At the Range: Reflex Sights 101

Today we’re going to talk about reflex sights, specifically red dots, and what you might use them for or why you would want one on your firearm. So I’ve got an example here on a pistol. I’ve got the ACRO P-2 and a Trijicon SRS here on this short barrel suppressed 300 Blackout. So what you might want to use a red dot for would be any situation that you need really quick target acquisition, and you don’t want magnification within your optics—so that’s going to be close-range shooting. There are exceptions, you can get magnifiers, and some competition shooters are skilled out to range with just a red dot, but they’re primarily designed for quick target acquisition at a short distance.

For your pistol, about the only con to it is just the added size. It might make it a little bit harder if you’re trying to conceal carry. But for, shooting out the range, it makes you much more confident in your aim. Once you have cited this in that, that where that dot is is where it’s going to hit. It’s going to help you a lot with the target acquisition, but it can also help you when you’re training for your trigger pull to be smoother. You’re not having to focus so much on that front sight. Reflex sights just make things a little bit more fun, and of course, everyone likes some more tactical accessories for their firearms.

In terms of the rifle, pretty much the same thing. One of my favorite parts of it is just the fact that you don’t have to worry about having a perfect cheek weld, and you’re not aligning sites with your typical iron sights. You come straight up, and wherever the dot is, even if you need to draw and rapidly fire and maybe you don’t have a perfect cheek weld, you know that wherever that dot is is where your round is going to hit. Even if the dots are up in the top corner, that’s still where your aim is. Pretty much the big benefits of it are just going to be close quarters and quick target acquisition. If you need something that is going to be used more for long-range or hunting, you’d want to look at a magnified scope of some sort. But those are going to be the reasons you might want to use a reflex or red dot sight.