Pistol red dots?

Slide mounted? Carry or competition?

I'm not terribly impressed with my Vortex Viper. Warranted once, whatever, they all fail, but the glare from the emitter is so bad it washes out the dot making it a big useless red screen. And you have to remove to change batteries, which last ok but not great. The Venom is ridiculously tall IMO, handled but haven't shot.

The DPP and Sig are most popular for competition, never heard any of those guys complain about glare under the same conditions.

The Trijicons still rule for carry, battery life and durability are great, window is small, frame thick, lenses dark though I think the latest less so.

Holosun 507c is getting some attention in competition and there's some reviews saying it's tough enough for duty/carry. I'm still kicking around getting one.
 
Slide mounted? Carry or competition?

I'm not terribly impressed with my Vortex Viper. Warranted once, whatever, they all fail, but the glare from the emitter is so bad it washes out the dot making it a big useless red screen. And you have to remove to change batteries, which last ok but not great. The Venom is ridiculously tall IMO, handled but haven't shot.

The DPP and Sig are most popular for competition, never heard any of those guys complain about glare under the same conditions.

The Trijicons still rule for carry, battery life and durability are great, window is small, frame thick, lenses dark though I think the latest less so.

Holosun 507c is getting some attention in competition and there's some reviews saying it's tough enough for duty/carry. I'm still kicking around getting one.
Thanks for the info. I’d use it for a little of both. Mainly a home gun. They will be what inshoot whenever I do a pistol Match and maybe carried 10% of the time
 
I’d look at the Delta Point Pro then, sounds like it would fit your needs the best. If you were gonna be more carry focused, I would say go with the RMR, but with more range/competition use, I think the larger window on the DPP might benefit you more.

I’m hearing/reading great things about the holosun 507c but u would have to get some experience with one personally before I’d feel comfortable recommending it for carry. IMO the Sig Romeo and the micro dots from Vortex are NOT something I would put on something I would use for anything serious.
 
The Trijicon RMR is the "gold standard" however they were the only serious competition on the market for a while.

I have been going back and forth with putting a RDS on my G19 MOS to see how I like it.
My top contenders are:
RMR - cost is the biggest killer, not a huge fan of the blue green glass.

507C - I've been pleased with other offerings from them, however the 507C just looks huge.

Shield RMS - smallest lightest sight, question its long term durability, however the new RMS-W has a new housing and improved waterproofing. They also make a low profile mounting plate that potentially allows the use of standard height sights. Probably what I will go with.
 
Whats the best one out there for the money? Vortex?

The Trijicon RMR (adjustable) is hands down the industry standard for a MRDS mounted on a pistol. That being said, it is also a high dollar item. If you can swing it, you will not regret it at all. I have been carrying an RMR06 (3.5 MOA) daily on a Glock 17 for well over 2 years now.


As for other, more budget conscious options. I would say the Holosun 507C is almost impossible to beat when it comes to value for your money. The features and performance you are going to get with that optic are head and shoulders above the rest when it comes to its price point, about $250. That being said, it does have a couple of cons, but they don’t outshine the pros in my book. I have been running one of these, briefly as a carry option, and now as a home protection pistol for the last few months since getting it mounted back in October.


More recently, I have been playing around, in training and the occasional competition, with a Sig X-Carry with the Gen1 Romeo 1 mounted on it. It’s not bad, but by far not my favorite. My biggest gripe with it is the brightness adjustment is less than desirable. It’s either super bright or almost too light to actually see well, no in between. If the next generation Romeo 1 Pro and/or the Romeo 2 sights address this in addition to the more ruggedized body designs they have planned, it will be a game changer for the factory offerings from Sig.


As for Vortex, I wouldn’t even consider one of their MRDS offerings. While I do love their LPVO products, as I actually run a Strike Eagle 1x6 on my 3Gun rifle, the dot sights for the pistols are not nearly as robust as they need to be. Vortex has a phenomenal lifetime warranty offering on all of their products. But, I’d rather not have to deal with sending the optic back to them for repair every few months when something else goes wrong with it. I have seen that scenario play out time and time again.
 
Burris is a notch down from Vortex in my experience. Similar performance, without the lifetime warrant and customer service of Vortex. It would be a hard no go on any of my guns.
Agreed. I spend a little more and get a better optic.
 
Looks like the rmr is best option. Gonna take a little time to stomach spending as much on a red dot as I did the Glock it’s going on

That would be a great choice. Optics Planet generally has the best offerings for sales on these things. If you need/want a discount code and are on FB I can direct you to a guy who can hook you up with one. Just give a shout.

https://www.opticsplanet.com/trijicon-6-5-adj-red-rmr-type-2.html?_iv_code=TJ-RD-T6ARRT-700679
 
I’ve had a few rmr’s and I really like them. Especially on handguns. No comparison when it comes to shooting on the move. I usually try to save up and get the better stuff when it comes to optics. If you don’t like them you can usually get most of your money back. Good luck.
 
I have 2 original (not type 2) rmrs on mos g19s that I like a lot. I got them both when Cabelas was blowing out the type 1 rm06s for $350 each. If you want the “best”, there’s no substitute for a type 2 RMR at the moment. I have some battlewerx plates mounted underneath my type 1s for better battery contact and I’m good with them. I carry one of the rmr’d 19s from time to time. Take note, once your shoot a pistol with a red dot, it’s very heard to go back to irons only...

I also just picked up a 507c. I’ve got it mounted to another MOS 19 I had lying around. I personally like the MOS option better than milling as I’m fickle when it comes to optics and like to try out the latest and greatest. I don’t like the idea of being tied to just one optic by getting a slide milled specifically for that one either. I also can’t get over sending a perfectly good slide in to get cut up. That’s just me though.

Holosun was smart by making the 507c fit the standard RMR cut. I just mounted the 507c to a g19 the other day, and from initial impressions, I like it better than the RMR. That eotech like reticle has much potential I think. I hope to get to the range this weekend to zero it and see how it holds up for 200 or so rds.

I can’t speak for anything other than the rmrs though with direct experience. I’d easily recommend one of them.
 
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I've been running a Vortex Venom (not Viper as mentioned above) on a competition Carry Optics 9mm pistol. No issues at all with approximately 3K rounds on it. Of course, I turn it off when it isn't being used so I can't speak to the battery life. With the Venom, you don't have to remove it from the pistol to change the battery. I think it is a great option if one is trying to save a benjamin.

I also have a RMR and its battery life is fantastic and it is always on. The only downside to the RMR is its smaller window but that can be trained through.

The best option if money is no option is the Delta Point Pro 2.5 MOA dot.
 
Best one for the money he says....

For a range gun?

Well my frugal would say the Weaver Microdot...once you place the battery contact in the right position so recoil doesnt affect it. Had terrible reviews for this reason alone but it's a 15 second fix that I found on Amazon reviews. This one came off my Turkey gun and shot about 25-50 foster slugs so I would say it should last on the 22A. Think I paid $75 for it on Walmart clearance lol....


Otherwise dont cheap out and get a RMR or DPP.

Everything else is Chinese...so pick your level of cheap or quality and go.
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I have only used two.

Trijicon RMR

Lightweight
Reliable
Durable

But it’s pricey

Vortex Venom

Reliable
Durable
Lifetime warranty
Great customer service

But...I shoot my Trijicon RMR better.


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Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
 
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I am currently running the RMR, two CMORE RTS2, two Vortex Venoms and 2 Burris Fast Fires.

IMHO, the Burris FFs are the crappiest of the lot & I wouldn’t buy another one. In fact, I have one that needs to be returned for warranty because it won’t hold zero anymore.

One other thing I will say is the Delta Point Pro is it is the best looking, most symmetrical dot of anything I’ve ever seen. I previously thought that their 2.5 MOA dot would be way too small for a pistol but it isn’t. I have a bit of astigmatism and none of the dots I have mentioned look as good as the DPP to me.




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I've got a Vortex Venom that I need to mount on my gen5 G34. I shot a buddy's G40 MOS with a RMR & liked it a bunch & suspect after shooting my G34, I'll be putting RDSs on more pistols.
 
B201BD09-892D-4885-A5A9-0BAC377B1EFC.jpeg I just ordered a 3.25 rmr and a set of the ameriglo orange front and blacked out rear. Its what I like when shooting without an optic.

Figured if you’re going to spend the dough on a rmr might as well get the sights you like.


Edited to add-These are the tritium night sights as well for $15 or so more than the nontritium sights you mentioned.
 
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View attachment 114786 I just ordered a 3.25 rmr and a set of the ameriglo orange front and blacked out rear. Its what I like when shooting without an optic.

Figured if you’re going to spend the dough on a rmr might as well get the sights you like.


Edited to add-These are the tritium night sights as well for $15 or so more than the nontritium sights you mentioned.

I worry that it'll be too busy with 3 sight dots and the red dot? Ive seen some say that it is, and some dont notice.
 
I’m no gun slinger, only a guy that carries concealed and just likes to do a little run and gun around the house.

I’ve had a couple rmr’d glocks, one with blacked out front and rear and one with 3 white dots. I’m not very big on the blacked out front sight personally. The one I’m getting set up now has a blacked out rear with tritium, but the tritium is barely visible in the daylight so it’ll essentially be one dot up front besides the dot from the optic. From others I’ve shot I’d say the dot from the optic is going to mostly overpower the front sight. I’m also going to run the rear sight in front of the optic, not sure if that would make a difference though.


Good luck buddy
 
I worry that it'll be too busy with 3 sight dots and the red dot? Ive seen some say that it is, and some dont notice.

It won’t be. I had the same concern at first and bought a set of the all black ameriglos you mentioned for my Roland special. I also have a set of three dot on another gun and as long as you are training to use the dot properly, you don’t even notice the sights.
 
So I decided to just break down and go with the RMR.

Question on sights... ameriglo has all black supressor sights for less than $70... night sights are $120 ish.
With the dot on there, do I really need night sights?

I have backup tritium sights on all red dot pistols in case of failure.

Meprolight has Suppressor height sights for $60-$70 on Amazon.


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Ordered my RMR today, dropped my slide off for the cut and decided to go with the ameriglo black sights. Mainly because this wont be a carry gun.

You went the right direction. As robust as the RMR is, the chances of having to go to your irons is very low. I've had the all black front and rear on both of my RDS carry guns for over two years. I have yet to get killed on the streets. I've been murdered in a few competitions though. =)
 
If not a carry gun, I'd ditch the sights entirely.
I'm actually thinking of putting a black suppressor height front on my CO gun, mostly because the Viper sucks, slide's milled so being cheap I'm still trying to make it work.
When the zero shifted because the lens came loose I had no reference to clue me in, made for a miserable match. I think it will also assist with the dumb glare issues with the low sun in winter. When everything is normal it'll just be there unnoticed I imagine.
 
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I've got a type 1 RMR 06 on a G19 and love it. I had issues with it going out and not being 100% when I initially got it. Called trijicon and they paid for it to be shipped to them and upgraded the electronics to type 2 (I bought mine just before the type 2 hit the market) and have never had an issue since. It gets beat up and never even hiccups.

Worth the extra for the RMR. Buy once and cry once instead of crying often with issues on something else.

My 19 has trijicon suppressor night sights on it too. I like the back up, but don't ever really need them. The old habit of looking for the front sight post I think helps me find the dot faster.
 
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You definitely went the right way with getting a RMR. It's a little after the fact since I see you've already sent it off for milling, but in my opinion the ideal set up is blacked out irons with the rear dovetail in front of the optic.

It kind of gives you a best of both worlds sight picture in my opinion. The rear iron can't obstruct your view of the dot, but you still have a solid iron sight picture in the super rare chance that your rmr goes down.

I've been carrying and shooting my P10c in carry optics for a while now, and I definitely think RDS handguns are the future.
 
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