Finding The Dot With Your Eyes Closed

Pistol mounted optics, commonly referred to as “Red Dots,” can be a game changing advantage. By being target focused, we can shoot faster, arguably more accurately, and with better target identification. However, only if we can find the dot consistently, which is a bigger challenge than many gun owners realize.

Having trained both law enforcement and civilians on red dots on the range, carried a red dot in the field, and investigated officer-involved shootings that utilized red dots, I’m noticing a concerning problem. Civilian and officer students alike, who train infrequently and solely on a square range, can get a false sense of security with finding the red dot. That could be a fatal mistake.

Most trained shooters, including myself, feel pretty confident finding the dot when coming up on target. But if we were to be honest with ourselves, the red dot is often trained and easily found only from a “perfect presentation”; a stationary target directly in front of you, a perfect stance, and consistent draw. That is not when finding the dot is most critical.

It’s most vital when you are caught by surprise and have to find that dot under stress at a weird angle or direction and in an unconventional or uncomfortable position. Imagine you’re sitting in your vehicle and a carjacking suspect suddenly appears with a gun to your left at your driver’s side window. Can you find the dot at speed in that scenario? Every. Single. Time? That’s when you really need it. What I call the “oh shit presentation.”

The problem is, red dots are all or nothing. It’s either inside the window or it’s not. And if it’s not, it could be 2 cm outside the window or 2 miles out and in any direction. You don’t know. At least with iron sights, you are able to see where your front sight is in relation to the rear sights and can quickly make the proper adjustment to bring the front sight between the rear sights. Red dots do not have that luxury.

To me, this is the biggest drawback to red dots. If it’s out of the window, you can’t instantly bring it into the window. It also makes one handed shooting dicey because, with reduced recoil control abilities, you are more likely to lose the dot from the window after each shot. One handed shooting is a major reality of any self defense scenario. Talk about making a bad situation worse.

Like many elements of firearms use, I’m seeing a Dunning-Kruger Effect for officers and civilians as it relates to dot acquisition. It happened to me too. After initial training with my first red dot, I was cautious about my ability to use it. After some practice, I felt pretty good. I began carrying it on duty. It was only with further training and field use that I discovered how easy it was to not find the dot at first. This will lead to “fishing” for the dot; frantically moving the wrists around until you find the dot. Ain’t nobody got time for that. Especially in a gun fight. I realized how much work I needed to get a consistent presentation that would put the dot in my eye line every single time, especially from a compromised position and while moving. It’s not the odds, it’s the stakes.

Carrying a red dot without extensive proper training and practice is a liability for anyone carrying for the defense of themself or others. It’s also a liability to their department and city. Like renting a Ferrari and crashing it on the freeway. “I’ve driven a car for 25 years. Why did I crash this rented Ferrari in the first 5 minutes?” Yes, it’s a car, but it’s a high performance machine you haven’t been properly trained on or put adequate time behind the wheel.

In my opinion, we need to be so proficient at dot acquisition that we are able to find the dot with our eyes closed. Meaning; if you close your eyes then present the weapon from any position to any target at any angle, and then you open your eyes, the dot is somewhere in the window. This is the standard I am striving to and I encourage anyone who carries a pistol for self defense to hold themself to that standard as well.

Some firearms students have opined that if the threat is close, and it is indeed a “oh shit presentation,” like the carjacking scenario, you can point shoot and don’t need to see the dot in the window. This is faulty, unprofessional, and dangerous thinking. If the dot is not in the window, we don’t know how far off it is. That improper angle of the gun will likely cause a complete miss, even at close distances. Not only does this not solve your imminent-threat-of-death-or-serious-bodily-injury problem, but that bullet keeps going down range until it hits something or someone.

If it does hit your intended target, it is likely a peripheral hit. If someone is trying to kill you, a law enforcement officer or law abiding citizen, from up close, they are likely not in their right mind. Peripheral hits are not going to stop their actions. We need intentionally placed hits. In order to do that, we have to be able to find the dot somewhere in the window for an acceptable sight picture.

So how do we not crash and burn with our new red dot Ferrari? Like any new psychomotor skill set, we need proper equipment, form, and practice. Set yourself up for success in the things you can control with the right pistol mounted optic equipment. Proper form (presentation elements) will be the key to finding the dot consistently. Then, you need to practice it ad nauseum until it becomes muscle memory. This can take a long time, especially the more years you’ve been working with traditional iron sights. We need to practice all sorts of presentations (from holster, low ready, concealment, etc.) and do it to every angle (high, low, left, right), and from every body position (standing, sitting, bent over, kneeling). Speed is an outcome of good mechanics. This can be done easily with dry practice at home. But it’s also imperative to get live reps in.

Square range work is good to build a foundation, but dynamic training scenarios test your ability to find the dot under various adverse conditions. Like in our shoot house where you don’t know where the threat will be. Or on our moving target system. Our knife attack target system will get your mind right. When a target rapidly comes screaming at you, and you punch out, the dot is either there or it’s not. Square range training will not give you that humbling experience. High quality range training will expose your weaknesses and give you understanding on what you need to improve.

I will tell you, pointing a pistol at a suspect and not immediately seeing the dot is a terrible feeling. Much like struggling to get the gun out of your holster in a live tactical scenario. It may only add a half second, but it feels like minutes. And half a second can potentially make all the difference.

If you carry a red dot on your self defense pistol, I implore you to come get high quality professional training. At International Tactical Training Seminars we have a dedicated Red Dot Class and Advanced Red Dot Class, complete with moving targets, a shoot house, and knife attack system. You will get a deep dive on various equipment options, learn more tips and tricks for proper presentation form, and train with those methods in various practical evolutions.

A pistol mounted optic is an incredible tool that helps you shoot faster and more accurately. In my opinion, it helps tactically even more than in marksmanship. But finding the dot every single time under any condition is much like learning to get a perfect trigger press every time. It is hard and foreign when you first learn it, but with enough dedicated training and practice, you can become very proficient at it. And much like developing an outstanding trigger press, finding the dot with your eyes closed is a continual pursuit of perishable skill.

Jordan Lee – Firearms and Tactics Instructor, LAPD and ITTS, Inc.

For more information about the classes offered by ITTS, Inc. visit www.internationaltactical.com