Reviews & Ratings for ADE Advanced Optics RD3-015 PRO Shake Awake 1x Reflex Red Dot w/SAR9 Optic Mount Plate — 18 reviews — Page 1

I've owned my SAR9 for quite a while and never really considered putting an optic on it because the slide wasn't designed for one. When I found this package with the SAR9-specific mounting plate included, I decided to give it a shot.

Installation took some patience. If you've never removed a dovetail rear sight before, I strongly recommend using the right tools rather than improvising. Once the factory sight was removed, fitting the adapter and mounting the RD3-015 PRO was pretty straightforward.

At the range I started close to get the dot roughly aligned and then fine-tuned the zero. After that I spent the rest of the session shooting steel and paper. Once I adjusted to using a red dot, target transitions felt much quicker than with the original sights.

What I've appreciated most over the following range trips is that I haven't needed to constantly mess with it. The plate has stayed secure, my zero has remained where I set it, and the shake-awake feature wakes the dot when the pistol is moved.

I originally viewed this as a cheap experiment to see whether I liked an optic on my SAR9. Instead, it has become the configuration I plan to keep.

I have mixed feelings about this setup. The RD3-015 PRO itself has worked well. The dot is easy for me to acquire and I really like the shake-awake feature.

The compromise is the mounting system. If your SAR9 isn't optics ready, the dovetail plate gives you a way to mount a red dot without permanently modifying the slide. The downside is that the optic sits higher than I personally prefer. It isn't a defect, it's just the nature of this type of adapter.

After practicing with it I got much better at finding the dot, but if I were building a pistol specifically around an optic I would probably choose a direct-cut slide.

For someone who wants to keep their original SAR9 slide unmodified, though, this package makes sense.

Wanted to put some actual rounds through this before reviewing it. I'm somewhere around 600 rounds now.

Still zeroed. Plate is still tight. Dot hasn't flickered. Shake awake still works.

That's really all I wanted. Good value.

Everything works as advertised on mine. Dot is easy to see, adjustments worked fine and the plate hasn't moved.

I knocked off one star because the optic sits noticeably higher using the dovetail plate than it would with a direct optic cut. That's expected with this type of mounting system, but it took me some practice to adjust my presentation.

For the money I'm still very satisfied.

I bought this mostly because it already came with the mount for the SAR9. Trying to figure out which optic fits which plate can be confusing, so having everything together made the decision easier.

Getting the original rear sight out was the hardest part. I used a sight pusher and after that the installation went pretty smoothly. The plate fit securely and the optic mounted without any modification.

I've taken it to the range four times since installing it. The zero has remained consistent and the shake-awake function responds immediately when I pick up the pistol. The sight picture is also better than I expected at this price.

Overall, this is a nice upgrade if you already own a SAR9 and don't want to spend the money to have your slide machined.

Been wanting a red dot on my SAR9 forever but didn't want to mess with getting the slide cut. This did the trick.

Plate is solid, dot is bright and shake awake works like it should. About 300 rounds so far and still holding zero. Can't complain.

I considered several ways to put an optic on my SAR9. I could have paid to have the factory slide machined, purchased another slide, or tried a dovetail adapter. I went with this package because it was the least expensive and easiest to reverse.

I'm glad I did. The plate is machined well and locked into the dovetail securely. I used thread locker on the appropriate screws and checked everything after my first range session. Nothing had loosened.

The RD3-015 PRO itself has been a pleasant surprise. The window is large enough that I don't feel like I'm searching for the dot every time I present the pistol. The shake-awake feature is also something I didn't think I would care much about, but now I really like it. I can leave the sight ready and movement wakes it up automatically.

After several trips to the range, zero is still where I set it. I don't expect a budget optic to have every feature of a premium duty sight, but for a recreational SAR9 setup this gives me everything I was looking for.

The optic itself seems very good. The dot is bright, shake awake works and the mounting plate feels solid.

My difficulty was removing the factory rear sight from my SAR9. Mine was extremely tight and I eventually had to use a proper sight pusher. I wouldn't recommend trying to beat it out with improvised tools because you could damage the slide or sight.

Once I finally got the original sight removed, the rest of the installation went smoothly and the optic has performed well.

I'm giving it three stars mainly because the installation was more involved than I expected, not because of a problem with the optic.

I've had other budget red dots where the motion feature was inconsistent, so that was the first thing I tested.

So far this one has been excellent. Let it sit, pick the pistol back up and the dot comes on immediately. No button pressing and no noticeable delay.

The SAR9 plate also feels sturdy. After zeroing, I ran multiple magazines through the pistol and nothing moved. Very good package for the price.

The plate fit better than I expected. No wobble and everything lined up correctly. Once I got the optic zeroed, it stayed put through my first several range sessions.

My only complaint is that a dovetail adapter naturally puts the optic a little higher than a factory optics-ready slide. It took me a couple trips to get used to finding the dot quickly.

Other than that, I'm very satisfied.