Contessa QD SIGHT:MRDS adapter
Installing a Micro Red Dot Sight (MRDS) on a hyandgun does not require a milled slide anymore: Contessa QD Sight provides an easy, solid and accurate way to do so.
Contessa QD SIGHT: adattatore per micro red dot.
For those who own guns that predate the popularity of Micro Red Dot Sights (MRDS), installing one on their gun usually means making awkward decisions, such as having the slide of their gun custom-machined (if at all viable) or locking up their trusty old pistol in the safe and purchasing one with a factory-machined slide. These are obviously far from optimal choices. Fortunately, Contessa, an Italian manufacturer of high-end optics mounts, comes to the rescue with the QD SIGHT system.
The QD Sight in its box, complete with all the tools and screws needed for assembly. You can order a specific plate for your dot.
Designed to replace the rear sight, the QD SIGHT is a very simple and effective system: a heat-treated steel base and an interchangeable steel plate with locking pins.
All plates have the same mounting interface for the QD SIGHT, so you can use any MRDS or even swap it out on the fly.
The kit comes in a convenient cardboard box with a 3D-printed polymer case that houses the base plate that replaces the rear sight, the MRDS plate of your choice, installation tools and screws, and a spare sight, as the base plate also serves as the rear sight in the absence of the MRDS.
Installation is very simple and requires minimal manual dexterity. In my case, I used a Glock 19 Gen III as a test platform and a Sightmark Mini Shot M-Spec reflex sight.
After removing the rear sight, simply slide the base plate into place in the dovetail recess, use the supplied hex wrench, and, pressing the front release slider to access the hex nuts, tighten them until they are securely tightened, without using excessive force.
The base is in place, as easy as installing any aftermarket rear sight. The next step requires mounting the MRDS to the plate. To do this, you must use the screws provided in the kit, not the original ones that came with the dot, because they are too long, as you can see in the pictures.
Front sight, base, mounting plate, screws and all the wrenches you need
The Glock 19 Gen III does not have a milled slide, but van mount the Sightmark Mini Shot M-Spec thanks to the QD SIGHT adapter
- Put some Loktite on the screws and secure the MRDS to the plate. In my case, I didn't replace the sight, as the one I had worked perfectly.
- To mount the MRDS, grasp it firmly and align the pins on the underside of the plate with the slider holes on the plate, and pull back.
- The plate slides back and down, locking into place, easy peasy.
- To remove the MRDS, grasp it firmly and with the index finger of the same hand, firmly press the release slider: the plate will unlock.
Remove the rear sight
Slide the QD SIGHT in the rear sight dovetail slot, and tighten the two worm screws (to acces the screws you need to depress the unlocking slide)
The adaptor is installed and, without an MRDS, works like a standard rear sight.
We mount the Sightmark Mini Shot on the plate using the screws supplied with the QD SIGHT (the ones on the dot, on the left, are too long)
The dot mounted on the QD SIGHT. Installing is fast: align the lugs with the holes, pull back and down, and it will latch on automatically.
With a little practice, you can install or remove the MRDS faster than you can change magazines. The baseplate's hold on the pistol is rock solid, completely repeatable, and consistent, so no re-zeroing is necessary when removing the MRDS from the baseplate.
Since my Glock 19 is configured for installation in a K-Pos Gen 1 chassis, I tried installing it after removing the MRDS, because it looked like it could be done, but the side protrusions on the baseplate that house the slide retaining springs prevented it. Oh well, you can't have it all.
Perhaps Contessa can modify the design slightly to accommodate this installation?
Currently available for Beretta, Glock, Browning, CZ and Sig Sauer, the QD SIGHT is not just a gimmick to mount an MRDS on an older pistol without a milled slide: it is a solid system that allows you to shoot with or without MRDS and to swap out different MRDS in an instant, for example in dynamic shooting to replace a defective MRDS during a match, or to use MRDS zeroed at different distances depending upon the shooting conditions, options that make it interesting even on guns equipped with a milled slide.
The GEN III Glock with Sightmark Mini Shot M_Spec mounted on the QD_SIGHT: notice how the dot is very low on the gun.
