IRONS vs OPTICS: Which is Best for Protectors?

Are old school iron sights obsolete? And are micro red dot optics the only way to go? 

Whether your background is military, law enforcement, or you're just a man or woman with a protector mindset and believe you can make a difference in a lethal situation—thinking about these things is something you probably do. And you're not alone. A well known warrior said, "Blessed be the Lord, my rock, who trains my hands for war and my fingers for battle."

Don't apologize, it's how you were made, and this is our safe space to discuss these things!

So, remember waaaayyyy back in those ancient times when your pistol didn't have a micro red dot sight? You had to depend on the basic fundamentals: stance, trigger control, follow-through, muscle memory, grip, guts, glory, and front sight focus. Crazy, right?

Ok, maybe you haven't yet changed over to micro red dot sights, or you've struggled in adapting to them. Read on for a quick breakdown and my opinion of what works best.

IRON SIGHTS / TRIED and TRUE: With irons sights you master the skill of shifting your focus between the target, the rear sights and the front sight—with your primary focus on the front sight. The challenge lies in the fact that our eyes aren't designed to focus on all three simultaneously. This means that within fractions of a second you're identifying your target—shoot or no shoot—then you're working on aligning your rear and front sight post with equal height and equal light. Of course, this difficulty is overcome by training. It's remarkable what the brain can achieve, and once you've mastered this, you develop the muscle memory to align those sights on target swiftly and reliably.

Another benefit of irons is if they're rugged MIL-spec combat sights, then they're very reliable. They offer a straightforward solution and there's not a lot to mess up. No batteries, no brightness adjustments, nor re-zeroing required. Additionally, iron sights on a small pistol enhance concealability and often provide greater comfort when carrying, especially when concealing a compact pistol under light clothing. If you're in a wet environment, get submerged or dirty, it's not a huge issue. You can shake it off and get back to work.

MICRO RED DOT SIGHTS / SUPERIOR Combat Vision: All those fundamentals of marksmanship are still crucial with a micro red dot sight, but with the MRDS you can have a better target-focus. With modern pistol mounted MRDS, once you develop a different muscle memory you can keep your focus on your threat and superimpose that red dot on the target. Yes, I said a "different muscle memory" and that's because when an iron sight shooter changes to red dots, it just isn't that easy at first. For those who have transitioned to red dots, you know what I mean—it's not like playing a first-person shooter video game. All that said, the fundamentals are still the same. And even better still, its easier to keep both eyes open with a MRDS. Keeping both eyes open in a defensive situation is preferable to squinting or closing one eye to make an accurate shot. With both eyes open you have better peripheral vision and superior spatial awareness of threats and surroundings. Once you've learned this system a red dot is superior in so many ways.

But there is a downside to MRDS. Because its a more complicated system there can be some inherent problems and challenges. Until you get the muscle memory down, you might find yourself "chasing" that red dot. I've worked with so many shooters who can't find their dot on the draw and they start moving the gun around trying to find it—not a good problem in a gun fight! Other issues include that the mounting plate or screws can sometimes loosen, affecting the zero of the sight. The sight window can become obscured if in a dirty or wet enviroment. And the battery will definitely wear out eventually.

These challenges are mitigated by changing out the battery every six months and using an optic with a solar panel—which supplements the power of the optic with ambient light sources (my preferred choice). In law enforcement training, we teach using back-up iron sights, or using another index point for aiming, such as the top edge of the slide (works well with a Glock) or indexing that line between the slide and the grip frame to your target. Not perfect, but it works in an up close defensive situation.

Understand, pistol-mounted optics have come a long way in their reliability. My agency has been transitioning all officers to MRDS guns. I was an early adopter and have been running them on my own duty guns for the last 4-5 years and love them. They're a game changer for better target identification, spatial awareness... and for aging eyes—I don't need those giant high-definition front sights anymore! (Don't judge me, it'll eventually happen to you too!)

Another example is if you're a combat or defensive long gun shooter; would you ever go back to iron sights once you've used red dots? I didn't think so.

The fact is, I want to be proficient—and I mean really good— at both irons and red dots. My preference? Well, for me, it's all about the mission. If I'm on the street at night working with Patrol, the red dot on a duty gun is what I run. If I'm using a duty-sized gun for covert security situations and especially with a lot of threat/no-threat variables, I will always go with a red dot. It's just faster and more accurate. However, there are times when I'm carrying just for personal defense. For instance, there are times in Phoenix when I am wearing light clothing in summer months and I need something really small. And there are times when I Just "don't feel like carrying" — but come on, I can't turn off my protector mindset. In those situations, I'm "going slick" and carrying a subcompact with irons all day—all the way. I train with both systems and know what kind of work I can do from 10 yards and in.

So, the bottom line? I change it up for the mission priority. How about you?  Irons all day all the way? Or do you change it up and run optics? I'd love to hear what you do for your mission.