Insights with Sticky Holsters: Pros and Cons of Optics on Handguns

Insights with Sticky Holsters

Pros and Cons of Optics on Handguns

Written by: Eric Rice

Technological advances often drive trends, movements or will completely change industries. The firearms industry is no different. In recent years the advances in optics, LED and Holographic sights, and scopes has exploded. All of the above seem to be getting lighter, more powerful, smaller and more durable. These technological advances have led to the popularity of handgun mounted optics. These optics can be either LED or holographic. I won’t get into the differences of these two, nor will I discuss the benefits of red vs. green optics in this article. There is a lot of information and opinions on both sides of the isle regarding optics on handguns. This article will simply outline some of the common agreed upon pros and cons of handgun optics.

PROs:

1. Faster sight acquisition– Having an optic allows the shooter to just focus on the reticle or dot. There is no front sight to line up between a rear sight while ensuring only the front sight is in focus. It is a single focus point versus two focal points and alignment.
2. Able to focus on the threat– In a self defense situation, we all would like to believe that we will acquire proper sight picture, sight alignment, front sight focus, and be able to analyze and make decisions all while being in fight or flight mode. The reality is you will most likely be point shooting because you will naturally be so focused on the life or death situation in front of you. The optic allows you to focus on the threat through the optic window and simply place the reticle over the threat and pull the trigger. The optic gives you that simplify things in a dynamic situation.
3. Easier for Shooters with vision problems– Shooters
4. Easier to track targets-
5. Easier to shoot at greater distances–
6. Easier to shoot both eyes open- give you more situational awareness and reduces eye fatigue–

CONs:

1. Housing/glass can break- The glass or optic itself can break. To increase combat effectiveness get co-witnessed iron sights.
2. Small movements have an exaggerated perception- Like shooting with a laser, small wiggles, movements or shakes are exaggerated and more noticeable.
3. In low light, a flashlight can wash out the reticle- in low light and no light situations, a bright flashlight can washout the reticle so it is not visible. This can obviously be catastrophic in a self defense situation.
4. Batteries- like anything that runs on a battery, the battery can die when you need it most.
5. Requires lots of time training to become proficient-
6. Can loose zero or have a shift in zero- This can be mitigated by buying quality, torture-tested optics with a good reputation for making optics that can take a beating.
7. Susceptible to the elements- dust block light transmitter/mud/rain/fog/snow can obscure the window. This will also make your co-witnessed iron sights unusable.

Let us know what you think about optics on handguns in the comments below.

Carry on and be safe.