Optics and Sights

UH-1 Holographic Sight by Vortex Optics

I have featured the Vortex Optics UH-1 on a few articles and this is my final review on it. It’s badass and I can’t imagine switching to something else… end of review. Just kidding. The UH-1 has been adopted by anyone and everyone that can get their hands on it as the go-to CQC/CQB optic. It’s fair in weight and the eye relief is incredible (I mean it is a holograph so that’s not really a point I can make lol) and the stigmatism is non-existent and that’s a big factor of why I like it. It doesn’t “blow up” or “star out” as some people find with the EOTech’s.

Craftsmanship and Durability

The durability is incredible as I have really beat this thing up. My buddies over at Vortex Optics told me to take it through the ringer and that’s exactly what I’ve done. The only thing that has happened is it has scratched but that’s nothing that a little paint can’t fix. I’ve dropped it, taken it on and off the rifle and I have also thrown it (for testing purposes). It has held its zero every single time. Trying to get it on paper is hard at first and that’s my biggest complaint, but I also only had a few minutes to get it on paper so I was rushing a bit. I also didn’t have it benched up so that may of been part of the problem as well.

Pictured Above: working on hot extract tactics in an undisclosed location in Virginia. Technically they say to always secure yourself in, but we were working on a new product to keep yourself in vehicles. Typically trucks are the best, but you have to use what you have around you. *Photo by @NatRodgersPhotography*

UH-1 vs EOTech

UH-1 AMG vs any EOTech I’ve used? I’ll take the UH-1 over just about any EOTech.. you may ask why? Stigmatism, man. Stigmatism is a b*tch and its always there for me.. until now. Vortex did a fantastic job on the UH-1 and broke into an area where they haven’t really been.. in fact an area where not a lot of optics companies have been. EOTech was the main go to.. Vortex shut that down. The guys I train are all slowly moving to the UH-1 and that’s great news. EOTech is still out there, but the sales have gone down a lot since the UH-1 came out. During training my buddy asked me “Have you ever used one of these?” and he pulled out a UH-1. I went to my bag and said: “I got one right here buddy”. After about 30 minutes of talking about how great it was, we finally got to doing a little weapons work.

Pictured Above: Doing some “shoot and move” training on a building in Suffolk, Virginia. Some people will ask why I’m running a monocular, but I was testing one out by ATN. *Photo by @NatRodgersPhotography*

The dot color is bright red, with adjustable brightness settings. It has unlimited eye relief but it is a holograph haha, it has a built-in Picatinny mount with a quick detach. It is a little heavy at 11.8 ounces but it’s not terrible. I would take a little weight on my rifle, rather than a little more weight on my kit. Vortex does have a magnifier, but I have not tested that out yet. Eventually, I will, but I’ve been traveling for work recently.

The UH-1 with NOD’s

The UH-1 is “not compatible” with NOD’s but it is at the same time. It is visible, but it takes some getting used to. Maybe Vortex will come out with a NOD’s “compatible” system, but so far I have not had any problems with NOD’s and the UH-1. Having a PEQ is ideal and in all honesty, if you shoot enough in a shoot house or CQC situation, you don’t really aim. You know where your guns are and where they are going. Oh boy, that whole not aiming sentence is going to start a conversation and I can already tell I’m going down a rabbit hole, but with a PEQ, or even without a PEQ, in CQC high-speed situations you barely have a chance to look down your optic. You live and die by a tenth of a second.

Pictured Above: Shooting during “Low light and no light” cold and wet conditions in the shoothouse in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

All in all, the Vortex UH-1 is a great optic and it’s a little cheaper than the EOTech. It doesn’t “starburst” so its great for those with astigmatism problems and all in all its a durable and well-constructed optic. Not to mention the Vortex guarantee. Vortex is a family owned, family run business.. by that I mean everyone that works there is family and you are family too since you purchased their product. The UH-1 is my choice for a CQC rifle optic!

Red Dot Sights on Pistols

Serious competition shooters have been mounting red dot sights to handguns for a long time. In many cases, one can look to competition shooters for future trends in pistol design and employment as competition shooters are often quick to try out and vet concepts to see if it aids in getting times down. It sometimes can take a while for these concepts to trickle down to serious wide usage in Law Enforcement, Conceal Carry and the Military for a variety of reasons. Often that reason is durability.

That seems to have been the case with optics on pistols. Though red dots undoubtedly offer several advantages in many ways similar to the advantages offered when mounted on carbines they also had several downfalls. While many optic mounts for handguns attached in such a way that the optic was not mounted to the slide (ALG 6 Second Mount as one noteworthy example), the trend began to move in favor of mounting the Optic directly to the slide. This presented some serious concerns as the slide accelerates and decelerates extremely fast. Many optics have been known to regularly fail due to these factors. And while we don’t have an optic that will never fail we do have several that proven themselves reliable; Trijicon RMR, Aimpoint T-1, and the Leupold Deltapoint Pro.

Each of the optics above has advantages and disadvantages and it is up to the individual shooter to determine what will work best with his mission set. For many battery life is a huge concern. Imagine using an optic mounted weapon for conceal carry, that dot needs to be on when carried and you don’t want to worry about it dying on you when you need it most. It’s only fairly recently that smaller optics have had battery lives passing the 1000 hour mark. With the introduction of excellent miniaturized optics such as the Aimpoint T-1 and the Trijicon RMR, serious pistol shooters found themselves faced with optics that measured battery life in years.

With the technology catching up with the concept there has been a sort of renaissance of combat pistol design. There is a large proliferation of companies who now offer custom slide milling services to fit optics to your chosen handgun. The practice of mounting optics has become so popular that the never-changing Glock released the Modular Optic System for several of their more popular models. So what is the fuss about? What makes an optic worth it?

With the right amount of training I believe that you’ll find that when you have two shooters at the same level, the shooter with an optic will outshoot his optic-less counterpart. An optic allows for precise aiming, an open sight picture, and rapid follow-up shots. What really sets the optic equipped pistol apart is the ability to track moving targets during engagements. The red dot is far easier to aim and make precise, accountable shots in a dynamic non-permissive environment compared to normal iron sights on a pistol.

Mounting an optic to a handgun isn’t quite the night and day difference you had when mounting a red dot to a carbine. The pistol needs to be held at the correct orientation to your eye and without co-witnessed iron sights, it is incredibly difficult to do and you can sometimes “lose the dot”. The co-witnessed iron sights provide a quick reference to get the dot into your sight picture. This is in contrast to a rifle where simply getting a cheek weld is enough to get the dot on the target. I’ve found that the learning curve with optic equipped pistols is steep, but the reward is great.

I’ll be writing more on this subject in the following months as I interview and talk with influential companies and individuals who helped push the innovations talked about earlier through to the general public. Stay tuned for more.

Grey Ghost Precision Offers Dual Optic Compatibility

The Slide, Improved by GGP

I like Glock pistols and I like red dot sights. Optic sights on your combat gun allow for faster target transition, a wider field of view with both eyes open, quicker sight acquisition of your target, improved accuracy at close and long distances, and allow you to stay target focused. With that being said, I’m not in love with the Glock MOS (Modular Optic System) as the solution to mounting red dot sights on the Glock platform (see my general complaints later).

Grey Ghost Precision (GGP) recognized the existing market gap and a need to improve the way things were being done and introduced aftermarket milled slides. GGP slides offered were great quality, but they had the same problem that sending your Glock slide in to have custom milled had; until they offered the V4 and their genius shim system for dual optic compatibility.

The Problem with Custom Milled Slides

Custom milled slides offer a superior mounting solution to red dot optics. They are a much more robust mount when properly done. The fitment of the optic to the slide is a press-fit where you essentially don’t even need the mounting screws for it to stay in place. Add a little thread lock to the screws and mount it up for a locked-in tight fit that lets you use a quality optic as a handle just as much as a red dot. The red dot sight sits nice and low and allows a lower profile fit.

The problem with that milled sight is that you’re now locked-in to the optic you chose when you got it milled!

A custom milled slide is a great option but you will be locked into the footprint that you choose. No going back!

Some law enforcement agencies may not permit officers to have the pistols milled, as they “alter” the firearm.

The Problem with the MOS

The MOS is a great option for the weekend shooter that doesn’t need to rely on the optic for rough and tough treatment.

You can mount multiple brands of optics with the Glock provided plates. Installation is easy and it retains a stock condition that some police departments want.

Too high on the slide and only two screws holding the optic in-place

All that retains the optic onto the pistol with the MOS configuration is two tiny screws! They do not do a great job of holding the optic onto the gun. The time I’ve spent on the MOS mounting configuration resulted in a loose optic after firing a lot of rounds and doing a few brisk manipulations using the optic as a lever.

The other problem with the MOS configuration is the optic sits up high on the gun and sometimes even suppressor height sights are worthless (such as with the taller footprint Leopold Delta Point Pro.)

The Grey Ghost Precision Solution

Take the stock slide off your Glock, swipe the components from it or just purchase new ones for a minimal price, and install it on your new Version 4 Grey Ghost Precision slide. If you’re mounting the Trijicon RMR or optic with compatible footprint, leave the additional shim on top of the slide in place and use the provided screws with a little threadlocker. Press fit the optic on the slide and install the screws. It’s that easy and it fits precisely as it should.

With the shim in place, the Trijicon is a press-fit installation. Use the GGP provided screws with thread locker.

If you’re using the popular Leupold Delta Point Pro (or other optic that uses Leupold’s footprint), remove the provided shim and press fit the optic to a precision fit. Use your Grey Ghost Precision provided screws with a little thread lock installed and you’re in business.

Remove the shim and install the Leupold DPP with the provided screws and some thread locker

Grey Ghost Precision gives you options for mounting red dot sights and it’s much more robust than what you’d normally find.

This Grey Ghost Precision V4 Mount should be the GLOCK MOS standard!

Tighter Tolerances Equals Tighter Groups

The Grey Ghost Precision V4 slide is much more than just a good optics slide. The slide is machined in-house out of 17-4 billet stainless steel and has tighter critical tolerances.

The GGP slide is Black Nitride Coated inside and out and comes with a custom G10 cover plate and proper screws for use without any optics installed.

The GGP V4 Slide looks great without an optic as well. It comes with a cover plate installed.

Add the GGP match grade barrel and you’ll really see things tighten up if you can avoid slapping the trigger. I hope to be telling you more about the GGP, Glock 19 compatible, Match Grade Barrel later.

Microscale Texture

The GGP V4 slides feature a new slide design with a new texture – the Microscale Texture. The Microscale Texture creates the ultimate strong frictional grip. The design is functional, easy to manipulate from any angle, and is a wonderful example of end-user-focused engineering.

Microscale Texturing makes the slide a cinch to manipulate from any angle.

Grey Ghost Precision slides development was directly influenced by special forces, law enforcement officers, competitive shooters and you – the end user in mind.

Grey Ghost Precision slides easily swap onto OEM & 80% frames. I think one of the best built combinations is the GGP V4 slide placed onto the Nomad Defense, Nomad 9 frame, or one of the GGP Combat Pistol Frames! Take having a custom pistol to a new level and start with the components you want from the get-go and build it your way.

I’ve been running the GGP V4 slide for a couple of months now and I love it. I’ve got the XS Sights, DXT Night Sights on it for back-up sights and they work wonderfully. (More about these sights later.) I ran the Trijicon on the slide first and loved how it sat low and tight in the slide.

I’ve just recently got my hands on the Leupold DPP and have to say, I was impressed with how after removing the shim and changing the screws, the DPP was just as good of a press fit as the Trijicon had been. I’m also starting to enjoy the DPP optic which I hadn’t had any time in on before.

If you’ve been on the fence about building your own custom pistol with components – quit waiting and try out Grey Ghost Precision. You can buy all the components directly from GGP to build your own custom pistol.

Red dot sights on pistols: Some pros and cons

In the following video, I take some time to flesh out some of the major pros and cons of mounting a red dot to a pistol. Mounting red dots on pistols is nothing new, however, in the last 10 or so years, they have begun to find themselves on duty guns. As this trend increases it’s important that as a professional, conceal carry and competition shooter that you take a hard look at whether or not it would benefit your particular needs.

Travis Haley drops some knowledge on RDS equipped handguns

Travis Haley is a veteran Force Reconnaissance Marine who needs little introduction. In many cases, Travis Haley has been at the forefront of innovation in the firearms world. When Travis Haley drops knowledge you’d do best to stop what you’re doing and listen to what he has to say.

Featured image courtesy of Haley Strategic

XS Sights Big tritium dots

XS Sights has been producing some excellent “irons” for a few years now, a set of which I was lucky enough to review a while back. Recently, I had my Glock 17 slide cut for a mini red-dot sight which meant my old sight set was no longer tall enough to see through the optic. Needing suppressor height sights anyways, I went back to the XS Sights page to check out taller irons.

The specific sight set I received is the DXT Big Dot set. Installation was the same as my last set, taking about 10 minutes from start to finish. A good dovetail sight pusher tool is really recommended, as hammering on a pin punch can ostensibly cause the tritium vial to shatter and go dark.

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With tritium lamps (manufactured by Trijicon) front and rear, performance in low-light situations isn’t something I need to be concerned about for the next 10 years or so. Back is the familiar “ice cream cone” dot-on-top-of-line aiming pattern found in the last set of Big Dot sights I reviewed. With the rear sight pushed in front on the Vortex Venom red dot, there’s a little difficulty in picking up the rear sight in a hurry. This is due to the extra tall battery box on the Venom, which is a pretty specific setup to have. I can still get a good sight picture though and the tritium is still nice and bright, even through the glass.

The suppressor height sights solve the other big problem this gun has had, namely that stock sights are too short to get up and over the suppressor, leading the shooter to do a little guessing as where the bullseye is behind the occluded sight picture. Now, I’m back up and running at full speed with no guessing.

The sights themselves are well designed. The rear has a nice v-notched shape, giving a wide field of view. The front has such a big dot, it’s incredibly easy to pick up even when you’re pushing your draw speed to your limits. The sights haven’t had any problems with snagging on holsters or clothing.

When it comes to sights, you get what you pay for. Well, machined ones with tritium vials definitely cost more than plastic squares with white circles painted on them. They are also much more versatile, durable and useful. For a pair of sights with tritium front and rear, XS Sights is selling them at $131. For a tritium front and white stripe rear, the cost is at $115. These are certainly one of the best upgrades a shooter can make over a stock sight equipped gun. Check them out!

–Rex Nanorum

@Rexnanorum