Red Dot’s And More: A Brief Look At Popular Optics

We have spoken at length about red dot sights and their capabilities; today, however, we will delve into a few other optics to give you a well-rounded understanding of what is available to you. In this guide, we will explore some of the main styles of optics, including red dot, prismatic, and holographic sights. The science behind these optics has developed at a rapid pace over the last few decades, and nowadays, we have a plethora of high-quality offerings at our disposal.

At Futurama, we have excellent products that fit into each one of these respective categories, from some of the most well-regarded manufacturers in the world – Steiner, Lynx, Pulsar, Rudolph Optics, Trijicon, Bushnell, Leupold, Bresser and more. If you want to purchase the ideal red dot sight for your purposes, or you are simply curious about the topic, we encourage you to read on and find out more.

Red Dot: What Exactly Is A Red Dot Sight?

Red dot sights use an LED, which is reflected off a lens and back into the user’s eye. This lens actively causes the image to darken when looking through the sight, making it possible to shoot even in broad daylight. There are two main styles of red dot sight, the first is tube-shaped and looks similar to a miniature rifle scope – these sights feature a contained beam that does not extend beyond the confines of the optic itself. The second incorporates an exposed beam and is usually more compact than the first; these are the kinds of red dot sights that are most commonly featured in video games and movies.

However, with most red dot sights, the LED does not extend beyond the confines of the optic. It is reflected off the spherical mirror and directly back into the shooter’s eye, meaning it cannot be seen from the other side of the sight. If this was not the case, the LED might alert the target to your position, making it substantially more challenging to remain undetected.

As we have mentioned in the past, one of the foremost benefits of using a red dot sight is that you do not need to align your eye, the rear sight, the front sight, and the target, to ensure shooting accuracy – as you would with an iron sight. You need only line up the reticle and the target, as there is very little parallax effect to speak of when using a high-quality red dot sight. This means you can look through the sight from different positions and it will not affect the point of aim, making shooting substantially faster and less complicated.

This allows for rapid target acquisition and greatly improved eye relief when compared to most other optics on the market. It is for these reasons that many experienced shooters consider the red dot sight to be the ideal choice for fast-paced, close-quarters combat, drills, and tactics. These optics are also fantastic for those who do not have much shooting experience, as they are considerably easier to use effectively.

Holosun HE507C-GR Green Dot Open Reflex Sight

If you have been on the search for a rugged, cutting-edge sight, the Holosun HE507C-GR Green Dot Open Reflex Sight is certainly worth your consideration. Engineered for excellence, it features a vibrant green LED offering up to 50,000 hours of use, a multi-reticle system, and solar failsafe for uninterrupted performance. With shake awake technology, parallax-free view, and twelve brightness settings, it adapts seamlessly to just about any environment. Built from robust aluminium, this waterproof sight ensures durability and precision. If quality, innovative design, and convenience are at the top of your list of priorities, you can’t go wrong with this device from Holosun.

Swampfox Liberty RMR 1x22 Sight

If you’re looking for something a little more versatile, why not consider the Swampfox Liberty RMR 1x22 Sight? This sleek sight features a vibrant green reticle with a 3 MOA dot, offering a clear 22mm lens diameter for a wide field of view. With ten brightness settings and easy digital press adjustments, it adapts to any lighting condition. The durable design boasts an IPX7 waterproof rating, unlimited eye relief, and robust performance. Perfect for competitive shooters, hunters, and enthusiasts, this sight ensures accuracy and reliability in any scenario.

Canik Mecanik MO1 Red Dot Sight

If security and law enforcement is your field of work, you might want to opt for the Canik Mecanik MO1 Red Dot Sight – designed for duty and concealed carry pistols. This 3 MOA red dot sight features automatic brightness adjustment with ten levels, high-tech motion sensors, extended battery life, and a low-profile design for co-witness functionality – perfect for users who need quick and reliable target acquisition.

How To Mount And Sight A Red Dot Sight

While these are fairly simple things to do, they must be done correctly, otherwise, it can severely impact your shooting ability and be potentially dangerous. Allow us to walk you through these processes to ensure that you are getting the most from your optic:

Mounting

Mounting a red dot sight is very similar to mounting most other optics, except that it is probably slightly easier to accomplish, for rifles with picatinny rails in particular. Start by attaching your sight to the desired spot on your picatinny rail, ideally, not too close or too far from your eye. Then, simply tighten the mount in line with the manufacturer’s torque specifications – it’s vital not to over-tighten the sight, as this can make it exceptionally tough to remove in the future.

Red dot sights can be placed on a wide variety of firearms, anything from a pistol to a shotgun, and even modern rifles like an Ar15, so certain mounting solutions, like risers, may be necessary depending on your chosen firearm. With pistols, you would also potentially have to mill the slide if it was not optics ready out of the box - which could be costly and timely.

Sighting

Once mounting is done and dusted, sighting is the next order of business. While these sights are designed for close-range shooting, you are able to shoot further if necessary.

Elevation adjustments will move your reticle vertically, while windage changes will move it horizontally. It’s possible that, after mounting, your sight may be close to being completely zeroed in, but it’s more likely that you will need to make changes to achieve this. In order to get the job done perfectly, it will require some trial and error, meaning multiple shots down range while making minor adjustments.

More About Prismatic Sights And Where They Excel

Prismatic sights can be compared to certain riflescopes, however, they generally feature fewer lenses in their construction. As opposed to using an LED that reflects into the shooter’s eye, prismatic optics use a prism that flips the image, turning it the correct way around when using the optic (otherwise everything would appear to be upside down). The majority of prismatic optics have the reticle physically etched onto the glass – some options include reticle illumination for ease of use and nighttime shooting.

One of the benefits of these optics is that prism sights can be created with more sophisticated reticles, meaning the incorporation of crucial ranging information and bullet drop indicators. To add to this, prismatic sights can also offer magnification, meaning they can provide an improved sight picture when compared to a red dot sight. This makes these optics better suited to longer-range shooting.

As most optics are created with a specific purpose and task in mind, there are downsides to using a prismatic sight. Eye relief is one of the major downsides of prism optics, as your field of view and peripheral vision can be compromised. Additionally, certain firearm mounting systems use extra long eye relief, meaning the scope must be a certain distance from the shooter’s eye – this can make the use of a prism sight impossible in some circumstances. While good shooting form can easily mitigate these issues, it may still be worth considering when deciding on the perfect optic for you.

More On Holographic Sights

Holographic sights, also known as holographic diffraction sights, are among some of the most popular optics. The way in which these sights function is more complex than the previous two, using a laser-transmitted hologram of the reticle that is then recorded in the three-dimensional space within the sight, and displayed on a holographic film to the user. In basic terms, the light from the landscape is reflected by the sight, as it actively reconstructs the light field within the viewing area.

We understand that this is tough to comprehend, but ultimately, it’s more important to consider the performance that these sights can provide. Generally, holographic scopes implement a rectangular window, as opposed to the open display or tube-shaped style of most red dot sights. This allows for an improved field of view, and a similar reduction in parallax effects that you might expect from red dot sights. Another benefit of this style of optic is that you are able to move your head without altering the point of aim, greatly reducing target acquisition time.

Holographic sights are generally considered to have greater durability, as the components are securely housed within the sight. The reticles can be either two or three-dimensional, depending on the brand and type you opt for. As you can imagine, these extra features and enhanced build strength usually mean that these sights are more expensive than red dot sights and other similar products. At the end of the day, the ideal choice for you will depend entirely on what you plan to use the optic for, and the type of shooting you foresee yourself engaging in.

In Conclusion

We do hope that you have found this brief guide to be informative and helpful. All the optics mentioned above have a time, place, and situation when they might be the ideal choice. It is for this reason that it makes sense to have a selection of sights, to suit a range of shooting needs. If you have any further questions, do not hesitate to contact a member of our expert Futurama team and they will be more than happy to assist you further.