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OPTICAL SIGHT FOR HANDGUN

mlbmichigan
I need an optical sight for my 1911 and Glock 19. I had a red dot on my 1911, but it died (it came with the gun and was a tasco). The issue is that I would like one that has a low prfile and that I can holster for my carry gun (do they make special holsters for optical sighted guns). Not sure which way to go and would appreciate any advise. I have not been able to find anything suitable. Price is an issue.
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7 comments

Date Votes
  • beantownshootah
    I apologize for contradicting the premise of your question, but in my opinion, nobody "needs" an optical sight on a defensive/carry gun.

    That's just one more thing to go wrong (snag, crack, go off zero, lose battery, etc) when the chips are down and the adrenaline is pumping.

    If pistol optical sights are so necessary, then how come no police or military unit has them as standard (or hell, non-standard) issue?

    I suggest you are better served by spending your discretionary money on range time and practice ammo to master use of the conventional iron sights, instead of on an external sight.

    If your eyesight isn't very good, you might consider fiber optic sights. Self-luminous tritium "night" sights might also be worthy of consideration.

    As a secondary concern, you say "price is an issue", but you didn't indicate your budget. Without getting into specifics, in the world of optical "anything" you aren't going to be able to combine "cheap" and "good".

    For a combat type optical sight (eg something that won't easily crack if dropped/banged, something that will retain a zero under recoil and shock, and something with a long battery life) you should expect to shell out at least $100-200, plus the cost of the mount.

    While there are probably some good high-end hunting type sights that could work, unlike combat RIFLE sights (like the EOTech, ACOG, etc), I'm not familiar with any makers that offer optical sights specifically intended for the purpose of handgun combat.


    EDIT:
    Now we're getting somewhere. If the issue is poor sight visibility, there are ways to address that.

    Again, fiber optic sights are good, and are readily available for both 1911s and Glocks. As one example, Novak sights are amongst the best, and they offer a nice selection here:

    http://www.novaksights.com/novak_fiber_optic_sights.htm

    If you are used to and like a red dot sight, I'd suggest picking a set with the front sight in red, eg:

    cgrset00076w.jpg

    XS makes a variety of "big dot" sights that are designed to enhance visibility. The idea is a pistol version of the old African big game rifle sights. While you lose a little bit of precision, you should make up for it in increased speed and visibility:

    http://www.xssights.com/store/handgun.html

    These also have built in tritium/night sight capability.

    Another pretty easy (and cheap) trick is just to paint the sights with some brightly colored enamel. You can use a specialty product like this (there are several on the market):

    http://www.brightsights.com/index.shtml

    Though, I've found that simple red nail polish works pretty well.
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  • mlbmichigan
    Thank you beantownshootah. My problem does seem to be my eyesight. I cannot focus on the sights and the target well enough to align. I'll check out the night sights and see if they help.
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  • geeguy
    An Ultra Dot will last on the 1911, but it is very large.

    I agree with Beantown. I also have a problem seeing the iron site, and my solution was to go to fibre optics on the front. Since I concentrate on the front site I can see that quickly. I wouldn't want to use that method for target shooting, but for CCW it has proved adequate (at least at the range in well lit and dim lit conditions).

    Best of luck
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  • Hawk Carse
    The only thing I can think of remotely suitable would be the J-Point.
    http://www.jprifles.com/1.6.1.php

    They claim military and police applications.

    You may not be happy with the price, $300. An extra low mount with the device sunk into the slide for better holster carry will add to the cost.

    quote: are we talking about having to have a gun smith actually cut away part of the slide?

    Yes. It gets the dot usefully closer to the bore and iron sight line but adds a good deal of milling machine time, probably another $100.

    Fibre optic sights are subject to kicking the colored insert out at inconvenient times. I have had good luck with Super Glue but I don't use them on defense weapons. The commercial sight paint I tried was rather pastel. I prefer Model Master Fluorescent Red over a white base coat.
    The XS white bead in a V notch is easy to see but a little imprecise at longer ranges. Not a big consideration on a hideout gun.
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  • mlbmichigan
    Thank you. I'll check out both this site (I've already looked at the website you sent) and the night sites. One question and please forgive my ignorance. When you mentioned a low mount 'sunken' into the slide, are we talking about having to have a gun smith actually cut away part of the slide? Many thanks.
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  • cpermd
    Look at the Docter Optic sight.

    CP
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  • quickmajik
    Also take a look at Trijicon's RMR and the Aimpoint H-1..
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