On the block today, we examine the Crimson Trace R.A.D. (Rapid Aiming Dot) Micro Pro (Green). It has a green 5 MOA dot, shake awake technology through the CT Motion sensor, and the CT Radiant ambient light sensor auto-adjusts the dot's brightness to the conditions. It comes equipped with everything you need to install the optic, but you provide the tools to remove the base plate or any previously installed optics.
The packaging is impressive! If it was practical, I would keep it in the packaging and display it with the rest of my artwork because it looks great. The packaging is very complimentary to the lines the Micro Pro has.
It should go without saying, but make sure your pistol is unloaded for the install and that you put away your ammo.
It was easy to install since it came with three different sets of screws to fit whatever threads were on your pistol. I had to look at the threads, compare them to the screws, and choose the correct screws. I suppose I could have looked in the manual on my Sig to tell me what the threads are but who’s going to do that? Make sure you put in the supplied battery before mounting to your pistol.
Once I had the optic on my pistol, for me, it was immediately time to dry fire. As soon as I raised the pistol up, the green dot was right there! Easier to find than other optics I have tried. There was no struggle at all for me; I lifted the pistol up, and there it was. Keep in mind that I have not made any adjustments to where the dot appears as I have not sighted this in yet. I did notice, however, that I can still use the standard front iron sight. The optic has an excellent co-witness notch that provides me with a backup in case of a dot failure. The optic on the pistol offers a nice bonus of making it much easier to rack the slide, as it creates a leverage point on the top of the gun.
Sighting in was simple enough. I had a sandbag to rest on, and I took three shots. From there, I made my adjustments. I noticed that the adjustments on this optic were very smooth and that there were no MOA clicks (I haven't decided on if I like that or not). Maybe I'm too preconditioned to the clicks as I know for every click up/down, left/right how many Minutes of Angle (MOA) I have moved, which wasn't a feature of the optic. However, it was easy, even without the clicks. (Perhaps this is something that most pistol optics or red dots are changing to.) That makes me ask the question of myself, “Are the MOA clicks “security” clicks?” A sound that makes me feel better about the adjustments that I made. Perhaps?
I experienced a quick target acquisition, and I could focus more on the target. The green dot was easy to see, even in the bright white snowy background. I found that I could still see the dot without any issues. This made my grouping very nice. The dot also helped point out some problems that I must work on with my technique, so the RAD did a great job.
In my defensive pistol league, using the Micro Pro, I did notice an increase in inaccuracy. I had more hits in the A zone and on the head of the USPSA target. Before I had the Micro Pro, I had a hard time getting the center headshot because of my current skill level.
Overall, I like the Crimson Trace Rapid Aiming Dot (RAD) Micro Pro. I like the square display and the proportions of the Micro Pro. It's very complementary to a small pistol like the Sig Sauer P365. It is easy to install (as I have an optic plate on my pistol, so no milling was required), easy to sight in, and it is helping me perform better. My shooting partner even said, "It can't be that simple." But it is. It looks great on a Sig P365XL. As I get better at the hard skills, I can tell that this will make me a faster, better, and more accurate shooter. ~ Luke
Luke Capria
Born in the southern tier of upstate NY (4 hours from New York City). Luke didn't get into firearms until his early 20s as he went hunting with family. He works in the construction field and has interests in the Constitution of the United States and the Bill of Rights.
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