I'm working out how to use a red dot with my handgun. I'm not going to carry one until I have this worked out. Now that my eyes are older I really need to transition to the red dot.

It seems like a good way(the best way?)  to bring the red dot onto target is to tip the gun up slightly as it is pressed forward with a 2 handed grip and then drop down onto target at the end of pressing it forward. I've been practicing this way and it works well for me. I'm just wondering if there is any other accepted way that also seems to work well, that I'm not familiar with.


Also curiously. Does anybody know why the red dot is actually perfectly clear whereas everything else at that distance is blurry without reading glasses? I was pretty shocked the first time I saw that. Shocked in a good way. Pretty amazed.

Always squeeze your pinky finger when presenting the gun. That will make sure 99% of time the red dot is in the window when you arrive on target.  I focus on target and dot is just in the background kinda blurry

Just run dry fire drills like you have never done before.  You’ll find your way.  You’re going to get a thousand answers on this one.  One thing that is a certainty is you need to focus on the target and not allow yourself to chase the dot.  You will need to constantly remind yourself of this for quite awhile.  Have fun.

I dry fire every single day for 5-10mins. Even after a couple of years of doing so everytime I put my hand on the pistol to draw I mentally say "drive the pistol down". It's just muscle memory now, but I still think it. When I first transitioned I was consistently presenting high and would have to hunt for the dot. Not anymore. Now I only see the target with a red dot on it. I don't see the optic at all.

Dry fire works surprisingly well if one keeps after it.

All I do is roughly align the irons, and BINGO, there's the dot.

Every time.

Its supposed to be "faster" to do it some other way. I don't even care.

Tag. My vision is screwed and I'm going to have to make the transition soon.

Present the gun flat, not tipped up.  Begin looks through the optic early and see the front sight. As you reach extension, pinky pressure and the dot will appear.

Just because the sighting system changes doesn't mean your fundamentals should too. Present the gun like you would with irons. Once the irons start to align you dots will appear.

If you have a hard timing finding the dot its because your guns isn't aligned with the target. If you dots isn't visible your irons aren't aligned either.

I would venture if you “see the dot clearly” you are not target focused but looking at the dot.

Look up taping the dot to learn how to target focus.  Basically you obscure the window with tape and present the gun both eyes open.  Repeat until you present the gun and the dot appears on target.  You are retraining yourself from iron sight use.

I did not watch this but here is the idea:
Youtube Taping the red dot

I've only handled RDS equipped handguns a couple of times, one was a 10mm Glock-20 a friend had. I put rounds on target with relative-consistency and speed, not really difficult and I at this point had 0-practice 'acquiring' the dot...

-I had no issues acquiring the dot, and my only previous experience was normal iron-sighted handguns-

I think if you already spent/spend/spending time practicing your draw and aim. You will pretty much be g2g... I think if you lax on this 'dry' practice and buy a RDS to make up for this shortcoming, you will be a bit disappointed.


TLDR: Just practice your draw, sight acquisition, and target. Rinse and repeat until your 'muscle memory' makes it natural...

Absolutely not. The picky finger will cause the gun to twist

I understand why people struggle with the fundamentals when they switch but it's at an intellectual level. I'll switch back and forth and not find either to not align correctly.

This is the way. With irons you focus on the front site. With red dot you focus on the target and bring the dot into position.

Practice your presentation. Using tape or making a small kydex cover for the dot is perfect for practice and breaking the habit of dot-focus.

If the dot is not in view as you present, do micro vertical (up/down) corrections to find it.

Don’t look for the dot. Don’t look for the irons. 100% target focus.

Ok, I get it. The idea is to look at the target and the dot just "appears" on the target and take the shot while still looking at the target. It'll just take some practice to get used to it. I've been trying it, it's just different.

Agree with above people you have to practice dry firing.  You can sit down while watching TV and practice presentation.  Also driving the pistol out from your chest instead up the catapult type move where you bring the pistol up or down into your vision.  Driving the pistol out allows you to start aligning the window toward the target and you will not have to worry about bring the pistol up/down too far and adjusting slowing you down more.  While driving out you should be focused on your target and put the dot over what you are focused on.

Watch some of Sage Dynamics videos he did some good for red dot beginners.

Look for the front sight.  The dot will be there.

It’s a matter of proprioception. As others have said, dry fire a lot. More specifically, when drying firing practice presenting the gun to your target for each dry fire. It may help to think about pointing your firing hand index finger or off hand thumb at the intended target.

A common/popular optic is the Holosun 507C with the Primary Arms ACSS reticle. It has a 100 MOA circle as part of the reticle that is only visible when you present the gun incorrectly. If you see the circle it will help steer you back to getting the center chevron on target.

Another trick to practice when you don’t have the gun is to pick a target on a wall like a light switch. One you have picked your target, close your eyes and then attempt to point at the target while keeping your eyes closed. Open your eyes to see where you are at and then correct your hand position if you were off.

Wow, wow.
I've been practicing, and improving. But as things speed up and things bounce around I have become very aware of the fact that the iron sights are always visible to be used to make corrections even in peripheral vision to bring the gun into alignment, but the red dot will just be ..gone. I was thinking it would be helpful to have markers or something on the outskirts of the dot sight window to steer it into proper alignment if things are not going perfectly. It seems that if I'm in a situation where I need to draw the gun in a hurry then things are already not going perfectly. The primary arms acss reticle sounds like the best available option to improve the odds in a situation where the gun is slightly canted up or down or left or right.
Thanks.

That reticle assists you in finding the dot, much like the other techniques described here.

Btw I have no experience with that dot.

I'm sure the best way is to have the drawstroke the same every time, with lots and lots of practice. But I think it's a really good assist if things are not going perfect. If I'm holding a dog or a child with one hand and trying to aim with the other hand, the reticle could be massively helpful. And during practice the reticle could show how or why I'm making a consistent mistake. It's just a matter of me making the decision to spend the money on one, which I am going to do.

Don’t do this.

If you are looking for irons, you’re negating a major advantage of having a dot in the first place.

100% TARGET FOCUS.

Yep 100% this...

It is how I learned to get the dot so fast.  I fixate on what I want to put the dot on draw and drive the pistol out like I am going to muzzle bump my target.  Do not drawbridge your pistol up or down to your target.  Also you should have your finger on the frame/slide so just pretend you are pointing that finger at the target.  This will keep you from trying to take your eyes off the target to observe all that is going on from leaving the holster with the pistol to getting on target.  I have seen this where someone is target focused but the moment the pistol leaves the holster the eyes start tracking the pistol.  You can avoid this by concentrating on using your trigger finger to point at the target.  This is an added benefit as some numbskulls want to start infiltrating the trigger guard as soon as the pistol leaves the holster.
Another thing I do is practice my draw and presentation in near darkness this is where the trigger finger pointing will really aid you.  In an almost dark environment where you can at least make out that objects are visible but have a hard time distinguishing details like the optics glass frame practice presentation.  The trigger finger will give you a good orientation of where the pistol is pointing and keep the dot moderately dim you do not want to have the sunburst aiding you.  Here is the key to learning to get the dot quickly when you do present and do not get the dot IMMEDIATELY scrub the presentation and start over DO NOT HUNT FOR THE DOT.  I cannot emphasize this enough when practicing if you get it wrong just stop and start over hunting for the dot is not going to build muscle memory and is going to get your mind in a set way of picking up the dot that oh if I do not get it just hunt around for it.

I'm late to the party but this video helped me a lot

This was my problem.  I always thought that I was coming straight out.  However, I was subconsciously tilting the muzzle up to find the front sight.  

A ton of dry fire draws using an optic fixed it.  Now I'm better with irons and optics.