What is your experience with electronic optics on handguns?

[breakingcontact]

Reflex

Red dot

?

 

[IXLR8]

I have a Burris Fastfire III on an M&P CORE 9mm. So far it has held up well. It was a little difficult to sight in initially, but a laser boresighter helped a great deal. It does not provide great off axis accuracy. You should try to center the dot for best results. It is hard to select what is the best range to zero it. I picked 25 yds and it has worked out well for me.
I also have them mounted on two Ruger MKIII pistols. They sight nicely over the suppressor. Burris sells a very nice custom base for the Ruger and other pistols.

 

[SIG_Fiend]

The general consensus is that even the best quality MRDS on the market, the Trijicon RMR, still isn't 100% up to the task, and occasionally some of them fail under the increased load of having to cycle on a slide. Some people have issues with them, some don't, so I'd say the technology is still not 100% there, though it has progressed substantially in the past several years.

Less expensive RDS tend to not be as durable in this configuration, and also tend to be more likely to have problems maintaining a zero. The Burris FastFire seems to be hit or miss. I've shot a bunch of guns with the FF, including a couple mounted on shotguns, a few on AR's and PCC's, and a few on handguns. One handgun was a P229 Sport in .357Sig with the factory comp. That one wasn't a high round count gun, which is probably some of the reason it seemed to work alright.

 

[Das Jared]

The general consensus is that even the best quality MRDS on the market, the Trijicon RMR, still isn't 100% up to the task, and occasionally some of them fail under the increased load of having to cycle on a slide. Some people have issues with them, some don't, so I'd say the technology is still not 100% there, though it has progressed substantially in the past several years.

Less expensive RDS tend to not be as durable in this configuration, and also tend to be more likely to have problems maintaining a zero. The Burris FastFire seems to be hit or miss. I've shot a bunch of guns with the FF, including a couple mounted on shotguns, a few on AR's and PCC's, and a few on handguns. One handgun was a P229 Sport in .357Sig with the factory comp. That one wasn't a high round count gun, which is probably some of the reason it seemed to work alright.

I personally despise the Burris.

sent from Jennifer Lawrence's bedroom

 

[Handgun World]

The Trijicon RMR is excellent, but so is the Docter III.

DOCTER®sight III - Docter

I had a student bring a pistol to class with the Docter III sight (Glock 26 with Docter III) and I was more impressed with it than the RMR. To be fair, not much durability testing on the Docter III, but the RMR seems to be holding up very well. The Doctor III fits on most slides better too, it's smaller.

The technology is good enough. Let's remember, the likelihood of needing your pistol past 50 yards is slim and questionable. At typical handgun distances, the red dot shines. You don't have to line up 2 points of contact (front sight and rear sight) only one, the red dot.

Once you practice it, it's very fast an easy. For those of us with older eyes, it's very nice. You can use your irons if the red dot fails, just like on an AR.

Handgun World Podcast

 

[Texasjack]

I've got a Ruger Mark III with a holo sight on it and it works great. Of course, the Mark III doesn't have a slide for the sight to interfere with.

 

[Lobo_79]

Reflex

Red dot

?

FWIW: I have a Burris FFII Reflex on a Beretta 92FS. The good news is that it has been reliable; I've even mounted it on my M627 .357 Magnum with excellent results on the revolver. On the Beretta; however, I've always had bore sight issues with the FFII. In fact I shoot the Beretta * better with open sights. (* True for my 92FS, 92G Vertec, and even my Taurus PT92.)

I also own a Nikon Red Dot (Variable Sized Intensity and Dot 1/4/6/10 MOA). I've used it on my S&W M627 and several carbines. I like this Red Dot but there are cheaper ones on the market I suspect work just as well.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that I've used both Reflex and Red Dots on handguns and I prefer open sights. Note: I am not an expert or a competitive shooter but I do shoot about 12,000 rounds a year sometimes more.

I'm not currently using my Nikon...you're welcome to borrow it if you have a Weaver style mount.

 

[Hoji]

I do not like gadgets on hand guns. I do not even like scopes on hand guns.

 

[navyguy]

I have an Ultra Dot on my Buckmark and like it a lot. A great sight favored by many bulls eye shooters. A bit pricey though. The Buckmark of course just a fun gun. I wouldn't put any such optics on a hand gun that was used for defense.