Recently, I had the pleasure of shooting with a red-dot on a handgun for the first time in earnest. Sent a G40 by Glock for review, we immediately started sourcing red dots for the review. With various companies booked up (or potentially concerned about the recoil), Pride Fowler Industries stepped up to the plate with their SOPS Compact Red Dot.

I have spent about two months with the compact dot and am sad to see it go, especially after abusing it so. With over 1000 rounds through my various Glocks, including the G40 with self-defense ammunition, the PFI kept on trucking.

So, rather than wax on the various features and expend prose over common knowledge, we are opting to keep it quick:

The Good:

• Maintains zero, even mounted to the top of 10mm Glock rocking full-power factory loads.
• Includes small iron sight notch for co-witness (under appropriate applications).
• Auto-adjusting brightness feature which simultaneously saves battery and ensures dot is bright and easy to pick-up.
• Flip-up battery cover ensures the optic does not have to be removed for battery replacement.
• 5 MOA LED dot is crisp without the flaring common to some offerings.

The Notable:

• No click adjustment for zeroing. While it does include an adjustment wheel, what happens when one does not have the adjustment wheel?
• Secondary locking screws help optic maintain zero.
• “Battery life: 8 days @ full power, 6 months on Auto with cap, 2 years if turned off when not in use”

Adjustment wrench.

The Bad:

• Does not perfectly fit under any standard “pattern” of micro-dots, meaning not compatible with Glock’s MOS system.
• Difficult to buy adapters for the optic since it is proprietary. No adapters are available for sale online. Must call in to PFI to purchase but they do claim “20 different types of mounts”

Did not fit MOS on any of the standard plates.

Final Thoughts:

Outside my disappointment of not being able to use it with the Glock MOS system (which would have been excellent to test the co-witnessing feature), I am pleasantly surprised by the performance of the micro-dot. Frankly, anything that can stand up to repeated abuse of a 10mm slide reciprocating is a solid piece of kit in my book.

At $299, its not the least expensive option there, but certainly not the most. Coming it at half the retail price of Leupold, Trijicon and others while delivering the same capability makes the PFI Micro SOPS Red Dot a compelling offer.

If one is willing to go through the small hassle of calling PFI for the mounts, its doubtful they can go wrong.

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• Did not fit MOS on any of the standard plates.
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• Adjustment wrench.
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Specifications (FROM PFI)

• 5/8”H x 7/8”W laminated parabolic glass screen
• 6061 T6 aluminum body with matte black anodized finish
• Shock, fog, and water proof
• 5 MOA Pulse LED with auto feature that adjusts intensity to environment ambient light
• Unique flip-top battery cover eliminating the need to dismount sight for battery change
• Illumination Power: 1632 3V lithium button battery
• Battery life: 8 days @ full power, 6 months on Auto with cap, 2 years if turned off when not in use
• Weight (oz.): 1
• Length (inch): 1 7/8
• Width at base (inch): 1
• Temperature Operating Range: 71C to -20C
• Capable of “less lethal” applications