Adding a mini reflex sight to your pistol can make it easier to shoot tight groups and can be particularly useful for hunting and certain gun games. But it usually means that you have to either buy a gun with a built in mount or have a gunsmith mill the slide to fit. In either case, you end up with a pistol that only fits certain mount patterns. The JT Defense mount seeks to correct that issue by replacing the striker plate on Glock or XD pistols and locking to the rear sight dovetail. There is no need to machine the pistol the mount can be installed and, of course, it can be removed just as easily.

JT Defense no mill optic installed on a Glock 22

To be sure, there are tradeoffs. While the mount is quite thin, it does add height above the slide, while a slide with an integral mount has material removed below the top surface of the slide. The result is that the JT Defense mount does not allow the use of fixed sights. That isn’t just a problem because you don’t have a backup to the electronic sight, it also makes it a little tougher to find the dot at first. When I first pick up a pistol with a mini red dot mounted, I “cheat” by tracking the front sight with my eye as I press out and if I settle the front sight in the hood over the red dot, the reticle is quick to find. I found that I could still use that technique but it was slightly slower with the difference in height between the front sight and the axis of the reticle. After several repetitions, it got a lot easier to find that reticle, though. In either case, you aren’t going to get fast with an electronic sight on a pistol until you establish some muscle memory. That height difference also means that the difference in POI vs POA is much more pronounced. It should also go without saying that this option is slightly heavier.

The mount installs easily and fits tightly.

While it’s a bit subjective, those tradeoffs seem minor in exchange for the ability to mount a red dot to a pistol without permanently altering it, though. Tradeoffs notwithstanding, the mount is extremely well made and installation was quick and easy. It locks solidly to the pistol with no potential for movement. The fit between both the slide on my G22 and the Vortex Venom I mounted to it was precise.

Red dot sights aren’t for everyone, but if you want to mount one to a pistol you already own and you don’t want to chop it up, the JT Defense mount is a solid choice