Closed vs. Open Pistol Optics - SPONSORED

One of the questions I've been getting a lot lately is closed or open optics when it comes to a red dot sight on a defensive pistol? So let me talk about exactly what I mean. Traditionally, when you talk about a red dot up on top of a pistol, you've got one plane of the glass that is going to be reflecting the light back to your eyes, and that's what you're gonna be looking through. And that's usually a very protected piece of glass that's inside of some type of frame, but it is essentially open. And that means that dust and dirt and all sorts of things can get in here, potentially obscuring the dot, and certainly getting onto the glass surface itself on the inside, not just on the front.

And this has been one of the concerns and complaints that a lot of us have had about red dot optics on lifesaving tools. So, the market has responded with closed optics. And what this gives me is two surfaces of glass with everything contained between them. And it's not only gonna be more secure, in other words, it's gonna be more reliable, because it's less likely that that light could be blocked by some kind of debris that gets inside of there or that the window pane itself could get dirty. But it also, and this is something that I think gets overlooked a lot, makes it much easier to clean off.

If I were to take this 509 optic, I could theoretically very easily wipe that lint, or wipe that dirt off the front of the gun, whether I was using clothing or not. But even in the heat of the moment, it's gonna be much easier for me to clear this optic of rain or dirt or lint, or whatever else might be on it. When you're thinking about open or closed optics, consider the advantages and disadvantages of both, not just the aesthetics or the way it looks when it's sitting there on the counter, or even when you're out there at the range practicing.