Romeo Zero on Hellcat (Zeroing Issues)

[EL LOBO]

Hey all,

Long time lurker, first time poster.

Recently I was able to acquire a new Springfield Hellcat OSP a few days ago and absolutely love it. I also picked up a Sig Romeo Zero while I was there. To mount it, I used the screws that came with the sight (didn't grind them), and went to a local hardware store to find tiny tiny 4mm washers. I'm happy to say after a few rounds and re-tightening the screws, I was able to secure the optic nicely to the Hellcat. It looks so damn sexy btw. I'm very happy with the look and overall fit and finish of the Sig Romeo Zero.

However, when it came to zeroing it, I've found that I can't seem to raise the shot any higher. I've got a consistent group @ 10 yards that hits about 5" lower than point of aim. It seems like I've hit the mechanical limit for adjusting the elevation of the RZ. I did this from a supported position. My sight picture was keeping the dot in the middle of the glass for the shot.

Am I missing something here? Sight picture? Slave the dot? I've done a lot of researching and I can't seem to find anybody else that has this problem so I'm starting to think its me somehow. Am I doing something wrong?

I do have an intermediate shooting background. Former Army National Guard with a Combat deployment to Afghanistan in 09. I've shot iron sights on pistols for a long time. I'm open to the criticism for the help. I'm using the Hellcat as an EDC, BTW

You might be able to purchase a shim plate to raise your sight however its the SHIELD SMSC MICRO RED DOT - 4 M.O.A. that is recommended for use with the Hell Cat they are almost $100 dollars cheaper in the Springfield Armory Store than optic planet. I had a vortex venom on mine but it was too tall to co-witness with the iron sight with the Shield SMSC Micro you can co-witness with the HellCats sights.

 

[DeadIdahoSky]

mandofresh, there may some issue with the actual fitment to the Hellcat as far as the elevation. Reason I say that is I bought an SMSc for my Hellcat and it came included with a small tapered shim and instructions that if elevation was a problem to utilyse the shim in either direction to compensate. Fortunately I didn't need it on my install and was able to set the dot right on top of the front sight using a chambered laser @ 10-12 yards.

regards,
jumpinjoe

What laser bore would you recommend for 9mm? I researched the sightmark, but alot of reviews had it as out of alignment.

 

[jumpinjoe]

What laser bore would you recommend for 9mm? I researched the sightmark, but alot of reviews had it as out of alignment.

Sorry, I don't remember the manufacturer and there is no info other than caliber printed on the brass. I purchased them off ebay late one night on a whim while shopping for something else. I too had heard that some are not necessarily true, so to ensure they were, I marked them with a Sharpie on the headstamp, then clocked them to 4 different positions in the chamber and checked the projected red dot with each of the previous positions. I couldn't detect any 'out of alignment' at all at the 10-12 yd mark.

I bought 2 different calibers that night from the same seller (9mm & 30/06) and both seem to be 'dead on'. BTW, the picture in msg #19 of the Hellcat and Shield sight is exactly what my sight picture is except mine is directly over the front sight. The picture in the msg #19 shows the gun a little canted which is why I think the red dot looks to be a tad off to the right. I had no issue with alignment either up/down or left/right.

Sorry I can't be more helpful.

regards,
jumpinjoe

 

[mike1234]

I had the same issue with the Romeo Zero on my Hellcat. I was probably 5" low at 20 ft and couldn't adjust it any further. Also, I was not crazy about the sight since it obscured the front sight about 60% when installed. I couldn't find any pictures of the Romeo Zero installed on a Hellcat and took a chance from the beginning that it would be close to the sight picture I have seen with the Shield sight. Not the case! I had to hold high to see the front sight with the Romeo Zero.
View attachment 6639

So, I called Sig and they sent me a label and I returned the sight. Meanwhile, I decided I had no idea how long it would take to warranty the Sig, so I contacted Shield and didn't have high hopes since all US distributors are back ordered for who knows how far into the future.

Shield returned my email the next day. I inquired about the SMSc and the RMSc, but have seen almost no talk about the SMSc on the internet forums or reviews. They said they had the SMSc red dot's in stock. So, I proceeded to order 2 of them (My son will be home on leave in the next month or so and he's talking about getting the Hellcat too) so that my son could have one if it all worked out.

Low and behold, I got tracking info back in a few days of the order. Yesterday when the mail came, I had both the replacement Romeo and the 2 new Shield SMSc sights. Like a kid in a candy store!

I mounted the Shield on the gun and it fit nearly perfectly aligned without touching it, and the best part, you can see the full sight picture with the SMSc sight just like they said it should be identical when the replied to the original email.

Here are a few pictures of the Shield SMSc.
View attachment 6640 View attachment 6641 View attachment 6642

Right away, I noticed a few things that were much better in my engineering opinion.

1. The screws are nice large button head type screw to apply the pressure over a much larger area than the SIG flat head screw that is countersunk into the plastic body. (Don't over tighten, or you may break the plastic on the SIG)
2. Wider sight picture with the Shield
3. Cleaner from a construction perspective. (The original Romeo Zero has some haziness around the permimiter due to adhesive) To be fair, the replacement looks much cleaner, but I didn't want to open the new package and put it straight onto eBay to recoupe my money on that one.

Hands down, I would go onto the Shield website and buy the this one over the RZ today and get it for much less than you can buy the RZ on eBay. My total for the two came to about $275 each direct from Shield. Worked out great with the exchange rate and less than the advertised prices the dealers have them listed for with back orders.

Hope this helps a few others with the Hellcat.

Did the Romeo Zero that sig returned to you have the correct adjustment for the hellcat?

Im having the same problem with the redot not adjusting enough.

Wondering if this romeo zero will ever work? I tried to shim but there is limited shim room without a proper plate(im not able to make) My RZ only adjust up and down a little bit.

 

[Grump]

My SMSC fit theHellcat right out of the box and was almost on zero. Since then, hundreds of rounds and still dead on. I love the dot size. Dot blooms some in bright light but does not effect accuracy at least in my case. Love the pistol and the sight.
Seems to me this is the easiest way to go, instead of fighting with Trying to fit other sights. I’m happy I made the choice I did. Oh and co witness with irons is great.

 

[GaryC]

Did the Romeo Zero that sig returned to you have the correct adjustment for the hellcat?

Im having the same problem with the redot not adjusting enough.

Wondering if this romeo zero will ever work? I tried to shim but there is limited shim room without a proper plate(im not able to make) My RZ only adjust up and down a little bit.

I’m not sure yet... I put it on and haven’t had a chance to fire it yet. It appears to be lined up directly at the top of the front post as it came from Sig. When I align the iron sights on a target the red dot sits directly above the front post on the target, so theoretically it should be on at short distances.

 

[mike1234]

I’m not sure yet... I put it on and haven’t had a chance to fire it yet. It appears to be lined up directly at the top of the front post as it came from Sig. When I align the iron sights on a target the red dot sits directly above the front post on the target, so theoretically it should be on at short distances.

Will the red dot adjust lower to cover the front post? when i co-witness the red dot is above the post but it wont adjust lower to line up with the sights.

 

[barjohn]

The proper way to align the red dot is NOT to use the iron sights. Get a bore sight (they are not expensive) and select a target and range you want to align to. I usually go for 15yds but some go for 25yds. If you are planning to shoot out to 75' go for 25yds. You then place the bore sight laser on the center of the target with the gun held still as possible (a vise would be great). Now adjust the red dot so it aligns over the laser dot on the target. When they are aligned you will be very close to having your red dot zeroed. Because most bore sights are not perfectly centered in the barrel there is room for some small error (it gets larger the greater the distance). At the range you can see where it is hitting by examining 5 shot groups and make minor tweaks to bring it dead on.

Getting back to the iron sights, you should now see your red dot in a vertical alignment with your iron sights and as you tilt the gun up and down you can move the red dot so it appears to be over the front sight, below it or above it. You may damage the adjustment by trying to adjust to the iron sights. The parallax properties of the glass are not perfect and the eye can be fooled. The beauty of red dot sights is that you don't need the dot to be in a particular place on the glass, you need to place the dot on the target. If it isn't working, then you just use the iron sights.

I have verified this on two pistols and three red dot sights. The Sig Romeo Zero, Holosun 507K and the Shield RMSc.

 

[mike1234]

Got it back from SIG. Now it adjust. I have to say SIG has really dropped in quality. Not happy with them at all.

 

[barjohn]

Before you or others risk damaging your red dot please go on YouTube and videos by Sage Dynamics and other knowledgeable people comparable to him. Red Dots do not work like iron sights and you do not try to slave them to the iron sights on a pistol. The physics are completely different. You are not having to horizontally align two points close to your face like you do in iron sights. You are placing a single point over your desired aim point. Optimally you place you red dot so it appears in the center of your glass window but it is not essential that it be there. It can be visibly seen at the top, at the bottom or the right or the left side and it will still hit whatever it is placed on top of. Iron sights don't work that way.