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If you've read our How To Choose a Red Dot Sight guide, then you know how useful a red dot sight can be. While mounting a red dot sight on your handgun has become much easier in recent years, it can still be tricky if you're new to the practice. Even with mounting plates that claim to be universal, the brand of your weapon, the slide cut, the presence of iron sights, and other factors all affect which red dot sight you need and how you attach it to the handgun. Thankfully, learning about the different mounting systems and how they work lets you easily purchase and install a pistol red dot, giving you more accuracy and target acquisition speed when you are shooting. If you're looking to learn more about swapping out your iron sights for a red dot sight, here is what you need to know.
The Most Popular Red Dot Sight Mounting Platforms
Dovetail Mount
There are three main ways to mount a pistol red dot sight, and understanding them is crucial to picking the right optic. This is because your handgun is likely best suited to a specific type of platform. The first one we will discuss is the dovetail mount. This method involves removing your iron sights and using the existing dovetail mount on your pistol to attach a red dot sight. This is one of the easiest methods, as you don't have to make any significant changes to the weapon. Instead, you just have to get a mounting plate and screw it into the holes left by the rear iron sights. Then, you can screw in your red dot sight and you are good to go.
The downside of dovetail mounts is that your red dot sight will sit higher on the slide because it must be attached to the plate, which adds height. Additionally, some dovetail mounts tend to bend after repeated use, which throws off your sight. One of the best available dovetail systems is the Trijicon RMR mounting plate. These are made to suit many brands, including the most popular models from Glock, SIG SAUER, Smith & Wesson, Springfield Armory, and Walther. If you're looking for another brand of optic, other solid mounting plate options are the Evolution Gun Works family of plates, which are available for the Vortex Venom/Viper family of red dots and the Leupold Deltapoint Pro family. Some of them are even semi-universal. For example, the Burris FastFire 3 and Docter Sights work on many Vortex Viper and Venom mounts.
Milled/Cut Slide
Considered by many people to be the best way to mount a red dot sight on your pistol, purchasing a modified pistol slide is also the least intensive. While some firearms come with pre-cut slides, generally you need to purchase an aftermarket slide or have a gunsmith mill your factory slide for this to work. This is an excellent option because it keeps the red dot sight as low as possible, which makes it more accurate. Plus, this reduces failure points, so your pistol red dot is more secure and stable. All you have to do is remove the two mounting screws that hold the slide in place, slot in your red dot sight, and replace the mounting screws.
If you're looking to go this route, it might sound much more expensive than other options. However, aftermarket slides are more affordable than you think, and they often have more advantages over a factory slide than just the ability to mount a red dot sight. For example, Grey Ghost Precision has plenty of OpticsPlanet Exclusive Glock 19, Glock 43, and SIG SAUER P320 slides that are pre-cut for a variety of red dot sights. Plus, they come in a variety of colors and finishes, and they can be lighter than the factory slide on your weapon. ZEV Technologies, TRYBE Defense, and Live Free Armory also have a wide variety of milled slides for all generations of the most popular Glock models, as well as SIG SAUER, Beretta, Springfield Armory, and Smith & Wesson pistols.
Frame-Mounted
This is the oldest, and frankly, the most clunky way of mounting a red dot sight to your handgun. Instead of removing your rear sight or cutting a slide to replace it, this option involves installing a mounting bracket directly on the frame of the pistol. By doing so, you eliminate the option to concealed-carry your firearm, as the frame mount adds more width, height, and weight to the weapon. This means you can't fit it into a holster or draw it from one easily.
While this seems like a pretty big drawback, it isn't an issue depending on how you want to use the weapon. For example, C-MORE makes some frame-mounted options for red dot sights, which are perfect for competitive shooting. Since you don't need to holster the weapon or use it as your everyday concealed carry option, having some extra heft to the weapon isn't really a big deal. Plus, the C-MORE frame mounts have red dot sights built in, so once you attach it, you can immediately take it to the range. However, they can be pretty complicated to install, as you may need to drill into the weapon to attach it properly. In this case, having a gunsmith handle the installation is usually recommended.
What Are My Other Options?
If you don't want to deal with getting a mounting plate or an aftermarket slide, you can always buy a handgun that is factory-ready for a red dot sight. Some of the most popular handgun families with this capability are:
- Glock MOS
- Smith & Wesson M&P CORE
- FNH 509
- SIG SAUER RX
- Springfield XD OSP
- Walther Q5 Match
- Beretta APX
With these weapons, they come with either pre-cut slides, attached mounting plates, or other modular options that let you customize the weapon and add your choice of iron sights or red dot sights.
Summary:
We love red dot sights here at OpticsPlanet, and we are proud to offer plenty of options to help you choose the best optic, mounting plate, or cut slide. Check out some of the most popular pistol red dots from top brands, like Holosun, SIG SAUER, and Vortex. Aside from optics, we also have plenty of ammo in stock for your favorite caliber, holsters, pistol triggers, and pistol barrels.
