Red dot on a pistol - jury is still out

[zackmars]

I didn’t mind the ACOG back when if I broke it I could go turn it in and get another one. But now that the logistical largesse of the gummint is no longer supporting me, I don’t own any fancy schmanzy rifle optics, and I have no desire to hang any of that stuff on a handgun. I’d run the batteries down regularly.

I'm 100% certain if you kill an ACOG, the gun is probably dead too.

Most good micro red dots have at least a 5 year battery life. Ignoring the higher entry cost, you'll be saving money replacing a 2032 cell every 5 years than a new set of Trijicon or Ameriglo tritium night sights every 10.

 

[WAA]

I'm 100% certain if you kill an ACOG, the gun is probably dead too.

Most good micro red dots have at least a 5 year battery life. Ignoring the higher entry cost, you'll be saving money replacing a 2032 cell every 5 years than a new set of Trijicon or Ameriglo tritium night sights every 10.

You’re making me admit I’m too cheap to buy them myself

 

[Sasquatch]

I'm 100% certain if you kill an ACOG, the gun is probably dead too.

Most good micro red dots have at least a 5 year battery life. Ignoring the higher entry cost, you'll be saving money replacing a 2032 cell every 5 years than a new set of Trijicon or Ameriglo tritium night sights every 10.

Even replacing the battery once a year - the battery is cheap.

 

[A1Oni]

If you have the dough, a good dot on a pistol is well worth the hassle of batteries

 

[pronstar]

I made the mistake of buying an older model, Vortex Venom pistol RDS. Battery life sucks ass, no shake awake.

I literally have to manually power it on to see the dot.

 

[A1Oni]

I made the mistake of buying an older model, Vortex Venom pistol RDS. Battery life sucks ass, no shake awake.

I literally have to manually power it on to see the dot.

that fucking sucks, the vortex pistol dots are kinda dodgy imo but the trijicon SRO or RMR are the gold standard.

 

[MTA]

I'm 100% certain if you kill an ACOG, the gun is probably dead too.

Most good micro red dots have at least a 5 year battery life. Ignoring the higher entry cost, you'll be saving money replacing a 2032 cell every 5 years than a new set of Trijicon or Ameriglo tritium night sights every 10.

Dont think I saw a single issue with an ACOG my 4 years in an armory cage in the usmc. Ppl can say whatever they want about trijicon but the acog is built like a brick shithouse

 

[BeatTheTunaUp]

I made the mistake of buying an older model, Vortex Venom pistol RDS. Battery life sucks ass, no shake awake.

I literally have to manually power it on to see the dot.

My venom found a home on a Stribog. The power button made more sense for a pcc that sits in the safe all the time. I can see that being dumb on an edc.

 

[pronstar]

My venom found a home on a Stribog. The power button made more sense for a pcc that sits in the safe all the time. I can see that being dumb on an edc.

Yeah my main issue is finding a decent replacement that uses the same Doctor/Noblex mounting pattern.

The Burris Fastfire 4 is the best I can find…

 

[BeatTheTunaUp]

Yeah my main issue is finding a decent replacement that uses the same Doctor/Noblex mounting pattern.

The Burris Fastfire 4 is the best I can find…

I have one of these on an offset mount on a rifle. Has rhe doctor/noblex , shake awake, side battery tray, and cheap.

Primary Arms SLx RS-10 1x23mm Mini Reflex Sight - 3 MOA Dot

DetailsAfter rigorous field testing, this optic has been given a silver-tier rating by the National Tactical Officers Association.This Primary Arms red dot sight is part of the SLx optics line. SLx optics built their reputation for innovation, reliability, and value. All SLx optics undergo...

www.primaryarms.com

 

[pronstar]

I have one of these on an offset mount on a rifle. Has rhe doctor/noblex , shake awake, side battery tray, and cheap.

Primary Arms SLx RS-10 1x23mm Mini Reflex Sight - 3 MOA Dot

DetailsAfter rigorous field testing, this optic has been given a silver-tier rating by the National Tactical Officers Association.This Primary Arms red dot sight is part of the SLx optics line. SLx optics built their reputation for innovation, reliability, and value. All SLx optics undergo...

www.primaryarms.com

perfect thank you

 

[Sasquatch]

Yeah my main issue is finding a decent replacement that uses the same Doctor/Noblex mounting pattern.

The Burris Fastfire 4 is the best I can find…

Did you have your gun milled for that specific sight? I mean, it might cost some cash, but you could have a custom mounting plate made up, or replace the slide. Either way you're probably looking at $150-300 bones, depending on the gun.

Lowest quality / cheapest I'd personally go with an RDS is Holosun. Their durability is outstanding for a sight that cheap. Chris from A Regular Guy on the EwTubes finally hilled his 507 after 40,000 rounds. That's probably 8X the rounds most people will shoot thru a single gun in a lifetime of owning it.

The Holosun also has *some* advantages / features that are better than the Trijicon, but if you want bomb-proof, and can deal with re-zeroing the sight when you replace the battery, the RMR is *the* gold standard there.

 

[Tcruse]

It takes a long time to have an RDS on a handgun become second nature. People have said roughly 5,000 rounds, and I'd agree with that.

It also doesn't help if you have handguns without dots

I found that in one trip to the range that they were not only more accurate, easier to use and much faster to acquire the target. Also, keeping both eyes open is a plus and just happens.

 

[Tcruse]

Well, if you weren't so far away I'd offer to swap out triggers with you. The stock PDP trigger is a tad heavier than that one, IIRC. Still lighter than a normal Glock, I don't have a trigger guage but my calibrated finger estimates 4.5lb average pull on my sample. I don't know if Apex is making triggers yet, they might have a spring kit to actually stiffen the trigger up if they do. The PDP trigger is essentially a refined PPQ trigger, so its quite possible a heaver PPQ spring set would work with the PDP as well.

Recently tried a PDP rental firearm on my range. Trigger was fine, feel of the handgun was fine, however when actually shooting it found it was really bad on level of recoil compared to my other guns (e.g. Glock 17, 19X, 26, Sig P320, Sig P365, Baby Eagle, Dan Wesson 9mm 1911 ...)

 

[Tcruse]

This is a really good thread, I have read everything. My next pistol in the collection is going to be the Sig P229 9mm Legion, and I am torn on whether to get the one with the Romeo1 red dot on it or not. Problem is I am not sure how it would fit a holster or be comfortable at a CC with a red dot on it. Hearing everyone comment on how it takes a while to get used to but when you do, you are more accurate has me a little torn even further. Its' a 300 difference in price, but for a permanent piece of the collection, that really makes no difference.

Also, I understand you can put a plate on the SIGs if you want to take off the red dot. Saw one this week and the color is different than the pistol. It is pure black where the body of the 229 legion is more of a gray. I know its aesthetics, but again, as a permanent piece in the collection, I want everything to match.

Holsters for firearms with red dot sights are not hard to find. Today, red dots are becomming the norm for new purchases and the ranges all have rental guns with red dots. I like the Remeo 1 + that comes standard with the Sig brand, mine is on a P-320 full size.

 

[Tcruse]

Pretty good shooting. Light strikes with the p322 have been reported. I've had quite a few duds with my p322, but I'm also shooting old bulk ammo, so could be that. Just finished a box and about to move to another so I'll see if improves.

Recently purchase a P-322 as a "toy" to get some relatives to try out shooting. Had a couple of cases of lead build up at first, but that only lasted thru the first couple of cleanings. Now, it has no issues and I have shot both old and new .22LR bulk (e.g. Walmart) with virtually no malfunctions with loading or light strikes. Better than my Ruger 22/45 in such areas.

 

[BeatTheTunaUp]

Recently purchase a P-322 as a "toy" to get some relatives to try out shooting. Had a couple of cases of lead build up at first, but that only lasted thru the first couple of cleanings. Now, it has no issues and I have shot both old and new .22LR bulk (e.g. Walmart) with virtually no malfunctions with loading or light strikes. Better than my Ruger 22/45 in such areas.

I fixed it by adding a spacer below the hammer spring to add preload and hence hammer force.

 

[Tcruse]

Did you have your gun milled for that specific sight? I mean, it might cost some cash, but you could have a custom mounting plate made up, or replace the slide. Either way you're probably looking at $150-300 bones, depending on the gun.

Lowest quality / cheapest I'd personally go with an RDS is Holosun. Their durability is outstanding for a sight that cheap. Chris from A Regular Guy on the EwTubes finally hilled his 507 after 40,000 rounds. That's probably 8X the rounds most people will shoot thru a single gun in a lifetime of owning it.

The Holosun also has *some* advantages / features that are better than the Trijicon, but if you want bomb-proof, and can deal with re-zeroing the sight when you replace the battery, the RMR is *the* gold standard there.

locally, slide milling is going for $100 (+$25 extra if you want the slide refinished also). Have had excellent experiences with both a Holosun 507 and multiple Remeo Zero Elite sites.

 

[Moonpie]

Tried it on n several handguns by now.
Don’t like it.
Have gone back to irons.

Meh. To each, their own.

 

[Txhighlander]

One of my best friends 35+ years now is a former SF soldier with 3 tours in Vietnam. He also worked as a contractor though it was called mercenary back then. I respect his opinion due to knowing he has been there. When asked about rds , he stated he loved them. He clarified on utility weapons only, ie hunting, plinking etc. For a duty weapons his opinion was the sight just got in the way. Also if one gets use to the sight and circumstances dictate it needs used in a self-protection scenario and your battery has expired the time, acquiring your sights if you have not practiced point shooting could be the difference in going home or not.

I also have several retired cop friends who had used their weapon in a shooting have agreed with that assessment. As stated early I have tried rds on a number of weapons and if I have time especially at a distance it does help but I am more accurate and quicker with irons under pressure. Now on rifles a 1x powered scope illuminated reticle due to I just can't see well at longer distances as I used to. What is the saying, getting older isn't for wimps?