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I have two slides from TSD Combat Systems with an RMR (Rear-Mounted Red dot) and back-up iron sights. [Not shown. That’s GunUp’s Caleb Giddings shooting a Trijicon RMR on a Smith & Wesson M&P.] I’ve been running the TSD sights on my Glock G17 and G19. After shooting them a bit, I believe they’re an excellent sighting system. Here’s what I’ve found . . .
Advantages
-Precise sighting, but you still have to be able to shoot.
-Sight in the same focal plane as target.
-Dot will improve trigger control because you see every flaw while dry firing.
-No loss of durability.
-No loss of close range ability.
-I tested open sights back to back with RMR, and with quality open sights (not stock Glock). My precision and accuracy were essentially equal out to 15 yards. In other words: typical handgun distances. Perhaps I just am not a good enough shooter to tell the difference. My groups are like 6 inches at 15 yards. This guy is doing 1.5 inch groups at 25 yards] which I can’t even come close to….
-Once you have acquired the dot, target to target transitions are faster.
-the RMR is a freaking fantastic charging handle and more than rugged enough to handle it.
-Beyond 15 yards, the dot has an advantage because it is simply a more precise targeting system. You still have to be able to shoot though The precision gains you nothing if you don’t have strong fundamentals of pistol! I hit steel out to 100 yards 50/50 with it, and >75% of the time at 75 yards, almost 100% at 50 yards.
Check this out:
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Ignore the commercial at the end, the first few seconds is an impressive example of shooting. I’m sorta think the guy could do that with irons as well.
Drawbacks:
-cost: $800-1200 (RMR itself is around $500 and has to be milled into slide)
-Dot can be slower to acquire on pistol presentation. In fact, if you look for the dot, it surely is slower It is easy to miss, and you waste time looking for it when you should be shooting. This is fact that has to be trained around.
Having iron sights that co-witness with the dot is essential to this training. You still start presentation looking for that front sight. If you do that it is no different from open sights, you look for the open sight at usual, then the dot magically appears. If you look for it, it is slower, don’t look for it, no speed loss, sort of illogical, but there it is.
-Maintenance: wipe screen every hundred shots or so, change battery yearly.
Conclusions:
-No immediately apparent drawbacks (although I’m ready to be schooled)
-Back up irons are essential to the learning curve and function, otherwise, time is wasted on presentation looking for the dot which can be hard to find.
-Possibly best for older shooters since it puts target and sight in one focal plane, also RMR makes a great charging handle for those with weak hand, or one handed charging.
-Improvements cost a bunch of money and are pretty marginal for typical handgun distances.
-Who needs to shoot further than 15 yds with a self defense handgun?
-The sight won’t do the shooting for you.
Those are my honest thoughts. I may be too close to the TSD folks to make an impartial judgement. Why don’t we ask the Armed Intelligentsia for their thoughts?