A friend needed some help to improve the sights of his M745. I proposed the idea to run a red dot sight. I have been running one on a M5906 for almost a year now, and I must say that I really like it.

As I get older and my sight deteriorates, I have been looking for sight alternatives on my guns. Altering the aperture of the rear has helped; but I wanted to try a red dot sight on a pistol, since I see a lot of people running them nowadays. I don't use it on my daily carry, but it has proven to be a good range training aid (please I don't want to enter a debate a using a red dot sight for daily carry ).

The mount I use is the Optima / Tasco mount. It can be found online from $20 to $30 (depending on the sale you find) + shipping. This mount is made of aluminum and attaches to the slide by replacing the rear sight and it was designed to fit the 59 series.




the optima mount + components

Different red dot sights use different "patterns" which are the way they attach to the mount. This website provides a clear explanation of all the mounting patterns and all the red dot sights in the market.

Footprints/Mounting Standards on Red Dot Sights - Optics info

So, the Optima / Tasco mount uses a Shield pattern:


The Shield pattern is used by this Red Dot sight:


There is also a "modified" Shield pattern that can be used, but the mount hast to be modified by removing 2 of the mounting sockets on the Optima / Tasco mount.


For this project a Sig Romeo Zero with a 3 MOA was selected. Why this red dot sight? Well, it is an inexpensive alternative, it can be easily found, works with the Optima / Tasco mount and despite being made of plastic , it has good reviews and has proven quite good for the price.



More to come...