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- So there are advantages
to using an Aimpoint red dot on both rifles and pistols,
but some of those advantages
are more important especially to those new shooters.
- Right.
So, you know, a lot of times with new shooters
you hear people say,
well, you know, you really want a new shooter
to start on irons.
And you know, a lot of times, me personally,
I think that's because, well
it should suck when you learn how to shoot.
You gotta be a disciplined shooter.
The best way to get someone excited about shooting
is getting 'em hits on target fast.
And hitting the easy button is with a red dot optic.
It's especially important
when you're talking new shooters with handguns
because there's a bit of a jump right?
It's counterintuitive when you shoot a pistol.
When you shoot, you wanna see, okay, did I hit the target?
So you look at the target and then we expect you
to pull your focus back to the front side of your pistol
and then keep it there while the gun goes off.
And then hopefully for as long as you're shooting
and then you either hit it or you don't.
This becomes especially problematic
when you have a threat right?
When something's trying to eat you
or when something's trying to kill you,
it tends to grab your attention and you wanna look at it.
Well, the beauty of putting a red dot on a pistol
is you can continue to look at it
because if you get the gun in front of it,
the red dot appears on the target
or appears on the threat and hey you're in business.
You know, you and I, this was a few years back
we were talking with Robbie Latham at the Shot Show.
No one has been shooting red dots longer on handguns
then Robbie Latham, you got a picture of what 1983?
- Yeah.
Using an Aimpoint electronic.
- Right.
So, you know, 1980.
So we're talking with Robbie
and we're like, hey you know, how do you get someone spun up
on shooting a red dot on a handgun?
He had some great advice.
He said, look, you have to be able to see your iron sights
through your red dot
But he said, turn your red dot off
and then just go to the range and practice presentation
and fire one round at the target.
And what'll happen is your mind will begin
to figure out what right looks like
with the housing of that optic
and the orientation.
And you know maybe you do 30 minutes or 20 minutes
at the range before you get started shooting,
and after a couple of range visits
turn your red dot on and it will be there when you need it.
And then I was like, you know, that's a great idea.
It's also something you can do a dry fire at home, right?
Just dry fire practice presentation,
get that muscle memory
and then congratulations
you've made the transition to red dot optics.
- Sure, regardless of what type of firearm you own,
a lot of 'em are going to have dual roles.
You may use 'em for target shooting or competition shooting.
But often that firearm, whether it's a pistol or rifle
is also gonna be your defensive firearm inside your home.
And a red dot serves a great advantage
to the owner inside the home as well.
A lot of threats are going to come after you
in low light or no light conditions.
And when that happens, you don't have a lot of time
to really think about,
oh, let me turn on all the switches
and give away my position.
But a red dot is going to give you
that precise aiming point
that you need to engage and neutralize that threat
without a lot of risk of errant shots.
I mean that's going to be a huge deal.
- Right.
And, you know, in no light or limited light
it can be hard to find iron sights
even if they've got tritium inserts.
Let's say you've got a magnified optic
with illumination system, it's slower.
You've got a longer tube you need to look through.
So that's gonna eat up some time.
The beauty of a red dot is you turn it on, leave it on
'cause the battery lasts for years
and it's there when you need it.
So, you know, when you talk about mounting red dots
on rifles and red dots on handguns,
you know, there's a lot of different options.
Everybody wants something different, right?
Like, maybe I want it above my irons,
maybe I want it to co-exist with my irons.
Maybe I want it to just attach it to my rifle
and leave it alone.
Maybe I want a QD mount.
You know, there's a number of different cuts
on pistols and so
if you go to Aimpoint's website
what you'll see is they've got a wide variety of mounts.
So that regardless of where you want it
or what handgun or rifle you wanna mount it to,
there's gonna be a mount
and an Aimpoint optic that's gonna be appropriate
for that situation.
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