I was checking out the Burris one and they are perfect but i cannot find any in stock in places that ship to Ireland and plenty in those that won't including Burris themselves.

Checked EGW and they don't ship internationally, but will through another company. E-mailed them and they'll ship it but it'll cost twice as much by the time i do.

I've found similar bases and when i say similar i mean identical, but wasn't sure if they would work. I know that sounds counter intuitive, but it'd be some kick to get the sight then realise the base, which is going to take weeks to get here, doesn't fit.

This is the most common one i'm finding. I found it on Alieexpress, Sightmark, Vector optics, random internet sites, etc. I know most of those seem cheap sites, but they are all the same style, make, and dimensions. Also some sites claim it'll take Burris, Sightmark, but they specifically name Vortex Venom. have to take it that it'll work.



The other kick in the balls part is the sight can be got in the states for $225 (€205) and the cheapest i can find it here (or somewhere that ships to here) is €279 + shipping. Still its coming out as the best to go for so just need to bite the bullet and get it.

Contacted them and they won't ship to Ireland.

Never thought of that. I have a parcel motel account, just never used it. Nice one.

You done it this way? It worked?

Might pick your brain when it comes to ordering it, if you don't mind as i've never used parcel motel and don't want to mess it up.

Quick update.

I have an Irish dealer with the Vortex Venom, 3moa, in stock. Including shipping he is about 20 to 30 quid dearer than shipping it in but its here, and if there is a problem i can go to the shop and have it dealt with face to face rather than over the phone or posting so i think i'm going to go that route.

Now the main issue the mounting base. I can get them, but regardless of where i have looked i'm looking at up to 5 weeks for shipping so its a case of just ordering it and waiting unless someone knows of anywhere that does the below mount quicker.

Mount base is ordered and on route so i headed up to Cill Dara hunting to collect the red dot.

Its nice, very, very nice. Small, lightweight, but feels robust.

The kit comes with a picatinny mount, for a rifle/pistol rail, a protective hood, tools for mounting, screws for mounting and batteries.

I love the slim linie look and i'd say it'll sit nice and tight to the slide when mounted.

All in all i'm pretty happy with this and its something i've wanted for a while. I found it cheaper elsewhere, but not by enough to warrant waiting weeks for delivery and also there is nothing like the ability to go back to a shop and speak to a person.

Also Jon, from Cill Dara, highlighted the warranty information on the box. He said it's unconditional, unlimited and lifetime. Meaning if anything, and he said ANYTHING, happens it in my lifetime i just bring it back and Vortex replaces it immediately.

Will update further when the mounting plate arrive.


EDIT - As a side note Jon also told m Cill Dara hunting are now main agents for Sig Sauer and he can sort me out with other accessories i've wanted but because i was under the mistaken impression they could not be gotten i never bothered.. So good news all around.

The place i originally ordered from showed the package shipped and out of the country of origin within a week. Then for the next 16 days it showed as being flown to Ireland. The package then arrived at my doorstep and when i checked the tracking it showed as still being in the air. An hour later, it showed as delivered. :rolleyes:

The mistake i made was i had ordered from a company, not knowing they ordered from China and it came via a third party. I've no issue with chinese stuff as no matter who i buy from they are all made in China, its just the delivery timescale.

This time i took DC99's advice and used IPSC store. They have a live chat feature on their website so i asked where the item comes from. They told me they have it in stock in their warehouse and it ships directly from there. So i'm hoping for a faster delivery than before and as i only ordered this item it cannot go wrong, barring they send me an empty package.

Just another update.

Had a chance to hit the range in the last few days and disaster struck.

The rear sight of the pistol has a spring under it, sitting slightly to the right of the slide as you look down along the slide from the rear. Not sure if its the correct terminology but i call it the slide retention spring as it engages the "device" it pushes against in the slide which holds the slide open when the last round is fired or the slide is racked on an empty chamber. When i mounted the new plate i put this spring back in to keep the gun functioning as it should.

I fired my first round and the mounting plate immediately lifted on the side with the spring. After making the gun safe i stripped the sight/plate down. The sight and the mounting plate held together perfectly so no problem there. The issue comes from the tiny, and i mean TINY, grub screws that hold the mounting plate to the base section that slides into the slot for the rear sight. IOW where the mounting plate and base plate are joined.

The screws holding the plate to the base are tiny. They have about three threads and they are not deeply pitched. I actually wondered about the size of them when i originally installed the plate/base but dismissed any concerns thinking the people that made this knew what they were doing.

Turns out they didn't. The screw on the right was pushed up by the spring pushing against the mounting plate. As the plate only attached to the base at one spot near the rear and the rest of the plate "overhangs" it gave the spring enough leverage to push up the plate (and sight) and stripper the threads of the screw/base. The left side/screw held perfectly.

So now i need to remove the plate with sight attached and put it to one side. Knock out the base from the rear sight slot and tap the holes to not only a slightly bigger diameter but increase the pitch height so i can use a better screw while still maintaining the 3.5mm screw depth.

Fun times. All this waiting for parts and feck ups with suppliers to finally get it together to fall apart after one round.

My only other concern now comes from the question, do i omit the slide retention spring and work the slide manually when i have it fixed and remove any chance of this happening again or do i place it back and hope the new screw will hold?


In this picture i've highlighted the screw, and the position of said screw through the mounting plate (left) into the base (right) which stripped.




In this picture i highlight where the base sits sits and in yellow how much of the mounting plate sits "overhanging" from the base.