Iron sights vs red dots for carry options if you have to draw down on someone which do you think is a faster more reliable option me personally I’m going iron sight easier to conceal and more reliable in a stressful situation
1 Like
It all depends on how much you have practiced and what you have practiced.
Without much time devoted to practicing the draw, most people will find their iron sights faster than they will find a dot because even with the worst index, iron sights are visible and you can see which way you need to move the gun to align them. If you have a rubbish index with an RDS, the dot is not visible at all and you can’t easily see which way to move the gun to bring the dot into the window to make it visible.
At close distances it doesn’t matter. You shouldn’t need sights at all to hit center mass out to at least 0-3 yards.
At intermediate distances, 3-10 yards, you will need at least a gross sight picture and you’ll need it quickly. You need to practice your draw and lock in your index so the dot is visible in the window - dryfire is your friend.
At longer distances, 10+ yards you potentially have more time before the threat becomes imminent (unless you are acting to defend someone else who is closer to the threat), but you also need time to refine your sight alignment as necessary to make a hit at that greater distance.
If you can reliably find your dot from the draw, RDS are faster and easier to use, but that is a very important IF.
Another consideration is your ability to see. My eyesight has not been great since I was a kid - I started wearing glasses full time from the age of 5. For years I could see at all distances with a single prescription lens for each eye. Iron sights were easy to use. Now that I’m older, I need a different prescription for near and far vision. As a result, my daily wear glasses have progressive lenses which have my near prescription at the bottom of the lens and progress to my distance prescription at the middle to top of the lens.
Seeing iron sights with these glasses requires me to tilt my head way back so the lower part of the lenses are lined up with my gun . This is not an ideal thing to have to do when under threat and needing to see what is going on around me. Therefore, a few years ago I switched my carry guns to all have RDS and have built my skills up to be able to find the dot quickly. I can see the dot and the threat without having to do any awkward head movements.
2 Likes
I agree very well spoken and elaborated most people don’t even taken into consideration how important the draw is and to be able to draw from concealment under stress needs a lot of practice to where it’s like second nature
I wish there were more “vulcan” or “circle-dot” red dot options out there - for those who aren’t going to practice their draw/presentation on a regular RDS then having the projected circle that indicates which direction to move to get to the center dot makes a lot of sense:
This is going to sound judgy, but why would anyone think it is wise to carry a gun for protection, but not practice with it to become competent with it?
You have a right to carry a gun, but you are also responsible for anything you do with it, including hurting innocent bystanders if you fire it without having the skill to hit your target.
The first step in aiming is to find your sight. Just 10 minutes per day doing dryfire draws will fix any issue you have in a month or less.
2 Likes
Have just having a carry gun on you is useless and dangerous if you’re not practicing practice makes perfect and repetition makes it secondhand nature we know ammunition is expensive but please train iron sites or red dots it shouldn’t matter
Me me myself I prefer hollow Sun 407K red dot
I’m the choir, here, agree with you. And I also know several handgun owners who bought one just to have “that box checked”, slapped a red dot on it (I may have done that for a couple) and then stuck it in a safe and bring it out, maybe, 1-2x per year to fire it.
2 Likes
For guns that you just shoot recreationally, it is irrelevant. The OP was asking about carry guns.
I have a bunch of guns huddled at the back of my safe with anxiety issues wondering if they will ever see the light of day again. Some of them are Glocks and I’m pretty sure it would take me a hot minute to become even a little bit good with them again.
These are not the guns I would carry to defend myself.
3 of my carry guns don’t even have sights, well 2 are so minimal they’re not really considered sights. I’m in the camp that you’re never going use sights in a self defense situation on the street. It’s going to be an up close and personal point and shoot type scenario. My HD rifle does have a red dot on it, but that’s a completely different type of SD situation.
1 Like
I’m in that same camp. Things move so quick, you might have to shoot anywhere between holster draw and getting up to looking over the sights. And it could be in close quarters.
I’m not sure, but do bad guys wait, and give you the time to get in your stance and fully aimed? 
It is likely some attacking YOU will be close by? Sure, all but a small proportion of attacks are close up and personal.
What happens when the attack is on your spouse/child/parent and they are 10-15 yards away? Do you just say “Oh well. I’m just as likely to hit my spouse/child/parent as the bad guy because I have only prepared for a contact distance encounter, so I’ll just let my spouse/child/parent figure this out for themselves.”
What if it is a hostage shot at 5 yards? Can you make that shot with no sights?
I don’t understand the mentality for only preparing for the most likely scenario, when you can prepare for that and rarer but more difficult scenarios at the same time? I can absolutely guarantee you that if you can make a headshot at 15 yards, you can also do it at 5 yards.
I agree self defensive situations more likely to be close distance you might not even be able to extend arms to shoot 1st shot gonna be hip fire to get them to back off then the next shots will be extended arms both hands together range training is great but close quarters defensive shooting while being attacked is also great fending off attacker with one hand and being able to draw firearm at the same time(one handed) is crucial. Train for all situations stay ready so you don’t have to get ready
-
Approximately 70% of armed self-defense incidents happen within 10 feet of the attacker
-
The median time for a self-defense firearm to be fired after an attack begins is less than 3 seconds
-
In 2021, the average number of shots fired in a self-defense shooting was 3, with most cases involving 1 or 2 shots
3 seconds ain’t a lot of time to get focused and over your sights.
Each year, the FBI publishes reports on law enforcement use-of-force incidents and Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted (LEOKA). While the data focuses on police, it offers some of the best real-world insight into deadly force encounters, especially when you consider that civilian defensive shootings often mirror many of the same dynamics.
Here is what the data consistently shows:
1. Distance Is Close
- Most fatal encounters occur within 0–10 feet.
- In fact, many shootings occur within 3 feet, a distance close enough to touch.
- FBI LEOKA reports and multiple police debriefs show officers often get ambushed at arms-length distance, leaving little or no time to react.
2. Time Is Short
- Most gunfights are over in 2–5 seconds.
- The average number of rounds fired is 2 to 3.
- There’s rarely time to “think it over” or assess a sight picture under stress.
3. Movement Is a Factor
- • In most real-world shootings, at least one party is moving, and often both.
• Offenders are frequently charging, fleeing, or taking cover.
So long as most are covered, why worry about the ones that aren’t?
Do you want no ability to respond to the ones that do not conform to most?
Let’s face it. Almost none of us will ever encounter a need to defend ourselves with a firearm. Why bother buying, practicing or carrying a gun at all? Most people are never under a lethal threat in their entire lives.
Oh yeah - It is because the consequences of not be prepared are catastrophic
Don’t forget, even if the bad guy is a crap shot and has less ability that even you who doesn’t value practicing beyond a couple of yards, the bullet coming out of his gun doesn’t care and will do just as much damage if it hits you whether by design or by happenstance.
I’m in the iron sights camp, I can take my hip shot if need be, I can take my 15 yard head shot if need be, I practice with both iron and red dots, I just prefer irons.
I’m also in the Mr Stu camp, I train for up close and at distance, god forbid I need a quick 15 yard shot, I would rather be ready, quick, decisive and confident.
Does anyone who lives in this state really feel that if they take a 15 yard shot (45 FEET), and claim it was “self defense”, is going to able to sell that to a jury in THIS state?
What gun could the bad guy have that does not have a range greater than 45 feet?
I have RD’s on all my semi pistols.My eye sight is not great. Me and the wife practice 0-10 yards with, two hand, strong hand only and double taps. We also practice 15 and 25 yard head shots. This is where the RD shines. The possibility of encountering a rifle situation has increased lately. My revolvers, I’m working on it. 