Wanting a red dot on a compact pistol.

[Wireguided Marine]

Which Trijicon sight did you put on it? How many rounds have you put through it? Are you using the stock front sight? What height rear?

I put an apex trigger in my 40c, I like it a lot.

Which Trijicon sight did you put on it? How many rounds have you put through it? Are you using the stock front sight? What height rear?

I put an apex trigger in my 40c, I like it a lot.

I put a RMR type 2 with the smaller dot, I think it’s 3 MOA.

I have suppressor height night sights, M&P front, Glock rear.

so far I’ve put about 150 rounds through, everything works well.

 

[clutch]

I got my slide back a few days ago. Initial test run at the club was encouraging. I am likely going to install higher front and rear sights if this works out. FWIW, at across the room distances, just putting front sight only on something is only a foot high and I can see enough of the front and rear sight for finer aiming. I suspect that at confrontation distances, I won't be using at all, hopefully that will never happen. sights

 

[wally]

From my (admittedly cursory) research, each sight seems to have a unique base. Which is a present limitation, to my thinking. Eventually, the base situation will wind up sorted. We will see.

The Aug 2021 issue of American Rifleman had a nice article on the available Red Dot optics for handguns and their mounting patterns, pages 54-61. I believe it is on-line and can be downloaded as pdf:
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nra/ar_202108/index.php?startid=51#/p/54

Here is a Trijicon RMR dual illumination (no batteries) optic on my S&W Shield 40. Its been my carry gun since ~2015 I was an early adopter and advocate for red dots on pistols. This is the view focusing the camera the way you use them -- focus on the target look thru the dot:

The "orange" halo is actually the hibiscus flower I used as the aiming point.

Here is the carry rig (when it was still rather new):

I'm transition to a Hellcat with Sig Romeo Zero 40 to 9 is a downgrade, but more rounds and slightly smaller size and weight is an upgrade. I can pocket carry the Hellcat in most of my pants:

Its taking some adjustment, since to shoot well I have to use the "first knuckle" to pull the trigger which is a first for me. For other handguns I'm pretty much 50-50 on pad vs. second knuckle as to which works best.

 

[doubleh]

I thought the Sig P365 XLS was the end all for small defensive handguns. Over time I have decided the red dot is more in the way than any good it does, at least in my case. I am seriously considering ordering the filler plate for my gun and putting the sight to use in a different application.

 

[citizenconn]

After (lucking into) my SIG 365X with Romeo Zero, I simply cannot imagine "going back."

I know folk who have had their existing slides milled, and often it's down to their expectations and the ability of the gunplumber for how well the sight cutout fits. Sadly, there's not quite enough uniformity (yet) to be able to have a single standard to hold to.

What kind of shooting do you do with your Sig, or what type of situation would you think a pistol with a red dot would be most effective?
I am mostly a rifle target shooter who does some occasional deer hunting, so I have a couple of pistols purposed mainly to shoot back at other commuters on I-45 on my way back and forth to work and to shoot potential carjackers when I stop for gas.
With the pistols I practice "point and shoot" more than actual aiming using the sights, so I am interested how difficult it is to retrain oneself to using illuminated sights. I know its not the same, but I tried shooting with the Walther my dad bought my mother for self defense which has a laser. Well by the time I could get the laser turned on and sighted onto the target 3 fellow commuters would have shot me and I'd have already been Steer and Cleared off the highway by the time I got a decent shot or two off.

 

[CapnMac]

What kind of shooting do you do with your Sig, or what type of situation would you think a pistol with a red dot would be most effective?

Well, mine has all been at a range.
And fairly mundane and placid sorts of ranges.
And, I'm thankful for that, too.

I've had, some experience with tachypsychia, tunnel vision, and the like (0/10, cannot recommend). And I have had some CQB training (enough to have strong opinions on only bringing a pistol to a gunfight*)..

So, what the dot on a pistol--for me--does is is bring to a handgun some of what having a dot on a carbine does. I can focus on situational awareness, and not on weapon specifics. As a far smarter person than I pointed out "Put the Dot on the Danger."

Now, of course, if a person has that combination of muscle memory and repetition to where the handgun just comes up to aim on reflex, then the dot is somewhat superfluous. And, as I have learned, you co-witness handgun RDS, that dot is down in the bottom of the glass, not its center like on a carbine or rifle. This is a thing that wants practice to get accustomed to.

Now, as to speed, that Romeo Zero is "shake awake"--it's "on" as soon as it moves. So, it's there at the same time the front sight is, too.

"Shooting back" at folks on I-45? From, oh, 290 to 105, my preference would be an M1A3 Abrams, and even then, it would be a near thing (south of 290, I'd take my chances in an MV-22, thank you very much). (Spent far too much of my life commuting to Bellaire once a week [])

______________________________
*At my age, I should be no nearer the pointy end of the spear than Regiment or Brigade HQ, but, being stubborn, would probably have a sidearm there, too. My notion of a "fair" gunfight runs to finding a Major to direct a Company to go suppress a given hostile with suitable offensive fires.

 

[citizenconn]

Now, of course, if a person has that combination of muscle memory and repetition to where the handgun just comes up to aim on reflex, then the dot is somewhat superfluous.

I have Uncle Sugar to thank for that.

I am only somewhat jesting about the need for a gun in traffic in Houston nowadays. It's turned into Death Race 2020 since the last presidential election.

This just in today's news:
https://www.click2houston.com/news/...ant-driver-found-shot-to-death-in-sw-houston/

https://www.click2houston.com/news/...mes-while-driving-on-gulf-freeway-police-say/

https://www.click2houston.com/news/...-after-possible-road-rage-incident-hcso-says/

 

[herrwalther]

I too didn’t want to buy something else and then have this become a safe queen. Especially because I like M&P.

Why did you take out the extractor? Just because or DP needed it out?

I am going to go slightly against the grain here. Buy another firearm that is already optic ready. More and more firearms are coming out of the factory cut for red dots. If your EDC firearm is a mostly stock, popular firearm, there is a depreciating requirement to have it sent out to a machine shop to be milled.

 

[wally]

there is a depreciating requirement to have it sent out to a machine shop to be milled.

The major advantages of milling an existing gun its an incremental expense for a gun you already have as opposed to buying a new gun, and the custom milled slide can usually mount the optic 1/8" or more lower than the factory "adapter" plates. The downsides are you don't have use of the gun for the time the slide is being milled, and you can't change your mind on the choice of optic once you've had it done.

I have the highest "rear sight replacement" mounting plates and the lowest custom milled slides, and the factory adapter plates. IMHO you've a learning curve as has already been mentioned here for your draw stroke. and once you've got it down the three mounting options aren't worth arguing about for me -- go what is easiest for your situation. If you go rear sight replacement mount you can always have the slide milled later if you think a ~1/4" lower mounting will be worth it to you.

 

[Wireguided Marine]

Why did you take out the extractor? Just because or DP needed it out?

I am going to go slightly against the grain here. Buy another firearm that is already optic ready. More and more firearms are coming out of the factory cut for red dots. If your EDC firearm is a mostly stock, popular firearm, there is a depreciating requirement to have it sent out to a machine shop to be milled.

I stripped the slide because DP had to mill it that way. I figured for a small amount of money I’d upgrade the extractor since replacing a broken one is more complicated with the red dot above it.

If I had to start over from the beginning my first purchase would have been an optic ready handgun. But since this was my first handgun and I’ve become proficient with it I wanted to give it an RMR. And since S&W hasn’t gotten around to making a C.O.R.E model of the subcompact this was the next best thing.

 

[clutch]

I've shot the holosun at the club twice now. My second time out was better as we had a stage to simulate the mall shooting recently so I was reaching out to 40+ yards. There was also some small steel that rewarded accuracy. After shooting a XDM, having to plan a mag change makes me have to do some thinking. I ordered a +2 magguts to make one magazine 10 rounds.

How long the battery lasts in my 407k x2 red has bothered me so I sliced up a single clad pcb blank and made an adapter to reach into the battery compartment and see how much current the sight uses.



Here is what I found. Looking at specs, I may have stopped a bit soon.

336.8 µa
91.4 µa
30.2 µa
15.5 µa
10.5 µa
8.5 µa
8.0 µa
7.8 µa

The battery has a capacity of 130 mah or 130000 µah discharging to about 2v.

So at the highest setting 130000/336.8 = ~386 hours if it never turns off. My sight only turns off if it is off my body as any movement turns it on. Lets figure you can double it if you take the gun off when you get home so 32 days battery life.

Next is 1422 hours, doing the double for rest time, 118 days. You can do the math on the other settings.

I'm not going to worry too much about the battery going dead on me. I'll change it once a year, I just set it three clicks down from high and could see it fine outside. I left it on when I put it back in the safe.

One of these days, likely during the winter, I'll test to see when the low voltage indicator turns on, I'll have to rig up a voltage divider.

 

[sevt_chevelle]

I am going to go slightly against the grain here. Buy another firearm that is already optic ready. More and more firearms are coming out of the factory cut for red dots. If your EDC firearm is a mostly stock, popular firearm, there is a depreciating requirement to have it sent out to a machine shop to be milled.

Some guns or should say companies don't or won't offer optic ready versions, cough cough CZ.
Had my 1st Gen shield milled, was cheaper to mill than it was to go out and buy a new 600 dollar optic ready shield plus.
Bought a spare slide for my M&P compact, now called subcompact, gonna be getting milled cause S&W doesn't offer OR guns.

 

[Ks5shooter]

Wife loves the RMR on her G43x. I do alot of target shooting with G35,G41 AND G34.Practice is key when for carrying with and shooting a reddot.Setting up a G43x slide with optic to put on top of my G48 now.

 

[kidneyboy]

Shooting back" at folks on I-45? From, oh, 290 to 105, my preference would be an M1A3 Abrams, and even then, it would be a near thing (south of 290, I'd take my chances in an MV-22, thank you very much). (Spent far too much of my life commuting to Bellaire once a week [])

Thanks for the early morning chuckle!

 

[SwampWolf]

Maybe I missed it, but what is the cost of having a slide milled to accommodate an optic?

 

[sevt_chevelle]

I had Floyd's custom, who specializes in M&Ps do my 1gen shield, the cut was about 125.