Reliable red dots for bear gun

[cpalm9]

I carry a Glock 20 here in MT. Recently, my brother in BP has been shooting with red dots on his G47. He's almost convinced me that it would be a nice addition. I've never owned a red dot nor have I shot with one. Is it worth it? Are they reliable enough for backcountry use?

 

[justinspicher]

I’m a fan of my Aimpoint acro, I’ve been using it for work and play for the past three years. I have used it on a G19, G17, G45 and now I use it on my G34.

I tried the Trijicon RMR, but didn’t care for it.

I have no experience with anything else.

 

[rileybassman]

I recommend an enclosed emitter if possible. Trijicon and aimpoint will likely be your most durable. That said, I carry an enclosed holosun SCS on my glock and haven't had any reliability or durability issues with it the last 3 years.

 

[cpalm9]

I recommend an enclosed emitter if possible. Trijicon and aimpoint will likely be your most durable. That said, I carry an enclosed holosun SCS on my glock and haven't had any reliability or durability issues with it the last 3 years.

I’ll take a look at some of the enclosed options. I was looking at the Vortex defender as I can get them pretty cheap.

 

[Samson7x]

For something you may depend on, aimpoint and trijicon is the answer.

 

[gtriple]

I recently went through comparing red dot options myself and it came down to the Holosun EPS or the SIG Sauer ROMEO-X Compact. Enclosed emitter was a requirement for me. I ultimately went with the EPS because it was cheaper.

 

[AM_Hunter]

Make sure your slide is optic ready, if not may need to order a new slide or get it milled. Or get a plate that slides into your rear dovetail.

 

[bpitcher]

For something you may depend on, aimpoint and trijicon is the answer.

This.

 

[juju]

Sort depends on how far away you expect to shoot the bear and how much time you're willing to put into training.
Yes, there are hard to break red dots.

 

[MOLC09]

Red dots get filled with snow. Get fogged, get water droplets on them. Get filled with dust/dirt/mud. Open sights for me.

 

[Fetty Wapiti]

Red dots get filled with snow. Get fogged, get water droplets on them. Get filled with dust/dirt/mud. Open sights for me.

Red dots get filled with snow. Get fogged, get water droplets on them. Get filled with dust/dirt/mud. Open sights for me.

This! Tritium open sights on a wheel gun if you want reliability and fire power.

 

[AmusickTX]

Trijicon all the way. I don’t think there is a more tested and beaten on pistol dot than the RMR. In my experience of carrying one daily for the past 4-5 years whether it’s concealed, on my hip at the range, riding around the lease, or on my hip in horrible weather I’ve never had the dreaded “emitter blockage” so many people talk about when pushing closed emitter. Not saying it can’t happen, I just wonder if it’s really an issue that happens or a possibility that gets into minds and stays.

I run Aimpoint PRO on all but my gas guns but The ACRO is building quite the reputation for letting moisture so even as a fan I wouldn’t put them on anything I had to rely on.

It will be an adjustment to get used to “finding” the dot on draw but once you get it you’ll be locked in. Lots of dry-fire out of the gate then some real range time to get it back in your view between shots. They’re also great with dry-fire, that dot movement will show you exactly where your driving the gun whether it’s good or bad.

 

[ATL]

Trijicon RMR is on one of my work guns, and the one I have the most time behind. Works well and dependable for a pistol mounted sight. The Aimpoint ACRO would be my second choice, we have some of those as well. That is the extent of my pistol red dot experience. I know the testing that went in to these two sights was extensive, so the only two I would trust my life on at this time.

I do not believe a red dot is required, and I actually prefer good traditional sights for a pistol. If you go with a red dot ensure you maintain good traditional sights on the gun that are useable with the red dot sight installed, you may need to invest in suppressor height sights to make them useable as a backup sighting system.

 

[TaperPin]

It’s telling to watch new or moderately experienced red dot shooters under pressure. Hell, Jena Miculek (a professional shooter) was shooting red dot equipped revolvers with her dad and kept having problems finding the dot and getting the first shot off with different dimensions of her dad’s pistols. I have no idea what that YouTube episode was called, but it goes to show if you shoot a red dot it’s something you better shoot enough to not lose the entire dang dot!

 

[cpalm9]

Appreciate the thoughts. Looks like Trijicon RMR might be the ticket.

Make sure your slide is optic ready, if not may need to order a new slide or get it milled. Or get a plate that slides into your rear dovetail.

A local gunsmith does Glock work so I'll have him mill the slide. Not too worried about it.

 

[AM_Hunter]

Appreciate the thoughts. Looks like Trijicon RMR might be the ticket.



A local gunsmith does Glock work so I'll have him mill the slide. Not too worried about it.

Nice, I would also recommend a Trijicon RMR. I have a Holosun 407K on my glock 19 that I carry when not in bear country and kind of wish I went with an RMR. When I add an optic to my 20 itll likely be the RMR.

 

[Justin (Raz) Rasmussen]

Will you put in the time to get real good with it? Will you remember to put fresh batteries in it prior to season? Will you pay the money for a good one and not choose the cheapest option? If you truthfully answer yes to those a red dot can be a nice addition to a pistol.