Hands On: Shield RMSW Mini Red Dot

WHAT IS IT

Perhaps the smallest, lightest, service-grade mini red-dot on the market.

WHAT GOT OUR ATTENTION

The Shield line of red-dots has been chugging along since the ’90s when they were sold under the Tasco Optima brand. Since then, they’ve gone through several iterations, while still retaining the original footprint. Yay for backward compatibility …

The most recent version, the RMSw, features a rubber gasket under the battery compartment, which the manufacturer claims is effective to 20 meters for 30 minutes. We were unable to test this claim, as large bodies of water are noticeably harder to come by in Arizona than say, Minnesota, but we did notice that the dot was crisp and bright under midday August sun.

The RMSw also features a significantly more robust aluminum body than its predecessors, with reinforcements in the upper corners of the frame surrounding its lens. The lens itself has a newly developed, hard coating designed to reduce the tendency of the polymer to scratch while in a holster. In order to address our previous complaint of running out of elevation adjustment on certain handguns (1911s especially, due to their 1 degree bore angle), Shield includes a tapered mounting plate with the RMSw, together with two longer screws. Note: If your front sight is set up to take advantage of the previous model’s integrated rear, adding the plate will shift your POI higher.

HOW DOES IT WORK

This is your basic red LED setup — no holography or lasers, so the battery life should be in the two- to three-year range. We have a previous model on a G19 that has stayed on for longer than that, but honestly, it doesn’t get to the range very frequently, so take that observation for what it’s worth.

HOW WELL DOES IT WORK

So far, so good. In all, the RMSw is a worthwhile upgrade, even if you see limited value in the waterproof feature, as the increased housing strength should ensure greater longevity, while the new lens coating will allow you to enjoy a scratch-free sight picture.

WHAT WE LIKE

Bigger window than an RMR, with no blue tint to the lens. Tapered mounting plate allows it to work on more guns.

WHAT WE DON’T LIKE

Adjustment is still by means of detent-less Allen headed screws — we’d prefer the coin-slotted clicky adjustments found on Trijicon’s offerings. It remains to be seen just how long the coating lasts and whether the greater resistance to G shock, offered by the lighter plastic rather than glass lens, is a worthy trade-off.

URL: www.shieldpsd.com
LENGTH: 1.7 inches
WEIGHT: 0.6 ounce
BATTERY: CR2032
MSRP: $400