Red Dots mounted on slide

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BoogieMan

New member
I would like to put a Fast Fire III on the slide of my 9mm 1911. I have seen it done many times. But, I have also seen the mounts that screw to the dust cover and wrap around the slide. Is there any huge advantage of one style or the other? I like the compactness of the slide mount.
Plan on using for plinking and informal steel competition.
Also- Is the FFIII the right choice or should I look at Leupold Delta point, etc...?
 
The frame mounted versions are sturdy, but dependent on the fit of slide to frame, as well as the skill in drilling the holes.
The slide mounted ones are more consistent in accuracy, but the additonal slide weight can cause reliability issues.
If you prefer the frame mounted ones, there's also those that are made as part of the grips if drilling the frame is not agreeable.
It's such a complicated world.
 
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All said and done it doesnt matter much to me if I drill the frame or mill the slide for perfect fit.
When you say cycling may be an issue. Is it a matter of finding the right recoil spring or is it inconsistency of reliability?
 
It shouldn't be a problem to add a MRD to the slide. The 9mm is already at a disadvantage trying to cycle a .45 slide on a 1911, but it should work. If there was a problem I would go with a heavier bullet, not a lighter recoil spring.
The Fastfire III is a great sight. Very clear, no distortions. It only has 3 manual settings, but the auto setting works pretty good.
 
LOTS of guys running slide mounted red dots in the competition areana. More then a few of them are 9mm 1911's of some sort. A couple of the more known tactical trainers also endorse reddots for use.

It seems like the Trijicon RMR is the leading choice. But either the FF III or the Delta point seem like good options.

I have a FF3 on a Ruger 22/45 and its a nice clean optic to look thru
 
Sharkbite- I have looked through a FFII and it seemed like a nice sight. My only worry with any of the red dots is holding up to the pounding of the slide.
My 22/45 has a cheep red dot also, but in that case its mounted to a rail and doesnt move with the bolt. I really like the red dots and I was a little surprised that it has improved my iron sight shooting considerably. Regardless of the picture youre looking through the grip and muscle memory is the same.
What size dot seems to work best for up to 25yds shooting steel plates mainly. I am thinking the 3 MOA so that I can see more distant targets. Will the dot be to difficult to find and aim quickly?
 
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I've done a lot of red-dot sight mounting to 1911 guns.

As for mounting them to the slide a good quality reflex sight such as the Doctor will hold up very well, I have no experience with the cheap sights and their longevity.

As for the weight the reflex sights add to the slide we are only talking a couple ounces.
When low mounted like the one in the picture that's pretty close to the amount of steel milled off the slide, so the weight thing pretty much equals out.

Low mounting the sight to the slide puts the red-dot closer to the center line of the bore, this is a plus especially when shooting at targets at longer ranges then what the gun was sighted in for.

One thing that's critical when low mounting a reflex sight is the angle the sight is mounted at, the angle makes a big difference in acquiring the dot in the sight with speed.
 
Nice job Hunter. I sent you an PM with a couple questions.
Do you find that the doctor is the best sight to use? I just checked out there website and apparently its not rated for slide mounting unless you add an additional $200 to the cost. May not be an option if they wont sell to me wholesale like the other brands on the market.
 
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Do you find that the doctor is the best sight to use? I just checked out there website and apparently its not rated for slide mounting unless you add an additional $200 to the cost.
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I prefer the Doctor sight because of it's construction.

I've been low mounting Doctor sights directly to 1911 slides for years and I've not had any clients that I low mounted Doctor sights on their guns inform me of any sight problems.

I'll have to check out their website and see what the additional $200 cost is for.

I responded to your PM.
 
They call it the bulletproofing program. Recommended for slide mounts.
http://docterusa.com/docter-red-dot-sight-bulletproofing/ $195
Then $429 for the sight. Im waiting for a call back from them to get specifics on any programs they have.

So many mini red dots on the market makes it very difficult to choose. I am taking any that have to be removed to replace the battery off the list. Some bad reviews on the Fast Fire, but its the most popular on the market by far.
Eotech MRD and Trijicon RMR LED seem to be good candidates. I find that websites from manufacturers are rather week in explaining the mounting system and often dont mention how the battery is installed.
 
I had a chance to talk and shoot with Brian Zins last summer. He uses Aimpoint red dots on his guns, and the mount is so sturdy that he uses the red dot to rack the slide on a routine basis, without adverse effects. He has a 1" aluminum shroud on the front and back of the dot and literally just puts his palm over the shroud to rack the slide.
 
I've had UltraDot Match Dots on the slides of my .45s for a few years now. No problems whatsoever, and if anything ever does go wrong they're guaranteed for life. I also use the dot sight to rack the slide (no shroud, just the sight as it comes out of the box), which just may be about the only thing my .45 shooting has in common with Brian Zins'.
 
The Ultradot is rail mounted isnt it? How would I get a secure mount to the slide? I dont think there is enough material to machine a rail into the slide and I dont want bolt rails on to attach a sight. That Hunter Customs mount is the way to go IMO. Nice, clean and close to the bore as possible.
 
I spoke with Doctor this afternoon. I am definitely going with them now that I have a better understanding of the construction.
 
Boogieman, not one of the Doctor sights I low mounted directly to the slides of 1911 pistols was bullet proofed.

To date not one client has ever contacted me with sight problems, I'm pretty sure if some had problems I would have heard about it.

I'm not sure I buy into this so called bullet proofing, the main reason I recommended Doctor sights was because of their construction, this was before any bullet proofing.

Unless they have changed their design the sight does need to be removed to replace the battery.
 
Hunter Customs said:
Boogieman, not one of the Doctor sights I low mounted directly to the slides of 1911 pistols was bullet proofed.

To date not one client has ever contacted me with sight problems, I'm pretty sure if some had problems I would have heard about it.

I'm not sure I buy into this so called bullet proofing, the main reason I recommended Doctor sights was because of their construction, this was before any bullet proofing.

Unless they have changed their design the sight does need to be removed to replace the battery.
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PM and I can explain what they do. basically the weak point of any red dot mounting them to the slides are the battery connections will break over time, especially the RMR. so they bullet proof that by rectifying the issue. I recommend rather than doing a permanent mount that requires gun smiting use the UM Tactical mount. www.umtactical.com no hard impact on the red dot. PM me and I will get you set up on their mounts and also I distribute Docter Optics.. their new red dot is sick!
 
These are the guys I use for any of my handgun modification stuff. They only do Trijicon RMR's because others are failing. It's a lot of punishment an optic takes mounted to the top of a slide. Only the RMR seems to be holding up according to them.

http://ateiguns.com
 
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