UM Tactical UM3 Pistol Mount Review

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Have you ever wished to mount a red-dot optic on your pistol but didn’t want to send your slide out to be milled? Well, now you can attach a Picatinny rail mount to most pistols with a front attachment rail (a 1913-style or similar), without gunsmithing. All that you need is a UM3 Pistol sight mount .

Getting your slide milled for red-dot sight can run you around $200, once you add shipping. For under $100, you may get a UM3 mount which will clamp on — no machining necessary. If you’ve never shot a pistol with a red-dot, I suggest you try something one first before spending a couple of cash and getting your slide drilled. A UM3 will enable you to do that without a significant investment.
Installation

This installation of the sight mount is fairly straightforward. Just slide it on your pistol’s rail while holding down the spring-loaded detent. After the mount is in the right spot, just release the detent lever, and the mount is held in place. I tested one out on my GLOCK 17, and it went on smooth, though it was a tight fit. It’s not something you want slopping around, though.
UM3 Handgun Sight Mount – Top View

The mount is split on the top down the center of the Picatinny rail to make installing the mount more straightforward on a wide range of pistols. To mount your red dot once the UM3 is attached, pinch the two halves together, mount your sight and clamp it down as you’d on any other Picatinny rail, tightening until both halves are fully closed.

I’m utilizing a Vortex Razor for my testing, and it attached to the UM Tactical UM3 Mountjust fine. The clamping process is a little fiddly, though. Since the rail is split on top down the center of the Picatinny rail, you’ve to squeeze it together to place the red-dot and clamp it tight. UM advises that you tighten your sight until both halves of the rail meet. I’d to use a pair of pliers as it was snug on my G17. After the sight is mounted, the whole affair sits solidly on your pistol.

Fit

As for overall fit, the rail fits Okay. On my GLOCK 17, it appears to be a touch off center, thought it’s hard to tell for sure. The mount clamps onto the pistol’s accessory rail pretty tightly, and doesn’t seem to wiggle around at all, so that’s good. An updated list of guns the UM3 works with is here.
Construction

The UM3 is constructed of 6061-T6 aluminum and Type-III hard anodized. Which means it should be durable, semi-scratch resistant and take a decent beating. The overall build quality is nice; there are no excessively sharp edges or significant blemishes, etc.

Carry
The UMH3C holster is a basic adjustable carbon fiber speed holster with no mechanical retention. It is the universal holster that fits a wide range of pistols, so it isn’t designed to be a run around type of rig, though it appears to be well built and fairly durable. My gun is pretty tightly, so there’ll be a break in time needed. I usually prefer holsters with a few level of mechanical retention. However, this one works for playing around at the range, or other times whenever you might not need active retention. The holster uses a Blade Tech adjustable paddle which will work with belts up to 2.5&Prime, wide, a nice added feature.

UM3 Handgun Mount View with UM3HC Holster. Shooting. With your red dot mounted, it works like you’d expect it to, but, there are several Gotchas with a configuration like this. The main one being that the sight’s height over the bore is pushing 2&Prime. At a distance that is not a too big deal, but at closer ranges, your point of impact will be small. This kind of thing really can come into play when attempting to shoot around or over objects. Just something to keep track of.

Also, shooting with a red dot takes a while to get adjusted to. There’s less of a point of reference, so if you draw your weapon and do not see the point, you end up doing a small jiggling around to find it. It only takes practice to get used to it, and once you get it down, it is kinda nice. It took me about ten rounds to get everything sighted in, and after that, everything just works with this. I did not make it on and off of the pistol, but the sight remained precise between reloads, messing around with targets, holstering, etc.