One of the best things about learning to shoot with a single shot bolt action .22 rifle with open sights as a child was that you learned to concentrate on the shot. You could only take one at a time before having to manually eject the shell, push the inside bolt forward, load another bullet in, close the bolt to chamber the round, and then aim again. Repeat as necessary.
Aside from giving me a great appreciation of learning to shoot and really being in the moment to concentrate on the shot there was one other advantage: every single new upgrade was just that: an upgrade. Heck even an iffy colorless scope seemed like cheating the first time I used it to put five shots together that a quarter could cover. Needless to say red dot sights are in an entirely different universe compared to where I started but hey that’s a lot of the fun.
Red dot sights are most often used as an attachment to rifles, but there are pistol and handgun attachments, as well. These sights can be an incredible upgrade and many shooters are huge fans of these over about anything else available on the market. There’s also a pretty big debate on red target lasers versus green target lasers, but we are going to tackle that question in another section.
For now, assuming you’ve settled in and made the decision to upgrade to a red dot sight, and so you want to know what the best options are. There are plenty to choose from and plenty of really good ones at that but as with all areas some are simply going to be better than others. Take a look at the chart, our reviews, and find the one that fits your needs!
Bushnell Trophy TRS-25 Red Dot Sight Riflescope
If you’re looking for a high-quality yet cost-effective sight for your rifle, the Bushnell Trophy TRS-25 Red Dot Sight Riflescope is an excellent choice. This beautiful sight has a built-in 1 x 25mm red dot sight with adjustable settings and features a 3 MOA, dot-reticle. You’ll see a vast improvement in your ability to focus in and accurately hit your target when you use this sight, and Bushnell has a reputation for being one of the best in the business for a good reason. This is great as an introduction to red dot sights or holds up to the discerning eye of an expert marksman.
The Bushnell Trophy TRS-25 Red Dot Sight Riflescope uses a tilted lens on the front to reflect the LED light coming from the inside light source. This in return creates a bright, Trophy red dot that offers easy target acquisition with every shot you take.
This sleek, state-of-the-art riflescope comes in two stylish colors, black and Realtree APG Camo. The Realtree APG Camo colored riflescope costs a little bit more than the black one, but in my opinion, they’re both worth every penny.
Ozark Rhino Tactical Green and Red Dot Sight
The Ozark Rhino Tactical Green and Red Dot Sight is made for either the rifle or the shotgun and is crafted to withstand a lot of punishment. Whether you drop it, bang it or even use it in the most severe weather conditions, you can feel confident knowing that the Ozark Rhino Tactical Green and Red Dot Sight is built to last and protected by a 1-year warranty.
For increased accuracy, the Ozark Rhino Tactical Green and Red Dot Sight features a lightweight design and allows shooters to choose between 5 different adjustable levels of brightness for either red or green Illumination.
If you’re truly interested in stepping up your game, the Ozark Rhino Tactical Green and Red Dot Sight is a shooter’s best friend and it doesn’t come as any surprise why this is one of the most popular models out there on the general consumer market.
When you purchase the Ozark Rhino Tactical Green and Red Dot Sight, you’ll also receive an optic-coated, Picatinny Cantilever Mount Co-Witness complete with iron sights. This Cantilever Mount allows you to mount your sight in the fastest and most secure way possible, giving you the maximum amount of options for exceptional sighting improvement so your shooting takes off, as well.
Sig Sauer Romeo Compact Moa Red Dot Sight
Are you looking for a sight that that can be adjusted to just about any kind of lighting condition? The Sig Sauer Romeo Compact Moa Red Dot Sight features 10 different illumination settings. This includes a total of 8 daylight setting in addition to 2 non-visual settings as well. It doesn’t matter what kind of lighting condition you’re in, you’ll always be able to see and accurately shoot your target.
Another amazing aspect of the Sig Sauer Romeo Compact Moa Red Dot Sight is the motion activated illumination feature. The MOTAC feature will automatically turn on when it senses motion and turn off when there’s no motion present. The MOTAC also has a battery life of over 40,000-plus hours, so you don’t have to deal with the inconvenience of recharging it regularly. That is a massive plus, and for anyone who ever had their sight go out while target shooting, you know exactly how frustrating this situation can be.
Shooting with the Sig Sauer Romeo Compact Moa Red Dot Sight is also a pleasure. This fantastic sight has a M1913 Picatinny interface integrated into it that provides you with a wide selection of industry-standard mounting choices for several different applications. You’ll finally be able to shoot however you’re most comfortable with.
If that’s not enough, the Sig Sauer Romeo Compact Moa Red Dot Sight also has a IPX-7 rating for total water immersion up to 1 meter and is fog proof too. It’s definitely a durable sight worth investing in. There’s a reason that this is one of the truly elite sights that, along with most of the others on this list, will appear on virtually everyone’s list of the sights to invest in.
When you purchase the Sig Sauer Romeo Compact Moa Red Dot Sight, you’ll receive a M1913 Picatinny low mount riser in addition to a premium co-witness 1.41 In. riser mount. Now that’s a great deal.
FieldSport Micro Precision Red Dot Sight
For shooters who are looking for a simple yet effective sight, the FieldSport Micro Precision Red Dot Sight may just be the perfect choice. This sight features a compact and lightweight design for easy mounting and increased accuracy. You won’t even notice the weight of it, and that is an often overlooked issue when switching out parts of one rifle for another, especially if you’re not firing from a supported sit or prone position.
The FieldSport Micro Precision Red Dot Sight has a micro red dot sight with a precision red dot. It’s important to note that there is no precision green dot on this sight, just a red precision dot. This is a desirable feature for many shooters, and it definitely receives an A+ in my book.
While they don’t have the large marketing packets that many other companies put out for all their shooting related products, but at the end of the day when you make a sight this good that gets the level of positive feedback and word of mouth attention this sight gets, you don’t necessarily need to market.
Give the FieldSport Micro Precision Red Dot Sight a try, and as long as you like red dot shooting, you won’t be disappointed!
Feyachi Adjustable Reticle Reflex Sight
If you’re interested in a sight that really gives your personal preference when it comes to shooting, then the Feyachi Adjustable Reticle Reflex Sight is an intelligent pick. This sight features 4 different adjustable reticle styles for your enjoyment. These include any combination including a dot, a circle and a dot, a crosshair and a dot and even a crosshair, a circle and a dot all in one. It’s your choice. Try out all three options (all six if you count red and green as separate options in each case) and see which one really fits you.
There have been many shooters who thought they knew what setting they would like most or which one would work best to help them improve their accuracy only to find that after trying a few magazines with the others that a new #1 option emerged. The great benefit of this set up is that you have the full ability to personalize it to your liking.
Another amazing benefit of the Feyachi Adjustable Reticle Reflex Sight is the 33mm lens. This wide-styled lense allows you to quickly and effectively pick your target while also maintaining your awareness of the situation around you. The securely designed rail mounting system in addition to the parallax corrected and the unlimited eye-relief feature ensure an accurate shot every time you shoot.
The Feyachi Adjustable Reticle Reflex Sight has a lightweight design and is both water and shock proof too. It’s powered by a 3V lithium battery, but when you purchase this fantastic sight, you’ll also receive 1 battery free of charge.
Dagger Defense DDHQ Red Dot Reflex Sight
The Dagger Defense DDHQ Red Dot Reflex Sight features both a red and green laser dot with four position reticles. This allows for an accurate and precise shot every time. The body of this compact sight is durable yet quite lightweight for little resistance.
In fact, it’s a mere 82 mm in length and 291 grams in weight, which makes this particular scope very small in size and weight, while not cutting back on the ability to help good shooters become great ones. Despite these numbers, this red dot reflex sight gets the job done and is designed to be durable so it won’t be easily broken. Finally, the field of view is extremely impressive for this model, as well. What does that mean? By providing a field of view of 15.8m@100m this sight definitely stands out as being an outstanding option when it comes to improving your target shooting.
When you purchase the Dagger Defense DDHQ Red Dot Reflex Sight, you’ll receive a quick detach mount. This is a fantastic tool for shooters who have picatinny rail systems attached to their rifles. In addition to this, you’ll also receive a set of locking screws, so you can properly lock-in your sighting adjustments.
The Dagger Defense DDHQ Red Dot Reflex Sight is definitely a high-quality sight worth investing in.
Ohuhu OH-RG-SC Reflex Sight
Are you someone who enjoys shooting moving targets? How about rapid fire? If you answered yes to either of these two, then you may want to consider investing in the Ohuhu OH-RG-SC Reflex Sight. This brilliantly designed sight features a tubeless design and a 33mm Reflex Lens Aperture. This wide field of view is perfect for all kinds of extreme shooters.
The Ohuhu OH-RG-SC Reflex Sight gives you a choice between several reticle patterns or a variety of different laser dot sizes. It’ll not only increase your accuracy as a shooter, but it’ll also add to the fun as well. The parallax corrected and unlimited eye-relief features built-in will also help you take your shooting skills to the next level.
Another great benefit of the Ohuhu OH-RG-SC Reflex Sight is that there’s also a built-in mount for your standard bases. This means that you’ll save yourself the trouble of having to re-zero the sight when you’re remounting it. This will save you quite a bit of time, and hey, any time things can be made easier and smooth out the process then why not? This is a good feature and it is one that many avid marksmen will love.
The Ohuhu OH-RG-SC Reflex Sight is a very lightweight site that’s waterproof, shockproof and overall highly durable. Each sight come with 1 3V Lithium Battery and is available in the colors black and sand. The sand colored sight is a little more expensive.
GERO Tactical Green & Red Dot Reflex Sight
Shooters who serious about increasing the accuracy of their shots should consider adding this tool to their collection. The GERO Tactical Green & Red Dot Sight can hold zero longer and more accurately than just about any sight on the market. In addition to this, this sight also offers several reticle settings which helps you create the proper focus to go easy on your eyes and once you add in the adjustable brightness levels this reflex sight offers and you will see the full range of lighting situations. This makes shooting in areas of low visibility much more effective.
The GERO Tactical Green and Red Dot Sight is constructed from inexpensive yet high-quality materials that not only makes it an affordable buy, it’s also shock proof, water-resistant and will perform at its best under the most severe weather conditions.
This sight is perfect for the serious shooter who loves the great outdoors, and with a really solid warranty, you can shoot with ease knowing that you are covered under an excellent manufacturer’s warranty so all you have to do is get used to your sight and set it up to give you the best possible accuracy at the range.
Pinty Red and Green Reflex Holographic Rifle Scope
The Pinty Red and Green Reflex Holographic Rifle Scope offers 4 different red and green reticle patterns to give you a wide array of options that help you figure out which particular setups are perfect to help you shoot more accurately while at the same time creating a wide variety of options for helping to take the pressure off of your eyes and deal with eye weariness, as well.
In addition to these exceptional features, it’s worth noting that the body of this sight is made from an aircraft grade aluminum allow construction that will not only withstand the most severe temperatures, it can take a beating and still perform and peak performance.
The Pinty Red and Green Reflex Holographic Rifle Scope also features a wide field of view for increased accuracy. In fact, the reflex lens measure to a size of 35mm and have a tubeless design. The sight’s ability to read the wind and adjust for elevation are the built-in picatinny mount base make easily mounting the sight a fairly easy job.
UTG ITA Red/Green CQB Dot Sight
This stylish and well-crafted sight provides you with the ability to quickly aim and accurately shoot your target. The sharp electronic dot appears in a red and green dual illumination and is always consistent and precise. You’ll enjoy the accuracy you’ll get when using this sight, and while some people like having a wide array of options, the simple and intuitive design of this particular sight is going to be an outstanding feature for shooters who would rather have a set way to aim and craft their skills with that.
To minimize glare, brightness and other lighting issues, the sight’s 35mm tube features a Best in Class Emerald Lens coating. This will not only help you shoot more accurately, the durability of the lens is also mighty impressive. This is truly a tool for a professional shooter, and the relief on your eyes will be noticeable especially if you like to take particularly long trips to the outdoor shooting range during the day.
Each UTG ITA Red/Green CQB Dot Sight is backed up by an outstanding 2-year warranty and comes with an Integral Picatinny mounting deck and a flip-open lens cap. These benefits help explain why this trusted rifle scope has gained so much popularity in such a relatively short time.
Red Dot Sights FAQ
Q: Are red dot sights a good choice for first time users?
A: There are many different types of sights and scopes out there, and for recreational shooters it can be a real adjustment to go from open sights or scopes to optic sights. Red dot sights are an excellent choice for shooters just learning about this option, and a fantastic article here at this Guns & Ammo article agrees!
Q: Are these allowed in competition?
A: This matters on the individual competition and rules. Many shooters love to use red dot sights when allowed because it makes acquiring and focusing in on a target faster – shaving precious seconds off a professional shooter’s time.
Q: When were red sights invented?
A: Many people are surprised by this fact, but red sights were first invented in their original form in the year 1900, using the same concept the more modern electronic version that shooters are familiar with today (and was invented in Sweden in 1975).
Q: What are other resources to learn more about how red dot optics work?
A: There are plenty of great resources online but two that jump to mind are the surprisingly good Wikipedia entry on the topic, as well as this other article on red dot sights.
In Conclusion
There are many options out there when it comes to finding the perfect red dot sight, and there are even many of these that also come with green dots to give you an option to switch between one or the other. While this can seem like a bit of an extravagant expense, it does open up a large number of options and let’s face it: these sights are popular for a reason and it’s not just because video games have become much more popular over the last two decades (although that certainly can’t have hurt).
There’s nothing wrong with getting the tools that help you to shoot a little bit more accurately, and if the red laser sights do that for you, then by all means make sure to pick from one of the top choices that we have laid out for you in this article, and if you’re looking for a work area helper like a good gun vise, then check out that article for more!
Further Resources of Note: