front sight post within the rear sight notch, you just place the dot on the target and press the trigger. At the range, aligning iron sights may be easy, but under duress, shifting your focus from the threat to your iron sights can be surprisingly difficult. With a red dot, your focus is on the threat/target.

Eyesight

As I’ve gotten older, the front sight is no longer in sharp focus. I had shooting glasses made where the lens covering my dominant eye is magnified, but the lens covering my other eye is not. This enables me to see both the sights and the target clearly, but wearing the glasses compromises my depth perception. With a red dot, the target and the dot are clear, without the need for glasses. That said, if you have astigmatism, the dot may appear distorted. 

Battery Life

Battery life was a concern several years ago but much less so today. As an example, the Trijicon RMR HD has a three-year battery life. The Aimpoint ACRO P-2 and the Holosun 507K X2 each have a five-year battery life. Still, I would change the battery in my red-dot sights yearly if it’s on a defensive pistol. 

Backup Iron Sights (BUIS)

Yes. Should the battery die, BUIS provide a secondary sighting system. I prefer a 1/3 co-witness, so the sights don’t clutter my field of view through the optic but are still there if I need them. 

Struggling to find the dot? If you’re struggling to find the dot, it probably has to do with an improper grip or inconsistent presentation. The most common problem is the dot being above the optic window. Camming your support side wrist forward should bring the dot into view. Drawing the gun up high from the holster before driving it out to the target (picture an upside-down L) puts the dot in front of your eyes longer, so you can see it sooner. If you drive the gun out and there’s no dot, grip the pistol more tightly. This will likely bring the dot into view. 

Red Dot Weight/Size

I’ve had a pistol malfunction because the extra weight of the red-dot sight slowed slide reciprocation. That said, most pistols these days are designed to function with a red dot. As far as concealment, it’s the grip that’s going to print through your cover garment — not the red-dot sight.

Speed

Speed is a relative term. What is faster for one may not be for another. That said, if you have years of experience with iron sights, you can expect to shoot a little slower when you first switch to a red-dot sight. Aside from struggling to find the dot, the biggest impediment to shooting fast with a red-dot sight is the tendency to wait for the dot to be perfectly still. It’s not going to happen. This problem is exacerbated when a shooter tries to use the dot like a front sight. That’s the exact opposite of what you should do.

Instead, focus on where you want your bullet to impact. You’ll still see the dot. Duane “Buck” Buckner, Aimpoint’s U.S. Director of Training, uses a great analogy to describe this. To paraphrase Buckner, “The dot is an emphatic signal, like the sun. You know it’s there without having to stare at it. The front sight, on the other hand, is a subtle signal, like a high-​flying plane that requires your full concentration.”

IRONS RULE: James Tarr

I am not against red dots, but I believe a red dot on a carry gun offers more disadvantages than advantages, no matter your skill level. On a personal level, I’m irritated that the trainers pushing red dots (and their high-priced courses to teach you how to use them) refuse to acknowledge they have any disadvantages. Let me begin with the red dot’s advantages.

1. You can see a red dot in all lighting conditions, sunlight, dark, whatever, and if you truly can’t get iron sights in focus anymore, a red dot is your answer.
2. It is simpler, which is great for teaching new shooters. That red dot is on the same focal plane as the target. Put the dot on the target and pull the trigger. No need to try to get the front sight in focus while blurring out everything else.
3. Red dots are more accurate. However big your dot is, it will still be smaller than the front sight of your pistol, providing more accuracy potential. Studies have shown that just about everyone, no matter their skill level, is about 15 percent more accurate with a red dot than irons, and that increases at extended range

Now let’s cover a red dot’s disadvantages.

1. You’re mounting a battery-​powered electronic atop your pistol. The battery can and eventually will die, the electronics can break, the screws can break or get loose, the mount can break, the glass lens can crack/pop out, etc. No matter how much you shoot and maintain your gear, you will experience one or more of the above issues.
2. Yes, red dots are more accurate, but 15 percent more accurate means a 3.5-inch group at 25 yards instead of a 4-inch group. At realistic defensive distances, say 12 yards and in, that’s irrelevant. You would be far better served by an improved trigger pull, which will boost not just your accuracy but your speed.
3. I’ve saved the biggest problem with red dots for last. The one that most people seem to refuse to acknowledge is speed. Red dots are slower. Studies have shown that, no matter your skill level, you’re a bit slower with a red dot than iron sights at realistic defensive distances. In a defensive situation, speed is a tactic. Whoever scores the first hit usually wins.

Compensated race guns with basically zero recoil used in high-round-count stages are not the same thing as a red-dot carry gun. When running a race gun, the dot barely leaves the window, and that’s the important thing here: everyone keeps losing the dot of their optic. It’s not in the window upon presentation, or it bounces out of the window after firing a shot, and they can’t find it again. I’ve seen it probably 100 times at matches or the local range, including by a world champion at the USPSA National Championships. Someone shooting a red dot begins twisting it this way and that, trying to find the lost dot in the window. You can watch the front of the gun doing a figure 8 — in the business, it’s called “the IPSC wobble.”

Now that every Joe Citizen is putting a red dot on their carry gun, losing their dot upon the draw/while shooting has become a huge problem. How do I know? Because of all the compensators I’m seeing on red-dot-wearing carry guns.

Those comps reduce the muzzle rise/disturbance to your grip, thereby reducing the chance that the shooter will lose their dot. The first people I saw running modern carry comps were the trainers pushing red-dot-sighted carry guns because even those pros kept losing their dots and saw comps as a way to address that issue, all while telling you it wasn’t an issue. Follow the money.

Fifteen years ago, nobody put red dots on carry guns, and nobody was making factory-​comped guns or comps for carry guns. Now, red dots on carry guns are everywhere, as are compensators for those same guns. Coincidence? No — cause and effect.

Richard Nance conclusion:

When using a red-dot sight, remember to 1. Focus on the target, not the sight, 2. Draw and present consistently, 3. Accept dot movement — like a front sight, the dot is constantly moving. If the dot is on the target, you’re good to go.

James Tarr conclusion:

I’m not saying you shouldn’t put a red dot on your carry gun. I’m saying I don’t recommend it for the above reasons. “But I’m faster with a red dot!” Yes, because you’ve been practicing more. This is good. Everyone should practice more.

How do we make that happen? Aha! That, I think, is the best thing about red-dot-sighted carry guns. People who trick out their guns are far more likely to practice with them. Win-win. •

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