Complete Guide to Choosing Red Dot Sights

Red dot sights are incredibly popular, and for good reason. Red dots encourage rapid target acquisition and transitions, making them ideal for personal defense, competition, and even hunting. Whether pistol, shotgun, or rifle, there’s an overwhelming variety of red dot sights at every price. Ultimately, most gun owners ask, “What’s the best red dot for my gun?” The following guide explains the features and types of rifle, shotgun, and handgun red dot optics alongside a few recommendations.

Red Dot Sight Types

Before delving into the specifics of handgun, rifle, and shotgun red dot sights, let’s cover the available red dot types. This guide explains the differences between red dot sights and their operation, features, and applications.

Holographic and Reflex Red Dots

Red dot sights are divided into two main categories: holographic and reflex. Reflex sights reflect an LED image projected onto coated glass. By far the most common red dot design, “red dot sight” traditionally refers to LED reflex sights. These sights can be very small, with battery life lasting years. In addition, solar panels extend battery life even longer with some red dots. “Shake-awake” technology, where movement turns the sight on but shuts down when inactive, is increasingly popular on red dots.

With holographic sights, a laser hologram produces the reticle. For shooters with astigmatism, holographic sight reticles won’t starburst. Holographic reticles also appear sharp and clear when magnified. Furthermore, holographic sighting windows tend to be brighter since the lenses don’t require a coating. Unfortunately, holographic sight battery life only lasts a couple hundred hours and tend to be much larger than their reflex counterparts.

Open and Closed Emitter Red Dots

Red dot sights, specifically LED reflex sights, feature two designs: open and closed emitter. Open emitters have a single piece of coated glass that reflects a projected LED for the reticle. Although extremely light and compact, there are some drawbacks. Handgun concealed carry and duty applications encourage the popularity of these red dots. Unfortunately, moisture and debris distort or obscure the exposed emitter on open emitter red dots, affecting the reticle’s visibility. Closed emitter red dots resolve this issue with an enclosed metal housing and additional glass piece. Despite being a little larger and heavier, some closed emitters have surprisingly small footprints with barely any additional weight.

Red Dot Sights for Rifles

Holographic and closed emitter red dot sights dominate the rifle red dot market. While those red dot designs resist blunt force, moisture, and debris better, open emitter red dots occasionally appear on rifles because of their small footprint. With the growing popularity of low- and medium-powered variable optics (LPVOs and MPVOs), micro red dot sights frequently accompany LPVOs. In most instances, the red dot mounts at a 45° angle to or atop the scope. The 45° red dot setup mounts closer to the bore axis with less likelihood of snagging.

Rifle red dot reticles come in a wide variety of styles and colors. While obvious from the name, red dot reticles typically feature a red dot. However, a few sights also change reticle colors with options like red, green, or blue. Several reticles include a circle and dot with the ability to switch between reticles.

Full-size rifle red dot sighting windows typically have around a 30 to 34mm diameter, while micro red dots get as small as 15 to 20mm. Normally, rifle red dot sights mount to a Picatinny or Weaver rail. Some sights co-witness with AR-15 iron sights while others mount lower. Many micro red dots include adjustable riser sections for different sight heights.

Top Rifle Red Dot Choice — Vortex SPARC AR

Red Dot Sights for Pistols

In recent years, pistol red dot sight options have exploded to a dizzying selection, with virtually all firearm manufacturers offering an optics-ready handgun. Beyond the industry hype, most shooters quickly see the value in handgun red dots. Rapid sight acquisition, precise shooting at distance, and fast target transition are just a few of the benefits of pistol red dots. The red dot’s reticle also gives shooters immediate feedback if it jerks off target during dry or live fire.

Pistol red dot sights traditionally mount to a semi-auto slide or revolver top strap. With most semi-auto handguns, a slide cutout accommodates a plate that marries the optic and slide. The slide cutout and mounting hole pattern depend on the handgun manufacturer.

Optic geometry and screw configuration, referred to as “footprint,” determine the semi-standardized mounting plate type. For example, the Trijicon RMR and Holosun 507C require an RMR footprint, while the Vortex Venom and Burris Fastfire use the Docter/Noblex footprint. To determine the footprint and mounting plate, I recommend consulting a reputable guide or the firearm and optic manufacturer. If buying a secondhand optic-ready handgun, check for an aftermarket slide cut. Aftermarket cuts typically accommodate only one optic footprint or type but usually don’t require the mounting plate.

The mounting plate and red dot raise the sight picture, blocking the view of most standard factory sights. As a result, the standard height sights may need to be swapped for suppressor height if you still want them functional. Meanwhile, some pistol red dots mount directly to a specific factory optics-ready handgun make and model without a plate or the need to swap out iron sights.

Like rifle red dots, handgun red dots include many color and reticle combinations. While most handgun red dots run on a watch battery, some feature a solar panel or solar panel and rechargeable battery combination. Handgun red dots normally have manual brightness adjustments, but a few models automatically adjust brightness with a light sensor.

Top Pistol Red Dot Choice — Holosun EPS

Red Dot Sights for Shotguns

Shotgun red dot sights include many popular handgun and rifle red dot optics. However, some red dots work better than others on a scattergun. Overall, micro-reflex sights dominate the shotgun red dot market. With a lot of ground already covered on red dot sights, let’s discuss the nuances of red dots on shotguns.

Shotguns, like rifles and pistols, offer a wide variety of mounting options. Most shotgun red dot sights mount to a Picatinny or Weaver rail between the stock and receiver or sighting rib, if present. Most recently, Mossberg patented a direct mount for the Shield RMSc red dot footprint. Overall, though, any red dot sight on a shotgun must withstand the recoil. While I won’t assign a price point, cheap doesn’t always mean shotgun durable.

Shotgun red dots significantly enhance precision compared to the margin of error with standard rib and front bead sighting systems. For shotguns, a larger reticle may be best for faster sight acquisition. A shotgun’s spread pattern complements larger dots, while the larger circle and dot reticles also excel in this role.

Top Shot Red Dot Choice — Aimpoint ACRO S-2

Common Questions About Red Dots

Every type of sighting system has its quirks. Red dot sights are no exception, with many questions surrounding red dots sharing a common theme. Below are some frequently asked questions about red dot sights.

What are the benefits of red dot sights?

Optics aren’t a shooting skill. However, red dot sights offer many advantages. With proper skills, red dot sights encourage a rapid sight picture, quick target transitions, and greater accuracy — especially at long distances. The unlimited eye relief of red dots also complement awkward shooting positions. Competition shooters embrace red dots for the above reasons, while red dots grow in popularity amongst defensive and hunting applications. Some near and far-sighted shooters report benefiting from a red dot.

Red dot sights also give shooters immediate feedback. Where small sight alignment variations aren’t always apparent with iron sights, red dots clearly show inconsistencies. As a training aid, red dots behave similarly to dry-fire laser trainers.

How do I aim a red dot sight?

Traditional shooting methods require the eyes to focus on the front sight. “Front sight focus” is the mantra whether a shotgun’s front bead or a rifle or handgun’s front sight. With red dot sights, the eyes focus on the target and overlay the reticle on it. Thus, red dot sights require “target focus.” LED reflex reticles will blur with target-focused shooting, while holographic reticles remain in focus regardless of the eye’s focal point.

Like anything, target-focused shooting requires practice. Whether for competition, defense, or hunting, the benefits appear with shorter target engagement times and improved accuracy.

What does MOA mean with red dot sights?

You’ve probably seen “MOA,” or “minute of angle,” mentioned among an optic’s specs. Simply, MOA is one inch at 100 yards, two inches at 200 hundred yards, and so on. With red dots, MOA largely references the reticle’s size.

For example, a 3 MOA red dot has a three-inch diameter dot at 100 yards. A 5 MOA dot with a 32 MOA circle produces a 5-inch diameter dot and a 32-inch diameter circle at 100 yards. At 25 yards, the circle diameter would be eight inches, with the dot diameter at 1.25 inches.

While some folks like the easier-to-see larger MOA reticles, those reticles also have a greater margin for error. With a pistol 25 yards and in, this isn’t a big deal compared to a rifle red dot with a magnifier at 200 yards. Overall, personal preference and application govern what reticle size works best.

What is the difference between green and red dot sights?

For the most part, our eyes see red well. However, the color-blind and those with astigmatism may want to look at green reticles. Green reduces eye strain with greater brightness and clearer visibility than red. In addition, artificial light or high-contrast lighting conditions won’t wash out a green reticle as much.

Red displays better in low-light environments and contrasts greater against green backgrounds (i.e., hunting environments). Ultimately, red reticles remain dominant largely due to lower production costs and longer battery life.

How do I zero a red dot sight?

Zeroing a red dot sight is no different than zeroing any other scope. As usual, provide a stable and consistent platform for the firearm during sight-in. However, the red dot’s unlimited eye relief allows inconsistent viewing positions. Centering the reticle in the sight’s window during sight-in helps prevent inconsistent shot groups.

Final Thoughts on Red Dot Sights

The wide selection of available red dots is both convenient and confusing. While variety is nice, it’s somewhat overwhelming. When looking for a red dot, start your search focused on the gun’s intended purpose. While a particular red dot sight may excel in one application, it may be woefully inadequate in another. In my experience, it doesn’t hurt to go a little beyond the budget with a red dot sight and upgrade some. After touching on virtually every aspect of red dot sights, you can now make a better-informed decision for your next red dot purchase.

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