Gemini said
Last fall, I decided to pull the Vortex Venom off my XD to use on the Buckmark. The dot had been sitting in a sight-block adapter plate, which frankly sat higher than I cared for. To keep a red dot on the XD, I decided to go the proper route and get the slide milled. I actually had a spare slide lying around, so that became the designated project piece.
After a bit of digging, I found an LA-based outfit called TDC (Tactical Defense Company). For $195, they handle the full disassembly, mill the slide to your chosen pattern, cerakote it, reassemble, and ship it back. I sent it off and got it back after about two months—perhaps a touch longer. It would have been quicker, but the slide somehow got separated from my contact info. It wasn’t until I sent a follow-up email that they matched it back up to me, which was a bit of a worry at the time!
When I finally received the slide, I was dead chuffed with the finish; the Cerakote job was top-notch. I decided to mount a Holosun 507k—the green dot version of what I run on my Hellcat. It was a very tight fit, but the screw holes and milling lined up perfectly. I used a liberal amount of blue threadlock to make sure it doesn’t wander.
I had to wait a couple of weeks to get it to the range, but in early January, I finally got it zeroed and put a couple of hundred rounds through it. It’s holding zero perfectly, and the quality of the milling and Cerakote continues to impress.
I’d certainly use TDC again—though I might include a second copy of my info in the box next time! Sometimes the best way to fix a high bore axis is a bit of precision machining.
—EnglishBob