Adding a red dot

[Lazyfaire]

My son wants to add a dot to his Shield. Is he going to be better off with a milled slide or have his slide milled? Its about $250 for a optics ready stripped slide then a new barrel, and parts kit to complete. other than the hit to his credit card this seems the fastest way. Or send his slide out to be cut. our local guy is backed up 6 weeks. What would you do? DR

Not going to get into the new slide/mill the current debate, but check with Glockstore.com and their 10 day ($200) turnaround program. Lots of options. Worked for me.

 

[ktgee]

I personally would buy a new gun that already accepts a dot. Keep the one he's using now just in case he ends up not liking the dot.....just another excuse to buy a new gun!

Agreed. I would buy another and sell the old gun. Many options when it comes to spending money. If you like your gun that much, get it customized and upgraded. You are going to spend some $$ anyway.

 

[Catfishmoon]

When I first looked through a 6moa dot I was confused by the giant pumpkin floating downrange

A lot of reviewers on YouTube favor the larger size dots, especially when the purpose is to do action style shooting like I.P.S.C., but I prefer a smaller dot.

 

[Catfishmoon]

I'm not sure what optic he will settle on. He wants to have iron sights that can be used through the sight and the shake awake feature. Once he does this I'll get to shoot his and decide If I want one for myself. Neither of us has tried a dot on a handgun. DR

I went down the same path you are on and I finally bought my first optic with a dot about two years ago to try it for myself. I had been witnessing shooters with dots beside me at the gun range shooting tighter groups, especially as the distance increased past 15 yards...
I do prefer the aesthetics of a handgun with iron sights, but my accuracy also increased with using a dot.

 

[L84Cabo]

When I first looked through a 6moa dot I was confused by the giant pumpkin floating downrange

Also note that if you have any amount of astigmatism at all, the dot is probably going to look more like a star pattern of some sort than a round dot. And in that case one may find a smaller dot a better option than what would likely be a more distorted larger dot. But YMMV.

 

[Nosferatu]

Also note that if you have any amount of astigmatism at all, the dot is probably going to look more like a star pattern of some sort than a round dot. And in that case one may find a smaller dot a better option than what would likely be a more distorted larger dot. But YMMV.

I have an astigmatism, but have not really found the whacko shape of the dots to be a problem. I pretty much naturally put the center of the blob on the target and let it rip.

 

[ktgee]

Also note that if you have any amount of astigmatism at all, the dot is probably going to look more like a star pattern of some sort than a round dot. And in that case one may find a smaller dot a better option than what would likely be a more distorted larger dot. But YMMV.

Yes, I found that the 2 MOA dot is the clearest and works best for me. The 3 MOA dot is bigger but has more distortion for me.

 

[pacNWvike]

I just went through this. Ultimately for me it was easier to wait and find a p365x slide on sale. Now I have a spare slide and internal parts which is handy if I ever need one. Also allowed me to keep warranty according to sig.

For dot size I am using a full size EPS with 6 MOA dot on the p365. Mainly cause I had it handy. I run the holosun 407c 2 MOA dot on on the p226 legion. Honestly I have held them side by side and it's not the massive difference I was expecting. Especially at 25 yards. For a ccw having an enclosed dot is nice. For a full size gun having a smaller reticle is my preference, with some practice you pick it up quickly. The dot helped my speed and accuracy. I would say go look at a few and look at dot size and what you like. Since it's for a shield a 6 MOA EPS carry is probably a good call.

 

[L84Cabo]

I have an astigmatism, but have not really found the whacko shape of the dots to be a problem. I pretty much naturally put the center of the blob on the target and let it rip.

Much can depend on how severe your astigmatism is. I definitely do not see a dot. It's more of a star. YMMV.

 

[pacNWvike]

Much can depend on how severe your astigmatism is. I definitely do not see a dot. It's more of a star. YMMV.

You might try and look at the green dot style next. My buddy as astigmatism and can't use red but green dots work for him.

 

[Nosferatu]

You might try and look at the green dot style next. My buddy as astigmatism and can't use red but green dots work for him.

True. The green dot in my Trijicon SRO does appear much more crisp than the red dot on my RMR and Aimpoint.

Much can depend on how severe your astigmatism is. I definitely do not see a dot. It's more of a star. YMMV.

Yeah, an unbalanced star is what appears for me as well.