Ive shot my reddot equipped AR at 200 and 300 yards.  Was able to hold a high power aiming black without much issue shooting prone with a sling.  Have the dot zeroed at 50 yards, 200 was pretty much dead on, 300 slightly low.  600 had to switch to back up irons. (rear is a KAC).  At 100 impact is slightly high.

so pretty much zero to 300 yards the red dot is usable.

Ive shot my reddot equipped AR at 200 and 300 yards.  Was able to hold a high power aiming black without much issue shooting prone with a sling.  Have the dot zeroed at 50 yards, 200 was pretty much dead on, 300 slightly low.  600 had to switch to back up irons. (rear is a KAC).  At 100 impact is slightly high.

so pretty much zero to 300 yards the red dot is usable.

Sounds pretty close to my experience.  Dot and irons zeroed to 50/200.  Hits on torso sized targets pretty easy out to around 300 ish.  Just need to keep in mind variation from zero at the different distances (like you said), but for a target say 12" x 12" or so, not that big of a deal out to 300. That was a big part of the fun when there was steel at Koko Head! 

There used to be that one big plate in a little valley at around 440-450.  Hits with a 1x red dot was still easy once you figured out the holdover, but seeing the plate at that distance sometimes was a challenge since it was in a shaded part.  I'm sure hits out further is definitely doable, but for me more limited by what I can see without magnification at that distance. 

1) You tend to focus on the rear sight?  Not sure what you intended with "I can see the rear sight or the front in focus but not both", but most average humans can't do that. 

What I meant was my eyes have gotten worse over the years and with contacts it gets even harder to do even see the sight that is out of focus. So if I focus on the rear I cannot see the front well enough to place it properly in line with the rear. And if I focus on the front, I can't see the notch in the rear well enough to place the sight properly.

2) I've shot semi-autos with red dots, like RMR and Deltapoint, but just can't get myself to spend that kind of money to equip one of my handguns with one.  They are pretty quick once you get used to them.  Yeah, it would look funny to put a RDS on say an older SA revolver, but I'd have no issues really.

I don't have any SA revolvers but I have some older doubles that just are not set up for mounting a red dot. And the no drill solutions are awkward looking and handling at best. As a matter of fact I inherited one double from my father and took the mount and red dot off the gun completely. It was ridiculous. I buy mid priced red dots in the $150-$200 range usually with 2 or 3 MOA dots. I found 4 MOA is too big for my taste. If I could find a reasonable priced red dot with 1 MOA I would try it on my AR. I also own a couple of cheap red dot sights ($20-$60) which are going to get replaced some day as they are not worth the money I spent. But as cheap and crappy as they are I can shoot pretty well with them.

3) In my opinion, red dots on long guns, like ARs and AKs, are excellent for the 50-100 yard range.  Even further out to 200+ish range to a certain extent.  Not sure which red dot you were using, but I have 2 MOA Aimpoints and used to have a 1 MOA EoTech. Another trick you can try is using the top edge of the dot.  That is assuming the dot doesn't look like a sunburst.  If you ever want to shoot any of my ARs with red dots, I will be happy to bring them out to the range one day.  10" diameter targets at 100 yards should be super easy.  I mean don't expect super tight groups, but consistent hits on that size target should be no problems.

My red dot sight on my last AR project (sold it) is a 2 MOA. I still have the sight awaiting another gun to attach it to. I would like to try an AR out to 100 yards with a 1 and 2 MOA dot so I can see the difference. I don't expect tight groups with a red dot either but I do expect consistent results. If the dot covers the target circle completely then I have to try your trick putting the dot at the bottom of the circle. Thanks for the suggestions and the offer.

Some day I will take you up on your offer. Thanks!!! 

can't focus on 2 planes at the same time

1) What I meant was my eyes have gotten worse over the years and with contacts it gets even harder to do even see the sight that is out of focus. So if I focus on the rear I cannot see the front well enough to place it properly in line with the rear. And if I focus on the front, I can't see the notch in the rear well enough to place the sight properly.

I don't have any SA revolvers but I have some older doubles that just are not set up for mounting a red dot. And the no drill solutions are awkward looking and handling at best. As a matter of fact I inherited one double from my father and took the mount and red dot off the gun completely. It was ridiculous. I buy mid priced red dots in the $150-$200 range usually with 2 or 3 MOA dots. I found 4 MOA is too big for my taste. If I could find a reasonable priced red dot with 1 MOA I would try it on my AR. I also own a couple of cheap red dot sights ($20-$60) which are going to get replaced some day as they are not worth the money I spent. But as cheap and crappy as they are I can shoot pretty well with them.

2) My red dot sight on my last AR project (sold it) is a 2 MOA. I still have the sight awaiting another gun to attach it to. I would like to try an AR out to 100 yards with a 1 and 2 MOA dot so I can see the difference. I don't expect tight groups with a red dot either but I do expect consistent results. If the dot covers the target circle completely then I have to try your trick putting the dot at the bottom of the circle. Thanks for the suggestions and the offer.

Some day I will take you up on your offer. Thanks!!! 

1) Ahh.  Got it.  You can't even see the rear sight when you focus on the front sight?  Wow!  That might be a challenge.  I can see how a RDS on a handgun would really help in that case. 

2) I've seen some RDS that are in the 7-10 MOA range, but never shot them much.  Those size dots with some haze I could see covering a 10" diameter circle.  The 1 MOA dot on the EoTech was pretty awesome and to me it was super clear and not much haze around the perimeter of the dot itself.  Yeah, definitely should expect consistent results, particularly with good quality red dots.  You don't necessarily put the dot on the bottom of the target circle.  I typically put the top of the dot on the POA if I want to try for tighter accuracy. I typically only do that when trying to test the accuracy of the given rifle and optic combination, which isn't often.  I typically like to verify the mechanical capability of the setup, before I put my "human factor" in there. 

Have you tried a red dot with a long gun? 

I see two red dots these days, so I'm not a fan.

I see two red dots these days, so I'm not a fan.

You shoot quite well with irons, at least from what I recall. 

Any idea on cause of the double vision? 

As always, you can always try any of my guns that have red dots.  They have irons too.   

My body is beginning to betray me. I find myself making "old man complaints" with increasing frequency. The onset of presbyopia, some astigmatism, finding myself increasingly prone to joint injuries, a general diminishing of my overall flexibility... I'm thinking that I need to learn some new techniques. Without admitting to any bad habits, I can see that the good habits which have carried me this far may not be enough to keep me at par as the years march on.

   Welcome to "The Club"        
 

It's early on Friday morning and I was contemplating the title of this thread, "Building Skills and breaking bad habits"

So I read the last few posts by friends Tom and Rocky lamenting about the onset of aging.
Then I think about my last practice session a few days ago where it seems like I had a noticeably harder time focusing my eyes on ANYTHING....front sight, rear sight, target.

So here is a question for y'all-

At what point in your life do you resign yourself to the fact that your skill level ain't getting any better, and in fact, will only degrade as the clock keeps ticking?
When do you realize that the techniques you have been using all these years are now considered "bad habits"?

For myself nowadays, I just practice to try and keep what little skill is remaining, and not hurt myself in the process.

It's early on Friday morning and I was contemplating the title of this thread, "Building Skills and breaking bad habits"

I actually got a different mental image from the topic title ...

Hopefully not quite there yet, but can feel the eye sight issue creeping in more and more.  Many years back, a shooting friend (also instructor) recommended some eye exercises to help with the focusing issue.  As you age, your eyes gradually lose the ability to transition focal planes quickly.  So you can do some exercises.  One is to focus on something say 1 foot away, then transition to something say 10 feet away, repeat.  Maybe 2 years ago, my eye doctor started talking about eventually having to need reading glasses.  So far, I've done without just fine and I think the eye exercises have helped.  I view it as a "keep what you've got" than improving anything. 

There was a guy that I shot with in SRGC that couldn't focus on the front sight of his AR. I don't recall the reason.  Anyways, he's a really avid shotgunner and he would say that he pretty much point shoots when shooting clays.  He would do that while shooting paper as well and he actually shot pretty good.  While I wouldn't recommend anyone doing that by choice, I would say that it seemed to work for him given his capabilities. 

One thing I will add about the age thing that some of you might experience like I do. Eye floaters:

http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/eye-floaters/basics/definition/con-20033061

Mine occurred at KHSC while shooting my 8mm Yugo M48 Mauser with full power loads. One shot is all it took and now I have floaters in my right eye. At first it was really annoying. I don't notice them much any more except when I am trying to focus on the front sight sometimes I see one moving around in my eye.

One thing I will add about the age thing that some of you might experience like I do. Eye floaters:

============
I have floaters...more like Matson cargo ships in a sea of tapioca pudding 

Lasik surgery might help many focusing problems.

One thing I will add about the age thing that some of you might experience like I do. Eye floaters:

http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/eye-floaters/basics/definition/con-20033061

Mine occurred at KHSC while shooting my 8mm Yugo M48 Mauser with full power loads. One shot is all it took and now I have floaters in my right eye. At first it was really annoying. I don't notice them much any more except when I am trying to focus on the front sight sometimes I see one moving around in my eye.

One of my best friends told me about floaters.  He had me do this test and I guess I have some, but apparently he has lots.  Thing is he's maybe 3 years younger than I am. 

Lasik surgery might help many focusing problems.

Same buddy that I mentioned above had Lasik maybe 3-4 years ago.  His vision overall has been pretty good since.  He's almost 40, which I'm told is usually around the time focusing issues start being noticeable.  I'll have to ask him if Lasik helped in his case.