GERMAN PRECISION OPTICS SPECTRA

GERMAN PRECISION OPTICS SPECTRA™ PISTOL RED DOT SIGHT

By: Sal Palma

My first exposure to GPO, German Precision Optics, was at Shot Show 2023. Prior to the Show, I had no idea of the company’s origins but more importantly the quality of their optics. I was thoroughly impressed by their LPVO offerings as well as their pistol red dot reflex sights, the subject of my review.

There’s no shortage of red dot sights on the market offering a variety of features like large viewing windows, a choice of reticles, manual and automatic reticle intensity, power sources, rechargeable and not rechargeable, open sights or bomb proof housings and any number of footprints imaginable. Some need mounting plates others not and mounting fasteners are all over the planet. All of which adds to consumer frustration. The folks at GPO decided to greatly simplify things for their customers, they introduced the SPECTRA™ red dot sight at Shot Show.

Readers there is not a compact, subcompact or micro-compact in todays’ market that is not equipped with a sight slide cut, leading to some rather interesting CCW configurations

Imagine carrying this Glock in your appendix carry holster. Itmay even be equipped with a 30round extended magazine in case you get into a firefight. Placing a sight like this on your conceal carry pistol is like sticking a mailbox in your pants.

There’s no doubt that pistol red dot sights improve accuracy and response time to a threat so there’s a place for them on your CCW pistol, but you’ll want to select a sight designed for the platform and one that will make things easier for you.

GPO designed the SPECTRA™ red dot sight using the K.I.S.S. principle. If you’re unfamiliarwiththe acronym it stands for Keep It Simple Stupid, and I’ll say without reservation that the SPECTRA is simple, but don’t confuse simple with inept. Everything you need in a red dot sight for your CCW platform is incorporated and superbly implemented.

GPO’s SPECTRA™ has a Delta Point footprint and is compact, measuring 1.05 inches wide, 1.6 inches long and 0.9 inches high. The sight sits nicely on the Glock MOS with a No. 4 plate.

GPO, gives you an objective window that is 22x16 mm, certainly not a widescreen t.v. but more than adequate for rapid acquisition of the red dot and your target.

Unlike many of competing sights, the SPECTRA™ has no pushbuttons, so all you need to do is mount it to your pistol, install the battery and you are ready.

Image quality is excellent with no chromatic aberration. GPO uses a high-density polymer lens coated in GPObright, a proprietary hightransmission lens coating.

GPO’s SPECTRA™ does not need to be uninstalled for a battery replacement. It uses a side battery tray for its CR1632 battery.

The SPECTRA™ has automatic ambient light sensing, it also has automatic motion sensing. If it does not sense motion for 1 minute, it shutoff the red dot. There is no delay in illumination adjustment ormotionsensing.Thesight features 1 MOA wind and elevation adjustment, and a 3 MOA dot making it well qualified for pistol and long gun application, using the included Piccatiny rail mount.

Youcanchoose toequipyourconcealcarry pistol with a mailbox sized sight that requires multiple pushbutton operation or you can choose a very competent reflex sight that is the personification of K.I.S.S. I’ll take the K.I.S.S. option.

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