I know alot of people like the Dr. Optics style sights for competition and general plinking.  How would you rate them for field use?  Are they tough enough for hunting with, and reliable enough for tactical use?

Kelly McCann/Jim Grover has one on his Glock 19 during his carbine video. He says it is a natural transition from a dot sight on the carbine to one on your handgun. His only complaint was that there are no back-up iron sights.

A dot makes a lot of sense when your getting older and your eyesight can't quite see the front sight as well. A lot of the older competitors I shoot with claim they went to a dot when the front sight became fuzzy.

If you think it will help you call your shots, then go for it. I would think most self defense shootings are point shooting/indexing anyways. That being said I might consider a aluminum tube dot sight opposed to the plastic doctor sight. The doctor will be the closest thing to iron sights, you won't have to relarn your index.

Doc Roberts is a fan of that sight for use on Marlin Lever guns.