Who is running a slide mounted RDS?
- Thread starter Grizzlypeg
- Start date
I could buy a pistol with it already on, like a Sig226 or 320, or an M&P, or add it to my M&P 40. Just for fun. For budget, I'd prefer to add it to my M&P, if that can be done properly. Budget is fairly generous, I don't mind spending up to $800 on it. I shot a P226 with factory sig rds at Wolverine days, and man was it easier to re-acquire the target and fire again. Esp with my eyesight, I'm starting to get nearsighted.
OkayShooter
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Nova Scotia
I'm running a CZ SP01 with a Leupold mount, and a Shield RMS. It's the lowest setup that you can get w/o milling. And it was 450$ for the mount/sight. Down side is, it's not weather resistant, and no on/off switch. It stays on 24/7 just dims down not in use. But battery has a year run time.
Agency Arms new Syndicate slide for a Glock with their AOS mounting plates! I have an S2 on my G3 G19 and LOVE IT!!!! Waiting on a S1 right now for a G4 G17 and will be mounting a Leupold DPP. Their system hands down is likely the best on the market and lets the optic sit as low as possible.
OkayShooter
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Nova Scotia
Leupold mount? I had to shim the dovetail adapter that was given with the mount, on my CZ. Using a pop can.. I ended up using 3 pieces to get the dovetail to be tight.
How it’s mounted is paramount to this, and is one of the reasons I always recommend having it machined onto the slide pending your gun of choice allows it.
I personally don’t run an RDS aim any of mine but have had it done for many friends. I’ve heard of 2 options being the most successful. The deltapoint and the RMR type 1. I’ve heard of a lot of issues with the RMR type 2, from industry professionals that more than 50% seem to suffer a catastrophic failure when mounted to a pistol.
I have tried going the RMR route on a Glock 19 twice now, and disliked it both times. It just seems unnatural and I find myself spending too much time searching for the dot; I honestly think i'm faster with irons. Was it nice for shooting in odd positions, and single handed shooting- yes, but it wasn't worth the inconvenience for the other stuff. Also, take it out on a rainy day and you'll see that the RMR has some flaws.
That's all personal preference though- my only recommendation if you end up going for it is to get your slide milled for it so that it's 110% rock solid.
That's all personal preference though- my only recommendation if you end up going for it is to get your slide milled for it so that it's 110% rock solid.
He had the slide milled. It's mounted properly, as far as a slide mount goes.
I went with a Vortex Venom 6MOA and have at least 1K using the sight. It has held zero for me. The Vortex Viper would be my choice now as you can replace the battery from the top without removing the sight. Either way for IDPA and IPSC the Vortex product has worked for me. Their warranty is outstanding. Not as expensive as some but meets my needs. The sight was on my PPQ MAtch but now resides on my SIG XFive.
Take Care
Bob
Take Care
Bob
I have 7 x Trijicon RMRs, 4 x Leupold Delta-Point Pros, 3 x Holosun HS507Cs, 3x Burris Fastfires, 2 x Aimpoint ACROs, and 1 x Vortex Razor Miniature Red Dot Sights (MRDS) mounted on a wide variety of modern handguns due to my fixed-focus eyesight post-cataract surgery. I consider myself an early-adopter with considerable MRDS experience spanning several years. My sights are mounted in a combination of dovetail mounts and milled slides, with some of the newest handguns (eg. FN 509T) being equipped with factory adapter plates. Dot sizes range from 2 MOA to larger dots, with various reticles including the Leupold 7 MOA Triangle and the Holosun's 32 MOA Circle-Dot.
Of the above, the most reliable has been the RMR. Note that I only own the adjustable LED type of RMR, having found all of the fibre-optic dual-upillumination models to be far too dim and prone to wash-out when aiming from a dimmer setting out into a brighter environment. The Type 2 RMRs offer "hardened" electronics and a setting where the dot auto-adjusts for the ambient light. I have had no issues with my Type 1 RMRs so long as you bend the battery terminals upwards to make positive contact with the battery. The batteries last for years, especially if you turn off your sights when not in use. The down-sides to the ultra-reliable RMR are cost, the always-on or must be turned on operation, and the fact that you must re-zero after removing the RMR for a battery swap.
After the Electronic, Ajustable RMR, it is a toss-up between the Leupold and the Holosun for my MRDS money. The ~$550 Leupold is a bit more expensive than the ~$450 Holosun, however I chock that up to the Leupold name-brand "tax" more than any better performance. Both the Deltapoint Pro and the HS507C have been pretty much flawless in terms of performance. In addition to the standard 2 MOA dot, you can get the Leupold with a 7 MOA orange Triangle reticle, but must choose one type of reticle over the other. The Holosun sight on the other hand, allows you to select between the red Dot, a 32 MOA Circle or the Circle with Dot (my personal favourite) with the push of a button. Both the Leupold and Holosun come with the all-important Motion Activation (MOTAC) feature which puts the sight to "sleep" after a specified number of minutes and then instantly activates the sight when the firearm is moved even the slightest bit. Try to "race the reticle" is pointless, as they really are instantaneous. This feature, of course helps to further preserve battery life almost indefinitely. As if that weren't enough, the HS507C also comes with Holosun's renowned, miniaturized Solar Panel which is capable of running a visible reticle in standard room lighting with no battery installed! Yes, it really does work as advertised. As far as features for price is concerned, the Holosun is the clear winner with its variable reticle and innovative solar panel with battery augmentation power supply. The Holosun also offers simple "up" and " down" arrow buttons to select the brightness intensity. The Deltapoint Pro has a single button that increases brightness to the max (or minimum) then lowers it across 7 brightness settings. Not quite as intuitive as the Holosun. Both the Leupold and the Holosun have top-loading batteries with no need for sight removal or re-zeroing. Both appear to be very ruggedly-constructed and capable of taking a hit to rival the RMR, however their relative toughness remains untested where my personal sights are concerned.
The Burris Fastfire III is an economy-priced MRDS that will set you back approximately ~$350 The last time I checked. The Fastfire is lightly-built in contrast to the sights that I have mentioned thus far, and I doubt that it would take much abuse to break it. The dot has a single brightness button which adjusts upwards with 4 settings including an auto-adjust feature and the Off setting. This is a sight that I would rate as suitable for range use on a plinker, NOT for duty or home defence use. I have long-since downgraded my Fastfires to accessory red-dot status on my spotting scope and my high-powered precision rifle-scopes.
The Aimpoint P1 ACRO is a relatively new MRDS and is the first of its type to be totally enclosed. It lòoks considerably larger than any of the conventional open-emitter type MRDS, but is actually only slightly longer than an RMR and the proprietary Mounting Plates have an RMR footprint. The red dot is always on once a battery is installed (no shake-awake) meaning that battery life is limited to 1.5 years on brightness setting 6 (indoors bright). The main selling feature for this ~$800 MRDS is its totally-enclosed emitter, meaning that no foreign matter can come between the laser reticle emitter and the reflective glass screen that it is projected on. Even with mud on the exterior lenses, the dot is always there - you need only wipe the lenses clean(ish) with a finger and you are back in business. The "Up" and "Down" buttons that control the red Dot brightness are large and intuitive. The battery can be replaced without removing the sight from the firearms, thus preserving the zero. The downsides to this sight are its high, RMR-equivalent cost and relatively limited (but stiĺl adequate) battery life. However, the advantage of a closed-emitter for a duty weapon may be priceless!
The Vortex Razor MRDS is a 3 MOA dot sight that appears to be reasonably rugged and simple in its design. The best MRDS that Vortex has to offer, the ~$600 Razor provides 10 brightness settings adjusted by a pair of push-buttons protected within the emitter area of the sight. The biggest downside to the Vortex MRDS is the fact that it is either on and running, or off - there is no motion activation as with the Leupold and Holosun offerings. Also the sight's body is quite thick, resulting in the tallest mounted position of all of the MRDS mentioned. The Razor MRDS is competent, but uninspired and a bit dated as far as pistol red-dots are concerned.
Based on all of the above together with my experience running the sights, my recommendation where durability and reliability are paramount would be the Trijicon RMR. If an enclosed emitter is important to you and the short(er) battery life is acceptable, then there is only one option - the Aimpoint ACRO P1. Next, depending on your budget and your reticle preference I would recommend either the Leupold Deltapoint Pro or the Holosun 507C. Both are simply excellent choices. Further down my list only because of its limited features is the Vortex Razor MRDS, which I would still rate as suitable for range and home-defence purposes. The only MRDS I own that I would not stake my life on is the Burris Fastfire III. In my view, the Burris is "hobby-grade" and suitable for range practice only.
Of the above, the most reliable has been the RMR. Note that I only own the adjustable LED type of RMR, having found all of the fibre-optic dual-upillumination models to be far too dim and prone to wash-out when aiming from a dimmer setting out into a brighter environment. The Type 2 RMRs offer "hardened" electronics and a setting where the dot auto-adjusts for the ambient light. I have had no issues with my Type 1 RMRs so long as you bend the battery terminals upwards to make positive contact with the battery. The batteries last for years, especially if you turn off your sights when not in use. The down-sides to the ultra-reliable RMR are cost, the always-on or must be turned on operation, and the fact that you must re-zero after removing the RMR for a battery swap.
After the Electronic, Ajustable RMR, it is a toss-up between the Leupold and the Holosun for my MRDS money. The ~$550 Leupold is a bit more expensive than the ~$450 Holosun, however I chock that up to the Leupold name-brand "tax" more than any better performance. Both the Deltapoint Pro and the HS507C have been pretty much flawless in terms of performance. In addition to the standard 2 MOA dot, you can get the Leupold with a 7 MOA orange Triangle reticle, but must choose one type of reticle over the other. The Holosun sight on the other hand, allows you to select between the red Dot, a 32 MOA Circle or the Circle with Dot (my personal favourite) with the push of a button. Both the Leupold and Holosun come with the all-important Motion Activation (MOTAC) feature which puts the sight to "sleep" after a specified number of minutes and then instantly activates the sight when the firearm is moved even the slightest bit. Try to "race the reticle" is pointless, as they really are instantaneous. This feature, of course helps to further preserve battery life almost indefinitely. As if that weren't enough, the HS507C also comes with Holosun's renowned, miniaturized Solar Panel which is capable of running a visible reticle in standard room lighting with no battery installed! Yes, it really does work as advertised. As far as features for price is concerned, the Holosun is the clear winner with its variable reticle and innovative solar panel with battery augmentation power supply. The Holosun also offers simple "up" and " down" arrow buttons to select the brightness intensity. The Deltapoint Pro has a single button that increases brightness to the max (or minimum) then lowers it across 7 brightness settings. Not quite as intuitive as the Holosun. Both the Leupold and the Holosun have top-loading batteries with no need for sight removal or re-zeroing. Both appear to be very ruggedly-constructed and capable of taking a hit to rival the RMR, however their relative toughness remains untested where my personal sights are concerned.
The Burris Fastfire III is an economy-priced MRDS that will set you back approximately ~$350 The last time I checked. The Fastfire is lightly-built in contrast to the sights that I have mentioned thus far, and I doubt that it would take much abuse to break it. The dot has a single brightness button which adjusts upwards with 4 settings including an auto-adjust feature and the Off setting. This is a sight that I would rate as suitable for range use on a plinker, NOT for duty or home defence use. I have long-since downgraded my Fastfires to accessory red-dot status on my spotting scope and my high-powered precision rifle-scopes.
The Aimpoint P1 ACRO is a relatively new MRDS and is the first of its type to be totally enclosed. It lòoks considerably larger than any of the conventional open-emitter type MRDS, but is actually only slightly longer than an RMR and the proprietary Mounting Plates have an RMR footprint. The red dot is always on once a battery is installed (no shake-awake) meaning that battery life is limited to 1.5 years on brightness setting 6 (indoors bright). The main selling feature for this ~$800 MRDS is its totally-enclosed emitter, meaning that no foreign matter can come between the laser reticle emitter and the reflective glass screen that it is projected on. Even with mud on the exterior lenses, the dot is always there - you need only wipe the lenses clean(ish) with a finger and you are back in business. The "Up" and "Down" buttons that control the red Dot brightness are large and intuitive. The battery can be replaced without removing the sight from the firearms, thus preserving the zero. The downsides to this sight are its high, RMR-equivalent cost and relatively limited (but stiĺl adequate) battery life. However, the advantage of a closed-emitter for a duty weapon may be priceless!
The Vortex Razor MRDS is a 3 MOA dot sight that appears to be reasonably rugged and simple in its design. The best MRDS that Vortex has to offer, the ~$600 Razor provides 10 brightness settings adjusted by a pair of push-buttons protected within the emitter area of the sight. The biggest downside to the Vortex MRDS is the fact that it is either on and running, or off - there is no motion activation as with the Leupold and Holosun offerings. Also the sight's body is quite thick, resulting in the tallest mounted position of all of the MRDS mentioned. The Razor MRDS is competent, but uninspired and a bit dated as far as pistol red-dots are concerned.
Based on all of the above together with my experience running the sights, my recommendation where durability and reliability are paramount would be the Trijicon RMR. If an enclosed emitter is important to you and the short(er) battery life is acceptable, then there is only one option - the Aimpoint ACRO P1. Next, depending on your budget and your reticle preference I would recommend either the Leupold Deltapoint Pro or the Holosun 507C. Both are simply excellent choices. Further down my list only because of its limited features is the Vortex Razor MRDS, which I would still rate as suitable for range and home-defence purposes. The only MRDS I own that I would not stake my life on is the Burris Fastfire III. In my view, the Burris is "hobby-grade" and suitable for range practice only.
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Wow!! Not much more to add to Bartok5's post. I have a p320 X5 that had an original Romeo1 sight on it. Swithed it this year to the Holosun 507c on a Springer Precision mount. I love the Holosun reticle! Some folks prefer super small dots for precision, but I've found that running the open circle reticle and focusing on my target gets excellent results. There is no going back to irons for me, I'm a convert. Cheers.
