What Is A Red Dot Co-Witness?

With a lot of people running around with shiny new red dots recently bought for their brand spanking AR platforms we thought we would do a brief overview of best use practices for red dots. We will go over stuff like what is a Co-witness and how best to set that up. What distance to sight in at and why. We even go over how to look through a red dot and why it matters.

Co-Witness : What Is It?

At its core, a co-witness is basically a double verification that you are on target. You will see your Back Up Iron Sights (BUIS) through the red dot, having the red dot reticle sit in the cradle of your front sight or slightly above depending on which co-witness style you choose. When sighted correctly this means that both the red dot and the BUIS are on target. The benefit of this is that if something happens to your sight, like your red dot runs out of batteries or your dot washes out in a bright situation, then you still have your iron sights to aim with. We never suggest to run a red dot without a back up of some description for this reason. You can use lasers, BUIS or over the top Fiber Optics as your back up.

How Do I Set Up My Red Dot For A Co-Witness?

This is a relatively easy process assuming you already have iron sights or flip sights that you trust. That is the first step, so if you do not have iron sights then get some and make sure they are zeroed correctly. As mentioned before do not leave your protection completely to a battery powered device, so iron sights are worth having for various reasons.

Once you are happy with your flip up/ Iron sights zero then add your chosen red dot/holographic/ Reflex sight. Now you have a decision to make. Do you want an absolute co witness or a lower third co witness.

Whats the Difference Between ABSOLUTE and LOWER THIRD Co Witness?

This is just deciding where to put your dot in relation to your front sight. We like ours to line up exactly with the iron sights. This is called absolute co witness. Some people prefer to have the red dot to line up ABOVE the BUIS. This is called lower third co-witness and they do this is for a few reasons:

Declutter:

It will make your picture clean and less cluttered. When you have a lot going on in your sight picture it can overwhelm your mind and in a serious situation you want to keep it as simple as possible.

Comfort:

You can keep your head raised higher as opposed to hunching in on your optic. This can make it more comfortable and increase your speed on target.

Trust :

They use their red dot regularly and trust it.( more on this later) If your flip up sights are down in a threat situation then that's where they will most likely stay, not having time or presence of mind to flip them. We have seen batteries fail so we suggest to use an absolute co witness, but experiment with both options and see which you like.

Optimal Red Dot Height

If you want to raise your red dot for comfort or co witness reasons it is easy to do. We have risers available to adjust the height of your red dot on your rail. Simply mount it on top of the riser and mount the riser on your rail.

Red Dot Distance, Where Should You Zero?

People love to argue about this point. People say anywhere from 25 yards to 200 yards. In my opinion, and feel free to create your own, I think the 50 yard zero is the absolute best zero for a red dot.

Why 50 yards?

I like the 50 yard zero because it is usually pretty darn similar to a 200 yard zero. This means you can hit a silhouette anywhere from 0-200 yards in a flash without having to think or adjust your aim. Yes there will be some concessions, like at a hundred yards you will be a touch high and the 200 yard shot you won't be threading bottle caps but you will be on target, at centre of mass and within a few inches of a perfect zero. Like anything else please practice and see what suits you and your caliber, and if you did want to shoot bottlecaps at a few hundred yards then a red dot is probably not the best choice.( see precision shooting) To put it simply a 50 yard zero will let you be accurate at 10 yards right through to 200 on a practical target without any adjustments.

Red Dot Technique, Get On Target Properly.

We see it all the time. The customer has a brand new AR and a brand new RED DOT and they are ready to do some tactical training. The first thing I do is get them to aim at a target, not even shoot, just to see their aiming technique. More than half the time they are using the red dot like a rifle scope. They close one eye and hunch in close to the back of the red dot. This will get them on target and their groupings will be fine but it defeats the whole point of having a red dot.

Why Buy A Red Dot? 

The whole point of a red dot is to get on target quick while being aware of your surroundings/ Think CQB, think clearing rooms, think the latest john wick movie.

Which Red Dot?

Osprey Global have a large collection of red dots. Some like the Red Dot HGMR and Red Dot DSMR have multiple reticles and colors. These are better for beginners as they are easier to develop good target acquisition technique. Other options like the Red Dot Green Laser have cylindrical bodys that have a built in back up option in the form of a green laser. ( More On lasers as a tactical option HERE)This means you have another option if your red dot fails.The sight picture is slightly smaller but they are just as fast to get on target.

Quick Target Acquisition?

The best way to get on target fast is to see the target, then pull up the optic between you and the target while never taking your eyes off the threat. Like never take your eyes off the ball when playing baseball this is the same concept. If you are closing one eye it means you then have to find your sight picture in your scope and then scan and find your target ( which is likely gone by this point). This is why most Swat teams use red dots or scopes with a forgiving eye relief; they need to keep their peripheral in view for threats and to get on target quickly.

45 Degree Side Mount; Whats that all about?

Another option for mounting a red dot is the 45 degree side mount and it is a popular option for a few reasons. If you are already running a dedicated hunting or sniper scope on your set up that cannot operate well in close quarters then a 45 degree side mount is ideal. We know a lot of hunters who have a small red dot mounted on a 45 degree sight so they are prepared in case hogzilla or Rambo charges them on route to the blind.

Optimal Practices For Red Dots:

So as usual, how you set up your weapon is very personal. For me I think an absolute co witness is crucial in case your battery bleeds or your optic fails or the dot washes out in bright scenarios. It means you will always have a sight. When sighting in I Always sight my red dot at 50 yards cause it will have me on target from 0-200 yards. Trial your zero it at 25 and a hundred yards and see what suits you. We know that 25 yards would do 90 percent of my red dot shots but occasionally you may want to go to a hundred yards or beyond: you don't want to have to do any mathematics to get on target.

The best advice for anyone who is new to the red dot world is to practice. Practice with it on the 45 degree mount. Practice keeping both eyes open and getting on target. Practice transferring from a 25 yard shot to a 100 yard shot. Like anything else in this world you will get better the more you intentionally use it and you will find what works best for you.