fknauss wrote:I've never shot a red dot (yet) so I don't know. But it seems that if someone chooses red dots because they help him shoot better than with irons, that it might warrant a separate category.
(Apologies for the gendered pronoun. I'm not up to dealing with the english today.)
I understand the concern, and I've researched this a number of times -- using Firing Line, Smith & Wesson forum, NRA rule books, local club rules, Bullseye-L forum, and many others.
The conventional pistol matches I've looked over all now seem to allow red dots in the same division as iron sights.
Here's one quote from the Firing Line forum:
"For NRA or CMP indoor bullseye shooting today, you'll see 5 red-dots on the line for every "iron-sight" guy. I think that aging eyes have a lot to do with that."
And this is from Bullseye expert John Dreyer:
"...in this game of bullseye shooting, I have seen more military shooters over the past 15 years at all of the big matches using the basic UltraDot model [red-dot] than any other sight - and without question, these guys are truly the pros of the sport."
The NRA prohibition on "electronic sights" applies to lasers.
Even so, if participation in our matches increases, and members feel strongly about the issue, I will either take a poll or post a new topic for discussion. I'm open to any sensible changes if they're needed/wanted. Right now, I don't think participation is high enough to warrant another two divisions (red dot for both rimfire and centerfire).
Please keep posting thoughts and opinions on this question.