What Size Dot For Pistol Red Dot Sights?
BY Herschel Smith
2 years, 12 months ago
For EDC, a larger dot of 6, 8 or even 10 MOA in diameter will serve your purposes much better than the currently popular smaller dots of 1, 2 or 3 MOA. The reasons are almost infinite, but some more obvious than others.
Assuming time is of the essence when engaging an adversary with your EDC pistol, the speed with which the red dot can be located and superimposed over the target is of supreme importance. The bigger the dot, the easier it is to find and direct to the target. Some may argue that a big dot is not as accurate as a small dot, therefore might not be as effective because it covers too much of the target. Let’s stop and examine that thinking by doing a little math.
A 10-MOA dot covers roughly a 10-inch diameter area at 100 yards. That subtends down to 5 inches at 50 yards, 2.5 inches at 25 yards and 1 inch at 10 yards.
I won’t judge another person’s shot-delivery capabilities under the stress of a life-or-death situation, but it would seem that a 10-MOA dot would be sufficient when considering the statistical data of the encounter being in close proximity. For the average citizen, my definition of close proximity can be thought of as the inability to escape the situation, making the use of a deadly weapon the only available choice to prevent grave bodily harm or death. This is not legal advice, just my perspective. Keep in mind that time and distance almost always have an impact on one another during a dynamic event.
I don’t know. Based on the pictures presented of various dot sizes, I don’t like the large ones. I don’t really have a hard time picking up iron sights. I’m not sure how that translates to red dots.
What size do readers carry, and why?
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On November 9, 2021 at 1:26 am, Ohio Guy said:
Vortex Venom 6 moa mounted on G19. It has 10 brightness levels to adjust for whatever daylight or lack of, your eyes are working with. I went with this because the quality matched the pricepoint I was aiming for. I purchased the Venom and the Glock NIB in early 2018. If I do my part, I can’t miss. A few months ago, I wanted to see what kind of range it had. So I targeted a 12″ steel plate @ 130yds. Pinged on the fourth shot. I’m 55 and I absolutely need glasses to read. Not so when shooting or looking through a scope. I’ve always been able to see far away much better than objects up close. There’s a lot of great products out there with varying price points. Get the one YOUR eyes can see best.
On November 9, 2021 at 7:32 am, Bill Buppert said:
3.5 MOA for my EDC; I can make the dot smaller for precision shooting, I don’t have that option with a larger dot.
Word of advice: practice perfect presentation and you will not play “Where’s Waldo” with the dot.
On November 9, 2021 at 7:42 am, Jack said:
What @Ohio Guy said: “Get the one YOUR eyes can see best.” Cross-eye dominant with long-distance monovision in my left eye due to cataract surgery, astigmatism in my right eye.
I have Trijicon RMRs on mine – mostly because when I got mine a few years ago, they were the best and the rest were crap, although that has changed in the past year. Since I have one, I decided to go with the RMR for the rest of my pistols as well, so that all the controls are the same across all my guns.
I have both 1MOA and a 3.5MOA. I can’t tell them apart visually when shooting. If the 1MOA feels too small, bump up the brightness and it appears bigger.
Grip and draw techniques play a much bigger role in picking up the sight than people realize. And the best instructor to learn from is Scott ‘Jedi’ Jedlinski, of the Modern Samurai Project.
Aging has multiple impacts on shooting, including reduced ability for close focus (our lens stiffens which makes it harder for our muscles to constrict/contract our lens), and reduced ability to rapidly shift focus. Thus, seeing the front sight post, and shifting from front sight to target becomes harder and harder as we grow older.
Thus, I’m slowly moving all my pistols to red dots (I’ll have a few iron sights for instructing others), so I’ll be picking up another RMR over the holidays (either 1MOA or 3.5MOA depending on the deal and availability). It’s worth it to me to spend the extra $100 or so to ensure that all my RDS have the same controls and behavior.
On November 9, 2021 at 8:05 am, anon said:
I have both 6.5 and 3.5 RMR’s. I carry both. I like the 3.5 better. I like precision. I actually dryfire multiple times a week and train timed standards 3yrs, 7yrs, 25yrds and out to 50 yards. I train backup irons. Picking up the front sight is the way you learn to pick up the dot. Having a colored front sight helps.
Picking up any size dot requires correct(ing) repetition to groove muscle memory (concealed, high ready position etc) so in the heat of a real attack you fall as little as you can to the level of your (purposefully high) training.
With lots of repetition, I also learn how to find the dot quickly/get it on target when I missing picking up the front sight.
On November 9, 2021 at 9:03 am, Paul B said:
If I need my gun it has to go boom NOW. Red dots are new and hot but I carry snub nosed revolvers. Has to go bang when I need it. Goes bang every time I try it.
More stuff hanging off your pistol slos the draw and delays the response.
If you need your gun you will have milliseconds to react. Not minutes. Milliseconds.
Just another way to spend money looking for a solution that is not needed.
That is my 2 cents
On November 9, 2021 at 9:04 am, George said:
I watched Julie Golob on Shooting USA give a presentation on how to find the dot easily. As you present your pistol look at the front sight on the way out. As you bring it up to eye level the red dot will be easy to see as it is above the front sight. I tried it several times and it works. Easy. Just need to repeat until it becomes second nature.
On November 9, 2021 at 10:08 am, Chris said:
If, you can afford it, I recomend a Pistol Dot Class from a reputable trainer.
It’s not like a rifle.
Then thousands of Draw Reps.
Holsters become….a little challenging depending how you carry and what you prefer.
My .5cent
On November 9, 2021 at 10:09 am, Chris said:
3.5 trij rmr by the way
On November 9, 2021 at 10:10 am, Chris said:
Sage Dynamics-trij rmr white paper and vids. I recomend it.
Sorry for mult post. Gettin old
On November 9, 2021 at 10:11 am, TexasMedic said:
3.5 MOA. It’s the sweet spot size for me; I don’t know that I’d want to go any smaller but definitely not bigger. Yes, 10 MOA is within an acceptable margin of accuracy at < 10 yards, but part of the idea of the red dot for me is being able to stretch the accuracy of my handgun out further towards the limits of of the ballistics capabilities.
George is right; I was taught the same thing: acquire the front sight on presentation, push out and follow it into the optic to see the red dot. That and muscle memory from thousands of dry fire reps and I don’t have any issues acquiring it. I can’t speak to eyesight issues though.
On November 9, 2021 at 10:15 am, HouseWolf said:
I use the Trijicon RMR type 2 on primary handguns, all with 3.25 dot.
Backup weapons have mepros.
On November 9, 2021 at 10:21 am, Fred said:
First of all there is no duty to “escape a situation.” But that’s another issue. But the goal of any self defense encounter is to get the assailent (2 or 4 legged) to disengage.
I like his maffs. And considering that well above 99 percent of all self defense encounters in which shots are fired end upon the first shot landed his reasoning is excellent.
I like muh circle, I just likes it, it helps me with target acquisition.
Mr. Bupert is 100 percent correct in all cases. Presentation matters.
Basic instruction for self defense (not war) presentation:
Time to muzzle on target matters most.
How do we get there?
1 Practice drawing your weapon with the proper grip.
2 Practice presentation (target aquesition)
3 Dry fire.
Do this correctly every time regardless of how slowly you have to do it. Increase rapidity with practice only as quickly as you can do it correctly and accurately. Train your mind and muscles to do it right every time as you get faster over time. Lastly (unless you have money to burn) practice with ammo.
Again, time to muzzle on target wins gunfights.
And, perhaps once getting satisfactory at this, then lastly of all, begin to practice for multiple, trained, disciplined, and motivated assailants. That object in the mirror may be closer than it appears.
On November 9, 2021 at 12:01 pm, billrla said:
What Fred said.
In the heat of an armed self defense situation, other factors will prove more important to survival than “finding the dot.”
On November 9, 2021 at 1:58 pm, Thomas said:
I have a Holosun with the primary Arms ACCS Reticle. It has a chevron for aiming, and a really big (100?) MOA circle that you don’t see unless you are really far off center. It will help you find the “dot” and get centered. You can turn off the circle, which I do for my dryfire gun, or leave it on. I leave it on for my carry rig, just in case I’m in an unusual firing position.
I 2nd the endorsement for taking a class with Jedlinski. I will be put with him, and Brian Hill, who also runs a good dot class down in GA.
On November 9, 2021 at 4:22 pm, Old Bill in TN said:
IMHO (worth every penny you paid for it) smaller is better. Nearly all red dots adjust for intensity; that translates to a size change. I would never contemplate using a red dot without lower third co-witness irons: the changing conditions a carrier faces demands the combination, even with adjustable intensity.
As for whether or not to use a red dot, its individual choice IMO. Every shooter is different. Everyone has different training/practice opportunities & habits. Red Dots will be suitable for some, and not others.
On November 10, 2021 at 9:06 am, Matt said:
I’m running the Holosun 507 on my EDC. I really like the Aimpoint style red dot set up. I can find it really fast and my accuracy is still excellent. I put the suppressor height sights on my pistol should the red dot fail.