Aimpoint was one of the first proven patrol rifle optics . with 3 years of battery life if you changed it every year you had that insurance it would be plenty.

now a number of manufacturers are putting out optics with 10K, 30K, or 50K hour battery life

10 years ago you need to buy a really high dollar optic to get that kind of battery life today you can get it for 300 dollars

we are at that point where guys ran battery powered optics successfully in Iraq and Afghanistan some needed regular battery changes weekly or monthly.
they have gotten better

now that we have 20 some years with dots

now that several police departments are using dots for patrol officers side arms they will continue to improve

so while I was anti battery widget on an SD gun in the past, with a set of backup irons lower 1/3 co-witness on a rifle and backup irons with a low mounted optic on a handgun they have lots of benefits and fast backup if the dot does fail.

that said she needs to look at them see how they work for her eyes

laser is an option also it can have the same battery failure so they are all just tools in the tool box but don't forget your irons as backup. watched a guy with a laser who didn't have trigger control , you could see the laser dart off the target just as the trigger broke and the shot when left or low left , had a flinch but it was easy to see for the spectators he didn't see it

LPVO low power variable optic is also an option on rifles and shotguns there you have etched glass reticals and many have illumination also , illumination is great when it works and looks like a normal scope if not working

We've been talking about it alot. What it really boils down to is she wants something that she can put bullets where she wants. After someone tried pulling her out her car at a gas station while she was with come friends she really wants something she can have in her car first and formost. Point blank range like that instance doesn't worry her.
Again where's she's worried about aiming is when she's walking or babysitting and there's a snake or a dog or something. She wears glasses and can't really shoot iorns very well. Scoped rifles are just fine but she's can't just carry around a long gun when she's babysitting or out on a walk .
And she's all for guns btw . Loves shooting just some stuff is going on in alot of different aspects and right now a pistol with something that will help her aim better is kinda the main thing.

Wolfdog nothing beats practicing. With enough of it she will get so instinctual she won't really aim (or realize she is doing it.. But that's not likely to happen with current ammo coat and available. So most likely a Lazer may help her out. There are many types from after marker grips to some that go in the guide rod. Red dots are fine but like other's above I have aging eyes and they Starburst on me and I am not a fan.

good I am glad you have been talking

sounds like she mostly needs self defense at fairly close quarters under 30 feet

covering every distance is the hard part

just me thinking out loud here , if she is baby sitting it needs to be worn on body in a secure holster , and most likely concealed.

if she needs it in a hurry at a gas station or road rage type issue it has to be close (onbody) or it is no good

carry guns are 100% compromise you can compromise on comfort & concealability or shoot ability & capacity

the perfect handgun is a rifle

start with the most pressing need , person to person personal protection that she can and will carry on body everywhere she wants

you might go to a bigger woods bumbing pistol for later where targets of opportunity can be taken

right now deal with the what gun can you have on you all the time and of those options which one do you shoot the best and go rent some and see.

something like a SIG p365 they also make a p365xl and other guns in that size class it needs to be big enough to get a grip to shoot decently

unless snakes are just something she deals with on the regular I would just take them out of the equation for now or get a basic revolver with snake shot for walking in snake areas , I admit I have no real experience with snakes everything here in WI runs from you for the most part extremely few venomous I have never seen one in the wild.

I am serious when I say she should pick out 3-4 outfits she can wear comfortably to do her driving , baby sitting and other regular tasks she does and you figure out what she can do for a holster and carry options you might be able to point out some that just won't work right off , I don't know what she wears

my Aunt lives in GA and found stretch pants with a belly band holster worked for her lifestyle cause when she isn't in scrubs in the OR where she can't carry and doesn't need to it is likely sandals , stretch pants and a dress or long blouse with the p365 she went to the range and tried a bunch she was trained on the M9 from the army but knew she couldn't conceal that beast nor did she want the bulk or size to carry with regularity.

My uncle has a G26 and she carried that some but she didn't really like it after hurricanes who ever was outside carried and they would switch off , she didn't want to switch off any more and, the M4 (I know it isn't actually an M4 but it is an AR15 set up as close to her M4 as possible) wasn't really practical to carry although it was the gun she was most comfortable with.

part of the reason there are so many handguns in this sub compact size is we all have different hands and fractions of an inch and ounces matter in carry guns every manufacture is trying to make the biggest small that can be concealed well hold the most rounds and be most shoot-able and that is different for a lot of people.

I ended up getting a laser with a used LC9 I got as a packaged deal I had carried the LC9 for years at that point so adding a spare seemed smart at that price when the laser was on it compromised my grip and dug into my middle finger that laser clamped to the trigger guard and changed it by less than an 1/8 of an inch but that was too much when I was already using very 1/64th" of grip space.



to sum this up , focus on the person threat , work out how she will carry and conceal. what holster , what she can wear , find the gun that fits her that she can conceal and she can still shoot decently.
look at carry optics , look at the options for optics ready guns in that size class , but I wouldn't get hung up on having an optic most of her threats are close and she seems to shoot well enough with irons adding a laser might also be useful.
carrying a bright white light besides is something she should be doing also

one more thing , she may need a portable storage option while baby sitting , for those times when she is doing tasks where she is best to not be carrying the gun or it gets in the way, a way to lock it out of the reach of little hands.

besides that situational awareness , having a "go" word and plan with the kids keep it not scary but make a game that sometimes if I say this word we just need to go you will sometimes hear cops talk about a word or phrase or look they have with their spouse that says your going for the door and I am dealing with something or leave the cart we are going now. hopefully you never need it but better to have it be a practiced thing.

Have you considered some of the aftermarket fiber optic sights, I recently bought a CZ75 that someone had put some aftermarket fiber optic sights on and they are really easy to find and put on target, even more so then my red dots that I have been putting on more of my pistols because of my eyes slowly going out, my experience has been that a red dot is a great aid for at least my eyes but with the fiber optic ones on this new to me CZ75 there as e even more easy to pick up




Believe me I totally understand about bad eyes and gun sights

Great Advice A person with Poor eyesight identifies and stops assailant at what 30 yards 50 or 100

I doubt there is any state which allows the use of deadly force unless there's a felony being committed (example ) knocking out a window screen and crawling thru felony breaking and entering Walking thru an unlocked door unlawful entry Misdemeanor
Basically your at a point and shoot for self defense Accessibility, largest caliber they can handle and practice often with and concealability And NO a large purse or Handbag that can be grabbed set on a carhood or left in a shopping cart doesn't qualify

I really like the sights on the Springfield Hellcat. My old eyes can see them.