Pistol dots and .22LR

If you can't tell, the red donut was added in Paint due to parallax issues.

Some things I've learned shooting pistol dot sights to avoid "hunting:"
Larger dot or "donut of death" (circle reticle): A bigger dot (e.g., 6–8 MOA) or circle-dot reticle provides a larger visual "catchment area" for initial pickup, especially during presentation or under stress. It reduces the time spent hunting the small point (where you're moving the pistol around, trying to get the dot visible in the window). Start with a larger window or reticle setting during the learning phase and transition to finer dots later. Larger windows help with this too. 

Presentation and unconscious alignment: Consistent, repeatable draw/presentation that aligns the pistol naturally with your dominant eye and target is foundational. If your iron sight presentation is already good (front sight focus with proper grip, stance, and eye alignment), the dot should "just appear" in the window without searching. This transfers directly because the mechanical relationship between your body, hands, and eyes doesn't change. The optic is simply replacing or supplementing the iron picture. Dry fire and live reps building that proprioceptive consistency are key (proprioception is your "sixth sense" where your brain knows where your body parts are). Start slow with deliberate draws focusing on consistency, then speed up.

Target focus: Put a hard focus on the target/threat while allowing the dot to float into place via muscle memory and body awareness (proprioception). Chasing the dot with your eyes leads to hunting, loss of situational awareness, and slower acquisition and shot times. Once the presentation is trained, your hands and arms "know" where to put the gun, and the brain handles the superimposition subconsciously. Try looking away at 90° and then snapping back towards the target while raising the pistol to presentation as practice. Use drills like "dot on target" from the holster or low ready.

Remember that good fundamental skills, such as with iron sights or consistent trigger pull is important too. If you're competent with iron sights, you can pick up pistol dot sights with a little work too. Usually 1000-2000 rounds is where it all comes together. And this round count is why I highly recommend picking up a subcaliber .22 pistol. 

There are a wide variety of true subcaliber pistols on the market now, such as the Glock 19 derivative the Glock 44, the Sig P320 ergonomics P322 (different trigger group/design without the P320's alleged flaws), Walther P22, S&W M&P22 series, and the Taurus TX 22 that people swear by. I've probably shot upwards of 30,000 rounds from these guns since 2020 and I cannot stress enough how much more shooting I've done because of them. What started as a testing and evaluation/review gun have transitioned into a serious long-term evaluation of subcaliber guns for high volume training.