Red Dot Mounting
let's talk about failures of firearms and optics. This picture is "3 threads of engagement".
I just watched this video with Jack Daniel (Thunder Ranch) and James Reeves (TFB) and it reminded me of a conversation I had the other day over text...
although I disagree with some of what Jack Daniel talks about (I like magpul slings, and please don't buy Aero... please.), we have seen a lot of similar failures with red dots and mounting systems.
LOCTITE - if I mill your slide for an optic I always use loctite when I mount it. I also torque it to manufacturer specs, which is typically 13-15 INCH-pounds. not ft-lbs. mistaking these two units of measurement can lead to screws that break off inside your slide, which is a nightmare to fix if you have to extract it. hit me up, I just laser it out in 30 seconds or less... I also include single use tubes of loctite if I mill your slide. I already use loctite if you send your optic with your slide, but this tube is for YOU. if for no other reason, to remind you that you need it.
OPTIC SCREWS - this is the first thing I replace from the factory. I don't know what they have in those little individually wrapped packets of screws, but I know what I want to use and it's not those cheap pot-metal screws. I use tool steel screws, typically no smaller than #6-32 unless I have to (thanks, glock.). I have also seen M3 screws sheared off of optic plates (thanks, glock.). screw holes in the optic itself usually take #8 screws without modification but it's a very uncommon thread pattern in the firearm space. I will drill and tap a hole in the slide without a second thought, if the previous hole is smaller than #6 screws. additionally, if an optic milling company advertises "3 threads of engagement", that's unacceptable. I have even seen less than 3. I would prefer 5+. the picture on this page is what "3 threads of engagement" looks like... how would you feel knowing that this is what is holding your optic to your slide?!
OPTIC PLATES - do some research. I try to avoid mounting optics to aluminum plates because the weak point is the aluminum, which is a very soft metal in comparison to the steel screws. only speaking of mounting the optic to the plate, over-torquing the screws (by tightening or lateral forces) usually ends with a failure of the threads in the plate. additionally, most plates do not have any methods of securing it to the slide other than two small-diameter screws.
most plates are only secured to the slide with small diameter screws that I have seen sheared off on multiple occasions (thanks, glock.). I greatly like the Dawson Precision plates because they have two nubs that engage a recessed channel in the slide to add additional protection from lateral forces on the optic. I have racked my Staccato slide off of wooden posts, walls, shoes, and a ballistic shield with no problems in the Dawson mount. that being said, direct-mount will always be superior to a plate, which just adds more pieces between the optic and slide that can fail.
GLOCK MOS - my parents taught me that if I have nothing nice to say, don't say anything at all... I have found a spot in a niche market by milling away the MOS cut and direct mounting optics... there is a good reason for this. the MOS plates and screws fail more than anything else I have seen. the joke is that I went to the Glock Armorer's Course so I could shit on them more effectively. they do a good enough job with their track record of the MOS plate. now, they've started milling a channel in the MOS pattern to prevent people like me from making improvements... there are now hollow cavities (justified as "lightening cuts") in glock slides of G17 length or longer, and these milled channels prevent any other screw hole from being drilled into the slide. I'm going to assume that they know exactly what they are doing. I now have to blast, clean, and weld those channels closed if anyone wants an MOS delete... gLoCk PeRfEkShUn!!
