Cyelee CAT Reflex Green Dot Sight
I purchased this sight for my Hellcat OSP, based on the parameters I knew I wanted which include: Green Dot, small, auto on, reasonably price (I'm not going to abuse it) and co-witness ability.
I research a lot of Green Dot's and ended up with this one, this is my review:
First it's TINY which is great. Appears very well built. Has a 3 year warranty. It comes with all the tools you will need to INSTALL it – you may or may not have what you need to remove the top plate from the Hellcat. IT would have been nice to have a parts list of what was included and in the case of the SHIM why you might want to use it. There are three of each of four sizes of mounting bolts – you need only two so you will have a spare if you drop one (they are small). For my Hellcat I needed the M4X0.7 by 5.0mm long that uses the included T10 wrench. There is also a nice graphic on how to adjust the sights and some stickers (not sure what I'll do with those).
The manual that comes with is doesn't go into any details about the installation – it does suggest you use Loctite 222 and torque the screws to less than 15lb-ft.
The Hellcat manual does say it uses the M4-0.7 bolt and it shouldn't extend any longer than 0.095” (2.4mm) from the bottom of the sight.
So first thing first I thought I'd contact Cyelee customer support and got a reply within 24 hours from Tyler of customer support. I basically wanted to find out what the SHIM was to be use for and if they had any idea of which bolt and length I needed.
His reply indicated that the SHIM was use by people who just want them or have light showing between the optic and the slide when installed. FYI the battery just inserts into the bottom of the sight there is no cover on it and I've read other reviews of other sights that this, while not a problem, can be of a concern about moisture and dirt getting into the battery compartment. Tyler suggested I contact Springfield about the size length of the bolt.
At that point I re-asked my question pointing out I had Springfield's suggested maximum length AFTER the thickness needed to get through their sight – a simple “I don't know” would have been acceptable but I got a chewing our for even asking Cyelee a technical question that they thought Springfield would know – heck if I buy accessories for my Tacoma I got to the manufacture of the accessories not Toyota for help.
Anyway, after some messing around with what tools I do have I think the 5.0mm bolt sticks out about 0.100”from the sight bottom which meant I needed to shorten the two bolts by very little. With the tools I have available I was worried that one extra bolt would not be enough. So I did a trial assemble and it seemed good but I was concerned about bolt length – one hole is not through and so I was probably bottoming out and therefore not tight, the other is open but just under it is the extractor spring and I didn't want to be rubbing on that. It sure looked good though.
Then I saw the shim and yep it's thin but over the .005” I needed and I kind of liked the idea of sealing the battery compartment so I used that to make up the difference for now.
Their sighting instructions say the sight is zeroed at the factory at 25+ yards – I thought that interesting as they have no idea of the gun or ammo I'm using so I just trusted that they had centered the dot in the middle of the viewing screen.
Off to the range. As they suggested zeroing in at 25 yards, and I agree as I've shot Bullseye competition for over the last 20 years that's where I started. I was amazed that not only didn't I hit the target I didn't hit the backer board at that distance. So I pulled it back to 7 yards and tried again. I was getting good groups just left of center but 18” down from the bull. A few turns of the adjusting screws (with the included screwdriver, thank you very much) and it was good. Moved to 50 feet and did the same. I can now, reliably, hit the 25 yard target with reliability – just need more trigger time at that distance to get a 3” group.
To recap – installation if straightforward, do be concerned about your bolt length and while Springfield doesn't say to use thread locker it does say if you do use it, use it sparingly and make sure to get it in the right holes (I'd suggest putting it on the bolts). I like the use of the shim for dirt purposes if no other reason.
The Co-Witness – the Cyelee sight has wonderful red fiber optic rear sights (why not green?) and you do have a good co-witness with the original rear sight BUT unless you remove the original rear sight you'll never see the ones on the co-witness sights.
I'll try to update after 500 or so rounds.
I purchased this sight for my Hellcat OSP, based on the parameters I knew I wanted which include: Green Dot, small, auto on, reasonably price (I'm not going to abuse it) and co-witness ability.
I research a lot of Green Dot's and ended up with this one, this is my review:
First it's TINY which is great. Appears very well built. Has a 3 year warranty. It comes with all the tools you will need to INSTALL it – you may or may not have what you need to remove the top plate from the Hellcat. IT would have been nice to have a parts list of what was included and in the case of the SHIM why you might want to use it. There are three of each of four sizes of mounting bolts – you need only two so you will have a spare if you drop one (they are small). For my Hellcat I needed the M4X0.7 by 5.0mm long that uses the included T10 wrench. There is also a nice graphic on how to adjust the sights and some stickers (not sure what I'll do with those).
The manual that comes with is doesn't go into any details about the installation – it does suggest you use Loctite 222 and torque the screws to less than 15lb-ft.
The Hellcat manual does say it uses the M4-0.7 bolt and it shouldn't extend any longer than 0.095” (2.4mm) from the bottom of the sight.
So first thing first I thought I'd contact Cyelee customer support and got a reply within 24 hours from Tyler of customer support. I basically wanted to find out what the SHIM was to be use for and if they had any idea of which bolt and length I needed.
His reply indicated that the SHIM was use by people who just want them or have light showing between the optic and the slide when installed. FYI the battery just inserts into the bottom of the sight there is no cover on it and I've read other reviews of other sights that this, while not a problem, can be of a concern about moisture and dirt getting into the battery compartment. Tyler suggested I contact Springfield about the size length of the bolt.
At that point I re-asked my question pointing out I had Springfield's suggested maximum length AFTER the thickness needed to get through their sight – a simple “I don't know” would have been acceptable but I got a chewing our for even asking Cyelee a technical question that they thought Springfield would know – heck if I buy accessories for my Tacoma I got to the manufacture of the accessories not Toyota for help.
Anyway, after some messing around with what tools I do have I think the 5.0mm bolt sticks out about 0.100”from the sight bottom which meant I needed to shorten the two bolts by very little. With the tools I have available I was worried that one extra bolt would not be enough. So I did a trial assemble and it seemed good but I was concerned about bolt length – one hole is not through and so I was probably bottoming out and therefore not tight, the other is open but just under it is the extractor spring and I didn't want to be rubbing on that. It sure looked good though.
Then I saw the shim and yep it's thin but over the .005” I needed and I kind of liked the idea of sealing the battery compartment so I used that to make up the difference for now.
Their sighting instructions say the sight is zeroed at the factory at 25+ yards – I thought that interesting as they have no idea of the gun or ammo I'm using so I just trusted that they had centered the dot in the middle of the viewing screen.
Off to the range. As they suggested zeroing in at 25 yards, and I agree as I've shot Bullseye competition for over the last 20 years that's where I started. I was amazed that not only didn't I hit the target I didn't hit the backer board at that distance. So I pulled it back to 7 yards and tried again. I was getting good groups just left of center but 18” down from the bull. A few turns of the adjusting screws (with the included screwdriver, thank you very much) and it was good. Moved to 50 feet and did the same. I can now, reliably, hit the 25 yard target with reliability – just need more trigger time at that distance to get a 3” group.
To recap – installation if straightforward, do be concerned about your bolt length and while Springfield doesn't say to use thread locker it does say if you do use it, use it sparingly and make sure to get it in the right holes (I'd suggest putting it on the bolts). I like the use of the shim for dirt purposes if no other reason.
The Co-Witness – the Cyelee sight has wonderful red fiber optic rear sights (why not green?) and you do have a good co-witness with the original rear sight BUT unless you remove the original rear sight you'll never see the ones on the co-witness sights.
I'll try to update after 500 or so rounds.
