Some things remain the same with an optic-equipped pistol; some things change. One of the changes happens in your presentation. The change happens because, unlike with traditional iron sights, we no longer have the luxury of our peripheral version correcting the pistol’s alignment, orientation as it comes up. Let me walk you through the start of the presentation and the changes to it. Count #1 - Grip. Nothing changes with how we have taught it. A good grip, high on the backstrap, with your trigger finger outside of the holster, indexed for the frame/slide interface. You have released … [Read more...]
BATTLESIGHT ZERO (BZO) Who has it right?
A BZO (Battlesight zero) is the sight settings placed on your rifle for combat. In combat, your rifle’s BZO setting will enable engagement of point targets from 0–300 yards/meters in a no wind condition.” - Marine Corps Reference Publication 3-01A Rifle Marksmanship Or Battlesight zero: A sight setting that soldiers keep on their weapons. It provides the highest probability of hitting most high-priority combat targets with minimum adjustment to the aiming point, a 250 meter sight setting as on the M16A1 rifle, and a 300 meter sight setting as on the M16A2 rifle.” - Department of Army Field … [Read more...]
“Jam” is something I put on my toast.
It is common for shooters to state that their gun is “jamming.” Without sounding like a real a$$hole, Jam is something I put on my toast. Words have meanings, in this instance it is always important to use correct terminology so that we can properly diagnose problems with firearms. There are Malfunctions and Stoppages, per Marine Corps MCRP 3-01A & B and Army TM 9-1005-319-10 the definition of each are: Malfunction occurs when a part of the rifle fails to operate according to the Specification. Anytime a rifle has a Malfunction it will need to be fixed by an armorer or a qualified … [Read more...]
RED DOT SIGHTS – Vision and Focus
What you see and how you see it are two of the things that change when you make the switch from traditional sights to a pistol mounted optic (PMO). With traditional sights, iron sights, your eyes look at three distances at once – rear sight, front sight, and the threat (target). With firearms, we’ve taught to look through the rear sight at the front sight blade – that’s where we want our eyes to focus – and then put those sights in the blurry center of whatever we are trying to hit. While you can successfully maintain your focus on the front sight during a confrontation, many will find … [Read more...]
Red Dot Sights Continued
Currently, there are five types of mounts out there for pistol optic mounts (PMO): Dovetail, direct mill, OEM plates, aftermarket slides, or an aftermarket cut & mount system. The first one we had was a dovetail mount, which replaces the rear sight in the dovetail. Of the slide-mounted systems, these have been around the longest. Initially, they are the least expensive way to put an optic on a pistol you already own. My first optic, an Insights MRDS on a 1911, was done like this in 2010. It puts the optic pretty high up. As a result, it can be challenging to acquire the dot on … [Read more...]
