At this point it's fairly common knowledge in the gun community that using optics on handguns has a clear speed advantage over iron sights. However, I do run into the odd person who insists that it is a gimmick, or a preference, or any other argument to justify not using one on their handgun. I got bored, had a thought, and figured I'd share it here. I won't go into the science here, since it would take an awfully long time to explain, but I will give some simple, straightforward data that backs up what I'm talking about.
This is in the context of IPSC, so the skills that are tested between sighting systems are practical - fast target acquisition, ability to shoot the same target predictively, accuracy at speed, shooting on the move, transitioning between targets, speed at distance. In this context we have a very valuable apples-to-apples comparison - two divisions with identical rules and equipment, the only difference being the use of irons or optics - Production, and Production Optics.
I went through the results of our past 4 national championships and compared the raw times of the champion in both divisions. Keep in mind, while Production is beginning to die off as PO and Optics gain popularity, there are still very good shooters in Production.
2022 - PO beats Prod in raw time by 22.3%
2023 - PO beats Prod by 16.3%
2024 - PO beats Prod by 16.3%
2025 - PO beats Prod by 14.9%.
We can throw in some raw time data from around the world to get a more accurate picture. At 3 of the top international matches this year we have;
Eric Grauffel (PO champion) beating Mason Lane (Production champion) by 8.2% at the World Shoot.
Grauffel (PO) beating German (Prod) by an almost identical margin, 8.1% at the US IPSC nationals.
Grauffel (PO) beating Michael Stepan (Prod) by 11.3% at the CZ Extreme Euro Open.
These matches I picked were wildly different in their challenges. The US IPSC nationals was insanely technical, with many difficult shots, distance and moving targets. The World Shoot was mostly hosey and speed focused. The extreme was somewhat in the middle. Regardless of the challenge, the data from high-performance shooters does not lie - optics on handguns is consistently 10%+ faster than using iron sights.
This is in the context of IPSC, so the skills that are tested between sighting systems are practical - fast target acquisition, ability to shoot the same target predictively, accuracy at speed, shooting on the move, transitioning between targets, speed at distance. In this context we have a very valuable apples-to-apples comparison - two divisions with identical rules and equipment, the only difference being the use of irons or optics - Production, and Production Optics.
I went through the results of our past 4 national championships and compared the raw times of the champion in both divisions. Keep in mind, while Production is beginning to die off as PO and Optics gain popularity, there are still very good shooters in Production.
2022 - PO beats Prod in raw time by 22.3%
2023 - PO beats Prod by 16.3%
2024 - PO beats Prod by 16.3%
2025 - PO beats Prod by 14.9%.
We can throw in some raw time data from around the world to get a more accurate picture. At 3 of the top international matches this year we have;
Eric Grauffel (PO champion) beating Mason Lane (Production champion) by 8.2% at the World Shoot.
Grauffel (PO) beating German (Prod) by an almost identical margin, 8.1% at the US IPSC nationals.
Grauffel (PO) beating Michael Stepan (Prod) by 11.3% at the CZ Extreme Euro Open.
These matches I picked were wildly different in their challenges. The US IPSC nationals was insanely technical, with many difficult shots, distance and moving targets. The World Shoot was mostly hosey and speed focused. The extreme was somewhat in the middle. Regardless of the challenge, the data from high-performance shooters does not lie - optics on handguns is consistently 10%+ faster than using iron sights.
