Practice with irons first.
G17 vs G19x vs G19
- Thread starter jska
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Average Joe
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I would start with irons. But keep in mind this is coming from someone who started shooting many years before red dots were a thing.
Irons!
Is this the first handgun you have? If so, then yeah, learn those irons first, but it not, then I’ll go against the grain and say, put a dot on it right away and spend your time on that.
Also, I’d almost suggest even if it is your first pistol. Shoot that dot first. If you can shoot a dot, you can shoot irons. The reverse is not true though.
Carlos Danger
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If you learn to shoot using a good target-focused technique, it really doesn't matter which you get comfortable with first because once you learn that technique you'll be able to switch between irons and dots pretty seamlessly. I think a dot probably makes it easier to learn (I'll explain why below), but you can learn it just fine with irons.
Until very recently, almost everyone learned to shoot irons with a "front-sight focused" technique and then to use a "target-focused" technique when using a dot. In theory it shouldn't be difficult to switch between these two techniques, but in practice it's often very hard for folks used to using a front sight-focused technique to learn to get comfortable using a dot because the point of focus is completely different. Lots of folks have learned to shoot really well using a hard front-sight focus and it is still commonly taught, although for defensive shooting at least, it really is an outdated technique. The target-focused technique allows for better situational awareness and makes transitioning between different sighting systems easier.
A front-sight focused technique is where you focus intently on your front sight and allow the target to be in the background of your vision and the rear sight to be in the foreground of your vision. Once you've practiced enough to get a good consistent presentation, your rear sights will pretty much automatically line up aside your front sights.
A target-focused technique (or "threat-focused") is basically the only way to use a dot, and fortunately it works well with irons also even though most of us didn't learn to use it with irons. What it means is that your focus is on your target, and while focusing on the target you simply place the dot between your eye and the target, right on the spot where you want the bullet to land.
With either irons or a dot, a good consistent presentation is really critical and dry fire practice at home is probably the best way to build that. I think using a dot is probably a better way to learn because without a good presentation you simply won't see your dot, so you'll know for sure if your presentation is lined up or not. You can do the same thing with irons, I just think its a little easier with a dot.
Once you get to where you can consistently present your pistol with the dot landing right over your target, just can turn the dot off and practice with irons, imagining that the tip of the front site IS the dot and practice the same way.