I have to admit that when I first heard someone say “donut of death” in reference to using a circle-only aiming reticle on a pistol-mounted optic, I was unsure what to think. My kneejerk reaction was that it was a speed thing for close quarters shooting.
It wasn’t until a couple of years later that someone explained to me the thought process behind using the circle only reticle option, not just for close-up, but for all handgun distances. During my review of the new EOTECH EFLX CE optic, I touched on the DoD briefly, now it is time for a much deeper dive.
Donut of Death
According to Louis Caras of LCAR Concepts Training, “The term ‘Donut of Death’ was coined late at night in the Tactical Response Team Room, approximately five years ago. In hindsight, it’s perhaps not the greatest name for an aiming method when teaching in a defensive context, but it stuck. Shortly after it began gaining popularity in my circles, I shortened the term I use to ‘donut.’ However, the term ‘Donut of Death’ has been hijacked without understanding, and used by others in the training/influencer industry to mean a host of different things.”
Louis continued, “By donut of death, or just donut, we mean a genuine circle only, not a circle with a dot in it or a chevron or crosshairs or anything else.”
Mr. Caras was a contributing author for the new book, “A Pipe Hitters Guide to Red Dots and Optics on Handguns” by Nicholas Orr. I am intimately familiar with the text as I have not only read it, but I made a contribution to it as well.
A Donut by Any Other Name
Whether you call it the Donut of Death, Donut, Halo of Had-to, Circle of Trust, or, for old school Xbox fans, “RROD” (red ring of death) a rose by any other name would still smell as sweet. While not universal by any stretch, the number of optic companies that are producing their PMO with an option for a circle only is growing.
We previously discussed the EOTECH EFLX CE in that regard. Some of the new Osight PMO models also have that option and Holosun is likely the most prevalent in the use of the circle-only option.
They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. However, the full quote is “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery that mediocrity can pay to greatness.”
Whether flattered or annoyed, EOTECH is the company that popularized the circle with N-S-E-W tick marks or 12, 3, 6, 9 o’clock marks. The original holographic weapon-sights from that company used that reticle. In today’s world we see myriad companies using the tick mark circle with a center dot.
How It Works: Vision Science
The chapter discussing the donut in Nick Orr’s new book, which was written with Louis Caras, is about seven to eight thousand words and provides a great amount of detail. My editor is kind, but not so kind as to publish an article that size here. So, let’s get down to the nuts and bolts, shall we?
One of the many stated purposes for attaching a red dot sight to a pistol is to allow the shooter to work with their natural tendency to focus on the target, particularly during a high stress, life-threatening encounter. However, our experience with many shooters is that they attempt to apply the same front sight focus they’re used to to the illuminated reticle that’s now in their vision.
When teaching, we attempt to alleviate that issue by telling students to focus on the target and then allow the red or green (or amber) reticle to become a part of their target focus.
During previous discussions, we’ve addressed center fixation bias and how that is the default setting for human vision. The donut/circle allows the shooter to both work with the previously desired target focus while also bringing the center fixation bias into play.
When presenting the donut to the target, we don’t attempt to focus on the reticle itself as we would a front sight post. We look through it to the target and our CFB will naturally align the circle directly over the center of what we’re focusing on.
One of the best ways to test this out is to take a zeroed pistol/optic combination and find a target with shapes or numbers (or both) like the SOTG Skill Maintenance target. Focus on a specific number or shape and look at it intently as you index your donut reticle over it. The donut reticle isn’t covering or blocking the number. As long as your trigger press is what it should be, you might be surprised to see all the rounds impacting the object of your focus.
Naturally, this doesn’t just work at close range, while you are standing still. It also works while moving and at distance. The only caveat is that you need to be able to see your target. If you can see it, you can superimpose the donut over it, use your CFB and make good shots.
The other big plus for the donut is the very real game that we have all played called “Where’s my dot?” As good as you are and as many times as you’ve presented the gun, honest people out there will admit that they’ve played the where’s my dot game on more than one occasion.
Whether it’s a 3, a 6, or even a 9 MOA dot, that single, small dot only occupies a very small portion of the total viewing/lens real estate. From a coach’s standpoint, you can tell when a shooter has lost their dot because you watch them perform that unique hand wiggle maneuver in order to find it.
The donut performs two basic functions when it comes to the losing the dot problem. First and simplest, the donut takes up more real estate on the optic’s lens. There’s more reticle for your eye to see. Therefore you’re less likely to lose all of it. Sure, it’s possible, just less likely.
Second, even if you punch out your gun or are recovering from recoil and only perceive a fraction of the ring, your eyes have understood how to find the center of a circle since you were a toddler. Even if you can’t see where the center of the donut is because most of the circle is off to the side, we go back to our CFB and our subconscious brain instantly understands how to make the correction.
One more big benefit of the donut is for those who have tried to use the dot on a red dot sight and been frustrated because the reticle always seems to be moving or dancing around. While this is a perception issue, not a true reduction in movement, those who have switched from a dot-only to a circle-only often report that the reticle doesn’t seem to be moving around as much.
Parting Shots
We’ve only just touched on the benefits of using the Donut of Death reticle here. If you’re inspired, we suggest that you pick up the aforementioned book by Orr and Caras. They’ve diligently researching and tested the circle-only aiming system for over five years now and bring a great amount of useful information to the table. Of course, if useful information isn’t what you’re looking for, that’s entirely up to you.
Paul G. Markel is a combat decorated United States Marine veteran. He is also the founder of Student the Gun University and has been teaching Small Arms & Tactics to military personnel, police officers, and citizens for over three decades.