Red Dot on a concealed carry?

[jeff242]

I'm sure this will bring out a few opinions but I thought there was no better group to turn to...

The recent terrorist situations have me rethinking my concealed carry strategy. Typically I pocket carry a S&W Bodyguard 380. As I think through an active shooter situation, guy popping into a room at some distance, maybe 50 feet away, shooting whatever, my current carry weapon is not what I'd really like to have on hand. Certainly better than nothing, and my primary motivation in that situation is getting my family the heck out of there, but I'm thinking through what might be a better or more useful option.

So, first thing that comes to mind is a larger weapon that can provide some additional effective range. I have a full size M&P 9 as well I keep at home, but this I think is likely too large for me to carry on a daily basis. That gets me thinking about a single stack 9, that is thinner, like the Ruger LCP Pro, etc, and moving to IWB carry rather than pocket carry.

The hitch is this: I'm cross eye dominant. It is very difficult for me to get any sight picture at all without closing one eye, even with practice. Under real world stress, the sights, I think become worthless to me. On my AR I use a red dot, and it solves this problem very well - both eyes open and I can aim very quickly.

So, is a RDS a realistic option for concealed carry, or am I grasping at straws here?

 

[lovemachine]

It's very realistic. A lot of guys swear by them.

 

[jeff242]

Any suggestions on where to look for the right combo?

 

[hvacrguy]

ATEi | (313) 388-8228 | American Tool & Engraving, Inc. best in the business.

 

[venenoindy]

For us who have eyesight issues red dots are a great aid, the big issue that I come across during my research is no matter how you dice it red dots have batteries and components that could fail no matter how well made it is. I also gather that some of the users of such red dots on handguns favor iron sights for CQB.

 

[venenoindy]

https://youtu.be/bbKmsPB-LFo


http://www.bowietacticalconcepts.com

 

[nakinate]

I've seen it done, but you have to have it turned on the entire time you're carrying. Seems like a dead battery is a big liability.

 

[Mr. Habib]

I'm cross dominant as well. I have never had a problem obtaining a proper sight picture with both eyes open. What problems are you experiencing?

 

[jeff242]

Thanks!

 

[AllenM]

I love the red dot. this is my EDC, I carry CC and while it's obviously not as easy to carry as a small single stack I will sacrifice comfort for the additional rounds. With a good holster I can get away with it most of the time.

 

[jeff242]

Hard to describe in words... To get a picture I need to first move the weapon what feels significantly to the left (my dominant eye) which feels fairly unnatural -- and I suppose I could get used to that but even then I struggle to get any kind of useful focus. I end up with everything blurry more easily than something in focus, if that makes sense.

 

[Tactically Fat]

I've seen it done, but you have to have it turned on the entire time you're carrying. Seems like a dead battery is a big liability.

Depending on the optic, a battery will last 3 years or so.

So you set yourself on a schedule to change the battery out at 2/3 of that time frame and be good to go.

 

[Bfish]

I don't see any reason to carry a pistol with an RMR or something on it. They don't do well in the rain at all, but if you have irons on still I'd hope you could get buy regardless if you had to...

I think the biggest change red dot or no red dot needs to be carry a larger gun and an extra mag. I'd recommend getting a handgun you can "fight with" I'd say a Smith and Wesson shield or larger and then just extra mags would be my biggest change.

Then when you can (this should be a priority though) get some training!
I really say this because I shoot cross-eye dominant with only pistols though. I am right handed and left eye dominant. I shoot long guns left handed with my left (dominant) eye. And I shoot handguns with my right hand but left eye. You shouldn't have any problem picking up the sights with that eye or the RMR. I don't have problems with either one, however, lots of instructors address this issue and may be of great service to you if you are having issues with it!

Good luck!

 

[Drail]

Seriously? Get up close - learn to point shoot. Batteries are for cell phones.........

 

[AllenM]

I shoot good with irons but I really do like the dot. Up close it doesn't matter one way or the other. I have shot both ways a lot. I really like having the RMR. Hopefully I never need to test it but I am faster at 20 yards with it then without and low light it is definitely much better.
Up close who needs sights anyway.

 

[BoilerWes]

Allen,

What optic are you currently using? Any recommendations?

 

[AllenM]

I have 3 different ones on 3 different guns. All seem to work well. On my edc I have a trijicon RMR pictured above.
It shouldn't be assumed that, because someone may like something that they would be lost without it.
But the red dot is faster. I have 2 Burris fast fire III's I like them alot and an Ultradot I like a lot too.

 

[Vigilant]

Seriously? Get up close - learn to point shoot. Batteries are for cell phones.........

Yes, seriously! Up close, sure use point shooting, as it is slightly faster than the dot. At distances, or for longer range precision shots, the RDS really shines, far better than irons. I'm running the Trijicon RMR06 with the 3MOA dot on 19, and can make 50 yard COM shots on demand, and 25 yard head shots on an IPSC cardboard target like its my job.

 

[Vigilant]

To add to this, even without the dot on, the tv screen atop the slide makes an excellent reference for point shooting!

 

[obijohn]

I carry an RMR on a G17 daily. Those of you that have seen my carry gun know that it has more stuff hanging off of it than a mall ninja's AR. I also train with it in all weather conditions and have been trying to break it for quite sometime. Works fine for me. That is the point. Might work for you, might not. I haven't been able to see a front sight clearly for years regardless of what I do with my glasses short of lenses ground specifically for shooting which rendered them useless for general wear. Having tried most of the mini rds's on the market with various mounting methods, my conclusion is that if you use quality gear installed and maintained properly, it is good to go. As to batteries, I change all the batteries on my G17 and backup G17 after ACT's low light class every December and have had zero issues so far.