Opinions please on enclosed handgun RDS

[alamo5000]

I currently carry a 365XL with a Holosun 507K-X2 on it.

This is my first red dot pistol, and now I want a red dot on everything. ;)

I am thinking of pulling the 507K off of that pistol and replacing it with one of the new fully enclosed Holosun dots that has the same footprint. If I wind up doing this I will put the 507K on a different pistol so I will not be getting rid of it by any means.

My question is this: In your opinion is it worth it to go with an enclosed dot vs the traditional style or not? I will be buying another dot one way or another but I am wondering if it's worth it (in your opinion) to use an enclosed dot on my EDC?

Keep in mind there is absolutely nothing wrong with my 507K-X2. It works extremely well. I am not complaining about it by any means.

If there isn't a compelling reason to change my EDC I will just leave it be as it sits and probably just purchase a second one for the new pistol.

What say you?

[TCinVA]

There isn't a one size fits all answer to that.

Personally I greatly prefer an enclosed emitter optic, even for concealed carry.

Temperature differences combined with the humidity that we have here in Virginia have resulted in multiple occasions of presenting the gun at the range and getting a lens that's fogged on both sides and the emitter is fogged to the point where I can't see my sights or a useful dot. Even with concealed carry, when you get one of those gully washer rains that we get during monsoon season, the optic can get wet enough that you see a constellation of dots when you present the gun with an open emitter optic.

I've had all of this happen to me on the range. Not every day, but on enough occasions to make it notable and drive my preference for using enclosed emitter optics. The mounting for enclosed emitter optics tends to be more sensible and robust, too.

I have a couple of guns with open emitter optics simply because on that particular gun an open emitter optic works better because it allows for a cowitness or something like that. But most of the guns I depend on have an enclosed emitter optic.

[1Rangemaster]

I'm pretty much in the enclosed emitters camp, though I have certainly seen and heard of good things with single lens sights. The basic reason for me is a handgun spends a lot of its time in a holster. That can lead to dust, lint, etc. affecting the view through the lens. Personal, somewhat freakish incident about a year ago: at an outdoor range in the Fall, I had a leaf fragment settle exactly in the lens of a Holosun. Result: no image through lens, and dot blocked. I moved to an enclosed Holosun on that pistol as soon as I could, and kept my ACRO(first a P-1, now P-2) as a pretty constant companion. 509T Holosun and a Steiner MPS(1st gen) on a practice gun have worked out for me. In my personal case, one less thing to worry about. Agree with the above statement on mounting too. The ACRO, Holosun and Steiner have a better crossbar mount, and THAT is one less thing to worry about.
Good iron sights offer simplicity and I'll shoot them as long as I'm able. But as long as I can support the tech-battery, etc., I'll pick an enclosed optic first.

[JCN]

But they don’t make the optic I want yet.

I figure they will in the future.

I would like: 6MOA with good light sensor technology, but with manual setting option.

And more window size over ultimate impact resistance.

For now, I’m still carrying a Shield RMSc on my primary AIWB carry, mainly because of the light sensor. It’s covered by a shirt so stays pretty clean and I just check the lens as blow it off with compressed air now and again.

For more rugged use or OWB, an enclosed would be my strong preference.

[YVK]

The main reason to use a closed emitter on EDC for a civilian concealed carrier is not deal with the lint. I'd wait until EPS / EPS Carry get vetted a little, considering what's been reported about their switchology. I have the EPS Carry, the 507K, and 407K, and for now I am still carrying the 407.

[Clusterfrack]

My question is this: In your opinion is it worth it to go with an enclosed dot vs the traditional style or not? I will be buying another dot one way or another but I am wondering if it's worth it (in your opinion) to use an enclosed dot on my EDC?

I was an early adopter. Around 5 years ago I was carrying a G19 with an RMR, and had multiple dirt, sand, and water related problems with the optic. That was enough for me to abandon RDS for carry until closed-emitter optics became a thing. I won't carry an open-emitter optic for life safety purposes.

But, if you keep your carry gun away from the elements... maybe it doesn't matter.

[Utm]

I don't have as much experience as others, I have only been carrying a red dot since February of 2020. I have not experienced any issues that would make me replace my open emitter dots. If I were to purchase a new dot, it would probably be an acro p2.

I think the move is to purchase enclosed emitter going forward, but if you have open emitter now, just keep what you have.

[ChknLivrNWsky]

Has anyone had any issues with printing by going from open emitter to closed?

I have an RMR that's about to be mounted to a g19, this will be my first RDS.

I was lucky enough to have an ACRO P2 in my shopping cart, and passed it up thinking the size might be a little too big. I'm wondering more and more if I should just buy one next time I get a chance since I have a few G19's that still need RDS.

My only hang up is the size, since these would be used for CCW.

[Noah]

Has anyone had any issues with printing by going from open emitter to closed?

I have an RMR that's about to be mounted to a g19, this will be my first RDS.

I was lucky enough to have an ACRO P2 in my shopping cart, and passed it up thinking the size might be a little too big. I'm wondering more and more if I should just buy one next time I get a chance since I have a few G19's that still need RDS.

My only hang up is the size, since these would be used for CCW.

Thats gonna change from person to person. I personally am 6 foot 1, 165lbs, and with a lot of guns and high quality holsters, I struggled with dot printing. Squared off or larger open emitter optics were slightly worse.

If you look down at your carry rig on your person you can probably have a good idea how much margin you have to work with.

[psalms144.1]

But they don’t make the optic I want yet.

I figure they will in the future.

I would like: 6MOA with good light sensor technology, but with manual setting option.

For more rugged use or OWB, an enclosed would be my strong preference.I'm with you on this. If the Holosun EPS 6MOA had auto-adjust, I'd buy one today and mill my P07 for it. But the auto-adjust EPS comes with the multi-reticle system, which I can definitely do without.

[Jason M]

Just my .02 but I think that it is always going with the enclosed emitter.

[SoCalDep]

I like enclosed emitter optics. I currently run an ACRO P-1 on one carry gun and an ACRO P-2 on the other. The ACRO certainly prints more than other optics but it isn’t horrible. I had a chance to check out a Holosun EPS for the first time a couple weeks ago and I liked it. As has been said, the main advantage for CCW use (and the benefit you get for that increased printing) is minimal issues of lint causing problems and easier cleaning of the optic window (wipe with shirt over cover garments). Obviously an enclosed emitter will do better in extreme environmental and humidity conditions but based on the close-to-body carry of most CCW carriers and the fact the optic is somewhat protected due to the concealing garments from water, etc. this is more of a duty concern.

As for switching to an enclosed emitter I would say that since you will have a use for the current optic there’s nothing wrong with upgrading, but I don’t consider open-emitters to have a fatal flaw - just a different set of advantages and drawbacks.

[joshs]

Has anyone had any issues with printing by going from open emitter to closed?

I have an RMR that's about to be mounted to a g19, this will be my first RDS.

I was lucky enough to have an ACRO P2 in my shopping cart, and passed it up thinking the size might be a little too big. I'm wondering more and more if I should just buy one next time I get a chance since I have a few G19's that still need RDS.

My only hang up is the size, since these would be used for CCW.

The back corner of all the closed emitter dots is definitely a point that can print more. In my experience, an RMR or 407/507 print no more than the pistol without a dot. With a closed emitter, holsters with a lot of grip tuck can actually make the dot print more, and you have to balance concealing the grip and RDS.

ETA: I still greatly prefer a closed emitter optic. I haven’t tried an EPS yet, but the Acro, 509t, and MPS have all worked well for me. The 509 has the best window size/shape, but has the most distortion. I’ve also heard some reports of reliability issues, but the two I’ve had have been fine.

[psalms144.1]

509 has the best window size/shape, but has the most distortion. I’ve also heard some reports of reliability issues, but the two I’ve had have been fine.I'm in the same boat. I had two, my buddy had one. All had "fish eye" and blue tint that made them basically unusable. Like MRO bad. I didn't help that 2 of the 3 had their "circle" reticle canted visibly to the right...

[joshs]

I'm in the same boat. I had two, my buddy had one. All had "fish eye" and blue tint that made them basically unusable. Like MRO bad. I didn't help that 2 of the 3 had their "circle" reticle canted visibly to the right...

The X2 model I have now is definitely better than the original version I had. I notice it in slow fire, but I don’t realize at all when shooting anything practical.

[G19Fan]

I am a huge enclosed dot fan and have multiple eps carry and 509T.

Plenty of our small guns also wear a 407k or 507k because they print less than an eps carry.

My primary ccw p365xl has a eps carry as I have a pet peeve about cleaning lint. We have plenty of other p365s with 407k or 507k

[alamo5000]

Thanks everyone for the responses. This plus Aaron Cowan's recent video are all valuable. If I can locate the version I want for the new EPS Carry I will go ahead and buy one.

[newyork]

I changed batteries in my 2 optics (both rmr) on my 2 m&Ps today. First time doing so. Re zeroed and shot an additional 50rds on each gun, quickly to make sure the screws stayed put.

It was raining and I had one gun out on a table while sighting in the other? When I got to the 2nd gun there were like 30 dots. Was a pita to get something in there and wipe off the emitter. Not really tough or anything like that but annoying. If I were carrying it it wouldn’t have been an issue. Owb for a class or comp and it’s be annoying as hell.

I both wished for that not to happen and to not have to remove my optic and re zero just to change the battery.

[Erick Gelhaus]

I prefer enclosed emitter optics - two Acros on duty & carry pistols; however, my second carry pistol has an open emitter on it. If it fails, I'll replace it with another closed emitter. My older optics pistols all have open emitters because that's what was available.

As has been mentioned, a closed design makes keeping them clean easier. They do print a bit easier, not so much because of size but because of edges.

[G19Fan]

Has anyone had any issues with printing by going from open emitter to closed?

I have an RMR that's about to be mounted to a g19, this will be my first RDS.

I was lucky enough to have an ACRO P2 in my shopping cart, and passed it up thinking the size might be a little too big. I'm wondering more and more if I should just buy one next time I get a chance since I have a few G19's that still need RDS.

My only hang up is the size, since these would be used for CCW.

For me and my wife, an open emitter prints like irons, a closed emitter does print more due to the corner (507ks and eps carries) on P365 series guns