Mounting red dots rear,middle or front?

How due you guys like to mount your red dots on your pistol. Back, middle or front. Any science on this?

Mount it to the front..hows it feel..not good...then mount in the back...hows it feel?  Good...question answered

Personal preference..you’ll know it when it’s right

Shooter A hates the way shooter B mounts his dot. And vise versa. 

Sometimes you have no choice due to the rail configuration 

You have to find what you like

Just my 2C

Science? I'm not sure that is the right word. Opinion would be closer. I always try to mount my dot on the back of the pistol. I have always felt the dot was easier to re-acquire. On the front they also make them feel nose heavy. I know I also have pistols with barrel weights but that's different. See first answer. I have even modified mounts to get the dot in line with the grip. Like my old 41.

Hi Smsnyder:

I put my red dots towards the rear of the pistol for the highly scientific reason that it just don't look right mounted way up there out on the front.  

On that Pardini you just got?  Slide it all the way back so you don't look like a dork!  Be aware that some grips will interfere with the rails back there.  On my Pardini with Dick Horton Grips, I loosened up the grip screw to lower the grips and slid the red dot back and then tightened the grip screw. Also be aware that the slits on the pardini (grooves, slots, rails, whatever) taper into full depth so that if you have a red dot with a long tooth on one side and a shorter "biter" on the other side, if you slide the red dot back loose it might ride up on the taper on one side and cock the red dot out a bit.  

Regards, 
Crankster

Maybe not very scientific, but I remember having what I thought were good reasons to have the sight closer to the front, but all I got for my trouble was a gun that was now nose-heavy, and because the sight was further away, the sight looked smaller.

I moved it back, like what LenV shows in his photo up above, and the gun felt "balanced" better, and I felt like I had a better sight picture.  There are quite a few photos posted here that show the two sight rings mounted on the front of a sight, so the body of the sight extends to the rear.  I'm not sure how good or bad that idea is, but for me, the gun with Matchdot II red dot site did feel balanced better.

I suspect that when a gun is designed, they go to a lot of effort to make the gun feel good in your hand - most of the time, at least.  When the sight is over the grip, you haven't disturbed that balance.  Also, your "field of view" seems smaller or larger depending on where you mount it.

I have found with the dot sight to the front, it moves more.  The end of the barrel is further from the center point of the wobble.  

David

IMHO you want the red dot image surface (generally the front glass) to be as closely above the trigger as practical. This gives the most natural pointing perspective, and generally keeps the gun neutrally balanced.

Some guns have functional issues, due to availability of rail location, ejected brass hitting things, cleaning and other access, etc. Be flexible.

I agree with those who suggest it is a matter of personal preference and you will need to experiment a little to determine which is best for you.  I found best results when I stationed the dot's heaviest part above the trigger.
Phil

I just remembered this post while I was modifying a Weaver #401 mount. The long mount works great for full length dots but has a lot of extra for a Micro. I wacked (technical term) about 1.25" off the mount and added a cut to mount the dot in the middle. I also used some aluminum black to match and mounted it on the revolver. All of that took about 30 minutes. Now I have a base that lets me mount a Micro on my K frame where I like it.

Is that a shot gun shell used as a hood?

rich.tullo wrote:Is that a shot gun shell used as a hood?

NO!!  lol

It’s 3D printed marked with the windage adjustment direction magic markered on it!

I put an LSP barrel on my High Standard Victor.  Its now muzzle heavy, so I moved the ultra dot back as far as possible.

David

len I like the looks of your revolver set up I have a M15 that is not drilled and taped does that mount match factory holes same as the Weaver 401 mount.
I want to drill and tap mine for red dot.
Thanks

Thanks for catching my dyslexia. It is a #401. It matches factory holes.

Len

This is how you mount your dot to the rear on a newer 41 that comes drilled and tapped. This is a Valdada red dot but the same method would work with Aimpoint Comp or similar scopes.