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| Freethinker |
Yes, it did. After a draw from the holster this is what I discovered:  I believe the damage was caused when the front window contacted the circled projection inside the holster.   Why this happened is somewhat of a mystery, but I suspect I know. The Aimpoint ACRO P-1 sight was mounted on a P320 pistol and the holster was a Safariland designed for that gun with ACRO sight and Surefire X300 light. At the time and as is my usual practice, I was using a dummy light that is a replica of the Surefire. I usually have the light on the pistol when holstered, but I have holstered the gun with the sight and without the light on occasion. I think what may have happened is that I holstered without the pistol being in its normal position with the light attached and that allowed the sight to contact the projection. Aimpoint has indicated the sight will be repaired under warranty even though I explained the cause; we’ll see. I notified Safariland, but I imagine all they’ll do is to tell me not to holster the pistol without the light’s being mounted. I will say, though, that it’s not something I ever thought about, and perhaps they’ll add a warning to the holster description. Provided as possibly something others should be aware of. FWIW, the broken front window didn’t prevent me from using the sight during a 72-round course of fire at different distances. The illuminated dot reticle was still visible, but the damage did limit my view of the front sight. Because I usually use the front sight for close distances, 3-5 yards and sometimes 7 yards, that slowed me down somewhat. Sometimes I used what I could see of the front sight, and sometimes reverted back to the reticle. ► 6.0/94.0 I can tell at sight a Chassepot rifle from a javelin. | ||
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| Peace through superior firepower  |
Well, it's a good thing these electronic tumors aren't fragile. Otherwise, it might be a really bad idea to stick them on your pistol. | |||
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| Freethinker |
Yes, I have not become a convert, but I’ve decided to try to become more familiar with their use. I’ve had the ACRO sight for years and it’s seen very little use in its original role on a precision rifle as a backup. Once my agency decided to equip all handguns with optics, though, I figured I should learn as much about them as possible. I bought a stripped slide from SIG and had it milled to accept the sight. It works well, but …. As I added to my original post, I was still able to use the dot reticle, but if the damage had been more in the center of the window, the sight very likely would have been unusable. Plus of course I was engaging static targets at fixed locations. Had I been in a fight for my life I would have preferred the sights I’ve used for decades. ► 6.0/94.0 I can tell at sight a Chassepot rifle from a javelin. | |||
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Prepared for the Worst, Providing the Best |
Wow, how hard/fast did the gun go into the holster to do that? I would have thought that for what Aimpoint charges for those things they'd be more durable than that, though. Their main selling point for that optic is that it's supposed to be more rugged and fault tolerant than the competition. I'm glad they're standing behind it and fixing it for you.
You're probably right, and to their point it is pretty critical that the proscribed equipment be mounted in those holsters for correct fit, but if I'm understanding correctly you did have a dummy light attached that should have replicated your Surefire? If that's the case how did the front of the optic ever come into contact with the retention hardware inside the holster? Depth of insertion in my 6360 is controlled by the muzzle of the gun contacting the barrel plug block at the base of the holster, not the front of the light bottoming out on the base. There's actually almost an inch of clearance between the front of my Streamlight TLR-1 and the plug at the bottom of the holster when the gun is fully seated. Is it possible the ACRO is just so big, combined with the location of the slide cut, that the glass sits far enough forward to contact that plastic hardware? How far from the breech face is the front glass? The bezel of my Romeo1 sits at 0.16" behind the breech face, and the glass is recessed another 0.13" behind that. When holstered the optic's bezel contacts those plastic protrusions in the holster (there's actually a visible wear line in those plastic nubs where that happens), but they don't reach the glass. | |||
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| Freethinker |
All I can think of at this point is that I didn’t have the dummy light on the gun when I holstered it and the damage was caused, but didn’t notice when it was back out of the holster to mount the light. Not noticing the damage until I started shooting seems unlikely, and the dummy light was definitely on the pistol when I drew it to start shooting. If the light was not on the gun when the damage occurred, then it may have permitted the sight to be far enough to the rear to contact the projection. It is surprising to me as well that the plastic point would have caused that breakage. I am always careful and deliberate when holstering, but …. I’m trying to be as fair and open as possible even though I’ve had the gun, sight, and dummy light for several months, and why now? However, when I get the sight back, I’ll be sure to never holster the gun without the light’s being mounted. For safety and reliability it is of course necessary to use holsters with the guns in the configurations the holsters were designed for, but I have not always done that when checking some particular feature. And yes, it’s a dummy light so I don’t have to clean firing residues off the real ones, but it’s an exact size/shape replica of a 300X. Even though I never use my Surefire lights these days, I specified that light as the option when I ordered the holster because that’s the size of the dummy. I would not use that 9mm slide and optic setup for any “serious” purpose if necessary; it’s all just for training. ► 6.0/94.0 I can tell at sight a Chassepot rifle from a javelin. | |||
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| Peace through superior firepower |
So, a piece of plastic contacted the front of the tumor, and the piece of plastic won, destroying the tumor. How did the front sight on the pistol hold up?   | |||
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| Member |
You sure you didn’t get a ricochet coming back? Was there any loose glass in the holster? I just don’t see how that piece of plastic did that to that sight. I have dropped my SRO which some have claimed is more delicate than ancient fine china on the concrete from about shoulder height. Nada. Little bitty mark on the case. Aimpoint is tough stuff. The way Para talks about these delicate gun tumors I’m glad he wasn’t around for those super tough plastic factory pile Glock sights (front and back) flying/ripping off when used to clear or out into battery your Glock off the heel of your boot or a post. He may have got the vapors…. lol….. | |||
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| Peace through superior firepower |
Well, my sights are metal (neither plastic nor glass), which keeps the vapors at bay.  | |||
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| Freethinker |
Good question about the frag, but I was nearly 20 yards from a sandy berm. I’ve experienced undesirable returns at that range, but only when shooting at steel. Also I’m pretty sure I would have noticed if the damage had occurred while sighted on target (I was shooting a low speed warmup group at first, and that’s when I discovered the damage). There were also small fragments of glass in the holster itself, and the damage was where it could have been caused by the projection in the holster. I therefore doubt it was caused by a bullet fragment; not impossible, I suppose, but extremely unlikely. Although it may just be good customer service, I was surprised that they said it would be covered by warranty. I’ve had the sight for probably six years, and I wonder if the front window material has been changed. And yeah: No damage to the front (steel!) sight.  ► 6.0/94.0 I can tell at sight a Chassepot rifle from a javelin. | |||
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| Member |
Ha!!! | |||
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| Member |
Weird… | |||
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| Member |
Safariland puts out a great product and I'm surprised! Wouldn't Safariland check the tolerances for an Aimpoint? Why only the right side and not the left side of the glass as well? Is there any way you can replicate the re-holstering and check the tolerance between the plastic & the glass? ______________________________________________________________________ "When its time to shoot, shoot. Dont talk!" “What the government is good at is collecting taxes, taking away your freedoms and killing people. It’s not good at much else.” —Author Tom Clancy | |||
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For real? |
Was it a factory milling spot for the ACRO? Not minority enough! | |||
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| We Only Kneel to Almighty God |
Glad to hear Aimpoint will be assisting you.
Yes, Safariland could say the holster was not being used as designed. | |||
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| Freethinker |
The milling was performed by an independent gunsmith. I do not believe SIG offers slides with factory milling for the ACRO; at least I couldn’t find any. As the pictures show, the milling was pretty much limited to where it was located.   The sight is already en route to Aimpoint, so I can only show the milling. The more I think about what happened, the more I’m convinced that the damage occurred when I holstered the pistol without the light attached. I’d done that many times before, but it probably went in at just the right (wrong) angle the one time to allow the sight to contact the projection in the holster. If I’m right it’s just one more example of why we should use our gear the way it was intended. Shooting yourself in the leg, not being able to draw the gun properly: both possible if the holster wasn’t used as designed, but breaking the sight? Not something that ever occurred to me. It still strikes me as odd that I didn’t notice the damage until I drew the gun to start the first firing string and that was after the dummy light was mounted, but I’ve had stranger things than that happen to me. ► 6.0/94.0 I can tell at sight a Chassepot rifle from a javelin. | |||
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Spread the Disease |
Wow! I’d also be surprised a little plastic projection on holstering could do that to pristine Aimpoint glass. The piece in the holster isn’t even that pointy. Looking at the cracks, I wonder if there was a tiny preexisting crack that was then propagated by repeated contact with the holster or even if a high speed impact did that. Still awesome that it still worked and they are taking care of it. I’m also not completely sold on red dots for defensive carry, although I do have several, including a P2, on my range toys. ________________________________________ -- Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past me I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain. -- | |||
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| Member |
Odd occurrence. I saw some YouTubers who were racking their slides by pushing the optic against a table edge. End of Earth: 2 Miles Upper Peninsula: 4 Miles | |||
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| Just because you can, doesn't mean you should |
Maybe put a piece of modeling clay on the Aimpointwhen it comes back and carefully holster the gun to see how close those parts are. That should give you the answer. ___________________________ Avoid buying ChiCom/CCP products whenever possible. | |||
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| Peace through superior firepower |
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E tan e epi tas |
What amazes me is Aimpoint has a long and storied rep. with red dots going all the way back, but man they can’t seem to get the ACRO series right. I’ve read and heard of more problems with Aimpoint’s pistol sights then I have for all their other optics over the years combined. Take Care, Shoot Safe, Chris | |||
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