New Range Officer Owner - Need to Mount a Dot

First topic message reminder :

I finally "pulled the trigger" on getting a .45 today.  I purchased a new Springfield Range Officer   In my state, I get to wait three days before I take it home.  I'll be able to get it on Tuesday and start checking it out.  I've only shot 22'so far, but I'm excited to get started.  I figured I'd run ~300 rounds of hardball through it with open sights before I start tweaking it (it just so happens I have 300 rounds of it).  I've got some shooting buddies that will help me with reloads at that point and then I'll have to start learning how to do that. 

I do want to go ahead and get the stuff needed to put an Ultradot on it, though.  Any recommendations on how to install it on the slide?  What brand rail? Who to get it from?  I'd really like to be able to install it myself, but I shoot with a good bullseye gunsmith as well.  I'm sure he could do it for me if there is drilling and tapping required.

I'll throw some pictures up in the middle of the week after I get it. 

Thanks for your input!
Doug

Yes, Canton is a hop, skip, and jump from New Castle. Beaver Valley ran excellent BE matches also... I remember your Dad very well, but I left the area in 1985, so I missed ever meeting you..
Jerry

My mentor (BE and pistolsmithing) the late Bob Brown used a Bushnell Phantom in the 1960's for BE. I have over the years used grip mounts to test pistols I have built that were iron sighted. I think the fundamentals rule over scope mounting method. I have shot 880's with frame mounted, slide mounted and grip mounted scopes. I like the grip mounts that mount on the left side of the frame. It doesn't interfere with a normal right handed persons grip. Although my favorite method is still the slide mount!

Hello Guys,
I tried to use my Aimtech grip mount on my new Range Officer, the rear iron sight won't clear the aluminum mount.
It worked fine on my R1 though.
I've since ordered a Merit peep to keep the iron sights focused.
gunr

I've had the 6-40 screws shear off of my Range Officer twice, and before shearing they'd always wiggle loose, even with loktite - but it was due to using full power loads, as I didn't know any better at the time. I'm using three (not four) 8/32 screws now, and only shoot my reduced power reloads. Not a single problem since.

Have slide mounted red-dot sight on two 9mm Range Officer pistols.  Thanks to a hint from this group, I bought a chunk of metal that fit the not-very-standard rear sight dovetail.  With the use of a tapered shim, was then able to mount a Burris F3 (which is not easy to operate).  Eventually, one of the F3 was replaced with a similar C-more that was more easy to operate.  The end result is that the sight is up a lot higher than is desirable.

Since then,  additional chunks have become available one of which can replace the rear sight and be an attachment for a better red-dot sight such as Venom (used on slides of other pistols).  Alternative is to have rear of slide cut down and threaded holes made available to mount sight at a better height.

Conventional wisdom is that mounting red-dot sight on a grip mount is best.  I have found that at least the Venom works well mounted on slide.  Today also one can find 1911 with Novak cuts that are more easy to use as a support surface.  RO is an odd duck in that regard.

Worst trigger that I ever felt was on a Range Officer, but then all of the guts were to be replaced anyway.  Mac

dstates wrote:I finally "pulled the trigger" on getting a .45 today.  I purchased a new Springfield Range Officer   In my state, I get to wait three days before I take it home.  I'll be able to get it on Tuesday and start checking it out.  I've only shot 22'so far, but I'm excited to get started.  I figured I'd run ~300 rounds of hardball through it with open sights before I start tweaking it (it just so happens I have 300 rounds of it).  I've got some shooting buddies that will help me with reloads at that point and then I'll have to start learning how to do that. 

I do want to go ahead and get the stuff needed to put an Ultradot on it, though.  Any recommendations on how to install it on the slide?  What brand rail? Who to get it from?  I'd really like to be able to install it myself, but I shoot with a good bullseye gunsmith as well.  I'm sure he could do it for me if there is drilling and tapping required.

I'll throw some pictures up in the middle of the week after I get it. 

Thanks for your input!
Doug

Hi Doug, I have a Range Officer and I mounted a Clark rail on it. Bad decision, the Clark rail is aluminum and soft. A better decision was the Marvel rail I replaced it which that is steel. An even better choice is the Rock River arms RRA bullseye rib, because not only is it made of steel, it also has a fully adjustable target rear sight and permanent front sight post built into it, so if you choose to remove the Ultradot, you can shoot it with irons. I just installed one on my dad's Range Officer yesterday - it is true there is a little bit of space between the rear sight dovetail and the bullseye rib due to the milled out section from the adjustable sight, but it works just fine.

daflorc wrote:

dstates wrote:I finally "pulled the trigger" on getting a .45 today.  I purchased a new Springfield Range Officer   In my state, I get to wait three days before I take it home.  I'll be able to get it on Tuesday and start checking it out.  I've only shot 22'so far, but I'm excited to get started.  I figured I'd run ~300 rounds of hardball through it with open sights before I start tweaking it (it just so happens I have 300 rounds of it).  I've got some shooting buddies that will help me with reloads at that point and then I'll have to start learning how to do that. 

I do want to go ahead and get the stuff needed to put an Ultradot on it, though.  Any recommendations on how to install it on the slide?  What brand rail? Who to get it from?  I'd really like to be able to install it myself, but I shoot with a good bullseye gunsmith as well.  I'm sure he could do it for me if there is drilling and tapping required.

I'll throw some pictures up in the middle of the week after I get it. 

Thanks for your input!
Doug

Hi Doug, I have a Range Officer and I mounted a Clark rail on it. Bad decision, the Clark rail is aluminum and soft. A better decision was the Marvel rail I replaced it which that is steel. An even better choice is the Rock River arms RRA bullseye rib, because not only is it made of steel, it also has a fully adjustable target rear sight and permanent front sight post built into it, so if you choose to remove the Ultradot, you can shoot it with irons. I just installed one on my dad's Range Officer yesterday - it is true there is a little bit of space between the rear sight dovetail and the bullseye rib due to the milled out section from the adjustable sight, but it works just fine.

that RRA steel rib w/ irons sights is heavy... and if you add a ultra dot to it .....wow it can be heavy

Chris Miceli wrote:

that RRA steel rib w/ irons sights is heavy... and if you add a ultra dot to it .....wow it can be heavy

You're not kidding. Mine requires an 11lbs recoil spring and a throated barrel to handle SWC and all that weight with a Matchdot II, and my dad's is probably going to need the same but with a 9lbs or 10lbs spring - we haven't figured that out yet, just mounted his RRA rib yesterday.

Doug, I have a RRA slide mount that sits lower on the slide so it will hide the low mount rear sight cut.  If you're planning on just shooting a dot with it, IMO, it's a better route than the bullseye rib because it is so heavy.

kc.crawford.7 wrote:Doug, I have a RRA slide mount that sits lower on the slide so it will hide the low mount rear sight cut.  If you're planning on just shooting a dot with it, IMO, it's a better route than the bullseye rib because it is so heavy.

Is that RRA slide mount that you have that sits lower on the slide something that can be purchased from RRA, or did you make or modify it yourself?

I have one of these I just used on a backup 45. It's aluminum

https://rockriverarms.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=category.display&category_id=708&CFID=593014758&CFTOKEN=88290745

I would assume RRA sells them as well as the steel rib with sights

Here is the rib I'm talking about.  It's not on RRA's site at this time.

much nicer....  I like that one better

Doug, I worked with RRA.  They used to produce that rib and quit.  It's something they are producing again.  I don't know if they're selling them to the general public or not.  I have a few of them on hand.

Why limit yourself to a rib? If you're going to use a dot only, you can mount plain (and light) scope bases directly on the slide. I believe a set of weaver bases for a marlin rifle are the correct fit for a 1911 slide.

kc.crawford.7 wrote:Here is the rib I'm talking about.  It's not on RRA's site at this time.

like more the large skirt rib for my R.O,for occult the sight cut!

You could use a "sight mount for LPA" from EGWguns.com    Push out the Springfield rear sight.  Push in the mount from EGW.  Mount red-dot sight to mount.

Mac

Guys,

Thanks for all of the help.  This is actually a 2 year old thread. I ended up getting the RRA aluminum rib installed on my RO.  It worked great.  I now have turned that pistol into my EIC pistol and have removed the rail.  My wad gun is a new RRA 1911.

Doug

dstates wrote:Guys,

Thanks for all of the help.  This is actually a 2 year old thread. I ended up getting the RRA aluminum rib installed on my RO.  It worked great.  I now have turned that pistol into my EIC pistol and have removed the rail.  My wad gun is a new RRA 1911.

Doug

Ha! I don't think any of us realized that. There's not enough action on this forum so we dig up years old threads. Congrats on the RRA 1911 wad gun purchase, I'm waiting on a lightly used one that I purchased off Gunbroker to get delivered. Great guns, from what I hear!

Just want to add this reference photo in case this shows up in someone's search results. This is my .45 RO dotgun.

I installed a RRA wide skirt rib that I purchased from KC.  You can see how it covers the gap.  If you order the rib off the RRA website, they will send you one with a narrow skirt, not this one.  They are both aluminum and both nicely made.

 I also purchased the rib they have with iron sights.  That rib is steel and noticeably heavier.  I took the steel rib to KC for installation on my .45, but when he showed me the RRA wide skirted rib, I was sold.

After reading various comments, I installed mine using 8x10 Torx screws and a sight filler (made from an EGW slide racker) so screw 4 has some meat to bite into. I also milled the racking ears off so I could mount the Aimpoint on the back side.

I also have a Weigand scope frame mount, but I would still have to have taken the rear sights off, so did not go that route either.