When you need a better sight picture that gives you higher scores, a competition optic delivers results. Competition handgun sights come with different benefits than those made for everyday carry. Instead of prioritizing concealability and pinpoint accuracy, competitive shooting events usually focus on blending fast target acquisition, quick initial shots on target, and precise follow-up shooting, often while moving continuously or from one static location to another. A competition sight is engineered to make the most of your shooting skills on the most challenging shooting courses imaginable.
Competition optics share a few key characteristics with other fractal gun sights. They’re built to be durable and stand up to the elements found on most outdoor and tactical gun ranges. They use powerful LED emitters to project a reticle onto a specially coated lens, superimposing a bright aiming point over your target for point-and-shoot ease. They also use energy-saving features, like shake-to-awake technology, to extend your battery’s service life. Where they differ is in the engineering that’s tailored to the most common needs of competition shooters.
Competition optics often feature larger lens windows for faster target acquisition. Larger windows give you a wider field of view, meaning the target enters your lens faster than with the low-profile windows often found on concealed carry optics. This makes identification and aiming fast and easy. It also helps you better identify the area around and behind your target, which is important for safety, as well as for finding your follow-up shots on a dynamic skills course that simulates tactical situations.
The larger lens real estate also enables your optic to sport a larger aiming reticle. While it may seem counterintuitive, larger reticles on competition handgun sights actually improve your accuracy and precision. The larger reticles often give you an aiming point that can have twice the MOA coverage of carry sight or more. Handgun competitions are about speed and precise grouped shots more than pin-point shot placement. At the ranges found in most competitive shooting events, there is very little practical difference in accuracy between a 3 MOA and 8 MOA reticle, but the 8 MOA is much friendlier for finding the target for a faster first shot, getting back on target for follow-up rounds, or aiming while moving.
Finally, competition optics need to have adjustable settings that can be tweaked in the field. While adjustable windage, elevation, and brightness are important for any firearm use case, competition handgun sights may need to be fine-tuned on the fly to account for range lighting and environmental conditions. This makes it all the important to not only have these features, but also that they be user-friendly.
While several of our practical red dot sights are appropriate for competition shooting, that wasn’t good enough for us. After listening to competition shooters at all levels of the sport, our engineers went back to the drawing board to design a line of competition handgun sights based on real-world user feedback. The result is a pair of rock-solid choices for your preferred firearm.
The Granite line of competition optics is designed from the ground up as an affordable choice for improving the speed of target acquisition, accuracy, and precision in technical shooting drills and competitions. Available with either an RMR-compatible footprint or MOS mounting pattern, you can easily mount a Granite Competition to a wide range of handguns, including the popular and extensively customizable Glock line of pistols. While the Mounting patterns are different, they offer the same key features and characteristics.
When you need better competition optics without breaking the bank, we deliver with the practical choice for cost-effective performance. If you have any questions or need help choosing the right optic or adapter for your gun and use case, reach out to our customer service team for assistance. Order your competition handgun sights from Gideon Optics today.
