Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns concealed carry with a red dot

anybody doing it? what are the thoughts pro's and con's.......bob

Pros, it might be more accurate for you. Cons, it's slightly heavier and bulkier and could fail and requires a suitable holster.

I'm carrying a G19 with a Holosun 507C, had to trim out maybe a 1/4' off a kydex IWB holster, can't tell the difference carrying it or my iron sighted G19.

Can't think of any cons, I change the battery on my birthday, it's never let me down but I have BUIS's if it ever did. Oh I might have to brush the lint or dust out of the window every now and then but it never gets to dirty to see through.

The benefits of shooting more accurately in any lighting condition and being able to see the whole room instead of just the front sight far outweigh any negative I can think of. At first I was slightly faster to the first shot with irons but I stuck with it, took some advice/tips from a friend and stuck with it till it's second nature.

I would say that the biggest con is you really need to put in the time to ensure you can reliably pick up the dot when you present. That's really more of a consideration than a con in actuality.

IMO, when it comes to ordinary concealed carry, the cons outweigh the potential pros. It's over complicating something which is better kept simple.

On a fighting carbine, the scales may balance in favor of their use.

There are no cons unless actually practicing is something you are not willing to do.

RDS novice here. But FWIW, make sure you keep the emitter area clean enough to let the light hit the glass.

I don't think it's a huge problem unless you drop your firearm in the mud or have years of lint buildup.

I see now there are some RDS they are referring to "mailbox" style, that have glass on both ends, so the emitter is always in a clean environment.

I have a red dot on my Shield Plus. 1/3 co-witness backup irons help "find the dot" but a good presentation puts the dot right there.

It's more accurate for me than irons at 25 yards

thanks for all the replies....going to put one on my dw bruin and see how that goes......then make up my mind whether to put on my conceal ......bob

I don't see any cons that are worthy of concern. I have backup irons on both of mine and I love the RDS in any lighting condition. They improve the aiming g consistency for old eyes for certain and are the quickest sighting system for your carry weapon as lo g as you practice acquiring the sight picture instantly and are perfect for night time use

my EDC is a full sized Kimber Custom with a red dot... stupid fast and accurate...

Weight-wise these are incredibly light. The original Trijicon RMR seems a bit bulky, but the newer 'micro' RDS's (Shield RMSc, Sig Romeo Zero, etc.) are tiny. Co-witness iron sights are a good idea with any electronic sight, in case of a failure. Finding a suitable holster 'was' an issue early on, now it seems 'most' maker's have that covered.

With irons that co-witness, I don't think this is a problem. However, I had one on a pistol that had no iron sights (a Ruger 22LR pistol) and even finding the dot was difficult when first starting out.

Regarding more accurate, I just had one out on a 22LR pistol yesterday, With all of the years practice I've had with iron sights... it's rather disappointing how much better I can shoot with a Micro red dot.

YMMV,

Jerry

As far as finding the dot, my limited experience is that what Bluedreaux has to say about it is exactly correct. I'm not going to try to quote or even paraphrase. It shouldn't take long to find his comments on the subject here.

I try to follow the KISS method for every thing I do. Hasbeen

freeme...I searched for this type of discussion before I posted....couldn't find anything but I will try again....bob

Yep, Keep It Simple, Stupid.

It is the same with the iron sights, if you find the irons instantly on presentation then the DOT will there as well.

I shot my carry gun (M&P 2.0 Compact with a DPP) yesterday in a training class.

The front sight nearly slid out of the dovetail, again, and I had to beat it back in place with a flashlight so it wouldn't fall off and get lost. That happens every hundred rounds or so, even after I've tried staking it in place by peening the dovetail down around it. If you shoot enough you'll see plenty of iron sights fail, too.

If everyone would quit buying cheap dots the whole failure thing wouldn't be an issue.

what are some that you like that will hold up?....not looking for cheap willing to pay for quality......bob

This?

I'd add that the key to finding the dot is proper head position (second quote below) and initial presentation of the pistol. Establish a two hand grip as early as possible, preferably as soon as it clears the holster. Present the pistol in a straight (diagonal) line from the holster to extension. Don't bring it to your center line and push it out. Don't "punch" it out. Just lift it to your line of sight. It should be horizontal, parallel to the ground, before it's lifted all the way to your line of sight.