Please help a dinosaur out

[KevH]

I've avoided buying my own pistol optic thus far. I've mounted a few for people, have shot a few, but never messed with buying one of my own. One of our neighboring agencies is now issuing Trijicon RMR's on all their Glock MOS pistols and there are at least a dozen folks at my own department running RMR's. As an instructor and armorer I think I need to get get one to play with.

I have an astigmatism that makes red dots turn into blurry 8's, especially when the brightness increases. I've had an old Aimpoint CompM2 on my M4 at work and I make it work, but it's never been ideal. I'm thinking a larger dot at lower brightness will be helpful.

I think I'm going to go for the RMR Type 2 6.5 MOA adjustable (RM07-C-700679). Does that model make sense?

I have a Glock 22 Gen3 (the first Glock I ever purchased) sitting in the back of my safe doing nothing. I'm thinking of sticking it on that gun along with 10-8 suppressor height sights as a backup. Who do you recommend to mill the slide to accept the RMR?

[jbrimlow]

I have had good experiences with Mark Housel of L&M precision. https://www.landmprecisiongunworks.c...e/#slide-model

Work was great, turnaround time was quick.


Re: that sight, your reasoning seems sound. Have you looked through that optic, maybe on a buddy's gun?

I love me some red dots, but I don't have astigmatism, so I can't comment further on that.

[LittleLebowski]

I have had good experiences with Mark Housel of L&M precision. https://www.landmprecisiongunworks.com/services/

Work was great, turnaround time was quick.


Re: that sight, your reasoning seems sound. Have you looked through that optic, maybe on a buddy's gun?

I love me some red dots, but I don't have astigmatism, so I can't comment further on that.

@Mark Housel

[Alpha Sierra]

I think I'm going to go for the RMR Type 2 6.5 MOA adjustable (RM07-C-700679). Does that model make sense?

Out of all RMRs that's the one.

IME over several Aimpoint, Holosun, and Trijicon RDSs with dots ranging from 2 to 4 to 6.5 MOA, the larger the dot the easier it is to see it crisply.

Do what you can to have your astigmatism reduced as much as possible.

[1911Nut]

Another vote for Mark Housel.

[Duces Tecum]

I've avoided buying my own pistol optic thus far. I've mounted a few for people, have shot a few, but never messed with buying one of my own. One of our neighboring agencies is now issuing Trijicon RMR's on all their Glock MOS pistols and there are at least a dozen folks at my own department running RMR's. As an instructor and armorer I think I need to get get one to play with.

I have an astigmatism that makes red dots turn into blurry 8's, especially when the brightness increases. I've had an old Aimpoint CompM2 on my M4 at work and I make it work, but it's never been ideal. I'm thinking a larger dot at lower brightness will be helpful.

I think I'm going to go for the RMR Type 2 6.5 MOA adjustable (RM07-C-700679). Does that model make sense?

I have a Glock 22 Gen3 (the first Glock I ever purchased) sitting in the back of my safe doing nothing. I'm thinking of sticking it on that gun along with 10-8 suppressor height sights as a backup. Who do you recommend to mill the slide to accept the RMR?

Sometimes I wonder whether the rear glass on a pistol optic could be optometrically reground to minimize the effects of astigmatism. Would have to be individual prescriptions, of course, but a lot of us might benefit from the result. Might even be something a third-party provider could arrange.

[Redhat]

Sometimes I wonder whether the rear glass on a pistol optic could be optometrically reground to minimize the effects of astigmatism. Would have to be individual prescriptions, of course, but a lot of us might benefit from the result. Might even be something a third-party provider could arrange.

Or they might be able to put a prescription lens of sorts over the factory lens.

[1Rangemaster]

To the OP, Mark Housel of L&M Precision is top drawer-no doubts there.

I am interested in seeing how a .40 cal works out; the .40 in a G23 is about as snappy a choice as any. Only a .357 would give you a little more slide velocity I would think. Could be issues with screws loosening, breaking, etc. You may want to consider a 9mm barrel, ejector, etc. for long term use.

Can’t go wrong with the RMR2 either. I’m partial to the ACRO, but one has to pay careful attention to it. I have an RMR2 on a duty gun, and it is the least trouble free it seems, of all choices. FWIW, Aimpoint and Trijicon are the only viable duty solutions at the present time, IMO. I would recommend in the strongest possible terms back up sights; the AmeriGlo GL-429 I think are the the simplest solution.

My personal experience goes back over one year. I had to have a dedicated day or two of exclusive work with the gun, sight, holster,etc., to get comfortable with the concept. I’d encourage you to factor that into your schedule. I’m still learning, but believe it’s worth it!

I also think the next one to two years will bring a lot of improvements to the units.

[Olim9]

I started out with the 6.5 MOA RMR. It served me well but after shooting a 1 MOA and then a 2 MOA Holosun, I personally find it to be way too big for my liking. YMMV, there's a bunch of super smart shooters that run circles around me like BJ Norris who prefer bigger dots. I'm not sure how astigmatisms work so I cannot give you an absolute recommendation. John Dufresne has an interesting video regarding astigmatisms.

As for optic milling, I would go with someone reputable that has been in the business for a while and has a good warranty. Shops like ATEi and L&M Precision do exceptional work for when it comes to milling. I had Mark at L&M do my G19 a few years ago and his work is top notch. He degreases the slide and boresights your dot if you bring it to him which is pretty cool. I'm pretty content with having a slide that can only accept Trijicon/Holosuns for now but it would be wise to consider getting a future proof option. Shops like Agency Arms and Mac Defense Industries offers modular plates if you want to go that route. I have a slide that was done up by Mac Defense that I'm really happy about.

What you can do is take a class with a reputable RDS instructor before you buy one. Not only will you learn a lot of stuff but instructors typically have multiple guns they bring if you ask in advance and you might be able to actually borrow one for the entire training day. A class I took with Dan Smith with Centrifuge Training had a small segment where students sampled various kinds of optics which was pretty nice.

[Erick Gelhaus]

I have pistols machined by both Housel / L&M Precision and ATEI, as well as a couple Unity Tactical Atom mount slides. A very happy with Housel's work. The ATEI work for an Acro and their Shim Sight is truly slick. All but the most recent Atei slide have flat black suppressor height sights, no tritium but a bit of neon yellow nail polish at the very tip.

Fwiw, I have a couple astigmatisms and see interesting things inside Aimpoints on carbines. I'm not noticing issues with PMOs.