Which red dot footprint reaches the most pistols?

By Andrew Terrebonne. Published October 12, 2026.

The footprint, not the brand, decides which slides an optic can go on. Counted across all 178 slides tracked here, the Shield RMSc footprint reaches the most (150, 59 of them with no plate), and it also mounts directly to the most. One footprint reaches no slide tracked here at all.

A slide counts under “no plate” if any optic on that footprint mounts to it directly (including a cross-compatible cut), under “with a plate” if the best route is a plate, and under “no route” if none of the footprint’s optics goes on it. Worked out by the fit checker’s resolver; 178 slides in all.

How to read it

• Reach is not the same as no plate. A footprint that reaches nearly every slide usually does so through plates, which adds a part, a screw joint and height. Direct mount or plate sets out what that costs.
• Optic choice matters as much as reach. The “optics tracked” column is how many optics here use the footprint: a footprint with one optic leaves no alternative if that optic is out of stock or doesn’t suit you.
• Your slide comes first. If you already own the pistol, its page lists every optic that goes on it; this table is for choosing a pistol or an optic before you buy either.

The six widest, in a line each

From each footprint’s page, where the sources are:

Shield RMSc

2 screws, 4 recoil lugs (2 front, 2 rear); M4 × 0.7 usually; some slides M3 or #6-32 screws. The most common cut on carry-size pistols.

Holosun K

2 screws, 2 forward lugs (rear posts omitted); M3, M4 or #6-32, by optic screws. RMSc screw spacing with the two rear recoil lugs left off.

Trijicon RMR

2 screws, 2 forward recoil lugs; #6-32 screws. Deepest optic selection of any footprint.

Leupold DeltaPoint Pro

2 screws, 4 corner recoil lugs; M4 × 0.7 screws. Common on competition slides and duty plate systems.

Aimpoint ACRO

Clamp interface with recoil shoulder — not a screw-and-lug pattern; Cross-bolt clamp screws. The enclosed-emitter standard.

Docter / Noblex

2 screws, 4 posts; M3 / #4-40 by model screws. The oldest common pattern, and fading, but still the reason GLOCK MOS plate 01 exists.

Footprints no tracked slide takes

Aimpoint Micro

A rifle footprint. On a pistol it only shows up on a frame mount or race-gun bridge, never a slide cut.

For your pistol and optic