Pistol Red Dot Sights

How to choose a pistol red dot

Footprint decides everything else, so check it first. Whether your slide is milled for an RMR, an RMSc or something else determines what will actually bolt on, and a sight that needs an adapter plate costs you height and screws you'd rather not add.

Then think about the window and the dot. A wider window forgives an imperfect presentation, which is worth having on a carry gun. A 3 MOA dot suits most pistol distances, and anything bigger is faster to find but coarser to aim with.

Auto-brightness is handy day to day, as long as there's a manual override for odd lighting. Check how the battery goes in, too. Top- or side-loading designs let you change the cell without pulling the optic, so your zero survives the swap.