Drinking red dot Kool Aid.

A decade or so ago, I paid $400 for an EOTec holographic sight. I encountered all sorts of issues, the worst of which was the life of the batteries. So when I saw an online discussion about the new fad in microdot sights, I was less than enthusiastic.

I expressed the opinion that depending on the life of your batteries was a bad idea in a defensive firearm, and I also said that I don't carry pistols that require more input than simply obtaining a sight picture and pressing the trigger. I don't want to do more than absolutely necessary when my life is counting on putting lead on target. The contributors to that discussion told me how wrong and outdated I was, so I decided to take the plunge.

I bought a Holosun 507c sight for my M&P 9C from Amazon for $229. The Holosun has the same mounting as the Trijicon RMR, so I was faced with two options: I could have my slide machined, or I could get a mounting plate. With that being said, I just didn't feel like sending my slide off for several weeks, so I just bought a mounting plate.

Installing:

I bought a mounting plate for $20 and it didn't have the proper mounting pattern, despite the fact that the online description said it did. I bought a second plate from Trijicon which cost $90. The directions said that you just pressed it into the dovetail for the rear sight. That was easier said than done. The plate was too wide to fit into my Smith and Wesson sight tool, so it was a bit of a chore. After some filing of the plate with a hand file, and struggling with my press, I finally resorted to a non-marring punch and a BFH (Big Freaking Hammer). The end result was a bit of marring, and a plate that will likely never come off again.

Shooting:

I took the pistol to the range and had the sight adjusted in less than 10 rounds. I noticed that I was a bit slower getting my first round out because when I first present the pistol, I am trying to line it up with sights instead of the red dot. I think that I can correct that with some dry fire practice. Once you locate that dot, it is easier to follow it than the front sight. What this means is that I was much faster with my follow up shots than I usually am.

The Holosun has selectable reticles: a circle, a dot, or a dot within a circle. The circle allows for much faster shooting over the dot, at the expense of fine accuracy. At 15 yards, all you have to do is put the circle on the target and press the trigger. I am going to work with this one a while, but I think I like it.