Optical sights have been in use for various competitions for decades. Out of all these competitions, one of the most common is hunting. However, optical sights are now becoming more famous for defensive, tactical, non-competitive plinking use or target shooting.

So, instead of getting into the technologies of creating optical sights, let’s have an introduction with pistol optics. Let’s just discuss why you would need an optical sight, how to use one and how to get one on your valuable gun.

However, the trickiest part of using these optical sights is having the front sight accurately lined up with the rear sight. Then, you place these properly lined up optical sights on the target’s correct part. This is particularly important if your vision is impaired. Nevertheless, your eyes can only focus on a single plane at once, so a few things will definitely appear blurry.

Optical Sights Help In Precise Shooting

As you use an optical sight, you may aim at your target precisely and as easily as placing a reticle or red dot over the place you want the bullet to hit. You may directly focus on the area where your target is because the dot appears in the exact same focal plane. The vast majority of people find optical sights a great means to make their shooting process faster and a lot less prone to mistakes or errors.

Furthermore, there are several magnified options too. They are usually best for long-distance target shooting using hunting revolvers. However, astigmatism may make the dot to ‘star’, but the optical sight remains effective, indeed.

Also, you must be aware of the fact that you can fix both the optical sights and iron sights on the same gun. In the case optic fails, you may use iron sights as the backup such as in case of a dead battery. Moreover, iron sights are best zeroed separately. That means, each sighting system, even when used independently, gets the hit you need.

So, as you use one sighting system, you must ignore the other one and focus on one completely!

Currently, you may find many options to get an optical sight lined up on your gun. Following are some of the most common ways to do it. Regardless of which option seems more feasible, choose the one that best meets your shooting requirements.

Use an Adapter

You can mount the optic with the help of an adapter on your existing gun. The adapter simply glides into the dovetail or gets attached to the gun’s frame. This usually happens with the help of the accessory rail, below the barrel. The method is reversible and low-cost. However, it may result in a less favorable relationship between the barrel and the optic. This makes shooting of nearby targets challenging. This commonly happens due to the offset involving a point of impact and point of aim.

Get an Optic Installed

Alternatively, you may get the service that would mill your slide, accepting the optic, carving out material, enabling the optic to get installed. However, for this type of modification, make sure the gunsmith is experienced and professional. This is imperative to ensure the functionality and strength of the slide.

Buy the Gun With Added Support For Optical Sight

One easy option is to get a gun which offers the support to incorporate an optical sight. You may find them easily with Smith & Wesson C.O.R.E and Glock MOS lines. But you may still need to find the optical sight that you need, even though, many popular brands are supported by these models. The support is provided by mean of adapter plates which get fixed to the slide. Well, if you don’t have that gun already or don’t know much about these platforms, this is a downside. Still, it is a better option to go for than installing the optic support later.

Buy a Gun With Optical Sight

The most obvious way is to buy the gun that offers optical sight. The main manufacturer in this category is SIG Sauer P320 RX, or else, you may need to search for the entire gun package along with mounted optic, maybe from a traditional gunsmith or in second-hand market. However, most of the ‘race’ guns for competitive shooting and the ones which use optical sights are obtained from custom gunsmiths. The cost of these guns would range in thousands of dollars but you may also find some relatively cheaper.

In a nutshell, go with the optical sight option that best meets your shooting needs. Once chosen, it’s time to shoot precisely with optical sights while getting away from traditional irons.