Increasing your shooting speed isn’t solely a measure of performance under pressure. By pairing your rifle with a high speed optic you can significantly increase your shooting speed. While a Acog or traditional red dot should speed you up a little nothing quite beats a reflex sight. The open sight picture and unclottered design helps speed up your target acquisition speed. Allowing you to pick up new targets faster than with a traditional red dot. Paired with a moderate MOA reticle and you’ll be hitting targets faster than ever before.
What’s The Best AR15 Reflex Sight?
1. Trijicon RM06 RMR Type 2 Red Dot Reticle
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Nobody can quite beat the Trijicon RMR Reflex Sight. Trijicon has long held the crown for the best reflex sight on the market. Featuring a compact and lightweight design that’s nearly indestructible. You just aren’t going to beat the durability of the Trijicon RMR.
Trijicon is known for making some of the best weapon sights in the world, and the RMR is one of their best. It’s definitely not the cheapest sight on the market, but it’s well worth the price. Designed to be the ultimate high speed target acquisition optic perfect for a variety of platforms. The RMR will perform mounted onto just about any rail. From your compact target 22 pistol to your tricked out AR15 the RMR will deliver. Weighing in at only 1.2 oz this is one of the lightest weapon sights on the market. That’s saying in a lot when you factor in its durability. This little sight is built like a tank, and I’ve never known anyone to successfully destroy a RMR.
By far my favorite thing about the RMR is its battery life. The sight has 8 brightness levels and will last for 4 years on medium brightness. You won’t have to worry about turning on and off the RMR it will be ready when you need it most. There are a wide range of MOA’s available, but I like to stick with the 3.25 MOA red dot. For a home defense gun you might want to consider a higher MOA, but the 3.25 is about perfect. The large and bright reticle allows you to quickly get on target and extend out easily to 100 yards.
2. EOTech XPS2 HOLOgraphic Weapon Sight
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If you’ve never tried a true holographic sight you’re really missing out. Holding the holographic patent EOTech is the only manufacturer that makes a true holographic sight. Unlike a traditional red dot the EOTech displays a projected hologram onto the sight picture. It allows for more advanced, easier to see reticles that will significantly improve accuracy.
EOTech’s XPS2 Holographic weapon sight is their moderately priced offering that was built to perform. With its wide and bright sight picture the XPS2 is perfect for your AR15. You can easily pair a holographic sight with any magnifier and the XPS3 can even be paired with a night sight. With all of its versatility it’s hard to beat this Eotech sight.
With a holographic sight you’re going to trade off improved reticle design and contrast for a reduced battery life. With a battery life of only 600 hours this reflex sight compares well below comparatively priced models. What you get for that low battery life is one of the best reticles on the market. You can choose between a ton of different reticle designs that are extremely clear and bright. A traditional red dot can’t compete side by side with an Eotech’s sight picture. Bright and crisp under all lighting conditions a holographic sight is made to perform. From your hometown shooting range to the streets of a war torn country a Eotech sight will be there when you need it. This USA made sight will withstand everything life throws at it and live to fight another day. If you can get over the relatively short battery life a holographic sight is an excellent choice.
3. Vortex Optics Venom Red Dot Sight
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Vortex Optics Venom Red dot isn’t like the first two sights on this list. Vortex makes a ton of high quality products that are loaded with features for the price. It’s made for the consumer grade market and it’s priced to sell. If you need their pro grade model choose the Razor Red Dot. That doesn’t mean the Venom red dot isn’t durable. Vortex stands behind their products offering some of the most durable optics on the market.
By far the coolest thing about the Venom red dot is its price. Vortex designed the platform to be the perfect amount of durability for the consumer market. It features an extremely durable design that works well on just about any platform. It can be used on anything from your EDC Glock 43 to a full size AR15. With a completely waterproof and shockproof housing you won’t have to worry about damaging the Venom red dot. If you do somehow manage to cause a little bit of damage Vortex has one of the best warranties in the business. With a lifetime no questions asked replacement warranty you won’t have to worry about damaging this sight.
One of the nicest things about the Venom red dot is its size. The sight picture is just about perfect allowing you to quickly get on target without weighing down your rifle. You can easily adjust the brightness to match any lighting conditions. Choose between 10 levels of brightness in manual mode or the auto-switch mode will dial in the correct brightness. If you don’t care about the automatic mode save a little money and get the Vortex Viper. For the price the Venom is hard to beat.
4. Burris Fastfire III
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The Burris Fastfire III is another moderately priced option that competes side by side with the Vortex Venom. This Burris sight is priced pretty close to the Venom and targets the same market. Burris chose an extremely durable design that’s sure to last a very long time.
Burris uses an extremely compact design that’s comparable to the Venom or RMR. Made using some of the highest quality materials you know the sight will last. Using a battle proven design this Burris sight is perfect for your EDC pistol or match grade AR15. It uses a completely waterproof and shockproof design that’s sure to last the test of time.
Burris designed its Fastfire III to be all about versatility. It’s easily one of the most versatile sights on the market and easily mounts onto any standard rail. The oversized sight picture will allow you to quickly get on target faster than with a traditional red dot. You won’t need to worry about eye dominance or sight alignment. Simply put the red dot on your target and pull the trigger. The 3 MOA red dot reticle is extremely bright and easy to see. It’s the perfect reticle size for shooting out to about 100 yards accurately. With its convenient power button and 3 levels of brightness anybody can figure out this red dot. It’s easy to rail mount and batteries are easy to change.
5. Sightmark Ultra Shot Plus Red Dot Sights
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Sightmark’s Ultra Shot Plus is a budget offering that’s perfect for your AR15. It’s one of those weapon sights that’s hard to classify. It was designed to compete against the Eotech Holographic market. It’s not quite a cheap Eotech clone, but it’s not a top of the line red dot either. It’s one of those sights that just keep on delivering at a low price point.
For what some consider an Eotech clone the UltraShot Plus really delivers. Sightmark chose an extremely durable design that’s a little larger than other sights on the market. The large sight picture really helps open up your sight picture for the reticle. One thing that EOTech will never be able to match is the Ultra Shot’s reticles. While they’re not quite as crisp as a holographic you can choose between multiple advanced reticle options. With its advanced circle dot reticles available in red or green you get most of the advantages of an EOTech at a fraction of the price.
Red dots are known for their long battery lifes and for a budget model this sight really delivers. With a battery life of up to 1000 hours you shouldn’t have to swap out your batteries often. The 1 Hour auto shut off will save battery life in case of accidental activation. For the low price it’s going to be hard to beat the Ultra Shot Plus.
6. Leupold Delta Point Pro Reflex Dot Sight
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Leupold’s Delta Point Pro is one of those sights that I’m not sure if I love or hate. Leupold did a lot of things right with this sight. It has an extremely durable design, clear sight picture and compact footprint. I really don’t get what they were going for at this price point. It’s not quite priced like a premium reflex sight like the RMR, but it’s to expensive to be considered affordable. There’s a lot of people that really like the Deltapoint Pro, but personally I would save some money and go with the Vortex Venom.
Now that I’ve complained about the priced are the additional features worth the upgrade in price. Leupold’s motion sensor technology is the primary selling point on this sight. Instead of offering a five year battery life like the RMR Leupold focused on battery conservation. Leupold doesn’t state the battery life, but it will last about a year on your everyday carry gun. Unlike the RMR the Deltapoint Pros reticle isn’t always illuminated, but that doesn’t mean it’s not ready. The reticle will instantly turn on with any movement and turn off when set down. I would recommend the 2.5 MOA reticle for the AR15, but there are other options available. Like all Leupold glass the sight picture is extremely clear and bright. It’s probably the clearest reflex sight on the market. If you’re willing to spend the extra money for the motion sensor technology the Delta Point Pro is well worth taking a look.
Reflex Sight Advantages
It won’t take long to see the primary advantage of a reflex sight. The open sight picture allows you to quickly get on target in all lighting conditions. Where a traditional red dot boxes out your view a reflex opens up your sight picture. You’ll be able to see behind the sight allowing you to better identify targets. With its unlimited eye relief and parallax free design you’ll be able to shoot with both eyes open. Without having to worry about eye dominance you’ll be able to quickly get on target. It doesn’t matter if it’s day or night a Reflex sight will be extremely visible under any lighting conditions.
Where you’ll really be able to succeed is in close quarter shooting scenarios. If the target is less than 100 yards way you’ll be able to quickly engage. Quickly moving through multiple targets and improving the accuracy of your follow up shots. You might notice a disadvantage at long range, but the close combat accuracy more than makes up for it. Some people even like to pair the Trijicon RMR with a fixed 4x ACOG. You’ll get the best of both worlds in this type of setup.
Other Factors To Consider
Housing Durability: By far the biggest factor affecting a reflex sights price is its durability. While all of the above optics are durable some are better than others. Unless you’re planning to go to war you probably don’t need the tank like durability of the RMR or EOTech. For the majority of civilians the one of the mid range sights like the Vortex Venom or Fastfire III work well. Even the extremely affordable Ultra Shot plus house a durable shockproof housing(just don’t get it wet).
Reticle Pattern and MOA: Most reflex sights use the traditional solitary red dot. It’s a time proven design that works well and extends the battery life. For the AR15 I like to choose a reticle that’s less than 3.25MOA. The lower the MOA the more accurate your rifle will be at range. For a gun solely used for short range home defense you could even bump up the MOA to around 7. Some sights like the EOTech XPS2 allow and Ultrashot Plus allow you to choose between different reticles. Personally I really like the standard EOTech circle dot, but there are a lot of different options.
Battery Life: Reflex sight price is the biggest factor in extending the battery life. If you’re looking for the absolute best battery life you have to go with the Trijicon RMR. With over 4 years of continuous use the RMR is almost foolproof. Most of the other traditional red dots on this list have a battery life of around 1000 hours. Leupold’s Deltapoint Pro extends this a bit with its motion sensor technology. 1000 Hours might not seem like a lot, but most people only average about 8 minutes with their sight on at the range. To be safe I would change out all my batteries once per year.
Design: With the large platform of the AR15 design really loses its importance. That being said you don’t want to throw off the natural weight of your rifle. Reflex sights by their very nature are lightweight so on their own it’s not an issue. When you start to see problems is pairing a reflex sight with magnifiers or full sized scopes. Another thing you need to look for is battery access. You should really find a reflex sight that has top load battery access. With top load access you’ll be able to quickly swap batteries without having to adjust the sight.