using your RMR to rack the slide ?

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Bill681911

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question: is it ok to rack a pistol slide using the RMR sight? will this cause damage or loss of zero? our group has an ongoing debate on this topic and i would like get some more opinions.
personally I don't like using my sighting system to rack the slide on my RMR pistols. But I see it done quite frequently.
 
You can “weak wounded bleeding slippery hand” realistic tactical training rack it...

...but why potentially damage the weakest link?
 
personally I don't like using my sighting system to rack the slide on my RMR pistols. But I see it done quite frequently.
I've been trained and have used my iron sights to rack my slide for years.

Just for clarity, I'm taking that you are referring to a Red Dot Sight (RDS) as opposed to the RMR which is a Trijicon model of RDS.

But back to the focus of the OP, I wouldn't have any reservations about using a quality RDS, properly mounted, to rack a slide.

I know competitive shooters who have been using the RDS on their pistols to rack the slide during reloads for a couple of years without issue. These have been mostly the C-More RTS2 and STS2, Trijicon SRO, as well as the Holosun 507.

For duty use most have been using the Trijicon RMR...which I understand was designed with such usage in mind
 
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During my NRA Personal Protection In/Outside the Home classes the drills included one-hand operation of the pistol. The instructor specifically recommended using the RDS to assist in racking the slide. Of course that goes along with contingent situation alluded to above,
“weak wounded bleeding slippery hand” realistic tactical training rack it...
 
Watch some of this guys videos. He torture tests most of the well known optics. I would not treat them like that, but it shows they can take a beating if mounted properly. Go to about 11:30 of the vid to watch him test it:


I use the SRO optic to rack my CZ Shadow2 because the slide is so slim on those. But I use the slide on my other optic equipped guns.
 
I don’t think there is a huge concern about damaging the red dot if using it to rack the pistol provided you are racking with your hands and not a solid object. I prefer to rack using the slide more to avoid scuffing the glass of the optic with my grimy hands.
 
Allowed a friend to do it, wasn’t a concern. I train to rack the slide with weak hand, palm down using a c-grip so any RDS mounted there interferes. So, using the dot to rack has become the defacto solution.
 
I do it all the time with the RMR on my S&W Shield. You are not going to hurt the sight using it as a racking aid more than does the recoil.
 
This..

I often use my RMR and DPP to rack off objects and use my hands

I agree. As a law enforcement firearms instructor we teach to use the sights, any sights, to rack the slide. If you are carrying a fighting pistol with an optic you really should be able to make it function in case you get hurt. To do so requires practice.
 
Watch some of this guys videos. He torture tests most of the well known optics. I would not treat them like that, but it shows they can take a beating if mounted properly. Go to about 11:30 of the vid to watch him test it:


I use the SRO optic to rack my CZ Shadow2 because the slide is so slim on those. But I use the slide on my other optic equipped guns.


Came here to post that video.
 
Racking it by driving it like Aaron my do against a steel post, concrete wall bumper, wood post, car door can be a harsh means yet in a life-death scenario that's expected. If regularly doing it to test the limits of how many the times is allowable, the failure is a matter of when. The robust sights can take the abuse yet we've seen his drop tests induce failures on lesser units. If simply grabbing the RDS by the hood with your hand and doing it this, that would not overly stress a properly mounted quality unit.

Edit: the few LEO's I know that do these training courses have Trijicon units on their duty weapons.
 
You shut off the dot in RMRs that have adjustable controls and if you pinch those during slide manipulations.
 
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I have the HS507K and 507C on several guns. I never use the sighting system to rack the slide but if I only had one hand available and it were a life or death situation, I wouldn't hesitate doing so because the risk is certainly worth avoiding the negative consequences.
 
If you can rack the slide without smudging either lens....go for it. Personally, I avoid touching the glass to mitigate scratching.
 
You shut off the dot in RMRs that have adjustable controls and if you pinch those during slide manipulations.

RDS. Not RMR.

I've never seen anyone accidentally power off their RDS - ever. You cannot power a Trijicon RMR, Leupold DeltaPoint, or many other RDS off unless the buttons are held down simultaneously for a few seconds. Unless you're riding the slide to chamber a round..not likely to happen.
 
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When I went through a firearms instructor optics course we were taught, by one of the manufacturers, that it is not a problem to rack the slide with the optic and we did this repeatedly.
 
RDS. Not RMR.

I've never seen anyone accidentally power off their RDS - ever. You cannot power a Trijicon RMR, Leupold DeltaPoint, or many other RDS off unless the buttons are held down simultaneously for a few seconds. Unless you're riding the slide to chamber a round..not likely to happen.
Id have seen it happen with a new shooter that was grabbing my RMR on my glock to work the slide. He complained that the red dot disappeared. I realized what he had done and turned it back on. If one is grabbing just RMR from both sides like he was doing, it happened.
He had never handled any handgun in his life being from belgium and was familiar with only with double barreled shotguns to a limited degree. My guns all are set up with iron sight co-witness. The gun slide was originally set up by Suarez International and the original RMR failed on that gun and it was replaced with an adjustable model. G. Suarez is now pushing the Holosun as being the more reliable. I have had the dot on the current get dim for no apparent reason. Happen once when I was shooting a water moccasin in my backyard. Other than the new shooter squeezing it, it has not happened in a long time. I make it a habit to check that dot regularly when wearing the gun. Perhaps with the older holster the negative button got pushed somehow. I now have it in a different holster. I carry appendix in the waist band.
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From the warrior talk forum and so far I prefer the red color:
"I was ready to hate it. Even though its features were very compelling. Even thought its company was far easier for a dealer to work with than Trijicon. And even though it had the same footprint as the RMR. It had the chinese stigma after all. But as a professional man-at-arms, I have to go with what is best, regardless of who made it. That was a position I learned long ago. Politics, religion, and "personal likes" have no place here. As Musashi said, one should not have a favorite weapon. To plagiarize...one should not have a favorite pistol optic if it causes you to disregard better options.

And so it is with the Holosun. The straw that pushed me over the edge, and away from Trijicon was this last weekend. I was teaching the ever controversial Killing WIthin The Law class and during a break the students talked about the AR pistol, and what I used. I had an AR pistol...a 7.5" assembled by the Gunsmith Staff and I kept it in my vehicle. I usually leave it on and it had been there for three months. The last time I ran it was before Thanksgiving and I placed in its holding area with the optic on when I was done. I was sick with the Rona over the holidays and have been otherwise too busy to shoot (yeah...business is business). Since I do not garage my ride that optic had been subjected to a lengthy "ON" period and to freezing temps overnight for several weeks.

I should note that previously I had two RMRs come out of my safe totally dead from the cold...with relatively new batteries.

As I pulled the AR from its bag I told the students that the optic might be off because it has been so cold and explained the importance of back up sights, but to my delight, the bright green dot was right there when I shouldered the AR. I think I have reached a point of decision where I can comment. In my opinion, the Holosun is a better product that the Trijicon RMR.

Am I going to put all of my RMRs on sale at gunbroker? No...but severla new projects for which I had RMRs set aside will be getting 507/508 Holosuns instead. In particular I like the added benefits of the dormant feature that may have been responsible for the optic still functioning. The solar power feature...is an ingenious thing that I suspect Trijicon will inevitably emulate at some point when they can steer the behemoth vessel back into modern waters. And the green dot reticle. A little more on that.

I have found that the green appears brighter at all settings that the red...and across the board with Holosuns as well as Trijicons. The idea that green will not be a good choice in green environments was proved false when I took the green Holosun out in the spring. Yes its green...like the foliage, but even Stevie wonder could discern dot from background very easily and sharply.

I have since read studies that show green is actually easier for the human eye to pick up. Case in point...the tritium elements in your sights, your watch face, and vehicle dials (non digital) are likely green and not red. Moreover, I am not sure why, and will have to study it better is that the green doesn't seem to distort with astigmatism (which I still have in my left eye).

Like true capitalists, we will sell both...but if you were to ask me which one I prefer...you have your answer."
 
Id have seen it happen with a new shooter that was grabbing my RMR on my glock to work the slide. He complained that the red dot disappeared. I realized what he had done and turned it back on. If one is grabbing just RMR from both sides like he was doing, it happened.
He had never handled any handgun in his life being from belgium and was familiar with only with double barreled shotguns to a limited degree.

Interesting, I'll have to keep that in mind. I use an RMR on an FNX 45 I've had for several years and rack the slide frequently using the optic. It hasn't happened to me yet, but am appreciating the DeltaPoint more as there are no buttons on the outside. I think it'd be harder to accidentally turn off a Holosun as the buttons are quite small.
 
If the sight can withstand the beating it takes when firing I think racking the slide with it would be OK. Most people don't think about what a slide mounted sight goes through during a firing sequence. first you have recoil of firing, then the slide goes rearward extremely fast, changes directions, then slams to a stop when the slide closes. All this in a fraction of a second. this is what kills slide mounted optic sites.
 
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