Handgun Optics Lessons
... From the Police
Tips for Pistol Optics Success
Carry optics are the new hotness in American police service pistols but they do have shortcomings and possible trouble spots.
I’ve seen batteries fail, zero get lost, and even sights falling off pistols. I’ve also seen users who have something in common with cats: They just can’t seem to “catch the red dot.” Carry optics are still in their adolescence: They can be problematic, and they can challenge you.
Mechanical Considerations
When Jeff Chudwin speaks, gun-savvy cops listen. His resume encompasses many years as a prosecutor, chief of police, and firearms instructor. He recently had this to share:
“We are in the ‘Wild West’ of pistol optics. We are now doing a ‘Duty Handgun Optics Armorers’ class. Mount of the optic is the focus. Why? In the past year, 30 to 50% of our student officers arrive carrying a pistol dot optic. Of those in use, 50–100% failed in some fashion during the classes. Loose screws, broken screws, wrong screws, etc. McMaster Carr in Illinois carries steel alloy screws that are the best American-made quality we have found. We now check every firearm before we move to the range.
“Trust no one to mount your optics unless you can verify the competency of that person doing the work. If you are using the handgun for defense of life purposes, know that the screws are quality, the VibraTite VC-3 or Locktite is used, and all surfaces are properly cleaned before application. We seldom see this done.
“A solid foundation of knowledge is required to get and keep all in correct working order. We gain that knowledge in this case by running a constant science experiment on the range as hundreds of pistols and tens of thousands of rounds are in regularly in play,” Chudwin concludes.
Personally, I would also recommend a closed emitter design for heavy-duty use like police work and a direct mount that doesn’t require a plate. Insist on backup iron sights. Make sure your officers can, in fact, see the dot: Lt. Wayne Musgrove of the Suwannee County (FL) Sheriff’s Department got green dot Holosuns for all his deputies’ new FN 509 service pistols in part because one or more of them were color blind and couldn’t distinguish red dots. And, particularly in four-season climates, make sure de-fogger is applied regularly! The Cat Crap brand works well.
Training
There’s a learning curve with this technology. Make sure enough time and reps are invested; finding the dot is tougher for some than others. Some RDO instructors consider the following to be heresy, but I can only say, “Try it, and if it works, use it.”
The Press-Out Draw
Defined by the late Todd Louis Green, the press-out draw path looks like a capital letter “L” tipped over 90°. The short leg of the L is the initial rock and lock with muzzle on target and gun tight to the body like a retention technique, while the long part of the L is the extension toward the threat. This allows the sight to come to the eye sooner and more time to catch the aiming index. This draw also keeps the gun from hitting obstructions while seated and aids retention.
The Bridge Index
Optical dot sights work great on long guns because the shooter has the initial indices of the shoulder mount and a cheek weld when coming on target fast. With the gun arm locked, have the student find a spot where their jaw or cheek mates with the bicep of the gun arm when the pistol is perfectly on target. Coming up to that felt index of face and arm can speed the acquisition of the aiming dot or, for that matter, iron sights. The arm has to be fully extended for this to work.
The Vulture Technique
The head coming forward and down when shooting a handgun is derided by many as “derp” and “tactical turtle,” but it has its strong points. With red dot pistol optics, when your officers can’t find the dot, you’ve already discovered that it’s hiding “upward,” and the officer has to lower the muzzle slightly to see the dot. Have them bring their head forward and down like Snoopy pretending to be a vulture on top of his doghouse. Voila: They’ll find the dot that was hiding from them at 12 o’clock. This also puts them in the natural posture (head forward and down, ahead of shoulders, body weight forward) of fight or flight response as defined by Dr. Walter Cannon at Harvard Medical School more than a hundred years ago.
Finally, seek top training. When the department I retired from went to red dot sights on their duty pistols, they were delighted with the training they got from SIG Academy. I hear great things about the relevant training offered by our own Erick Gelhaus at CougarMountainSolutions.com. Chudwin teaches cops only at NEMRT.com.