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Back to basics – DOCTER Sight C

Docter Sight C red dot
Docter Sight C red dot

Almost 15 years passed since I first tried out the Docter Sight and was definitely impressed. After using Tasco’s Optima for a few years this proved to be quite a tough little unit. Analytik Jena did not stop there and Docter Sight II, Docter Sight II+ and Docter Sight III followed, bringing improvements and making manufacturer’s statement: we do top notch mini red dot sights. The C iteration of the popular skeletonized reflex sight might seem a wee step back (term skeletonized is used for the reflex sights that lack a tubular body and have thus lost the rear lens). It is really just an additional product to answer the requests made by shooters and mainly “the market”. The C sight is colorful, or at least available in four different coatings: “flat dark earth”, “savage stainless”, “safety orange” and “camo”. Coating is provided by Cerakote, which is well known for its scratch resistance and durability, but might not match the level III military style hard anodizing, say some. The C model is not intended primarily for military use so this should not be a real concern.

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Tough

The main attraction on the C is (besides choice of colors) its rugged monolithic aluminum body that has proven itself on the Docter Sight III. If you choose to mount the sight to the pistol’s slide, it can be used to grasp and rack the slide without any concern (as long as the base is solidly affixed). I don’t know how it would handle a direct drop on concrete mounted on a weapon but it can be knocked about and dropped in the dirt and on roots without much concern.

Docter Sight C safety orange
Docter Sight C safety orange

Can be watertight

The top of the sight is waterproof and it can withstand submersion, provided it is properly mounted (only one adhesive, cut-to-fit gasket comes with the sight) and a proper base is used. We had a compact but heavy duty Picatinny/Weaver quick mount made by Croatian company Rusan at our disposal. The clamping bracket is spring loaded and the lever is patterned after the renowned Warne’s quick detach system. The Rusan mount provided a sturdy steel platform for the sight, weighing in at a hefty 2.5 ounces (70 g), almost three times the weight of the C sight. In comparison to the 3rd generation Docter sight the C sight lacks the fancy magnetic control and three ambient light-dependent dot-intensity curves. This feature turned out very useful and is by no means unnecessary.

Docter Sight C watertight gasket
Docter Sight C watertight gasket

Auto-adjusting

The C sight retains the automatic adjustment of the dot brightness though. The brightness sensor is correctly placed in front (below) the lens and generally provides appropriate dot intensity for most lighting conditions. There are specific situations where a manual setting would be welcome but nine out of ten times this is a good setup. The dot has a clear round shape and covers approximately 5 or 10 centimeters placed on a target 50 meters away (3.5 or 7 MOA respectively, choose when ordering). If the dot seems fuzzy, oval, undefined, sickle-shaped or has “stars” on the edge, the front or the dot projector lens might be smeared but it is most likely due to your imperfect eyesight. The sight lacks any objective to compensate for possible shooters vision defects. A good way to check your (eye)sight is to observe the dot in the dark room and compare it to with what you see on a bright sunny day. The perceived “dot aberrations” are less pronounced when the pupil is contracted and much more noticeable when it is dilated in the darkness.

Docter Sight C Red Dot soft cover
Docter Sight C Red Dot soft cover

The welcome softcover

The C sight finally did away with the hated plastic covers which were replaced by rubber-like softcovers (silicone?) that are easily removed. An orange and a black softcover is provided with the sight and seems to hold in place well (there are four notches on the corners of the sight body) till you don’t need it and simply flip it off (if in a hurry to shoot). The sight is always on anyways, providing the battery is good.

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