Jacob MurphyC-MORE Systems developed as a brand during the hey-day of red dot sights about 25 years ago. While red dots had been around since the 1970s it was during the mid-90s that they really began to take off. In response, a number of small companies formed and innovated the sight market. There is no doubt that C-MORE was an integral part of this time and the many leaps in technology that came about.
The individual parts of a C-MORE sight are made in a variety of locations but centrally assembled and marketed out of their Virginia facility. This business model keeps prices quite low but quality in the upper end of the available red dots. Though they have been producing optics for over two decades, they have not changed how they run their business because it simply works.
Getting back to the sights, there was a time when most competition shooters ran C-MORE sights and their railways sights were among the most common. This was especially true for rifle competitions. Recently the popularity of this sight as declined with so many options available. Some cheaper but many far more expensive.
Construction
C-MORE does sell come preconstructed sights but their cornerstone was always in producing sights using user specifications. If you wanted a lightweight option, you could go with a polycarbonate body. If you wanted something more durable, the aluminum option was best. In the grand scheme of things, the aluminum is the far superior optic being quite lightweight and much stronger.
This method of manufacturing resulted in the modular design of the Railway sight. Not only the material is customizable but so is the dot. You can get a variety of sizes and even order different diode modules and switch the dots in and out in seconds. It is easily possible to have a whole set of diodes in a small case and switch them as you need them.
Lenses
There is little spectacular about the C-MORE lens. In the world of red dots, what the lens was made of was not an important factor 20 years ago. Not companies are opting for the latest and greatest lenses with multicoating and about anything else they can do to get an edge. This has been a good thing that has led to some superior optics.
C-MORE never went this direction, instead sticking with a very simple lens setup. While many shooters will see this as inferior to those who have opted for better optics, this is really not such a vital consideration. With no magnification and a single lens, the simple C-MORE system works quite well.
Durability and Weather Resistance
The whole design of the C-MORE sight, in the beginning, was to be able to handle the hottest loads with repetitive fire up to an including fully automatic. This has been an astounding success and led to the growth of the C-MORE brand in those early years when only very expensive mil-spec optics could handle that sort of firepower.
Of course, durability and strength are not all optic needs. You also need the ability to use it when you need it and that means at least weather resistant if not waterproof. C-MORE nailed this as well by making their sight solid with full seals that will actually allow the sight to be submerged up to 200 meters without any actual damage.
Features and Function
If you purchase a C-MORE sight pre-constructed, it will usually come with the aluminum frame but you will most likely be able to choose your dot size. You can choose anywhere from a 1-MOA dot up to a 16-MOA dot. The smaller will be better for rifles while the mid-sized and larger dots are more appropriate for shotguns and handguns. You can purchase the modules to change the size directly for C-MORE for a very affordable price.
Where most red dot optics have a variety of brightness settings that you can choose between, the C-MORE Railway sight uses a rheostat control that allows essentially infinite settings between the lowest and highest power. You can fine-tune your optics brightness to exactly where you want it. This was not a common feature when they developed it and very few optics have continued this tradition.
The standard adjustment on a red dot is always 1-MOA with very few opting to with finer controls. The dot size limits the effectiveness of small adjustments. The Railway sight follows this standard and allows for adjustments at 1-MOA for both windage and elevation. This standard has worked on tens of thousands of optics over the past few decades and is probably sufficient for most shooters.
One holdover from the old days is the use of a somewhat rare 3-volt lithium battery, model DL1/3N for Duracell or Energizer 2L76. These can be expensive and hard to find short of mail order. They do last forever, usually getting about 2000 hours of run time on the lower brightness settings. It is just the annoyance of having to keep a constant backup battery around because if yours goes out, finding a spare may take some time.
Mounting is quite easy since the C-MORE is a 1 piece sight and base. It will match to your favorite rail and be up and going in seconds. If you need a different mounting option or spacer, C-MORE sells those to make their sight work and co-witness with most any setup. You may find this a little large for a pistol when mounted but for a shotgun or rifle, it seems like a very solid option.
Conclusion
Without a constant level of innovation, it is very rare to see a company last in today’s shooting world. It speaks to the high level of innovation and quality embraced by C-MORE Systems over 20 years ago that this sight is still popular. Amidst the Leupolds, Bushnells, and Vipers of the world, this small company has hung around and remained successful. What is more amazing is that they have done so without compromising the quality of their products.
