My humble opinion on Red/Green dots...

Guys,

Reflex sights, Red/Green dot sights, EOTechs and ACOGs are great additions to your primary weapon. don't get me wrong, they look bad ass if applied correctly. but here's something to think bout... what if you left the device on and the battery has died out, now you are at the field without a replacement battery.. what do you do?

here's my opinion, be extremely proficient with your iron sights, before you begin training with the red dots and other such devices. personally, i'd rather use the iron sights. i don't want to become complacent and rely on additions like these sights. i do own a few red/green sights but i have taken them off and began training without them.

just something to think about it... just remember "to each his own" or in J-bird's words, "its all in what cha want"

Interesting theory.
I see two holes...
1. We all should be checking EQP prior to play and that means a dry run at the house not the field. The Coast Guards moto is Semper Paratus (allways ready) that refers to work and play.
2. We all should be proficient with Iron sights but when you cannot see the Iron sites they don't do any good. (some masks block the proper usage of Iron sites, some sights or RIS/RAS accessories make using iron sights impossible, and sometimes light conditions preclude accurate usage of Iron sights. In those cases you have two options 1. shoot from the HIP or bore aim, [set the gun higher up on your shoulder than normal and sight down the length of the barrel...(easiest if you remove any accessories that might be blocking a smooth eye-line down the barrel) and fire for effect]
3. use an alternative aiming method, laser, flashlight, (these might be a little better than bore-aiming but can be worse since most people do not check to see that a flashlight is zeroed at a certain point, and some of the cheaper lights and lasers do not have the ability to adjust windage or elevation), or get the spare battery you have with your kit and get your red/green dot sight working for you and your team.
thats my 2 cents though.
Gieger
P.S. The most kills I have had so far was five in a single game, no respawn, with 7 person teams. I couldn't use my iron sights due to light and mask interference so I just pointed and shot in each case. This method has a much higher success rate as range falls.

here's my opinion, be extremely proficient with your iron sights, before you begin training with the red dots and other such devices.


one problem, my gun didn't come with iron sights. lol. is there a way i could buy the m16 style iron sights and put them on my RIS rail? i have an M4.

Yes, M4/M16 front post and rear sights are easily available. Really depends on what type you want though. For instance you can get the carry handle integrated rear sight or the simple standalone rear-sight, the front post sights are mostly the same... though I did see a nice one that had a replacement front post (the player could switch between black and illuminated (glow in the dark) with about five seconds of work).
I know they are at Evike, you might also try to other major online retailers, shorty's, airsoftGI and the rest. Airsoft atlanta and shorty's are only two states away, give or take, and ground shipping gets your package the next business day after pickup.
Gieger

thanks a lot gieger i will look for them.

koscherness wrote:here's my opinion, be extremely proficient with your iron sights, before you begin training with the red dots and other such devices.


one problem, my gun didn't come with iron sights. lol. is there a way i could buy the m16 style iron sights and put them on my RIS rail? i have an M4.

My AUG also doesn't have sights so I had to just get a red dot sight for it. Though with my M14 EBR I shot with the iron sights for about a month before I used a scope.

I agree that you should be proficient with the iron sights on your gun if it has them. In low light situations or when reflex shooting... (both eyes open) a red dot makes aiming during these situations much easier to the shooter and target aquisition faster. It also provides a side benifit of allowing the shooter much greater field of view because the non-aiming eye is also open and periferal vision is not impaired. So long as you realize what the pro's and con's are in any given situation and respect the differences you wont really go wrong. I think where using iron sights comes in and makes you a better shooter is that you realize that sight picture, movement, trigger squeeze, and breath control are the most important aspects of aiming. You never would want to make a long shot using a red dot as you have less reference for these things, it is specifically designed for fast, sloppy shooting, when your range is so close that things like movement and breathing are less consequential to hitting your target but will allow you to nuetralize the target before becomming a casualty.

I am not one to disagree with the usage of iron sights. Hell, I actually recommend them, but for the few cases, such as Gieger explained, certain aspects of your gear may cause your iron sights to become useless.

Also on a side note, I again agree, you should be agle to hit your target with iron sights, but my UTG L96 Shadow Ops doesn't have iron sights. So I am left to practice day and night games with a scope.

all in all if you cant hit the brawd side of a barn with iron sights what is the red or geen aim points going to do if you cant even sight thoses in you still cant hit that same barn so the key word of the day is practice practice till you can hit with your iron sights b4 you think of trying something new

I shoot with both eyes open even when using iron's or scope/red/gren dots. Isn't that the right way to do it so you have situational awareness and have target acquisition? I would learn to do that, too, if you could guys. It sucks at first because you eyes are fighting the picture they are seeing (distant and close), but after a good time spent learning, its a valuable asset.

Damian

TeamPrecisionIT wrote:I shoot with both eyes open even when using iron's or scope/red/gren dots. Isn't that the right way to do it so you have situational awareness and have target acquisition? I would learn to do that, too, if you could guys. It sucks at first because you eyes are fighting the picture they are seeing (distant and close), but after a good time spent learning, its a valuable asset.

Damian

I was taught to shoot all weapons with both eyes open, EVEN while looking through scopes. The reason behind it, as I was taught, was the same reason; you may be aiming at one person, but you need to be able to detect other threats in the mean time.

I am not to that level for scope or iron sight shooting, however with my red dot its both eyes open and no problems. I think it is made more difficult though by the mk-I eyeballs not functioning correctly. It is difficult to do with eyeglasses.
Gieger

I've been taught to keep one eye open while actually aiming and pulling the trigger with conventional iron sights OR a magnifying non-electronic scope (snipers' scope) (aka not a dot sight or a holographic sight). However, with a dot/holographic sight, in combat shooting, one should keep both eyes open. These sights eliminate paralax (probably spelt that wrong), allowing the shooter to keep both eyes open. These sights are designed to let the shooter maintain perifial (another spelling error) vision and shoot by reflex. Both eyes are to be kept open in combat pistol shooting.

As far as shooting in impulse with irons in cqb, I might not even use the sights, or just focus on the front post, which would let me keep both eyes open.

In my opinion on should be proficient with their iron sights. It will always be easier to shoot with a red/green dot sight, it's so much simpler. You don't have to worry about lining up your sights, its pretty much just point and shoot!

All i want to say is that i have both an Aimpoint and a reflex sight and i prefer the reflex because no matter if your aiming down your sight or your just lifting up your rifle it always allows you to get that quick kill.