The fundamentals of marksmanship have several pillars: grip, stance, sight alignment and picture, breath control, hold and trigger control, and follow-through. While all of these are crucial for developing the skills to safely, accurately, and repeatably place shots on target, a red dot system can be an invaluable tool for achieving sight alignment and picture. But what exactly are sight alignment and sight picture, and how can a red dot system help?
Sight alignment refers to the proper positioning of an aiming device to hit a chosen point of impact, while sight picture is what a shooter see when his sights are properly aligned. Traditionally, most firearms are manually aimed through their iron sights. Proper sight alignment is achieved (on an AR15-type rifle, for example) by lining up the rear sight aperture with the front sight post.
The National Rifle Association teaches the technique using an easy-to-remember idiom: "equal height, equal light," which aptly describes the actions needed to achieve proper sight alignment. In essence, “equal height” refers to the even alignment across the tops of the front and rear sights, while “equal light” refers to the equal empty spaces between either side of the front sight when placed inside of the rear sight. The greater the distance between the rear and front sight, the more accurate the shooter will be. This is one of the many reasons long-barreled rifles are used for precision, long-range shooting.
Sight picture complements sight alignment to ensure the shooter’s accuracy. Once the shooter achieves "equal height and equal light,” he selects a spot on the target to shoot and orients the aligned sights to that spot. Before the shooter can break the shot, he may need to adjust his focus. The human eye can only focus on one object at a time, and with iron sights, either the front sights, rear sights, or target will be blurry. There are many schools of thought regarding the priority of front-sight or target focus, but all universally agree that rear-sight focus is not desirable.
Sounds complicated? It may be at first, but with hands-on practice on the range, the techniques of sight alignment and sight picture will become clearer and easier for any shooter. After lots of practice and repetition, this act becomes almost subconscious, allowing the shooter to effectively place rounds on target without much investment in time or thought.
A red dot system is an electronic device that produces a digital reference point for the shooter, replacing iron sights and eliminating the need for sight alignment. Isn't technology GREAT? Instead of a front sight and rear sight, the single aiming point is an illuminated dot, often red, although manufacturers like Sightmark (www.sightmark.com) offer reticles in alternate colors such as green. As a competitive shooter, I primarily use the Ultra Shot Reflex Sight (R-Spec) red dot system, which offers reticles in both red and green, as well as four different versions/shapes ranging from single dots to dots superimposed in a crosshair or large circle. My preference is the green 5MOA dot reticle for most matches; however, I will switch to the 3MOA dot within the 50MOA crosshairs when the stage may require shots longer than 50 yards or when the target arrays encourage flat and fast transitions, a technique called "tracking the A-Zone."
Red dot systems are used on a range of firearms, including handguns used in personal protection. The fundamentals of shooting must be followed to ensure accurate placement of shots on target. Given these two realities, the utility of the red dot system lies in the simplification of the sight alignment process, allowing the person using the firearm to proceed directly to the sight picture process. This time-saving aspect is significant in self-defense situations where time is limited, and stress inhibits a person's fine motor skills. The ability to index the firearm on target and have a positive confirmation of alignment can be the difference-maker in such situations. The reality is that, in high-stress situations, everyone reverts to the lowest level of training, and any device that can improve a person's ability to react effectively is worth the investment and shouldn't be considered as hype.