Red Dot ? POA vs POI

[igolfat8]

I have a FF III on my G22. If I "see" the red dot anywhere in the window does that mean that will be the POI or does the dot have to be held as close as possible in the center of the window?

Edited May 13, 2014 by igolfat8

[pjb45]

The Red Dot will denoted the POI. It does not have to be centered in the window-in my experience.

[Jakobi]

If you see the dot, that's where the bullet is going. I don't know of a dot or other 1x holosight that works any other way.

-Jake

[Alan550]

Some red-dot sights have some parallax (image displacement) near the edges of the window, so check for that before assuming it's still accurate away from the center.

Alan~^~

[bountyhunter]

I have a FF III on my G22. If I "see" the red dot anywhere in the window does that mean that will be the POI or does the dot have to be held as close as possible in the center of the window?

There is a distortion error as you move the dot toward the edges of the field but it is typically a small error. The dots I bought had specs for that.

[pjb45]

At Limited 10/Open Nationals in MT, they set a bunch of head shots really close with either hard cover or no shoots. A lot of guys forgot that a really close ranges, the POI was actually lower than the POA.

It is important to know the distance you sight in your red dot and how it impacts the POI at the extremes (close or far).

I only shot a C-More, so my experience is limited, but I remember Mike Seeklander once saying, "red on brown pull the trigger"

in other words your reaction time with a red dot should be quicker than with an iron sight.

[phidelt208]

On my red dots the RMR and Leupolds it really doesn't matter what angle your looking at, the dots on it the bullets go there.

There is always that Offset at close ranges of course.

Edited May 14, 2014 by phidelt208

[Moltke]

Two things seem to be happening - the dot moves around because your not behind it perfectly or the gun has movement.

This is fine and the dot is going to show you where the bullet impacts once you zero.

There is also a small offset you need to take into account for any sight system.

For irons on a pistol it is generally so close that it doesn't matter.

For an optic on a rifle such as red dot on an AR, it can be as much as 3 inches.

Measure your height over bore by shooting at point blank distance.

See how far below your exact point of aim the bullet hits.

That is your maximum offset.

Realize as your bullet leaves the barrel it is rising to intersect your line of sight at whatever distance you zero for.

10 yards is a more rapid rise than 25 yards, or 50 yards. (Generally a good idea to zero at the maximum distance you'll ever shoot with the gun.)

For extreme close range shooting realize that you may have a small holdover if there is a high precision requirement for the shot.

For almost all pistol shooting that you'll ever have to do in the USPSA, IDPA, 3 Gun sports, all that information will be irrelevant.

Good luck and have fun!

[mese341]

it shouldnt have to be centered

[SeanN]

The dot does not have to be centered in the sight. There is always some parallax although many red dot sights have it minimized. Even sights advertised as "parallax free" simply are not, they have just so little that it's almost always negligable. The amount of parallax also decreases as you shoot at targets farther away with a red dot.

So basically, if the dot is on the target and you do your part, you will hit it regardless of if the dot is centered in the sight.