Police Gun Sight?

Stainless 14

Stainless 14

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screen grab from a police body camera. Anyone know about this type of sight? It has some sort of lens/viewer? Never seen this before.
 

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You’ve never seen a red dot on a pistol before? Really?

www.northeastshooters.com

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

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...
www.northeastshooters.com www.northeastshooters.com
 
@Stainless 14 - don't let them get to you.
It's obvious that you aren't up to speed on current optical sight options but slide mounted sights have been around a while. That's why the ribbing.

Once you get used to them they allow a much faster sight acquisition in low light than standard sights. Perfect alignment isn't necessary so swapping hands or eye doesn't effect shot placement so just line up the dot on the target and that's where it hits (assuming offhand trigger pull is decent).
Do some reading up on them - you might find out that you have a new "need"
 
pastera said:
@Stainless 14 - don't let them get to you.
It's obvious that you aren't up to speed on current optical sight options but slide mounted sights have been around a while. That's why the ribbing.

Once you get used to them they allow a much faster sight acquisition in low light than standard sights. Perfect alignment isn't necessary so swapping hands or eye doesn't effect shot placement so just line up the dot on the target and that's where it hits (assuming offhand trigger pull is decent).
Do some reading up on them - you might find out that you have a new "need"
Click to expand...
Yeah, but they'll get you killed on the street. [rofl]
 
pastera said:
@Stainless 14 - don't let them get to you.
It's obvious that you aren't up to speed on current optical sight options but slide mounted sights have been around a while. That's why the ribbing.

Once you get used to them they allow a much faster sight acquisition in low light than standard sights. Perfect alignment isn't necessary so swapping hands or eye doesn't effect shot placement so just line up the dot on the target and that's where it hits (assuming offhand trigger pull is decent).
Do some reading up on them - you might find out that you have a new "need"
Click to expand...
Thank you for the info and advice. I'll def research the best option(s) for mine. While we're on the subject, with a ton of choices I see online, what should I look for feature-wise as a first time purchase? A general idea. :)
 
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Stainless 14 said:
Thank you for the info and advice. I'll def research the best option(s) for my needs. :)
Click to expand...
I just started into the red dot rabbit hole.
Still not fast acquiring the dot but once it's in view follow up shots are easy
Also even without glasses to correct my astigmatism the dot is very usable - iron sights not nearly as good uncorrected.
Daughter just bought her first gun last month and went with an optic. While it's not the best use, she has an easier time racking the slide by hooking the optic than a standard grasp (she's tiny so even a compact is big for her)
 
Stainless 14 said:
Thank you for the info and advice. I'll def research the best option(s) for mine. While we're on the subject, with a ton of choices I see online, what should I look for feature-wise as a first time purchase? A good place to start, I mean. :)
Click to expand...
I have a browning buckmark on my Victory 22.
For around $60 you can't go wrong to test the waters and a 22 isn't going to beat it up
 
pastera said:
Also even without glasses to correct my astigmatism the dot is very usable - iron sights not nearly as good uncorrected.
Click to expand...
i noticed one thing, and it may or may not be relevant. i also see dot way better without glasses, and with glasses on to correct astigmatism the dot deforms.
but i noticed that a pair of glasses with that, forgot the name - the IV reacting darkening thing - with that pair the dot actually looks perfectly clear as a dot, if like that coating somehow affects the reflections that make it distorted. not sure if it is just a coincidence, or a feature.

to the OP - watch a lot of youtubes on the topic. of what RDS to buy - trijicon or holosun, stick to that only and avoid all the rest.
 
paul73 said:
to the OP - watch a lot of youtubes on the topic. of what RDS to buy - trijicon or holosun, stick to that only and avoid all the rest.
Click to expand...
Buy once...
My suggestion was to introduce to a red dot not something to mount to a carry gun.

I have a single prescription lens - bifocal didn't play well at the range so I have to play the glasses on/off game.
I do have multi focal contacts that "work" with the red dot but they don't correct astigmatism so it's still more of a star than dot. Multifocal does a great job of keeping front sight and target in focus though (but the contacts are 4x cost of basic contacts)
 
I’ve seen some YouTube influencers recommending one of the SIG optics (I can’t keep track of which SIG optic is which), but I’ve got no direct experience and don’t know whether they are just pushing a sponsor’s product. In the past, I got the impression that SIG optics were spotty.
 
There a million and many are good. In addition to those mentioned above, Vortex and Burris and Leupold are all very popular. Just about any handgun will take one. Some have milled slides (increasingly an OEM option) but you can almost always just buy a dovetail rear optic plate from EGW or others.
 
LittleCalm said:
There a million and many are good. In addition to those mentioned above, Vortex and Burris and Leupold are all very popular. Just about any handgun will take one. Some have milled slides (increasingly an OEM option) but you can almost always just buy a dovetail rear optic plate from EGW or others.
Click to expand...
from my personal experience - there is nothing more annoying than a zoo of slides milled or set on adapters for incompatible red dot mounts.
trijicon and holosun at least will have a same 'RMR' mount pattern.

except of the new RMRcc, as i understand, just because WHY it all had to remain simple.
 
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pastera said:
@Stainless 14 - don't let them get to you.
It's obvious that you aren't up to speed on current optical sight options but slide mounted sights have been around a while. That's why the ribbing.

Once you get used to them they allow a much faster sight acquisition in low light than standard sights. Perfect alignment isn't necessary so swapping hands or eye doesn't effect shot placement so just line up the dot on the target and that's where it hits (assuming offhand trigger pull is decent).
Do some reading up on them - you might find out that you have a new "need"
Click to expand...
OP - as others have said, you'll need to do some research, and nothing beats actually getting behind a few of these to see what your actual preferences are. While you're doing your research, keep in mind a number of variables...
  • Size of the dot - small (1 MOA) to large (6-8 MOA), and even combinations of central dot with larger ring. Generally, larger reticle (dot/ring) leads to faster acquisition, but it covers more of the target so smaller reticle for "precision". Your preference and use case will inform your choice.
  • Size/shape of window - small to large, round, rounded, or square/rectangular. Again, preferences, and possibly issues of printing/holstering if carrying. Generally, larger windows show more area around target so simplify transitions. On the other hand, many choose to shoot with both eyes open, and once you find the dot the window size may not matter. (With red dots/reflex/holographic sights, you focus on the plane of the target NOT on the dot or the iron sights).
  • Size of the sight - like size of the window, typically small sights better "fit" small guns. So, also depends on what firearm you intend to mount the sight on.
  • Sight material - ruggedness of sight and intended use. Some are plastic, some are steel, some have steel protective shrouds, etc. Along these lines too, some sights are designed/tested for hard use and will survive drops/other abuse. Others are designed more for range/target, where ruggedness is less of a consideration.
  • Battery life - many now have some form of motion activation. So, sight turns itself off when not being moved to save battery life, and then turn themselves on automatically when any motion is sensed. Some sights claim battery life of 50,000 hours, so this is YEARS without needing to change batteries. Keep in mind that if you are carrying, the sight will always be on. Following that point, ease of changing the battery may be relevant. Some sights require you to remove them from the weapon to change the battery, while others have battery access from the top or side of the sight.
  • Mounting - as others have indicated, specific sights have specific screw patterns for mounting, and you have to have the correct slide cut or mounting plate for a particular slide/sight in order to do the mounting. Early approaches were to have the slide milled and tapped for a specific sight. More recently, many manufacturers have offered optics mounting systems with optional plates to accommodate most available sights. Again, your specific firearm will be relevant here.
You'll have to do a lot of exploring and research to come up to speed. Many people have favorites, but often those are favorites for specific weapons and use cases that may not align with yours, so you're going to have to rely on your own experimentation/research/preferences.

I have a number of dot sights and prefer them to irons due to my age and vision peculiarities. I find them faster/easier to use than irons, and I am markedly more accurate when using them compared to irons. I love the C-more sight on my race gun, but it is far too bulky/fragile for any other application. I love my RMR on a 1911 (rugged/reliable). I love the Sig Romeo 1pro on the p320, and the Romeo zero on the 365xl. Etc., etc. If I had to pick one that was just my favorite, it might be a Holosun on my Staccato P DPO, but I can't tell you that's because of the sight or the gun - probably just that combination rings my chime.

Hope some of this helps, YMMV.
 
M1911 said:
In the past, I got the impression that SIG optics were spotty.
Click to expand...
When I bought the X5 I got the original sig Romeo 1, as that pretty much all that would screw right on. Reading the reviews it was supposed to be somewhat unreliable, so I bought 3, so as to not be without for any appreciable time. Granted I don't cock the gun with the dot, clear malfunctions against the barricade with it or drop it on to concrete upside down, however several years and a gajillion rounds later the other two are still sealed in the box. Only trouble I've had is when I neglect to tighten the battery cover firmly.
 
paul73 said:
from my personal experience - there is nothing more annoying than a zoo of slides milled or set on adapters for incompatible red dot mounts.
trijicon and holosun at least will have a same 'RMR' mount pattern.

except of the new RMRcc, as i understand, just because WHY it all had to remain simple.
Click to expand...
It would be nice if there was an industry standard. I thought there are various adapter plates for most milled slides but could be wrong about that. In any event, to date I have just bought the appropriate dovetail mounting plate and not messed with milled slides, except for my 320 X5, which came with a milled slide and has an adapter plate.
 
To the OP, I wouldn't get hung up with all the nuances -- you'll go crazy. Popular red dots are the Burris FastFire 3 (3 MOA), Vortex Viper (6 MOA), Leupold Delta Point Pro (2.5 MOA), Sig Romeo 1 (6 MOA) and Holosun HS507 (2 MOA). You really can't go wrong with any of these. There are others, too, but these are a sampling of the more popular red dots IMO. As with most things, you have to try them all to develop a preference, though I have various of these models and don't really have a preference. Some, however, are larger than others. The DPP is quite large compared to the others but is also more robust in terms of its build.
 

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