Barracks 616: Guide to Red Dot's

You've seen them in pictures, you've seen them on the range, and you've seen them in the movies. The Red Dot optic has spiked in popularity since its inception. Like most things in the firearm industry, there is no shortage of options when it comes to brands, models, reticles, mounts, etc etc. Here are a few things to consider when looking to purchase a red dot optic.

Pictured: BG Defense .300 Black Out SBR with Eotech EXPS

MOA (Minute of Angle):

There are a lot of things to look for when purchasing a red dot and narrowing down your intended use can help clarify what to look for. To start, I'll talk about MOA, or minute of angle. You may have read online or seen on packaging different MOA specs. To put it as simply as possible, MOA is calibrated at 100 yards. What does this mean? To give an example, a Trijicon MRO red dot has a 2 MOA red dot. This means that at 100 yards, the red dot would cover up approximately 2 inches of the target. So, the smaller the MOA, the smaller the dot. Why does this matter? Depending on your eye, or your intended use, MOA can determine what type of dot you want to go with. Most competition shooters tend to opt for smaller dots so that they can make more precise shots both at distance and at closer range. On the other hand, defensive mindset shooters may opt for a small to medium size dot for both precise shots and for quicker dot acquisition.

Battery Life:

Whether its your phone, watch, or really anything else with a battery, most individuals want the longest lasting battery life available. While casual range goers may not care as much, someone looking for either a red dot for their carry gun or for a defensive rifle may not want to constantly worry about whether or not the battery is going to be dead when they need it most. Some red dots, such as the Aimpoint T2 boast an astounding 50,000 hour battery life of constant on (over 5 years).

Price:

Without rehashing what I've talked about in other articles, the old adage of "you get what you pay for" holds true for red dots as well. Consider your use or application before deciding your red dot budget.

Mounts:

There are three primary mounts you will find when it comes to using a red dot on a AR15 or MSR (modern sporting rifle). Absolute mounts mean that the red dot once mounted will line up directly with your iron sights or back up iron sights (BUIS). This set up is known as "Absolute Co-Witness". Low mounts will do just as the name implies and sit lower on the rifle. These can still be used to provide an absolute co-witness depending on the rifle used or how low the stock is in relation to the top of the mounting surface/receiver. Lower 1/3rd mounts sit the highest of all three. The name indicates that upon looking through the viewing window of the red dot, your BUIS will still be visible/usable through the lower third portion of the window. From a defensive standpoint, these taller mounts are popular for closer distances as the user does not need to cant their head/neck as much. As a result, the user is able to have better situational awareness/field of view.

Popular Red Dots for AR's

Aimpoint T1

Aimpoint T2

Aimpoint H1

Aimpoint H2

Aimpoint PRO

Aimpoint ACO

Aimpoint CompM4

Aimpoint CompM5

Trijicon MRO

Trijicon SRS

Trijicon RMR

Eotech EXPS Series

Eotech XPS Series

Eotech 5xx Series

Vortex Spitfire

Vortex Sparc

Sig Romeo Series

Leupold LCO

Popular Red Dots for Handguns

Trijicon RMR

Leupold Deltapoint Pro

Vortex Viper

Vortex Venom

Burris Fastfire

Sig Romeo1

These are long lists with lots of options, stop in today or give us a call to hear employee preferences and recommendations for your specific applications.