The Mako Group
MEPRO R4E Optimized Duty Sights
Overall Score: 4.02
www.themakogroup.com
Tester 1 of 3
Tested by a member from Ohio
Design 4
Performance 4
Ease of Use 3.5
Size 2.5
Quality 4.5
Durability 4.5
Versatility 4
Convenience 3.5
Application 4.5
Accuracy 4.5
Cleaning & Maintenance 4
Individual Score 3.91
The Mako Group Meprolight R4E Tritium handgun sights were easily installed on a Glock 21 by a certified armorer. My initial impressions were favorable as the green Tritium alignment lines were bright and easy to find. The sights do sit a bit higher than standard Glock night sights. The higher rise of the sights did not affect the fit in a triple retention duty holster, double retention drop leg rig or a single retention belt slide holster. These sights have stayed true to alignment since being installed. They survived the six foot “mil-spec” drop test without any issues. On the range the sights were a bit difficult to get used to but nothing a few magazines couldn’t solve. There is a lot going on with these sights. The windage sight alignment uses equal side spacing between the front post and rear sight gap. There is an angled cut out in the rear sight that gives additional daylight to aide in quick target acquisition. The Tritium rear bar, front bar and dot are quick to acquire. The elevation sight alignment is simple; put the front dot in horizontal alignment with the rear Tritium bars. Low light shooting provided solid sight pictures and quick target acquisition. Overall, a good set of night sights for someone in the market for Tritium style sights. There is a learning curve and adjustment period to them, so do not expect to go mission ready straight out of the box. Continued practice with these sights should improve shot accuracy and time to target. CQB/point shooting is fast using just the front sight post while distance shots can be sent downrange with confidence.
Tester 2 of 3
Tested by a member from Colorado
Design 4.5
Performance 4.5
Ease of Use 5
Size 5
Quality 4.5
Durability 5
Storage 4
Versatility 4
Convenience 4.5
Application 4.5
Accuracy 4.5
Cleaning & Maintenance 4.5
Individual Score 4.58
The Mepro R4E pistol night sights are a different take on steel sights as far as sight alignment. The front sight has a standard round dot on the top and a vertical line below the dot. The rear sight has two horizontal lines at the top of the sight and a vertical line in the middle of the sight. Acquiring the sights is easy with all of the lines to guide you into the right sight alignment. The sights are easy to pick up in daylight or low light situations. Installation of the sights on the Glock pistols is also very easy. For the front sight you need the front sight removal tool and some Loctite. After you use the rear sight removal tool to take out the factory sight, installation of the Mepro R4E rear sight is very easy. Just slide the Mepro R4E rearsight by hand into the rear sight slot and apply some Loctite to the supplied screw, center the sight and tighten the screw. Let the Loctite set and you're ready for the range. At the range I fired 200 rounds in low light conditions. The sights were easy to pick up and were illuminated just enough to be able to see them and the target with no issues. I had some concerns about the rear sight holding up to the recoil because of the screw used to hold the sight to the gun. The sight held well with the pressure of the screw and did not come loose. The only issue I had was when I would holster the gun, the front sight would get caught on the automatic locking system of my Safariland holster. The front sight has a fairly aggressive forward cant to it that snags on the ALS mechanism. But when drawing the gun from the holster I had no issues. The sights held up very well and performed as advertised.
Tester 3 of 3
Tested by a member from Alaska
Design 3
Performance 3
Ease of Use 4
Size 2
Quality 4
Durability 4
Storage 4
Versatility 3
Convenience 3
Application 4
Accuracy 4
Cleaning & Maintenance 4
Individual Score 3.58
The Meprolight R4E are tritium night sights for common duty pistols. The set I received for testing were green front/green rear. The rear sight features two horizontal bars near the top on either side of the rear notch and a single vertical bar centered below the notch. The rear bars are filled with tritium. The front sight post features a wider vertical bar (white paint) below a center green tritium dot. The effect is similar to a German #1 scope reticle. The test sights were installed on a Generation 3 Glock 22. The front post is retained with a hex-head screw and the rear sight fits loosely in the rear dovetail. The rear sight is held in place with a hex-keyed set screw that pushes the sight up tight against the top of the dovetail. The rear sight body does not contact the bottom of the slide dovetail. The front face of the rear sight body is angled slightly forward, making one-handed racking of the slide on a belt, holster or boot sole very positive and effortless. The installation instructions specify using Loctite 609 (green) or equivalent glue on the threads and all contact surfaces of the sights during install, followed by an eight hour curing period before use. The R4E sights are substantially taller than the factory Glock night sights I removed from the pistol, but this did not impede use with a Safariland 6360 ALS holster. These sights would not be described as "snag free." The rear notch is trapezoidal in shape and quite a bit larger than the front sight post. Daylight presentations from the holster and guard resulted in a sight picture that was generally centered, the elevation varied between lining up on the front dot and the front vertical bar. Low light presentations were easy; the center dot intuitively aligned with the three tritium bars on the rear sight and the front vertical line was not very visible. One thing I appreciated was that the center of the front dot is exactly parallel with the horizontal lines on the rear sight. In conclusion, I like these sights for shooting in low light but not so much in daylight. Statistically most police shootings happen during low or reduced light, but these aren't for me. I don't really trust the mounting system of the rear sight-- duty pistols get banged around, and I don't want some glue and a set screw to be all that's holding in my rear sight. With that said, the rear sight stayed in place and exhibited no drift after beating on it with a wood 2x2 target leg.
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