I recall the first time I looked at a handgun with an optic on it. It was a 1911 with a C-More sight on a non-reciprocating frame mount. It was cool and looked fast. I recall thinking, “That’ll never make it into the carry industry.” I was correct in a way and incorrect in many other ways. With the rising popularity of optics, let’s discuss the different types designed for handguns.

Optics for Handguns: The New Normal

What I didn’t realize was that optics were going to get smaller, more reliable, and were going to be slide-mounted. They are now ubiquitous, and for good reason. Optics are one of the greatest advancements to handguns ever made.

The focus of this article is primarily going to be on the RMR footprint of optics. I know that there is a wide assortment of optics to pick from. However, I stick with the things that I know.

The Trijicon RMR has been my bread-and-butter optic for about 12 years. I have repeatedly said in articles and videos that I don’t like battery-dependent optics for handguns. People assume that I’m saying that I don’t like optics on handguns. That couldn’t be further from the truth.

To say that is to say that one wants a fair fight. There is no such thing! I want to dominate any fight I find myself embroiled in. Not to mention, by the time you are reduced to a handgun, you are already well behind and need every advantage you can get.

Battery Driven Optics

My go-to has always been, and will always be, the Trijicon RMR06 for battery-driven optics. I know that the HD model is out now. That is unobtainium to me, so today we are talking about the amazing RMR06.

Not only do I have them on handguns, but I also have them on rifles and shotguns. It bears noting that if you’re going to have an optic on a handgun, you need to have a serious conversation with yourself about how much you trust an electronic device that is being exposed to massive inertial recoil forces.

That’s the first concern. The second one is where those optics come from. I know that there are a slew of instructors and people whose first name is “former” who are busy pushing Chinese-made optics.

I get it, this economy sucks, and money is tight—I have Chinese-made optics, too. However, I do not trust my life to them. I relegate them to training guns that I hand out to students on the range.

In my many classes, I have seen all optics go down, including those from Aimpoint and Trijicon. However, none have gone down as much as those from China. Please consider my words and act accordingly.

Folks, I have seen things. Oh my goodness, have I seen things. Glocks in mud, blood, and full submersion. I have seen Glocks banged off of fence posts, car doors, bumpers, wheels, and concrete curbs. I have personally racked Glocks off of steel barrels, railroad ties, and on the edges of belts and holsters.

If you are going to put an optic on a handgun, make sure it’s made by Trijicon. Like I said, I’ve seen stuff.

Fiber Optic Driven Optics

My favorite fiber optic dot is the Trijicon RMR04. It features a 7 MOA amber dot that is crisp with well-defined edges. Unlike the RMR06, which is battery-driven, the RMR04 uses tightly bundled strands of fiber optics to create the dot.

For nighttime use, it depends on a vial of gaseous tritium. That vial creates a soft glow of light, born of radioactive decay. I have fully tested it in total darkness, looking towards a lighted target, and I could still see the dot clearly.

I totally stacked the deck on myself by flashing a handheld light across my eyes to completely wreck my night vision before I started the test. Even so, I was able to clearly see the dot against a lit, white target.

The RMR04 has fully proven itself to me and that is why it is on my EDC G17. Here is a fact about fiber optic RMRs that I have never seen anyone aware of until I show them. The RMR04 emits a cleaner, more useable dot than an RMR06.

Oh boy, them’s fightin’ words! How is this possible out of a fiber optic-driven dot? If you try this indoors or outdoors, the result is the same.

Fiber Optic vs. Battery-Driven

Battery-driven dots have to be turned up to be clearly seen. However, fiberoptic dots project dots with a larger MOA surface area that the eye can pick up. If you take two guns with RMRs and hold them side by side, you will notice that the RMR06 starbursts when you turn it up bright enough to be seen in daylight. The RMR04 does not.

Why? Because the 06 is a 3.25 MOA dot and the 04 is a 7 MOA dot. That larger dot makes all the difference. The funny thing is that the 06, when dialed up, is the same MOA size as the 7 MOA RMR04. The starburst effect makes it appear about 7MOA, if not larger.

Not to mention, never needing to remove the optic for battery maintenance is a lovely thing.  Oh, and the RMR04 costs less than the RMR06. You’re welcome.

Slide Milling Considerations

There is something to consider when it comes to mounting an optic to your slide. Specifically, adding that extra weight can cause an imbalance in the moment of inertia needed to cycle the weapon. This is where a machined OEM slide is a good idea.

I have found that a slide with top serrations, front check straps, and side panel cuts has about the same amount of weight removed as what is added by an RMR. In essence, what you are doing is a 1:1 swap of mass. Doing this keeps your handgun running within the same parameters set by the manufacturer.

This equates to a handgun that feels the same, under recoil, as it would without an optic. However, now you have the superior advantage of being able to be threat-fixated, through the optic rather than front-sight fixated, as is the case with legacy handgun sights. Oh, how times have changed.

Fiber optics-driven dots are something that I have spent a considerable amount of time working with. Initially, my first one was the Trijicon RMR08G. This model features a 12 MOA triangle that is excellent for CQC work.

It lacks at distance, but inside of 15 yards, good lord, this thing is fast! It sits on top of my G17 PDW and creates more giggles on the range than anything I have ever seen.

Solar Driven Optics

This category lands squarely in the lap of Holosun. I know that Chinese optics are something that engenders loud comments from the yea and nay crowds. I hear both sides, trust me. If you are strapped for cash there are other options for you that are far more affordable than Holosun.

I wouldn’t call Holosun a bargain optics company. Holosun is more like mid to upper class. What I have seen of their optics has impressed me. Especially the SCS MOS series. This is an optic that was designed to take the failure points of the Glock MOS series and do away with them.

This optic effectively turns the gimpy MOS footprint into a custom-milled surface that is a direct mount for the SCS optic. Talk about making lemonade. I have seen a couple of these in the wild, and they have really impressed me.

They are extremely low profile, made of titanium, and have a solar panel and internal battery backup. Likewise, they even have body serrations that are a 100% match to the host Glock. Come on, you gotta love that.

Holosun Considerations

Lest I sound like a Holoson cheerleader, it bears noting that I have seen more failures from Holosun than from anything else. I have seen optics just die, seals fail, battery trays leak, and lenses fog.

The defense and reasoning for buying a Holosun is that they have a very supportive return policy. However, that does nothing to fix the immediate problem of your optic failing in a fight or competition.

I’ve had this problem before, with an EOTECH, when I was a cop. I had an EOTECH 552 fog over on me when we went from cold to warm as we entered a home. We pushed through by cheeking the rifles and using visual landmarks along the length of the gun as index points. Imagine how scared I was to bring my rifle up and see nothing but a fogged-over optic.

Mounting a Holosun Optic

When it comes to solar panel with battery back-up optics, Holosun dominates this sector. Also, the company’s series of optics is designed to go right onto the MOS footprint without a plate. Brilliant!

Nothing is more irritating than dealing with those ridiculous MOS plates. Those things are failures waiting to happen. Likewise, slide adapter plates are the bane of my existence as an armorer.

I need to be blunt on this because there is no time to be gentle. If you choose to shoot crappy guns, you need to expect crappy results. I choose the Glock 17 Gen3. It is the most globally supported handgun in history. Everything is made for the G17 Gen3!

Even optics that are made to go onto the slide of a Glock as a direct mount will require a plate if you decide to put that same optic onto a Smith & Wesson Equalizer. Trust me, I did this very thing two weeks ago. Suddenly, your great price on that Holosun optic that mounts directly to a Glock now requires a $70 adapter plate to go on your boomer blaster because you don’t like Glocks.

Just get a Glock! Bruh!

Consider Quality

Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk. No, seriously, I’m writing this article because I work hard at educating people. When someone tells me that they don’t have enough money to buy a Glock, I tell them that the reason Glocks cost as much as they do is because they mitigate failures.

People buy other handguns because they cost less. However, they create problems that must be fixed by spending money. In the past six weeks, I attended three training classes. During two, I watched a Shadow Systems and a Smith & Wesson, have mechanical failures.

I and others were shooting Glocks. All we did was sit back, hydrate, and watch while the instructors and students wrestled with their bargain guns to get back into the class.

Glocks are the most supported handguns on the planet, that is why you buy a Glock. If you can’t afford a new one, then go to Aimsurplus and buy a law-enforcement trade-in Glock. It will have a few scratches on it, but it will essentially be a brand-new handgun.

Cops don’t put a lot of rounds on their guns. They look a little chewed up because they get carried in holsters and get scraped and banged for their entire service life. However, mechanically, that is a brand-new gun.

Optics choices are like so many other things in life—very subjective. What I think is “the best” may not be so for you. However, the fact is that the first person who gets a solid hit on the other, typically wins the fight. The best way to dominate the fight is with an optic on your handgun. Choose wisely and train hard.

As always, God bless you all, get those guns out and practice.

For more information, please visit Trijicon.com, Aimpoint.us, Aimsurplus.com, and Holosun.com.