I only have/had 3 red dots:
$70 - Black Friday sale 50k hour primary arms red
$? - Bushnell that I think I gave to a friend
$? - generic rds that came with a Ruger mark 3
I never really thought much about a budget for a red dot for HD longarm until now…..since 2 of 3 kids are out of the house and my son is turning 18 soon. My current HD is a light, pepper spray and a machete.
I think if I were to buy a rds, I would likely get a refurbished vortex since I believe they have lifetime warranty (not sure). I think they are about $120 or less on AAoptics…refurbished…..when in stock….so that would be my budget if I were to buy an another rds.
I guess I don’t really train cause
- low probability of an incident with a stranger - we have high windows(post/pier, not on slab), have 2 dogs, thieves tend to go for low hanging fruit….check if doors are unlocked, attacks are more likely from family/friend, we don’t drink, we never invite people to our home cause our home looks like it is from the series “Hoarders”
- time (have other interests and family/grandson)
- none of my other fellow friend preppers train HD. I think I would go to HD training if my friends went and asked if I wanted to join them
- cost - sort of….but not really. I would pay for training if my friends wanted to go
Why don’t I take out the HD longarms more often
- I’m not saving the long gun. I view them as toys/tools that are relatively easy to replace
- my friends and don’t really care for shooting paper….we like trap….i consider our shotguns more as range toys ….none have lights or slings. But I’m considering putting a light and a sling on a 24” mossy 930.
- we tend to bring out the HD long arms (ar9 and/or ar556) only when we are bringing family/friends. It’s a twofer. They get to try a HD longarm and we get to check function.
- none of the guns or ammo are readily available for HD. Everything is locked 40’ away. So I previously never considered training for what I can’t readily access. For now it’s just a light, pepper spray and a machete…..and the only training for those is when I have to do yard work
I think if I keep an easily accessible long arm in the bedroom, I’ll be more inclined to do long arm training
When I first got into firearms, I had read about using the silhouette of a hand gun to aim at close range….I think it was developed by the Texas rangers….so I sort of apply that to iron sights on a long gun…..using my light to aim for quick close shots. But yes, it is not ideal for accuracy or distance.
Saw this on lucky gunner. Different instructors. For pistols. Crude aiming.
I found the primary arms rds, I’ll mount it on the AR9 when the AR9 moves into the bedroom and I put up a lockable rack. Don’t think that we really need a rds…..but since we already have it sitting in the closet
Just wondering. In HD shootings in the last 10 years, how many used a rds? Or had to deal with avoiding the shooting of a gg in a close contact situation? (HD, not active shooter scenario)
I’ve sort of thought that a rds would shine on a pistol for an active shooter situation where the distance is further and the bg is carrying an ar/ak around a mall or parking lot. A rds could make a big difference on a pistol in an active shooter situation if the gg trained with it and he can engage a bg that is static, isn’t behind cover and hasn’t seen the gg and is not trained. If I was a bg and had an ar/ak and a gg missed me with a pistol, I probably would fire on the gg while running up on him. I think the odds would favor the hi cap rifle over a lo cap pistol. It would have to be better than letting the gg maneuver to another spot and shooting at me again….getting pinched by a gg in back and police in front
The cops could shoot me with a rifle as I try to roll the gg with the pistol…..but I don’t think cops train to shoot a hit a moving target that is staying as low as possible while running behind cars…so odds are I can dump the gg. Or at least do a 1 for 1
That said, has a private citizen ccw holder with a pistol ever tried to engage a bg with an ar/ak? Most of the stories I read about, the gg who engages the big has an ar….and gg’s with handguns tend to help other people get away or are ready to defend if the bg heads towards them
Right now the biggest concerns to me are (in no particular order)
high blood pressure
high AIC
Settling my dad’s estate
Setting up a trust for our assets
College for the last kid
Preparing to help buy a 3rd home for the last kid
Those are issues that have 100% probability.
A homeowner dealing with:
- a bg that has death wish to engage a homeowner armed with a long arm
- and also dealing with a family member being in a close range scenario
Is a very low probability….so that is why I don’t train for that.
I read that for people who live in a home with guns, the chance of getting killed is 50 to 100% higher compared to a home without guns
https://amp.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/apr/07/guns-handguns-safety-homicide-killing-studyCome to think of it….on Lanai, all the killings I recall involved someone the victim knew
- our neighbor shot and killed his wife with a 22 before committing suicide (getting divorce)
- an underage girl and a 25ish yo guy…..suicides by firearm
- a guy I knew shot a couple of hotel workers who were loud late at night. I think 2 were killed and he committed suicide
- a guy that I worked with, his younger brother killed his cousin’s husband in a fight.
- my friend’s dad was killed at his garden/farm. Love triangle.
- I only recall 1 death that was not suicide, not murder, not natural/disease/drugs……a guy was running after a deer and didn’t realize it had jumped over a bush with a cliff behind it….the guy fell to his death. Sounds surreal. I still think someone is pulling my leg
Aww poop. I’m going to do a flip flap and not keep a readily accessible firearm in the house. Everything is staying locked up in safes.
Cause my wife is full Filipino. I’m only half. So it’s twice as likely she will shoot me versus me shooting her.
I’m hiding the machete too. And put a lock on cutlery drawer. :-)
But seriously, I’m just going to stay with pepper spray.
My HD long arms are really for some peace of mind if a hurricane hits Oahu. Cause it will be pretty chaotic for a while….my friend has attended joint meeting with the various gov agencies and utilities and he was pretty surprised at how uncoordinated/unorganized they are. I would think we would learn from decades of watching Florida get smashed.