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The Beretta 92 series handgun are a unique, accurate, reliable, classic handgun. There really is no other handgun like the Beretta 92. Like all handguns it has advantages and disadvantages. I am a fan of the Beretta 92. I love shooting them. However, in my opinion, they do need some upgrades. Fortunately, Langdon Tactical and Wilson Combat both offer a variety of great upgrades. I wrote another article on tuning the Beretta 92 so it is not discussed here. This is about the products available for mounting an RDO on the Beretta 92 series handguns.
The physical attributes of the Beretta 92 that make it so unique are the same physical limitations that make mounting an RDO challenging. Basically, there are three quality options available for the 92x and two options for the other 92 series handguns.
The options discussed in this article are:
| Landon RDO Slide - RMR Plate Holosun 507c-X2 | Trijicon Dovetail | Beretta 92 RDO |
|---|---|---|
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| Height above bore 1.0" | Height above bore 1.24 | Height above bore center 1.3 |
| Landon RDO Slide - Holosun EPS Plate and Holosun EPS Optic | Beretta Performance with Toni Systems Dovetail plate and Vortex Defender ST | |
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| Height Above Bore .85" | Height above Bore 1.25 | |
| Click on the image for a larger picture | ||
The height above bore was measured form the center of the bore to the center of the optic window. This measurement was made as accurate as possible but is not exact.
The significant properties of an RDO mount are the height above bore and its sturdiness. All of the mounts shown above a very sturdy. Some would say the dovetail mount is not sturdy. However, the Trijicon Beretta 92 mount and the Toni Systems dovetail mounts are very sturdy; They are very well designed and manufactured to be sturdy. The height varies among the solutions shown with the Langdon Solution being the lowest by about .25 inches for the RMR Holosun and .40 inches for the EPS Mount. The Langdon RDO mount is the only solution supporting co-witnessing. It is also the most expensive. The Landon RDO mount for the Holosun EPS is very low and has a much lower co-witness sights than with the RMR plate.
An optic sits significantly higher than the center of the bore. This has an effect on accuracy at target distances greater than the distance the optic was calibrated to, called the zeroed distance. It also has an effect on accuracy at shorter distances but usually we sight a handgun at short distance so this accuracy difference can usually be ignored. Since classic iron sights sit so close to the bore their accuracy is better over varied distances but this is somewhat negated by the focus difficulties. It depends a lot on the shooters eyes. For me another advantage of the RDO is I can shoot a red dot nearly as well without my corrective glasses as I can with. Link to RDO Targeting Considerations and Calculator.
Some examples of the effect of the height of the optic on target impact are listed below. These are calculated differences -See my article on RDO Targeting which contains a height-target calculator. Optic heights are measured from the center of the bore to center of optic. In these examples, the sight is zeroed at 30 feet. What is shown at 100' is the bullet impact at above the sighted target due to the sight angle created by the height of the optic.
| Optic Height | 30 feet | 100 feet |
|---|---|---|
| .75" | 0 | 1.76" |
| 1.0 | 0 | 2.35" |
| 1.25 | 0 | 2.93 |
Langdon Tactical RDO Slide - Offers the lowest mount solution and is the only mount with co-witness sights included. Landon Tactical mills the slide to lower the mounting plate. To do this they had to modify a few of the firing components. The mounting plate includes a rear sight. It also comes with a front sight matching the rear. You can order the slide complete for $575.00 or have yours milled for $350.00. Not all 92 slides can be reworked so check with Langdon.
Beretta 92x RDO model Berettas - This is the least expensive solution if you own the RDO version of the Beretta 92x. All you need is the correct adapter plate and your optic. This sight sits about .3" higher than the Landon RDO Slide. It is about .07 inches higher than the Trijicon Dovetail mount. The adapter plate is about $30.00 if you do not get it free.
Trijicon Dovetail Mount - This is the only solution for a Beretta 92FS slide. It is also the most economical solution for the Beretta 92x that is not a Beretta 92x RDO model. The dovetail mount costs about $100.00. I was using this on my 92x Centurion until I decided to change to a Langdon RDO slide. It was very sturdy and worked quite well, however, no comparison to the Langdon RDO Solution. I installed the Trijicon and the Toni dovetail mount using a MGW Sightpro. I highly recommend a good sight pusher to install them or a gunsmith.
Toni Systems Beretta Performance Dovetail Mount - The Toni Systems Mount comes in an A and B plate. Each plate supports numerous optics. It is a great mount for the Beretta Performance that does not have a factory RDO mount. Been shooting it a while now and it is solid.
My Preference is for a defensive Beretta 92 is the 92x with The Langdon EPS plate and Holosun EPS Optic. The Langdon RDO solution is by far the best but also the most expensive. The 92x with the EPS plate and mounts very low and will rival many guns with factory RDO adapters as far as height above bore. Also, it offers low co-witness sights. Co-witness sights are a very desirable feature.
The Trijicon dovetail mount is the only option for the Beretta 92FS. The Beretta Performance is available with the Beretta RDO mount for a couple of models. The standard Performance can use the Toni dovetail Plate and your optic of choice. The dovetail plate and the factory Beretta RDO mount the optic fairly high and are somewhat equivalent. For me, the Beretta Performance is not a defensive gun, it is for competition or just for fast accurate shooting and the lack of co-witness sights is not an issue. Just great to have an optic on this fantastic gun.
Author: Steve Gill
Pistolthoughts.com
Date of last edit: 17-Jan-2022 Revised 4/6/2025