The RMR cut definitely gets the most attention… But it’s not the only pistol optic cut out there…
Another fairly common optic footprint is called the Docter/Noblex footprint…
Now, a lot of people mistakenly spell it ‘doctor’ because that’s the sound and spelling that we’re used to…
But spelling aside, there’s a big question that needs to be answered… What are the best Doctor cut optics— Oops, I mean Docter cut optics…?
That’s a great question, and in this article, I’m going to answer that question for you by giving you my list of the Top 6 best Docter cut optics…
In the end, you’ll have a clear understanding of the options that are currently available, and you should have all the information you need to determine which option is going to work best for you…
Let’s get started!
Best Doctor Cut Optics (It’s Actually ‘Docter’) – TOP 6 List…
The best docter cut optic is Crimson Trace RAD Pro. It’s the best because it has an extremely rugged sight housing, ultra long battery life, and a very useful 3 MOA dot reticle…
It also features other useful features like automatic brightness adjustments based on the ambient lighting that you’re shooting in, and Shake-To-Wake technology…
But all that being said, I actually put another optic as number one on my list (the CT RAD Pro is still solidly at number 2). So to find out why, I hope you’ll read on…
1. Steiner MPS Micro Pistol Sight
The first optic on my list is the Steiner MPS which stands for ‘Micro Pistol Sight’, and it’s not technically a docter cut optic, but hear me out on my reasoning for putting it number one on this list…
The Steiner MPS is an enclosed emitter red dot sight, and to me, that’s awesome because it makes the optic much more reliable and durable than the traditional open emitter sights that you typically see (those sights can be very durable too)…
I love that with a closed emitter red dot, nothing can get into your sight and block the emitter from working, and the MPS does a great job of this and has mil-spec ruggedness and waterproofness…
Aside from that, the MPS has a large sight window, which gives you a great field of view when looking through the optic, and the lens is very crisp and clear…
It also gives you 13,000 hours of battery life (which is over a year), 8 brightness levels (including 2 night vision compatible settings), and it can auto shut off after 13 hours, which is great because it will help save you battery life…
The reticle that you get on the MPS is a 3.3 MOA red dot, which is a great size reticle because it’s very fast and easy for your eye to pick up, but at the same time, it’s small enough that you can aim with a great deal of precision at small targets or targets at further distances…
Last, as I mentioned before, it doesn’t feature a doctor footprint. It actually has the ACRO footprint, which is a different concept from typical footprints because of it’s enclosed emitter design…
That being said, it does come with a docter adapter plate included in the box. So you’ll be able to get it mounted very quickly and easily if you have a gun set up for the docter footprint optic…
So all in all, I love the Steiner MPS because it’s super durable and reliable, it has solid battery life, it has a great reticle size, it gives you a wide field of view, and it comes with a docter cut adapter plate so you can easily get it mounted to your gun!
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2. Crimson Trace RAD PRO
Number 2 on my list is the Crimson Trace RAD Pro. RAD actually stands for “Rapid Aiming Dot”, and this is definitely a sight that will help you shoot fast and accurately…
Now unlike the Steiner MPS, the RAD Pro actually features a docter footprint, but aside from that, it has a ton of great features that really make it stand out…
First of all, it’s a pretty rugged little optic. It is a traditional open emitter design, but the sight housing is made from 7075 Aerospace aluminum, and the angled design is there to make the optic extra stress resistant…
It does a great job at this too because I’ve personally dropped one (actually it fell off my gun because I didn’t mount it tight enough), but it held up without any issues after the drop…
On top of that, it’s also IPX7 waterproof, and it can handle rainy, snowy, or wet conditions without any issues at all…
The sight window that you get with the RAD Pro is a good size, and gives you a wide field of view…
And it can be had with a 3 MOA or 5 MOA dot, with my preference being the 3 because I find it to be more precise and just as quick and easy for my eye to pick up…
The battery life that you get with the RAD Pro is around 20,000 hours which is over 2 years, and it also has a Shake-To-Wake sensor which means the sight will automatically turn off after a period of non-use and then automatically turn on as soon as it senses motion (such as you picking up your gun)…
Another thing I like about this is sight is that the battery is top mounted, which means you won’t have to go through the hassle of taking it off your gun just to change out your battery, and it also gives you 8 daylight brightness settings and 2 Night Vision compatible settings as well…
Also, because this is the Pro version of the RAD, it actually has an ambient light sensor which will automatically adjust the brightness of your dot to the ambient lighting conditions that you’re in…
This is a really cool and cutting edge feature, but you can also program the sight to it’s manual brightness settings if you don’t find it works well for you…
So all in all, the Crimson Trace RAD Pro is a strong and reliable little doctor cut optic, and it’s packed with useful features and comes in at a solid price point as well!
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3. Burris FastFire IV
Number 3 on my list is the Burris FastFire IV, and there are a number of reasons why this is a docter footprint optic that you should consider…
First of all, the Burris FastFire IV is a traditional open emitter optic, but it has a little twist to it. It features the docter footprint at the bottom, but it also includes a watertight weather shield which can be put on the top of it, and it essentially turns the sight into an enclosed emitter optic (similar to the Steiner MPS)…
This is an awesome feature in my opinion, because it adds an extra level of durability to the optic. On top of that, the FastFire IV has 4 reticle options programmed into the sight…
These 4 options include:
- A 3 MOA dot
- An 11 MOA dot
- A 3 MOA dot with a circle around it
- An 11 MOA dot with a circle around it
Out of these options, I really like the 3 MOA dot with a circle around it, which is sometimes referred to as a circle dot reticle…
I like it because it allows you to pick up and track your dot extremely quickly, but at the same time, you still have that precise 3 MOA dot in the center for making shots that require a high degree of accuracy…
The sight window that you get with the FastFire IV is also pretty large which gives you a wide field of view when shooting, and the reticle gets extremely bright as well…
The battery can be accessed from the top of the optic, so you won’t have to go through the hassle of removing the sight from your firearm just to change the battery, and the battery will last you for around 26,000 hours which is over 2 years…
It also has auto-brightness technology built into it, and it has automatic shut off after 8 hours, to help you preserve your battery life even longer…
So all in all, the Burris FastFire IV is a very cutting edge optic because of the modularity that it gives you. You can toggle through and try out the 4 reticle options before settling on the one that’s right for you, and you can turn it into an enclosed optic, if that’s the type of sight that suits your wants and needs best.
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4. Burris FastFire II
Number 4 on my list is actually another Burris and it’s called the FastFire II. It’s an older model than the FastFire 4, but it comes in at a more affordable price and still features that doctor footprint…
To begin, the FastFire II has a sight housing made from anodized aluminum, but it remains a very lightweight and compact optic…
The reticle on the FastFire II is a 4 MOA dot which is a pretty good compromise size between my favorites in the 2-3 MOA range and the larger dot preferences of other shooters…
On top of that, the dot does get very bright, and the optic features an on and off switch which is actually pretty convenient…
The battery life that you get with the FastFire II is said to last around 10,000 hours which is fairly long, but I do have to give this sight a knock because the battery is bottom mounted, which means that you will have to remove it from your gun to swap out the battery when the time comes…
That being said, it’s still a solid docter footprint sight option because it gives you a bright dot, decent battery life, and a good dot size on the reticle at 4 MOA.
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5. Vortex Viper
Number 5 on my list is the Vortex Viper. This sight has been around for a long time, and has a pretty solid track record…
It’s not the most robust design on this list, but it has a hard anodized finish, Vortex’s Armortek coating to protect its lens, and it’s waterproof and shockproof…
The reticle that you get with this sight is a 6 MOA dot, which is a good size. I personally prefer 2 MOA or 3 MOA when it comes to reticle size…
But I can shoot well with 6 MOA dots, and there are many people (who are better shooters than me) who consider 6 MOA to be the best dot size…
The battery life that you get with the Viper is 30,000 hours on the lower settings and 150 hours on the highest brightness setting. You’ll probably use it on a brightness setting somewhere in the middle of that because it does get very bright, so I think the battery life that you get with the Viper is pretty good…
One of the things I have to ding the Viper on is that it’s a bottom access battery. This means that you will have to remove it from your gun to change out the battery when the time comes, and then remount it afterwards…
It’s not the end of the world, that you have to remove the optic from your gun to change out the battery, but the truth is it’s a little less convenient than a top or side-loading battery…
All in all though, the Vortex Viper is a good red dot sight that features the docter footprint, and it’s been an extremely popular little optic for a long time.
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6. Hex Dragonfly
Number 5 on my list is the Hex Dragonfly which is another great optic featuring the docter footprint, and there are several things to like about it…
First of all, it’s a fairly rugged sight. It has a sight housing made from 6061 T6 Aluminum, and it’s also IPX7 waterproof, so it’ll easily handle rainy and snowy conditions…
In addition to that, the reticle that you get with the Hex Dragonfly is a 3.5 MOA dot which is a great size because your eye can easily pick up the dot and track it and you can still make accurate shots with it, and the lens has a scratch resistant and anti-glare coating which works really well…
The Dragonfly also gives you 8 brightness settings, and the battery will last for around 3 years using the settings that will be bright enough for real world uses (rather than just the lowest brightness settings)…
Now, like the Vortex Viper and the Burris FastFire II, the Dragonfly is unfortunately a bottom loading battery optic, which means you will have to remove the optic from your gun to change out the battery…
But keep in mind, that takes a little more time and effort when you need to change out the battery, but at least you won’t have to do it very often witha whopping 3 years worth of battery life…
So all in all, the Hex Dragonfly is another fantastic docter footprint option because it gives you great battery life, a useful reticle size, and good durability as well.
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