Red dot on a carry pistol - worth it to mill a slide or nah?

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Considering adding a holo sight on my carry pistols and wonder if it's worth the trouble and cost to get the slide milled or to just go the cheaper route and get the rear sight adapter. How many of you find yourselves using the backup tall irons anyway? Figured at self defense distances, even with an electronic dot fail, you could eyeball the middle of the reticle and guesstimate your shots.
 
Inside 10 yards, you almost shouldn't even be looking at your sights.

If you are taking the 40 yard 'Mall Shooter Shot', I'm not sure I can hold a gun steady enough to not have a red dot distract me while trying to aim. They seem to be the new 'gee whiz' gadget for the tippy top shooters, shooting in competitions. I'm not sure how well they work on a 2 way range.
 
The way I see it theres an order for red dot mounts, custom milled slide -> factory milled slide with plate -> no red dot -> rear site adapter

The custom milled should fit without a plate, and the red dot will sit slightly lower. The plate adapter in the factory milled slide will sit slightly taller but is still good and really these are likely pretty much the same usability.

I don't like the idea of removing the rear site, self defense ranges for a pistol I consider out to 50 yards
 
If you need a red-dot at theoretical self-defense range, at a self-defense-sized target.....get a Louisville slugger.

OK, maybe I'm wrong - my only real experience with red-dots is on a target pistol for gallery shooting, but it sometimes takes longer than you'd think to get it that wandering dot located in the little window, and that's without "pressure."


Now, if anyone has a lead on a Crimson Trace grip for a PPK/s, PM me!
 
Good to know guys. Will avoid gucci-ing my P30 and stick to the good ol TLR2HL-G big green dot on perp could potentially work towards deescalation too
 
If your eyeballs are working well, you should invest in good iron sights. If your vision is aging ,you need red dots
p30 is tricky. Landon Tactical is doing milling for p30. I just send mine to them. Good luck
 
If your eyeballs are working well, you should invest in good iron sights. If your vision is aging ,you need red dots
p30 is tricky. Landon Tactical is doing milling for p30. I just send mine to them. Good luck
Thanks man. Good to know. A lot of guys I've reached out to wouldn't touch HK hammer slides with that kind of work.
 
Considering adding a holo sight on my carry pistols and wonder if it's worth the trouble and cost to get the slide milled or to just go the cheaper route and get the rear sight adapter. How many of you find yourselves using the backup tall irons anyway? Figured at self defense distances, even with an electronic dot fail, you could eyeball the middle of the reticle and guesstimate your shots.
The rear sight adapters are really just a stop gap. If you want a red dot, get the slide milled.

As for looking at the irons anyway, that comes from people who don’t train enough with them to get their presentation right
 
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If you only post about guns on the internet, you are a dumb boomer, have no interest in being faster and more accurate stay with your iron sights. If you see yourself wanting to be faster and more deadly get a quality RDO like the RMR or RMRcc on your carry pistol. If you set your pistol up correctly your irons will still be available. Once you train and become proficient you will never look back.
 
If you need a red-dot at theoretical self-defense range, at a self-defense-sized target.....get a Louisville slugger.

OK, maybe I'm wrong - my only real experience with red-dots is on a target pistol for gallery shooting, but it sometimes takes longer than you'd think to get it that wandering dot located in the little window, and that's without "pressure."


Now, if anyone has a lead on a Crimson Trace grip for a PPK/s, PM me!
I see what you mean. I was trying it out and drawing to eye level my Sub2K to see how long it took to acquire and maintain a dot picture and it's more cumbersome than irons for sure. Probably with practice it won't be an issue. This here seems like an interesting solution - a holo sight with an ACSS reticle and a larger ring to help quickly center the picture. Yeah, not a holy RMR but seems fine for what it is.

 
Rear sight adapters suck. If you aren’t sure whether you will like a red dot and want to try it out, then a rear sight adapter is a reasonable solution for a range gun. I wouldn’t trust one for defensive purposes. If you know that you are going to change over to using dots, then direct mill.

Like anything, dots have advantages and disadvantages. They are expensive. The must be installed correctly. The battery must be changed once per year. You need to keep the glass clean. Every time you pick up the gun, you should check that the red dot is still working. You MUST train with them so that you see the dot on the draw. They add bulk to your gun.

But they also have advantages. Beyond 10 yards they are much faster and more accurate. In low light they are like cheating. You can shoot with target focus while also seeing the dot. For old people like me who need reading glasses and have a hard time focusing on front sights, red dots are awesome.

The RMR is a very good red dot. What sucks about it is that you have to remove it from the slide to replace the battery. After that you will need to go to the range to confirm zero. You’ll need the appropriate torx bits, a small torque wrench or torque limiter, a degreaser, a paint marker to create witness marks, and thread locker to reinstall the RMR — it’s not hard but you need to do it right or the screws will back out.

I’m not a big fan of the RMRcc because it has a proprietary foot print. Most of the compact red dots use the Shield RMS footprint.

I’ve had good luck with Holosun red dots, though I don’t have as many rounds through them as my RMR. You can change the battery in a Holosun without removing from the slide.
 
Here is my findings based on a short amount of experience with a RDS: I will not go back to iron sights. I am 47 and my vision is not as sharp as it used to be. While it has had a minimal effect on my accuracy, I find it very disturbing that I cannot get a sharp focus on the front sight. Second, I was never comfortable with two eye open shooting. I find that my eyes fluctuate between right and left dominance.

A RDS solves both problems and more. The shroud ensures your strong side eye is the one that picks up the sight. This allows you to keep both eyes open. The dot is superimposed on the target side you can remain target focused without specifically focusing on the sight.

Here is the bonus: you don’t even have to focus on your intended point of impact. You can hold center mass while giving you attention to the target’s face, hands, etc. In a competition or target shooting setting this isn’t anything of concern, but in a defensive situation the exact spot you want your rounds to strike isn’t always what you want to be focusing on before firing.

I should have switched years ago.
 
Rear sight adapters suck. If you aren’t sure whether you will like a red dot and want to try it out, then a rear sight adapter is a reasonable solution for a range gun. I wouldn’t trust one for defensive purposes. If you know that you are going to change over to using dots, then direct mill.

Like anything, dots have advantages and disadvantages. They are expensive. The must be installed correctly. The battery must be changed once per year. You need to keep the glass clean. Every time you pick up the gun, you should check that the red dot is still working. You MUST train with them so that you see the dot on the draw. They add bulk to your gun.

But they also have advantages. Beyond 10 yards they are much faster and more accurate. In low light they are like cheating. You can shoot with target focus while also seeing the dot. For old people like me who need reading glasses and have a hard time focusing on front sights, red dots are awesome.

The RMR is a very good red dot. What sucks about it is that you have to remove it from the slide to replace the battery. After that you will need to go to the range to confirm zero. You’ll need the appropriate torx bits, a small torque wrench or torque limiter, a degreaser, a paint marker to create witness marks, and thread locker to reinstall the RMR — it’s not hard but you need to do it right or the screws will back out.

I’m not a big fan of the RMRcc because it has a proprietary foot print. Most of the compact red dots use the Shield RMS footprint.

I’ve had good luck with Holosun red dots, though I don’t have as many rounds through them as my RMR. You can change the battery in a Holosun without removing from the slide.
Yah that was the one thing I didn't like about the RMR as I'm comparing models. The side battery thing makes it so much more convenient. I have a Holosun and a flip over 2x on an AR that has been 100% for years and it's been knocked around the range quite a bit in that time. Get laughed at for putting 'airsoft chinesium' on my guns but whatever it works as it should. Thanks for informative reply
 
Considering adding a holo sight on my carry pistols and wonder if it's worth the trouble and cost to get the slide milled or to just go the cheaper route and get the rear sight adapter. How many of you find yourselves using the backup tall irons anyway? Figured at self defense distances, even with an electronic dot fail, you could eyeball the middle of the reticle and guesstimate your shots.
it is a totally bad idea to put a red dot on a carry gun. it is not needed there and will fail you when you`ll need it.
even if you will go with a model that automatically adjusts brightness, it is still an additional element, totally unnecessary for shooting a human size target within 10 yds.
in a case of the danger you will rely on your natural aim first anyway and will have no time to operate the red dot.

for a competition gun - sure, red dot is great to shoot at plates from 20 yds. to put it on a EDC P365 sig - a stupid thing. if you want to gucci it - put a light on it, with laser or without, like a tlr6.

PS. if you are unable to pull it from the holster and make a hole in the 12" paper target at 5 yds without looking at sights or aiming - you need to work on that. it is same as to point a finger at something. a basic skill, but, needs to be worked, as anything else.
 
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Yah that was the one thing I didn't like about the RMR as I'm comparing models. The side battery thing makes it so much more convenient. I have a Holosun and a flip over 2x on an AR that has been 100% for years and it's been knocked around the range quite a bit in that time. Get laughed at for putting 'airsoft chinesium' on my guns but whatever it works as it should. Thanks for informative reply
The battery is a pain but you only have to change them once every two years. They may go longer for all I know but I just set a reminder in my phone and change them every two years. The refresh rate is so much better on the Trijicon RMR and RMRcc. You don't get the tail effect you see on the Shield and really bad on the Holosun.
 
The battery is a pain but you only have to change them once every two years. They may go longer for all I know but I just set a reminder in my phone and change them every two years. The refresh rate is so much better on the Trijicon RMR and RMRcc. You don't get the tail effect you see on the Shield and really bad on the Holosun.
My Holosun SCS is solar (and artificial light) rechargeable. Even stored dark, it consumes less power than it gains from recharging. The claim is: it will, essentially, run indefinitely so long as there is an ambient light source, and will run down without light in an absurdly long time.
 
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