MaddMacs DT Dovetail RMSc Base for the Ruger MK Pistols - Minuteman Review

MaddMacs Dovetail Base for the Ruger MK Series pistols is available in RMS or RMSc footprints.

This micro red dot base replaces the rear sight of the Ruger pistols. Removing Ruger’s excellent adjustable rear sight is kind of hard to swallow, but since most optics have some kind of built in “rear sight” we can hope that it delivers a zero at some worthwhile distance.

You could go with a center base and keep the stock sights in place as “backup irons”. But I’m not a huge fan of blending irons and red dots. Irons that intrude into the optics space tempt the eye to shift focus from the target. Better, in my opinion, to eliminate the irons altogether. Or at least have them down in the bottom fifth.

I also chose the rear mounted dovetail sight base over the center option to reduce the risk of causing ejection malfunctions…I suspect that there is some possibility of a case striking the mount and bouncing back into the action. Moreover, mounting toward the rear gets the optic closer to the “pivot” point…coupled with the MKIII 22/45’s high grip ratio helps eliminate searching for the dot.

Potential downside of the rear, dovetail mount is that the optic is more exposed to fouling. So far, after 300 rounds, that has not been the case.

Installation: loosen the small screw next to the elevation adjustment screw and then drive out the dovetail sight. I used a Wyoming Sight Drifter…unfortunately I broke off one of the sight blades. It must have been cracked already since I didn’t strike it or subject the rear sight to any real abuse.

The MaddMacs’ 6061-T6 aluminum mount matches the contour of the Ruger receiver, the long torx screw holds the dovetail filler plate (black edge forward) to secure the rear, remove the filler plug from behind the ejection port, and the short torx screw secures the leading edge. .

Paired with a Shield RMSc, Shield SMSc, or, here, an OSight SE, the optic sits cleanly atop the mount with just a tiny bit of overhang. A very clean looking installation. The rear dovetail mount is more likely to fit your preferred holster.

The mount has a very thin deck so the optic sits far lower on the pistol than if you used a Picatinny rail and RMSc Pic rail adapter.

One advantage of running a red dot on Ruger MK series or Browning Buckmark pistols is that the optic is not riding the action during cycling. It would be interesting to get some data on how this might improve longterm reliability or red dots in general.

The MaddMacs Dovetail RMSc mount paired with the OSight SE restores my appreciation for the Ruger MK pistols. So much fun and I can see maybe giving the old MK III a go at hunting snowshoe hares this winter.

Until Ruger mills an RMSc cut directly into the receiver, the MaddMacs DT mount is my favorite and arguably the best option I’ve found for running a red dot on the Ruger MKx pistols.