AimPoint ACRO 3.5 MOA RDS

[Wambli Ska]

Cutting a boojie 1911 for an RDS?
OH HELL YEAH.

It's by far the most accurate 1911, actually, the most accurate handgun I own. Why not...

But if I decide to do it, I'm doing it right.

Oh 100%.
I just want to watch the boomer purists weep.

Yeah I know. Hey I'm not milling the slide of my first year production Remington-Rand. The WC is just a nice tool but I can buy another one tomorrow and there is zero historical significance or personal attachment (like a family history) in my part except that it was a gift from the wife and she couldn't care less if it makes it a better gun for my purposes, sooooooooo.

[Wambli Ska]

Buy once, cry once.

Buy "right" cry once...

Quick question, not too many of those sights around here to get to look at first hand. I'm strongly considering milling the slide on my Wilson Combat for an RDS. It's a stupidly accurate gun and I figure with an RDS I could pretty effortlessly send well placed shots at well over 100 yards with it. And if I'm doing this I want the best RDS out there, and this seems to fit the bill.

BUT, I think it MIGHT be , I don't know, "weird" looking, for lack of a better way of expressing it, on the slim frame of a 1911. Seems like it's a pretty wide piece of gear.

Thoughts?

Just for sake of scale. . .

Holosun 509T is a little wider than a 1911's slide, but still fits within the overall existing width of GI grips or the typical modern ambi oversize thumb safeties.

Holosun EPS is a slightly better fit aesthetically.

The new Trijicon RMR HD is a pretty good match. Hangs forward over the ejection port slightly, but not a functional problem on the couple of 9mm 2011's I've installed them on.

I'm only milling this slide once so I have to make sure it's perfect on the first try. The Holosun is a fine sight but I want something at the highest level of the food chain for this gun. The Trijicon is a fine sight and meets the top of the food chain criteria but I'm kind of dead set on a closed emitter and I'm willing to wait for the right one if the Aimpoint isn't it.

[Bigslug]

Well, in its day, the flat-sided 1911 was considered a fairly ugly gun, when you consider its highly sculpted contemporaries. Ultimately, who cares what it looks like?

Given the mechanical accuracy capabilities of a fully built 1911 like a Wilson, you'll want to ask yourself if it's a target gun or a fighting gun. If you're shooting NRA Bullseye with it, the 6 MOA dots will be RIGHT out, and even the 3,5's may be a bit chunky for that game.

CHPWS can mill for their "Cross" adapter plates that bolt on with four screws (double the norm for factory cuts), and that'll leave you upgradeable/adaptable in the future.

[Wambli Ska]

It’s a SD carry gun that’s capable of GREAT target accuracy. Over the many years I’ve owned it she has never choked on any ammo profile, even when I’ve been less than good about cleaning and such. I know her “schedule”.

From squeaky clean I get about 250-300 rounds before I MAYBE get a fail to close the slide fully but a quick tap on the back of the slide puts it in battery and if I’m at the range I just run her wet for the rest of the day IF I get one of those. I never let her go past 500 rounds without a strip and clean. I run WC mags only and keep her lightly lubed with some grease on the rails and she’s always good to go.

I want the smaller dot because of the accuracy inherent in the gun. But all I want out of it is high center of man sized torso out past 150 yards.

[Zee]

IMG_2702.gif (793.63 KiB) Viewed 2084 times

[Wambli Ska]

Yeah I know, sounds a bit crazy…

But I’ve done it with this gun with irons to 125 and hit a steel ram at 200 consistently after I figured the drop. The gun can do it, now I need a tool to help. But like slug said, yeah 3.5 might not be fine enough for this…

Now that being said, it’s not something I need in any way, it’s something I’d like to do for giggles and just know I can. I’ll be very happy if it facilitates easier/faster 50 yard shots.

[Bigslug]

Other than Holosun, I don't know who's making a 2-minute dot with an enclosed emitter. The 3.5's are probably perfect for anything you'll do real world with a pistol - if nothing else, it's still finer than your front sight blade.

[Japhy]

Yeah I know, sounds a bit crazy…

But I’ve done it with this gun with irons to 125 and hit a steel ram at 200 consistently after I figured the drop. The gun can do it, now I need a tool to help. But like slug said, yeah 3.5 might not be fine enough for this…

Now that being said, it’s not something I need in any way, it’s something I’d like to do for giggles and just know I can. I’ll be very happy if it facilitates easier/faster 50 yard shots.

Sounds like you need 10X mil dot. What’s a .45 drop at 125 10ft? Give or take

[jkp]

It’s a SD carry gun that’s capable of GREAT target accuracy. Over the many years I’ve owned it she has never choked on any ammo profile, even when I’ve been less than good about cleaning and such. I know her “schedule”.

From squeaky clean I get about 250-300 rounds before I MAYBE get a fail to close the slide fully but a quick tap on the back of the slide puts it in battery and if I’m at the range I just run her wet for the rest of the day IF I get one of those. I never let her go past 500 rounds without a strip and clean. I run WC mags only and keep her lightly lubed with some grease on the rails and she’s always good to go.

I want the smaller dot because of the accuracy inherent in the gun. But all I want out of it is high center of man sized torso out past 150 yards.

Did that Heavy guy from the old forum steal your login credentials?

[CPJ 2.0]

It’s a SD carry gun that’s capable of GREAT target accuracy. Over the many years I’ve owned it she has never choked on any ammo profile, even when I’ve been less than good about cleaning and such. I know her “schedule”.

From squeaky clean I get about 250-300 rounds before I MAYBE get a fail to close the slide fully but a quick tap on the back of the slide puts it in battery and if I’m at the range I just run her wet for the rest of the day IF I get one of those. I never let her go past 500 rounds without a strip and clean. I run WC mags only and keep her lightly lubed with some grease on the rails and she’s always good to go.

I want the smaller dot because of the accuracy inherent in the gun. But all I want out of it is high center of man sized torso out past 150 yards.

Did that Heavy guy from the old forum steal your login credentials?

[Wambli Ska]

Yeah I know, sounds a bit crazy…

But I’ve done it with this gun with irons to 125 and hit a steel ram at 200 consistently after I figured the drop. The gun can do it, now I need a tool to help. But like slug said, yeah 3.5 might not be fine enough for this…

Now that being said, it’s not something I need in any way, it’s something I’d like to do for giggles and just know I can. I’ll be very happy if it facilitates easier/faster 50 yard shots.

Sounds like you need 10X mil dot. What’s a .45 drop at 125 10ft? Give or take

180gr+p is what I usually carry in it. Very accurate and a bit of an advantage at distance. About half the front sight blade over the top of the rear or so at 100 yards and the full blade + maybe a little more for the ram but I haven't done in a bit.

Elmer Keith used to shoot his 4" .44 Mag at pretty long ranges up to 600 yards. He would have the front sight notched and thin gold wires inserted into the notches so he could use them as a guide for elevation. As Zee has said, if you can see it you can hit it. But you'lll never know if you don't try.

And when you routinely try all of a sudden those 10-50 yard shots don't look like much anymore.

[Bigslug]

Here ya go Wambli - inspiration:

SA Operator + 509T.jpg (173.13 KiB) Viewed 2040 times

I had my circa 2006 Springfield MC Operator "done to" and gave the 509T a preliminary zero at 10 yards last week, which SHOULD be close enough to spot on at 50 yards with Ye Olde Hardball as to make no difference.

The fiber optic front sight is too tall (4" low at 20 yards) and will be going away in favor of an all black serrated one that just arrived in the post today. Ground a thumb cutout in the left grip panel for the mag catch since I snapped that photo. The Simonich Gunner grips are sweet, but being a little bit chunkier than GI's, they required an extra bit of shifting for a mag drop.

Not sure how much I'll pack it with the 9mm's being "the thing" now, but if I don't roll with a 1911 occasionally, Dad'll probably write me out of the will.

[Wambli Ska]

Well why didn’t you start with THAT picture! That’s a pretty sweet looking rig

[Japhy]

Slug, that is a nice rig! We all know .45 ACP is THE defense fodder. Listen to your dad.
Question is how many rounds since the RDS was installed?
Any 230gr +p JHP?

[Bigslug]

Slug, that is a nice rig! We all know .45 ACP is THE defense fodder. Listen to your dad.
Question is how many rounds since the RDS was installed?
Any 230gr +p JHP?

The 9mm is free, and we're finding it works really well.

Round count on the .45's RDS is probably under 200 rounds at this point.

No +P and there voluntarily won't be. Not really a believer in +P for most rounds - especially this one. If 230 grains at 830fps doesn't do it, adding the underhand softball pitch of another 30-50 fps won't help. If you're asking about durability of the mounting system under recoil, I have mounted a lot of red dots on the modern mini 9mm's (Glock 43X/48, Sig 365, Springfield Hellcat, S&W M&P Shield), that are reciprocating their slides faster than any full size 1911 will. It ain't a problem. The .40S&W WOULD be the ideal test bed to create that kind of meltdown (it wore out enough stuff before we even considered red dots), but thankfully, that round has mostly left my building.

[CPJ 2.0]

IMG_5118.jpeg (13.81 KiB) Viewed 1991 times

[breamfisher]

[Japhy]

Slug, that is a nice rig! We all know .45 ACP is THE defense fodder. Listen to your dad.
Question is how many rounds since the RDS was installed?
Any 230gr +p JHP?

The 9mm is free, and we're finding it works really well.

Round count on the .45's RDS is probably under 200 rounds at this point.

No +P and there voluntarily won't be. Not really a believer in +P for most rounds - especially this one. If 230 grains at 830fps doesn't do it, adding the underhand softball pitch of another 30-50 fps won't help. If you're asking about durability of the mounting system under recoil, I have mounted a lot of red dots on the modern mini 9mm's (Glock 43X/48, Sig 365, Springfield Hellcat, S&W M&P Shield), that are reciprocating their slides faster than any full size 1911 will. It ain't a problem. The .40S&W WOULD be the ideal test bed to create that kind of meltdown (it wore out enough stuff before we even considered red dots), but thankfully, that round has mostly left my building.

Free is good. I admit I was baiting a bit with the 9 / .45 comment.
I have no plan to add a rds to my 1911, but to each their own preference. I am interested in what you learn with rds on reciprocating slides on all makes.