Concealed Carry With a Red Dot?
Ron Gunner 05.18.17
Many companies now offer pistols with the option to mount a small red dot on the slide. We all know red dots have been used in competition for some time. But is it right for concealed carry?
It would be nice to use if, say, it was dark outside, you are getting attacked and you go to grab your concealed carry pistol. Remember you have to move your cover garment and draw your gun. In an earlier article I wrote that you usually have less than 2 seconds draw your gun and shoot. Do you want to add a red dot also? You will have to train to turn it on quickly, etc.
Some you can turn on and they will stay on for hours. Those are the ones that cost as much as the pistol itself. Most will turn on and stay on for “X” amount of time and then shut off. I run a C-More RTS2 on my competition Glock 17 and it will shut off on its own after a while. I turn it on to shoot, then shut it off until my next time to shoot.
My comp Glock 17 with C-More RTS2
Many TV and magazine ads show red dots on pistols of law enforcement. Remember they don’t have to worry about getting a cover garment out of the way in order to pull their pistol and use it.
There is no right or wrong answer to this, it all comes down to what you want and the most important thing to do if you put one on your concealed carry gun that you train with it — and I mean really train with it! That means you have to figure out which works better for you, having it on all the time or not (and remember if you leave it on all the time, the battery may be dead when you really need it).
Unless you keep it on all the time, you’ll have to train yourself to turn on your sight when you draw, along with whatever other motions your firearm requires. You will have less than 2 seconds to do all of this.
Training is something we need to do as much as possible. I want you to be safe and even though a red dot on your carry pistol may seem like a great idea, you really need to think long and heard before you make that decision
Everyone stay safe, train as much as possible, and I hope to see you out there!
