The Glock MOS platform is incredibly versatile and functional, being able to handle just about anything that’s thrown at it, and then some. The versatility stems from having a gun in the Glock MOS lineup for nearly anything imaginable, there are subcompact frames that can be used for concealed carry, and there are full-size pistols like the Glock 19 that can be used as duty weapons.
With the popularity of the Glock MOS platform, however, there is now an abundance of options for red dots.
The Best Red Dots For Your Glock MOS
Holosun 507C
The Holosun 507 is one of the best Glock MOS red dot options on the market now. It’s incredibly durable, and it won’t hit your budget nearly as hard as some others. The Holosun 507 also needs no adapter plate to mount to your Glock, as some other types of red dots will need. It also includes side-mounted battery access, so replacement is simple.
Key Features
- Big buttons for easy activation
- Shake Awake saves battery
- Solar fail-safe ensures optic always works
Holosun 509T
The Holosun 509T is one of the best red dot optics that has a fully enclosed emitter. This means that it has increased reliability as well as durability over similar models. This enhanced hardening of the red dot means the Holosun 509T is perfect for use on a duty weapon. It does require a special mounting plate, but adaptors are available for any MOS gun out there.
Key Features
- Fully enclosed sight locks out moisture and debris
- Solar backup means you’ll never be without optics
Leupold DeltaPoint Pro
The Leupold DeltaPoint Pro is a slightly bigger sight than some others, but it puts that extra size to good use and protects it. The Leupold DeltaPoint Pro is one of the premium red dot optics for not only the Glock MOS platform, but also other pistols, shotguns, and even rifles.
Key Features
- 6 MOA dot is much easier to see for some shooters
- Additional lens protection
- Even bigger window than the Trijicon SRO
Trijicon SRO
The Trijicon SRO is one of the best red dots for fast target acquisition since it has a field of view that is simply massive. This makes follow-up shots nearly effortless, and much quicker. The battery access is built into the top of the sight, so there is no removal required to change the battery. The last setting is stored in case of accidental alteration during carrying.
Key Features
- Uses existing RMR mounting footprint
- Huge target window
Burris FastFire 3
The Burris FastFire 3 is not only a great red dot for new Glock owners, but it even allows experienced shooters to gain unheard-of accuracy. It’s incredibly light, so it won’t throw off your draw or shooting balance and has an 8-hour auto-off timer. It even has an automatically-adjusting brightness that optimizes the red dot brightness based on current conditions.
Key Features
- Auto brightness control
- Top access battery panel
- Incredibly affordable
What Are Red Dots?
A red dot is an optics attachment for your Glock MOS that provides a bright red reticle for the user while allowing them to keep both eyes open. They attach to the slide and give the shooter a faster target acquisition than nearly any other method. They do have some downsides, however, such as altering the size and dimensions of the gun itself, which can affect its ability to be carried in certain situations or configurations.
Red dot sights are also called reflex sights, due to how they operate. A tiny LED is projected forward at an upward angle, which causes it to reflect off of the coated lens glass, where your eye perceives it. This creates what is essentially an optical illusion of the LED dot or reticle being superimposed over the target. The coated lens prevents the LED from being seen from the front, so only the shooter will see the illuminated reticle.
What Are The Benefits Of Getting A Red Dot?
There are many potential benefits of installing a red dot on your Glock MOS. The primary benefits generally include incredibly fast target acquisition, being able to keep both eyes open and on the target, better accuracy, and increased accuracy in low-light shooting situations. This means that not only can it dramatically increase shooting effectiveness in close-quarters, but also in mid-range encounters where magnification isn’t needed.
Faster Target Acquisition
The faster target acquisition is due to the sight not requiring as many points of alignment as a conventional iron sight. With iron sights, the shooter must retain three primary points of alignment, which are generally the rear sight, front sight, and target. With even the cheapest red dot, this is reduced to one point of alignment, by simply placing the dot on the target, from the shooter’s point of view.
Better Vision
Another advantage to shooting with a red dot sight on your Glock MOS is the ability to keep both eyes open. For anyone who’s shot with iron sights before, they’ve likely done it with just one eye open. While this may feel like the most comfortable way to shoot, it starves the brain for input. Being able to aim with both the dominant and the non-dominant eyes open will lead to safer and more accurate shooting.
Improved Low-Light Performance
In low-light situations, a red dot can be a great choice when there is the potential to need to shoot in low-light conditions. Even semi-illuminated fiber optic or tritium sights, while helpful in properly aiming the gun in dim lighting, can’t provide the solid illuminated aim point that a reflex red dot sight can.
What To Look At In A Red Dot For Your Glock MOS
If you are in the market for a Glock MOS red dot, whether you pick one up that we list here or grab one elsewhere, there are a few things to keep in mind when shopping that will greatly affect how your sight performs. You should look at the field of view, the dot size, how long the batteries last and how easy it is to change them, and how durable the sight is in general.
Large FOV
Being able to see your target is one of the main reasons that you’re using a reflex sight, so why negate that with a small window? Picking a sight that has a bigger window, means a wider field of view, which then means it’s much easier to find your dot for follow-up shots.
Dot Size
Close range shooting that is the most likely used when attaching a red dot, is most commonly and effectively accomplished with a dot that is at least 3 MOA in size. For those with astigmatism or greater visibility, dot sizes up to 8 MOA can be found without much trouble. This increase in dot size helps to make the dot much more round and easier to use.
Battery Life & Replacement
The battery life isn’t going to be a huge deal-breaker for most people, since the current generation of red dot sights will give the user 50,000 hours of use or more. If the sight that you’re looking at isn’t going to give you acceptable battery life, make sure it compensates for it or move on to another candidate sight.
Also, since you’ll need to replace the batteries at some point, make sure the process to do so is as easy as possible. With some red dots, you will need to detach the sight to access the battery panel on the bottom, but this isn’t always the case. Some expertly designed sights will include the battery access on top so that the sight can have the batteries replaced without needing to be zeroed again.
Durability
Since you’re getting optics for your gun, you want to make sure they can stand up to the abuse. This might not be something you can truly measure until you put a few hundred rounds through it, but make sure you’re getting a sight that won’t be shaking loose after the first box or two of ammo. This won’t be an issue for anything on our list, but when you’re out in the wild be careful, try to stick with well-known brands, or at least don’t buy anything without being able to try it first.
Conclusion
There is a considerable number of red dot sights on the market for the Glock MOS, and it was a lot of work to narrow down the many options to just these few, but the final judge of which sight is going to be best will ultimately be you. You will know the purpose and use that your red dot will see, and you know what size and type of Glock MOS you’ll be installing it on, which should factor into your decision considerably.
