Micro Red Dot Sights, not just for pistols
Born to be used on pistols, Micro Red Dot Sights (MRDS) are also useful with other types of weapons
In foto, un micro dot Sightmark Mini Shot M-Spec M2 Solar su una PCC CZ Scorpion EVO 3
Micro Red Dot Sights (MRDSs) are the end result of a long effort to miniaturize traditional Red Dot Sights (RDSs) for use on carry handguns, as opposed to the first handgun RDSs, which were just rifle RDSs installed on competition handguns via complex and cumbersome supports and brackets that often outweighed the sight itself.
Modern MRDSs can be installed directly on the slide, with such minimum added encumbrance and mass that concealability, balance, and reliability of the gun are not compromised.
The Sightmark Mini Shot M-Spec M2 Solar on a Beretta 1301 Tactical shotgun
This brings up a second point beside encumbrance and mass that had to be addressed in MRDSs: which is mechanical resistance. An MRDS has to endure a lot in terms of shock and vibration, with continuous reciprocation on the gun’s slide, with stresses that would quickly wreck an ordinary RDS.
The downside of an MRDS is the reduced sight window, used at a farther distance from the eye, compared to larger RDSs on rifles, that demands strong stance discipline from a handgun shooter to take advantage of the sight.
So, why mount such a specialized sight on something else than a handgun?
Because there are other types of guns where you can profit from the advantages of an MRDS while minimizing the downside, so that they are even more effective than on handguns.
A first example is on PCCs (Pistol Caliber Carabines): these tend to be much more compact than semiauto rifles, so that full size RDSs can result unreasonably cumbersome, significantly adding to the gun’s bulk and shifting its balance.
The Sightmark Mini Shot M-Spec M2 Solar on a PDW (Glock 19 in a FAB Defense K-Pos).
An MRDS gives all the advantages of an RDS, without the added bulk, while the use on a long gun substantially negates the downside of a reduced sight window or, at least, makes it much easier to familiarize with it.
A second type of firearm on which MRDSs are becoming more and more popular is on shotguns, and not only those used for tactical or action shooting purposes, but also break action shotguns used for hunting or sporting.
An MRDS can be mounted very low on the bore, allowing the shooter to maintain the usual instinctive style of shooting compared to a larger RDSs and, with the use of modern mounting brackets, it can be installed even on the rib of old fashioned, classic double barrels. The shooting stance used on most shotguns makes acquiring such a low mounted MRDS as easy and natural as acquiring an old fashioned bead sight, while significantly increasing accuracy, particularly at longer ranges.
A third kind of firearm benefiting from MRDSs, more related to the military and law enforcement sector, is the PDW: modern PDWs have a form factor falling somewhere in between handgun and SMG, and an MRDS allows faster, more accurate engagements without adding significantly to the encumbrance of iron sights.
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