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Which pistol red dot?

8.1K views 25 replies 13 participants last post by  cazbass  
#1 ·
With their rising popularity and the fact that I have one pistol with a factory-ready slide, I’m considering a pistol red-dot sight. Never used one on a pistol, but am intrigued by the idea. I know very little about them other than what is to be seen on youtube and gun forums, so don’t have a particular one in mind.

The consensus seems to be that the Trijicon RMR is the toughest, but the fact that you have to remove it to replace the battery makes it a no-go for me. Right or wrong, “it’s only every year or two”, etc; don’t care – for me, that’s a deal-killer.

None of the other open-style dots seem to get the toughness points that most people give the RMR, and the closed Aimpoint Acro is substantially heavier; which I would assume would be VERY noticeable on a reciprocating pistol slide. So with the very-limited knowledge I have of these things, I don’t see an obvious winner.

Short version – what would be the recommendation for a very-rugged, very reliable pistol red-dot sight, that you don’t have to remove from the gun every time the battery needs changing.

Thanks
 
#2 ·
While dots may look cool, they take serious discipline to draw to. They have been around since the mid 70's on IPSC Open Division guns. course today they are way nicer and the batteries last pretty much forever. You want the biggest window, like a Delta Point Pro or a Vortex Venom. You don't need suppressor sights, that's just another thing to look for. You have to train to find the dot, just like the front sight. If you want to fast, for competition, then get at least a 7 MOA. Here is my kid running a Docter on a Dueck mount at a local steel match. First time out with a dot, although he had shot competition for about 7 years. Plates are 18 yards out. He has since switched to Deltas.

 
#4 ·
iRockGlock - I considered the dual-illuminated RMR for the no-battery reason, but I want (at least want the option of) manual brightness setting, instead of the sight always automatically adjusting the brightness.

Seems like there are numerous options that are "one thing shy" of perfect.

The dual-lume RMR's don't have manual brightness control. All the other RMR's have the underside-battery issue that I absolutely want to avoid. The Leupold DeltaPoint Pro is kind of large and a little taller than ideal, for iron co-witnessing.

Strangely, the two I'm tentatively leaning most toward are nothing alike - the Venom and the ACRO. The Venom, I'm not sure about mounting - all I've seen are dovetail mount, but I may just be missing the correct plate reference. The ACRO is twice as heavy and doesn't seem to be in stock anywhere anyway. Probably won't be buying anything in the next couple weeks or anything; just trying to gather options at this point. If there is an appropriate mounting plate for the Venom on an M&P CORE, that would probably so far be the front-runner.
 
#21 ·
Six, are you still running your Delta Point Pro? If so, are you still liking it? Reason I ask is I'm finally getting into the red dot game - I got a Sig Romeo 1Pro on my G17.5 and I'm liking what dots can do for me (it's taking a lot of practice to get the dot visible on the draw).

I like the Sig dot - my only gripe is pretty small - there's no clicks on elevation or windage. Seems to be friction adjustments, but they stay put for a long time so I don't argue.

Another observation is I like the steel shroud Sig gives you with the Romeo1 Pro, and I see the Delta Point Pro has a similar shroud. Not every dot comes with a protective shroud, and I like the idea.
 
#8 ·
I went with a Venom 6 moa on a G 17 4 MOS slide already had a G34 4 so put it on that frame . Vortex said 15 in/lb with no loctite . Got all my mounting screws from Battle Werx . 250 rounds so far no issues . I usually turn the dot down pretty low . Dialing the red dot in is the key to being accurate besides fundamentals . Shoot 5 to 7 yards on a 4 inch target on a pie plate . I can mostly keep them on the target . I focus on the target instead of the dot . Biggest thing is getting away from trying to see the iron sights at all . No co witness less distracting .
 
#9 ·
Dots are target focused (one focal plane). That's why they are so much easier to focus on then irons. The fast way to sight a dot in is to use a chamber laser sighter, like a SightMark. I sight it at 17 yards because that is the distance that we most commonly shoot steel at our local USPSA match.

C-More now has a 10 MOA dot being used by IPSC Grand Masters. That's still only 1" in diameter at 10 yards.
 
#24 ·
New to Glock myself. The Glock 40 Mos grabbed my attention, I had a Vortex Venom 3moa on one of my .22's, I mounted it on my G40 Mos, and am pretty impressed.

It hasnt lost zero after 400 rounds this week alone. Venom has a lifetime warranty and you can find them around $200.

2" groups at 25 yards with ease
2" at 25 yd is very impressive shooting indeed. Good work
 
#22 ·
Cazz, my kid was running the Delta, but just last year he switched to a Trijicon SRO. There is no doubt that the Trijicon is the toughest of all dots, because fo the shape, but it has a smaller window. However I ran it for a couple of stages, and it works because the dot is closer to the bottom of the window than the center. I have always run a Doctor 7 MOA for close to 30 years.

The way you draw to a dot is to look at the target only, then bring the gun up and then out versus an iron sight draw, which is more like a string attached from the holster to the target, while finding the sights.
 
#23 ·
Cazz, my kid was running the Delta, but just last year he switched to a Trijicon SRO. There is no doubt that the Trijicon is the toughest of all dots, because fo the shape, but it has a smaller window. However I ran it for a couple of stages, and it works because the dot is closer to the bottom of the window than the center. I have always run a Doctor 7 MOA for close to 30 years.

The way you draw to a dot is to look at the target only, then bring the gun up and then out versus an iron sight draw, which is more like a string attached from the holster to the target, while finding the sights.
Six, thanks. I'm gathering everyone's thoughts as I get set to purchase a 2nd red dot. Everything I'm seeing points to Trijicon's RMR as the king of the heap as far as toughness goes.

I didn't know the RMR dot sits closer to the bottom than the center... I consider that to be an important thing to know. Since the Delta Point Pro and the RMR are similarly priced, that's one of the factors that could weigh heavily in favor of the RMR. I don't run the competitions with anywhere near the intensity that you do - so I don't think I put the wear & tear on my Glocks that you do. That being the case, a steel shroud like what you find on a DPP (or a Sig Romeo1 Pro, for that matter) would likely protect my red dot just fine. HOWEVER - since the price point isn't all that different, it seems wiser to pick up an RMR, especially since the dot sits closer to the bottom of the window (among a seemingly endless string of other reasons).

Question - when you draw (with irons or dots), do you draw to a high ready and THEN push out? That's what I was trained to do.