Red Dot vs Iron Sight for Pistols: Advantages and Disadvantages of Each

When customizing your pistol, you need to understand how the choice between red dot vs. iron sights can impact your shooting. While we carry some of the best red dot sights on the market, not everyone is a believer in modern optics, and in some cases, their criticism has some truth behind it. That doesn’t mean, however, that you won’t benefit from a precision optic on your weapon. Let’s take a look at how traditional sights fare against modern innovation, what you may be missing out on by not upgrading, and when those iron sights might be a better choice after all.

Performance vs. Proven Track Record

Before we start comparing red dot vs. iron sights, let’s talk about what each is. While experienced shooters have likely heard the terms plenty over the years, new gun owners or those who aren’t familiar with optics advancements may need a primer or refresher.

• Iron Sights – This catch-all term usually refers to the sights that came with your gun, although there are some upgraded iron sights out there. They can be fixed or adjustable, may be upgraded with special paints, fiber optic or glowing inserts, or be modified to have a different iron sight type. The most common is a notched rear sight or peep circle that may or may not be adjustable for windage and a blade near the end of your barrel or slide.
• Red Dot Sights – These modern optical sights affix to the top strap of your revolver or slide of your pistol and use a powerful LED emitter to project a red dot onto a lens, overlaying an aiming point or reticle on your target. Top-of-the-line red dots can have an array of energy-saving features, potential adjustments, and different forms to fit an individual shooter’s needs.

How They Stack Up – Red Dot Sights vs. Iron Sights Head-to-Head

The only way to really evaluate a long-time champion vs. a challenger for the title is to match them up and let them duke it out. While neither of these types of sights is going anywhere anytime soon, different shooters may have different needs at the range, on duty, or when carrying a pistol for self-defense. We’ve broken performance down into a few key categories to help you make a decision about the best red dot or iron sight potions for your custom gun.

Accuracy and Precision

Perhaps the most important decision when choosing how to aim your gun is whether or not you can hit what you’re aiming for and how close together you can put out shot groupings. Long-time users of iron sights already know this is done by carefully moving your sight between three visual planes: the back sight, the front sight, and the target. After identifying the target, you line your front sight up on the aiming point, then line your back sight up–notch or peep– on the tip of your front sight, verify the front sight is still on the target aim point, and then squeeze the trigger. A misalignment at any of these planes can send your shot wide. 

Choosing a red dot vs. iron sight eliminates one of these planes entirely while also making it easier for your eye to navigate the remaining two. With only the optic lens–or rather, its overlaid image–and the target, your eye has less navigation. With the right reticle and brightness adjustment, you can focus primarily on the target, ensuring the reticle overlay is centered on your point of aim, and fire round after round confidently once your optic is zeroed in. This gives you repeatable marksmanship results that make it easier for many shooters to put our tight groups accurately.

Target Acquisition and Recognition

The bright reticle on a red dot sight vs. an iron sight’s low-contrast front and back sight makes lining up your shots with a high degree of confidence quicker. This can help you get shots off faster when they matter most, but the frame of the lens on even the best red dot sights comes with a drawback. Frequently made of aluminum, steel, or another metal, they can occlude areas around your target, potentially making it difficult to verify the situational surroundings.

Iron sights, on the other hand, often give you a wide-open view of the target, its surroundings, and your surroundings. There are large window red dots that offer a wider field of view, but if you can’t stand anything blocking out the edges of your sight window, then they may not be for you.

Size and Carrying Ability

This all comes down to personal preference, but we wanted to mention it because we know a lot of our customers intend to either open carry or carry concealed in accordance with their local gun laws. When it comes to iron sights vs. red dot sights, what you see is what you get. Your iron sights are engineered to fit in tight to the gun, and manufacturers have worked hard to not only make them more friendly for carrying without compromising their utility but also worked with holster manufacturers to create carry systems that reduce the likelihood of a snag or bind while drawing the weapon.

Red dot vs. iron sights come with a slight increase in added bulk, but the optic is often mounted far enough back to not impede most holsters. The best red dot sights are designed with features meant to make them easier to carry and use, like the Shake-to-Awake technology of Gideon optics or window designs that offer curves that are less likely to make carrying uncomfortable or likely to snag clothes. 

Reliability

Iron sights have no (or few) moving parts, don’t require batteries, and have only limited adjustments that can “slip”. They’re a simple tool that you can rely on to work every draw as long as you can clearly see them and your target.

With red dot sights, a dead battery can ruin your day, and more features theoretically mean more opportunities for something to go wrong. In practice, the best red dot sights will be powered by a premium battery and feature energy-saving systems that can extend the service life of a single high-quality button cell up to 50,000 hours. That’s a little over five years under optimal conditions, during which time a battery change can be made part of your regular maintenance. Choosing a reputable optics brand can also go a long way toward ensuring you’re getting a sight that is well-engineered, manufactured from quality materials, and performs appropriately for years to come.

Durability

While it’s true that iron sights don’t have a lens to crack or emitter to knock out of alignment, they can be bent, dinged, and otherwise damaged. Unfortunately, when that happens, they may not be repairable, forcing you into an expensive slide replacement or a quest to find an experienced gunsmith.

Red dot sights have more that can go wrong, but top-tier manufacturers put a lot of engineering into producing optics that are real-world-ready. With hard-coated lenses, solid-state engineering, and aircraft-grade aluminum or titanium housing, they can handle the everyday use and abuse of the field just fine.

Cost

One big difference between red dot vs. iron sights is the cost. After all, in most cases, your gun came with the iron sights already on it. If not, a set of simple metal-only iron sights for your gun offers immediate usability and minimal expense. The best red dot sights, on the other hand, can set you back several hundred dollars, but for many shooters, it’s a small price to pay for better scores and increased confidence when they use their weapon.

Customize Your Pistol With Quality Parts

When you’re ready to find the best red dot sights for your gun, we have you covered with some of the most popular tactical optics from the top industry brands. Sign up for our email newsletter to make sure you get the heads-up on special deals, promotions, and new product releases. Order your gun parts and accessories from JSD Supply today.