The DeltaPoint Micro is currently available for non-MOS GLOCKs and S&W M&P pistols, so I mounted the DeltaPoint Micro on a GLOCK 43X for testing. Proportionally, it’s a great pairing, and I found existing holsters like the Blackhawk Stache compatible with the setup. Installation was simple. Just remove the existing rear sight and replace with a dovetail adapter. The optic’s baseplate screws into the adapter. Just visually center and use the windage and elevation adjustments to complete the zeroing process.
As for handling, as long as I forgot I was working with a red dot sight, it was a seamless transition. Just look for the front sight and the ghost ring effect was intuitive — with the bonus addition of a red dot on target superimposed over the front sight post itself. I practically found the ghost ring setup to be applicable at shorter distances while the red dot gave me better precision at longer ranges, say 15 yards and out, with improved speed over an irons-only configuration.
All in all, it’s a nifty setup. The ghost ring approach makes moot the standard red dot objection of, “what happens when the dot doesn’t work?”
For more info: Leupold.com
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gear to wet your whistle
Note the leather “sock” providing cushion for the gun and a bit of recoil absorption.
The “V” notch is height adjustable. The butt rest pad is easily replaceable and a thicker
version is available from Ransom.
I don’t know how ground conditions are where you live, but around here buying a box of ammo these days requires three lawyers, a letter of credit and a seven-year indentured servitude guarantee. As for guns, the shelves of my local gun store resemble a socially distanced Joe Biden campaign rally. There’s just not much to buy, even if you can afford it.
Being an eternal optimist, I’ve figured out it’s a pretty good time to shop for accessories, making your shooting life a bit easier. Not counting reloading supplies and gear, most other items, at least so far, appear to be in reasonable supply. Allow me to share a couple things that wet my whistle.
You can order the Steady Rest in clear aluminum or a powder-coated black finish.
Other colors are available on a custom basis.The rest fits perfectly in a .50 caliber ammo can.
Ransom Steady Rest
I’ve been looking for the perfect pistol rest since Jimmy Carter grew peanuts in the White House Rose Garden. I’ve tried bunches of them: plastic adjustable ones, those tripod setups for rifle forends and everything in between. Most configurations have yielded so-so results, even when weighed down with 25-lb. bags of lead shot. I carry those in my little red shooting wagon for just this purpose. As a side note, lugging a couple bags of lead shot gets tough on the back and sandbags insist on leaking all over the place.
I thought about acquiring a classic Ransom Master Series Rest. Those are the mechanical devices we all know and love, built for mechanical accuracy testing. Bolt your handgun into place using custom grip inserts and allow the machine to do its work managing recoil and returning the handgun to its precise starting orientation. A great solution, but I wanted something a bit more flexible, usable for not only dedicated bench accuracy testing, but sight and optics zeroing, long-range plinking and the like.
Enter the Ransom International Multi-Caliber Steady Rest.
This self-contained unit, made entirely of aircraft aluminum, has solid rubber feet, so it doesn’t move on the bench. It’s so stable it doesn’t require supplemental weight like those bags of lead shot. Hallelujah!
A rectangular padded base provides a resting spot for the butt of the handgun. The butt pad mounts to the aluminum base via screws, so it’s easy to replace should yours get torn up over time. If you wanted to make your own custom-height version, it would be an easy DIY project.
An adjustable “tower” up front gives a “V” notch for the muzzle or dust cover of your handgun. The company offers a leather “sock” that slips over the notch, so you’ve got a nice padded surface to protect your gun and soften some of the recoil bounce. The leather pad provides the right balance of “squish” and stability for consistently aimed shots.
Range report? I love this rest. With others I’ve tried, getting an absolutely precise sight alignment shot to shot is near impossible. This one makes duplication of exact sight alignment easy. During my first trial, I obtained sub-1″ 5-shot groups from 25 yards using a new Walther PDP pistol.
You can order the Steady Rest in Clear (bare, polished aluminum) or with a black powder-coated finish. The unit is designed to fit into a .50 caliber ammo can for safe and easy transport. It also includes a threaded hole in the base for attachment to a tripod.
For more info: RansomRest.com
Because the optics window is so small, it serves double duty as a standard
ghost ring paired with the existing front sight.
How on earth do you find the dot in the tiny lens? You don’t.
That’s okay because the DeltaPoint Micro isn’t supposed to work like a standard red-dot sight. With most traditional red dots, you’re expected to raise the pistol to a firing position, find the dot in the window and shoot. The standard sights in the pistol, if even visible at all, aren’t really part of the equation.
The DeltaPoint Micro operates more like a ghost ring system. Think of the optic itself as the rear ghost ring pairing with the standard front sight post. As the user, you don’t do anything unusual or train any differently. Raise the pistol, look for the front sight, and you’ll see it through the “ghost ring.” The difference is there will now be a dot superimposed on your target as well as the front sight itself.
I might describe this as a “partial” form of the occluded shooting concept. If you have a red dot sight with the front lens cover on, and shoot with both eyes open, your brain will still superimpose the dot on target even though your “shooting” eye can’t see through the glass. In this case, the heavy “ghost ring” combined with the standard (much thicker) post front sight seemingly gets in the way of the red dot view, but with both eyes open, you see the dot on target just fine.
There’s a second big benefit to this configuration. Whether the red dot is on or not, you have a perfectly good ghost ring sighting system ready to go. If the standard front sight is Tritium-equipped, all the better — you’ve got a night-compatible ghost ring system as a backup.
The batteries in the DeltaPoint Micro run for about 3.5 years on power setting four, so if you want absolute assurance of continuous operation, just change out the battery every year and you’re good to go. The system uses a motion-activated approach to maintain an “always on” dot while preserving battery life.
Speaking of batteries, the CR1632 lives in the flying saucer hanging off the back of the slide. Moving the compartment to a non-traditional location offers a couple of benefits. It allows the optic body itself to remain small and unobtrusive, maintaining compatibility with most holsters and aiding easy concealment. It also allows you to change batteries without impacting the sight’s zero.
The unique design places the battery behind the slide so the
optic itself remains small and easy to conceal.
Using this dovetail adapter, the DeltaPoint Micro replaces the standard rear sight.
