Ive had RMRs since they came out and just figured its trijicon, it has to be the best. After reading several reviews on the delta point having a hazy reticle, being cheaply made, a pain to adjust etc, I just avoided it. I ended up picking up one used on this forum for a decent price with the goal of using it as a offset red dot for one of my long range rifles and I couldnt make it fit where I wanted it with the mounts I tried, so I figured why not slap it on a pistol? I have 3 optic pistols, a FNX 45 Tactical, a M&P Core 9mm and Core .40. For testing purposes, the Core pistols each got one (I put each one on a certain gun and I will go into that).
The M&P CORE 9mm got the RMR-02 because the gun pretty much doesnt move when shooting. With the .40 cal, I previously had a RMR adjustable on it and I disliked it because the amount of muzzle flip would take the dot out of view and require you to reacquire the dot when it came back down, making it significantly slower for me than iron sights. The FNX doesnt have this issue as its a big heavy pig and doesnt move much when I shoot it. Looking at the Delta Point, it has a much larger field of view, and sure enough, it was perfect on the .40 cal.
Heres my likes and dislikes about each. This holds absolutely zero professional testing, and just things I noticed as I shot them.
Trijicon RMR 02 -
The good - Its a beautiful red dot. It looks hard core, you feel like a bad ass shooting it, and at the range, I had a crowd around me asking for autographs because I had it. As far as durability goes, I treat my guns as if they were made of glass, so none of these had any drop testing done, thrown at things, any sweet barrel rolls, and I didnt shoot at any of them using other guns. That being said, the RMR looks and feels a LOT more durable. The Delta point feels like it might hold up to a drop or two, but not much more. The smaller field of view on the RMR was great for the 9mm and stayed on target after each round fired. Adjustability is EXTREMELY easy, and within 10 rounds I was zero'd at 7 yards, a small adjustment at 15 yards, and final adjustments at 25 yards. No fuss, no issues, and the clicks are very positive. Dot is very bright during day time or low light conditions, however it does have a bit of a haze to it, especially in lower light like an indoor range.
The bad - This one, as well as the RMR on my FNX have shut off before on me mid shot. The FNX I believe I fixed by putting a piece of electrical tape between the RMR and the plate on the slide, looks like this one might need the same treatment. It shut off and a couple smacks did nothing, next shot fired it came back on and was fine after that. This RMR is less than 2 months old and maybe has 100 rounds through it on the .40 cal before it got swapped to the 9mm, so its literally brand new. As I also said with the .40, if your gun has any sort of muzzle flip, you will lose the dot on recoil and have to watch for it to come back down. This severely slowed down my shots where as on irons I can generally get through a mag in about 5 seconds with a nice small group. I was shooting 180 gr through the .40 in its defense, might have been easier on 155s.
Leupold Delta Point -
The good - It looks neat... not like the RMR where it looks like its ready for battle, but its an attractive optic that makes the gun look nice. It also included a rubber hood which I like, and shuts the dot off automatically when not being used. I have not used this optic outdoors, but at the indoor range, it always seemed to be at the perfect brightness level. The rumors of haze or starburst didnt seem to be true inside as it was a very sharp dot, and very easy to shoot with. Reliability wise, there wasnt a single hiccup, and while I adjusted it to the iron sights prior to going in, I had it zerod within about 15 rounds, although it doesnt have nice adjustments like the RMR (I will get into that later).
The bad - this might have the worst adjustment system ive ever used. There are no clicks, and the lock screws arent accessible with the optic installed as they are 1/4 inch from the rear sight. I thought id be sneaky and just loosen the locks enough to where I could turn them, and that worked just fine... but you have to just guess where to turn the dials as there is no click, just the tension feeling of turning a screw. Even with all that, it was easy to adjust the two screws with the odd ball specific ridiculously small torx that no one in the world will have unless it came with the Leupold (keep that in mind if you plan on adjusting them on the road, you NEED to bring the tool). This didnt "feel" like a $450+ optic, but it sure shot like one, so I wont complain about how it feels.
My uneducated conclusion
I was really surprised with the Delta Point to where for target guns, I will save the extra $200 the RMR costs and get one of those again in a heartbeat. I doubt id ever be using an RMR on duty so the durability of it really means nothing to me. Mounted on the side of a rifle, the smaller and more petite RMR may have an advantage, as well as in the case of accidental dropping, but for shooting that 99% of this board does, I personally feel the Delta Point is a much better bargain. I will do a follow up in 500-1000 rounds and see how they both hold up, but so far only the RMR has failed with the dot shutting off, and it was on the lighter recoiling of the two (unless you want to count my other RMR failing on the FNX the same way).
These are off an iphone... I cant find any of my digital cameras. Most likely because they havent been touched in 5 years since phones started having cameras.
The M&P CORE 9mm got the RMR-02 because the gun pretty much doesnt move when shooting. With the .40 cal, I previously had a RMR adjustable on it and I disliked it because the amount of muzzle flip would take the dot out of view and require you to reacquire the dot when it came back down, making it significantly slower for me than iron sights. The FNX doesnt have this issue as its a big heavy pig and doesnt move much when I shoot it. Looking at the Delta Point, it has a much larger field of view, and sure enough, it was perfect on the .40 cal.
Heres my likes and dislikes about each. This holds absolutely zero professional testing, and just things I noticed as I shot them.
Trijicon RMR 02 -
The good - Its a beautiful red dot. It looks hard core, you feel like a bad ass shooting it, and at the range, I had a crowd around me asking for autographs because I had it. As far as durability goes, I treat my guns as if they were made of glass, so none of these had any drop testing done, thrown at things, any sweet barrel rolls, and I didnt shoot at any of them using other guns. That being said, the RMR looks and feels a LOT more durable. The Delta point feels like it might hold up to a drop or two, but not much more. The smaller field of view on the RMR was great for the 9mm and stayed on target after each round fired. Adjustability is EXTREMELY easy, and within 10 rounds I was zero'd at 7 yards, a small adjustment at 15 yards, and final adjustments at 25 yards. No fuss, no issues, and the clicks are very positive. Dot is very bright during day time or low light conditions, however it does have a bit of a haze to it, especially in lower light like an indoor range.
The bad - This one, as well as the RMR on my FNX have shut off before on me mid shot. The FNX I believe I fixed by putting a piece of electrical tape between the RMR and the plate on the slide, looks like this one might need the same treatment. It shut off and a couple smacks did nothing, next shot fired it came back on and was fine after that. This RMR is less than 2 months old and maybe has 100 rounds through it on the .40 cal before it got swapped to the 9mm, so its literally brand new. As I also said with the .40, if your gun has any sort of muzzle flip, you will lose the dot on recoil and have to watch for it to come back down. This severely slowed down my shots where as on irons I can generally get through a mag in about 5 seconds with a nice small group. I was shooting 180 gr through the .40 in its defense, might have been easier on 155s.
Leupold Delta Point -
The good - It looks neat... not like the RMR where it looks like its ready for battle, but its an attractive optic that makes the gun look nice. It also included a rubber hood which I like, and shuts the dot off automatically when not being used. I have not used this optic outdoors, but at the indoor range, it always seemed to be at the perfect brightness level. The rumors of haze or starburst didnt seem to be true inside as it was a very sharp dot, and very easy to shoot with. Reliability wise, there wasnt a single hiccup, and while I adjusted it to the iron sights prior to going in, I had it zerod within about 15 rounds, although it doesnt have nice adjustments like the RMR (I will get into that later).
The bad - this might have the worst adjustment system ive ever used. There are no clicks, and the lock screws arent accessible with the optic installed as they are 1/4 inch from the rear sight. I thought id be sneaky and just loosen the locks enough to where I could turn them, and that worked just fine... but you have to just guess where to turn the dials as there is no click, just the tension feeling of turning a screw. Even with all that, it was easy to adjust the two screws with the odd ball specific ridiculously small torx that no one in the world will have unless it came with the Leupold (keep that in mind if you plan on adjusting them on the road, you NEED to bring the tool). This didnt "feel" like a $450+ optic, but it sure shot like one, so I wont complain about how it feels.
My uneducated conclusion
I was really surprised with the Delta Point to where for target guns, I will save the extra $200 the RMR costs and get one of those again in a heartbeat. I doubt id ever be using an RMR on duty so the durability of it really means nothing to me. Mounted on the side of a rifle, the smaller and more petite RMR may have an advantage, as well as in the case of accidental dropping, but for shooting that 99% of this board does, I personally feel the Delta Point is a much better bargain. I will do a follow up in 500-1000 rounds and see how they both hold up, but so far only the RMR has failed with the dot shutting off, and it was on the lighter recoiling of the two (unless you want to count my other RMR failing on the FNX the same way).
These are off an iphone... I cant find any of my digital cameras. Most likely because they havent been touched in 5 years since phones started having cameras.
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