Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Who uses a red dot optic on their carry pistol?

I was looking at a SIG P320 compact today that came equipped with the SIG Romeo 1 Pro and a couple of things occurred to me. The first was if you pull you pistol and your battery is dead it may result in a second or two of hesitation before you pick up the iron sights. Secondly I don't have any idea how rugged the adjustments are on this particular product. If you look at this video you see that the man that was killed was trying to get his pistol out of his holster when the shotgun assassin killed him. Hesitation of any sort is deadly. Granted the guy was a damn fool to stand there trying to pull his pistol with a shotgun trained on him. The question is about reliability and durability.

https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2019/12/dont-mess-with-texas.php

I wouldn’t worry about dead batteries. It’s weapon maintenance. No different than acknowledging that a sports car requires more maintenance than an F150.

Just don’t buy a cheap optic.

They’re not the future, they’re the now.

Sig Romeo 1 pro cheap??

No one.

I will as soon as top tier micro RDS technology catches up to the Sig P365 XL or SA Hellcat-sized guns.

Aimpoint Acro and Trijicon RMR are the only pistol optics I would trust for self defense use. I have had both and have an Acro currently.

I like the sig 320 compact Carry the one I saw had the sig Romeo 1 pro on it. I don’t know anything about the optic, but the gun is good.

I don’t know anything about any of the Sig optics.

We have used the RMRs, SRO, Leupold, and ACRO. The ACRO will cause the most problems printing but is a great optic. The Leupold has the best glass. The Leupold and SRO have the best windows.

The Acro prints more than the RMR, for me, when carried appendix but when carried strong side I don’t see any difference. I prefer the Acro because the closed emitter doesn’t allow rain to interfere with the dot, which happens a bit here in western Oregon.

UPDATE: Two nearly blind guys use them.

This. Just replace the batteries on a regular schedule.

The RDS greatly increases the overall versatility of a pistol. The ability to engage effectively beyond 25 yards is really nice. That’s where I see the greatest benefit. That, and faster follow-ups.

Up close, I use it as much as I’d use my iron sights, which is very little. Sometime after the first shot, I find the dot.

I liked the sig set up red dot with suppressor sights. I am not sure about the sig optics, the gun I examined had the dot high and to the right when the suppressor sights were on target. It makes ya wonder, or maybe they just don't bother to adjust them before they leave the factory. I don't think sig guns will accept an rmr or leupold.

I’m sure they don’t zero them at the factory.

Plates are available to mount other optics.
https://benstoegerproshop.com/springer-precision-p320-x5-red-dot-optic-adapter-plate/

Other than a few shots with other guys stuff at the range I have no experience.

What kind of regular schedule? Weekly? Monthly?

I'll have to look at the 320's again, the ones I've seen and shot had no rear sight on them. The Sig dot replaced the rear iron sight but it worked very well. I do have a Sig Romeo 4H on an AR 15-22 and the more I use it, the more I like it.

I had an RMR on a CORE that I liked and if I go back to one, it'll be high on the list.

I've shot a few Vortex's and don't care for them.

Red dots in my opinion are just not quite where I'd like them to be yet on a carry gun. I thought the ACRO was going to be the one but credible reports show a 3 week battery life if left on. That's unacceptable for me. My RMR went over a year, very robust but rain drops in the right spot make it useless. I'm hoping something better comes along pretty quick.

I have a Crimson Trace mounted on my Ruger LCP. Batteries last a LONG time. I function check it at least once a week, usually more. If it starts to look a little weak, I check to see if the lens is clean. If lens is clean, I then pull the batteries and check them with a tester. Harbor Freight has testers VERY cheap.They were for a long time giving them away free with ANY purchase. I probably have 6 or 7 in my garage, kitchen junk drawer, and truck, etc. If the batteries are getting a little weak, I just replace them with new. I order batteries on E-Bay for dirt cheap prices. I keep a good stock of all needed batteries on hand. Only drawback is most all of the batteries come from China/Hong Kong and it takes 2-3 weeks to get here. Just keep a supply on hand and no problem. Most of these type batteries can be bought for 5 or 10 for .99 a package or so. So just keep a supply on hand. They are dirt cheap. Seriously, don't sweat the batteries as an issue.

I just replaced the battery on my Leupold after three months. I wear it 12 hours a day for 1/2 that time and 4ish hours a day the rest.

A friend is getting over a month on his ACRO, turning it down when he takes it off. Turning it on when you put the gun on isn’t that big of a deal if you just make it part of your gear check. Changing a battery at the first of the month is worth the enclosed emitter for a serious use optic.

It's interesting...

I looked up a video with an aimpoint rep who advised leaving the sight turned on and ready. He recommended a yearly battery change, but mentioned that many batteries last for 5-8 years...

G&A link w/vid

Bluedreaux

Is the Leupold you refer to the freedom 1x34 or is there a smaller rds for handguns.

I found the Delta Point...

Please compare the Delta Point and the ACRO for the use of the average sh1t-kicker running around the countryside?

Durability?

Holster availability with common pistols?

Useability?

And...

Do you expect that useable sights will be developed in a smaller package suitable for smaller pistols?

Probably not exactly an answer to your question, but I have a .22 Victory set up with a Burris dot sight. I am quite a bit more accurate with it than iron sights and enjoy shooting with it. With that being said, I don't always find the dot as quick as I think I should, not nearly as natural as me lining up the iron sights. More practice might solve this, but at this time I'm not no where near the point I am ready to trust this setup on a defensive handgun. Just my experience so far, not a hard core testimonial by no means. The holster carry and draw would bother me also at this time.