1911 with Slide Mounted Aimpoint Micro T1 red dot

[gdboytyler]

I've wanted a red dot on my self defense handgun ever since I got my open gun back in the 90's. However, it never seemed "practical" until recently.

I originally looked at a slide mounted Trijicon RMR and DeltaPoint 2. RMR's seemed too small and not 100% reliable. I got tired of waiting on the DP2. Also the RMR / DP style have problems if used in the rain due to water getting on the emitter.

I decided to go with the Aimpoint Micro mainly because I was already using one on my open gun with zero problems.

In my research, the only 1911's I could find with slide mounted Aimpoint Micros were used for bullseye competition. It's currently THE WINNING SETUP for bullseye.

So I sent my slide off to a bullseye gunsmith to install a picatinny rail on the slide and make a custom base for the Micro. The stock Micro bases were breaking in competition. The custom base is about 1/10" thicker than the stock base, so it does sit slightly higher on the rail.

The HOB on the frame mount STI (9mm major) is 1.02" and 1.32" for the slide-mount RIA (.45 ACP). I measured HOB from the center of the barrel to the center of the lens.

I don't notice the difference in the HOB when I switch back and forth. I've got both guns zero'd at 25 yards and the POA/POI for the two are close enough that I don't have to change my holdover when shooting at close targets.

Having the red dot mounted farther back on the slide makes the window LOOK bigger. This makes it easier to find the dot on the RIA when shooting weak hand only. About the only time I'll lose the dot on either gun is when I transition from freestyle to WHO. If I do lose the dot, it's quicker to reacquire with the slide mounted Aimpoint.

Recoil on the RIA feels about the same with or without the red dot mounted on the slide. However, my Bill Drill split times at 7 yards improved from 0.25 sec to 0.22 sec with the addition of the red dot. Part of this was that it was easier to track the red dot vs small GI sights, the other part was due to going to a lighter recoil spring.

My accuracy with the RIA has greatly improved. With the stock GI style iron sights on the RIA, at 25 yards, I was all over the place on an IPSC target. I never bothered measuring groups. With the red dot, shooting offhand, my best 5-shot group so far was 5 5/8" at 25 yards.

On the slide mount, I had to replace the stock recoil spring with a 10 lb ISMI spring to prevent stove pipe jams and tuned the ejector to prevent the spent cases from hitting the red dot body. I have noticed that the lens stays cleaner on the slide mount vs the frame mount.

The frame mounted Aimpoint has had around 2500-3000 rounds of 9mm major and the slide mounted Aimpoint has around 300 rounds of factory 230 gn ammo (mostly Federal aluminum from Walmart).

I have read about the on/off/intensity switch failing on Aimpoint Micros used for IPSC/USPSA. Therefore, I just leave the red dots on all the time and only have to occasionally adjust the brightness. And that is another reason I stayed with the Aimpoint Micro for both guns.

If the Aimpoint R1 on my STI fails, I'll move the T1 from the RIA onto the STI and use my Colt 10mm for my bedside gun while the failed sight goes for warranty repair.

Now that I can actually shoot my .45 ACP accurately, it will be time to lighten the trigger pull .

Edited March 30, 2015 by gdboytyler