9 Best Pistol Red Dot Sights

Factory iron sights on most pistols can best be described as “accurate enough to hit a pancake at 10 yards”. For many people, that’s good enough. It’s certainly good enough for most home defense situations, where you’re shooting at a man-sized target from across the room.

But do you really want to be kinda-sorta accurate when you can be pinpoint accurate?

Of course not!

That’s why we searched far and wide to find the best pistol red dot sight. To make our selection, we considered a variety of factors, including ease of use, brightness, clarity, recoil resistance, and price. Every design choice involves some trade-offs, so we took those into account as well.

What we ended up with was a list of 9 pistol red dot sights. We believe we’ve captured a good cross-section of what’s available. Have we been successful? You can be the judge.

Best Pistol Red Dot Sights

1. Vortex Venom

The Vortex Venom 3 MOA is a quality red dot sight with 10 brightness settings.

Key Features

• 10 brightness settings
• Takes a CR1632 battery
• Includes Picatinny rail mount

We’re familiar with Vortex optical sights, but this is the first red dot sight we’ve seen from them. Suffice it to say that the Venom lives up to its reputation as a manufacturer of high-quality sights. It has an aluminum frame, a multi-coated amber lens, and comes with a Picatinny mount that tightens with either a standard or Phillips screwdriver.

It has 10 brightness settings, with controls conveniently located on the left side of the sight. If you hold both buttons down, it goes into auto-brightness mode and adjusts itself to ambient light as conditions change. If you accidentally forget to turn it off, your battery won’t die in storage; it automatically shuts off after 14 hours.

The Venom comes with a lifetime manufacturer’s warranty on parts and workmanship. While it’s on the pricier side, we only have one complaint: the battery compartment is difficult to close once you’ve put a battery inside. Other than that, it’s just about perfect.

Pros

• Auto shutoff after 14 hours
• 3 and 6 MOA options available
• Includes auto brightness setting
• Lifetime manufacturer’s warranty

Cons

• Difficult to change battery
• On the pricier side

This is a well designed red dot sight that stays zeroed for thousands of rounds.

2. Predator V2

The Tacticon Predator V2 is a versatile sight that’s useful in a variety of conditions.

Key Features

• 4 reticle types in 2 colors
• Takes 3 LR44 batteries
• Includes Picatinny mount

The Tacticon Predator V2 is an inexpensive, light-duty reflex sight that mounts on any gun with a Picatinny rail. There are 4 reticle types: a 2MOA dot, a 2 MOA dot with a circle, a 2 MOA dot with crosshairs, and a 2 MOA dot with a circle and crosshairs. You can also switch between a green reticle and a red one with the push of a button.

One feature you won’t find here is a brightness adjustment. This makes it awkward in very low light, where the reticle can be almost blinding, or in bright light, where it can be very faint. The Predator V2 is also designed with rifles in mind and is offset by 45 degrees to co-witness with iron rifle sights. While this is a nice feature, it just makes this sight more difficult to zero on a pistol.

Pros

• Red and green reticle options
• Waterproof
• Inexpensive

Cons

• No brightness settings
• Offset makes zeroing a challenge

This is one of the best budget reflex sights available.

3. Burris Fastfire III

The Burris Fastfire III is easy to operate and less expensive than other quality sights.

Key Features

• 3 brightness settings
• Transparent 8 MOA reticle
• Takes a CR1632 battery
• Includes Picatinny rail mount

The Burris Fastfire III is a red dot sight with an aluminum frame and multi-coated optics. It features a large 8 MOA reticle that gets you on target very quickly at short ranges. The reticle is transparent so you won’t lose sight of your target for even a split second. While this isn’t a budget sight by any means, it does cost less than other comparable sights.

It includes a Picatinny rail mount. If you have a different type of rail, Burris offers alternative mounting hardware for other types of rail. The only thing we didn’t like about it is that the cover for the CR1632 battery has a loose fit, and can pop open if you’re rapid firing.

The controls on the Fastfire III are easy to operate. Press the button once to turn it on, and tap it to cycle through the 3 brightness settings. You can hold it down to shut off or let it automatically shut off after 8 hours of inactivity.

Pros

• Single button operation
• Auto shutoff after 8 hours
• Fast target acquisition

Cons

• Battery cover can pop open

This is another fast acquiring sight that’s purpose-built for home defense.

4. CVLIFE

The CVLIGHT combines a reflex sight with a laser sight… Enough said.

Key Features

• 4 reticle types
• Red or green reticles
• Variable brightness adjustment
• Built-in laser sight with pressure switch
• Takes a CR2032 battery
• Includes a Picatinny rail

The CVLIGHT Reflex Sight With Laser is a reflex sight that has a built-in laser sight. Both of them run on the same CR2032 battery. The reflex sight has 4 reticle types: a 2.5 MOA dot, a dot with a 25 MOA circle, a dot with a 50 MOA crosshair, and a dot with a 50 MOA crosshair and circle combo.

You can switch between red and green reticles with the push of a button, and brightness is controlled via a variable knob on the side of the sight.

The laser is bright red and is controlled by a separate pressure switch that can be attached to any part of your gun with the adhesive backing. The frame is aluminum and is surprisingly durable considering that this is a budget sight.

We only had one real complaint, but it’s a big one. After firing a few magazines, the reticle will start to drift. That said, there isn’t many budget sight with these many features, so you take what you can get for the price.

Pros

• Durable
• Inexpensive

Cons

• Doesn’t hold zero under recoil

This is a budget sight, but it works well for the money.

5. Sightmark FMS

The Sightmark Ultra Shot FMS is ideal for use on the shooting range, or anywhere outdoors.

Key Features

• 16 brightness settings
• Takes a CR123A battery
• Includes a Picatinny mount

The Sightmark Ultra Shot FMS is a red dot sight with a small, 2 MOA reticle surrounded by a 60 MOA crosshair for ease of use on targets far and near. The integrated sunshade makes it ideal for outdoor use, although you’ll need to be careful about dropping it; the sunshade is plastic, unlike the rest of the aluminum housing.

It has a whopping 16 brightness settings. 10 of them are for daytime use, while 6 of them are night-vision compatible. The reticle goes into sleep mode after 5 minutes of inactivity. Move your gun, and the motion sensor will wake it up. After 12 hours of inactivity, it will shut down completely to save batteries.

Pros

• Integrated sunshade
• 6-night vision settings
• 5-minute automatic sleep mode
• 12-hour automatic shutoff

Cons

• Sunshade is flimsy

This is a solid, mid-priced sight with lots of bells and whistles.

6. Ade Advanced

The Ade Advanced Optics RD3 is a reasonably solid, inexpensive sight that mounts on a variety of pistols.

Key Features

• 5 brightness settings
• Takes a CR2032 battery
• Includes Picatinny rail mount

The Ade Advanced Optics RD3 is a green dot sight with a 3 MOA reticle that has 5 brightness settings. It has a sturdy anodized aluminum frame and comes with a Picatinny rail mount. The amber glass is coated for scratch resistance.

It takes a single CR2032 battery. It’s easy to mount, with a large tension knob that you can screw tight with your fingers, although we’d recommend using a slotted screwdriver if you don’t want it to shift after you’ve fired off a few magazines.

The RD3 is easy on your wallet, but it has a couple of drawbacks. To begin with, the brighter 3 reticle settings turn from a dot into a sunburst, lowering your accuracy. It’s also difficult to change the battery, since the battery compartment is located on the bottom of the sight.

Pros

• Durable frame
• Easy to mount
• Inexpensive

Cons

• Changing the battery is difficult
• Brighter settings have a lot of glare

This is one of the better budget reflex sights for pistol use.

7. Ade Advanced Optics Huracan

The Ade Advanced Optics Huracan is a well-designed sight that’s easy to operate.

Key Features

• 5 brightness settings
• Takes a CR2032 battery
• Includes a Picatinny rail mount

The Ade Advanced Optics Huracan is a green dot sight with a 3 MOA reticle. It has 5 brightness settings, and the dot stays nice and crisp even on the brightest settings, which is impressive in a sight that falls on the lower end of the price scale. It takes an easily replaceable CR2032 battery and includes a Picatinny rail mount.

Our favorite feature on this sight is the single button operation. Press the button quickly to cycle through the brightness settings, or hold it down for 3 seconds to turn the sight off. Just make sure you remember to do this; there’s no auto-shutoff setting.

The mounting screws on the Huracan are on the wider side and can scratch your slide if you have a gun with a low-profile rail like the Glock 19. To avoid this, you’ll need to file a bit off the sides of the set screws where they protrude on the inside of the slide.

Pros

• Single-button operation
• Affordable

Cons

• Mounting screws can scratch your slide

This is a quality sight that’s also very affordable.

8. Vortex Viper

The Vortex Viper gives you something few other pistol sights offer: co-witness with your iron sights.

Key Features

• 6 brightness settings
• Takes a CR2032 battery
• Mounts to cutout slides
• Includes Picatinny rail mount

The Vortex Viper has a tough anodized aluminum frame that can really take a beating and is also waterproof. The multi-coated lens is equally durable, and the large, 6 MOA reticle helps you get on target quickly. The reticle has 6 brightness settings so you can use this sight in any light conditions.

The really nice thing about the Viper is that it mounts directly to your slide if you have a cutout slide. In this configuration, it provides a co-witness with your iron sights, perfect for staying on target if your battery dies at the worst possible moment. If you don’t have a cutout slide, no worries; the Viper also comes with a Picatinny mount.

Our only complaint about this sight is that it’s not well suited for high caliber pistols. It stays on target reliably on a 9mm, but on a .45 caliber you’ll experience some drift after firing off a couple magazines.

Pros

• Durable
• Co-witness with iron sights
• Waterproof

Cons

• Doesn’t hold zero on high caliber pistols

This is a well-designed mid-tier reflex sight for pistols.

9. Sightmark LQD

The Sightmark Ultra Shot LQD is well suited for pistol use – or any other type of firearm.

Key Features

• 16 brightness settings
• Takes a CR123A battery
• Includes a Picatinny mount

The Sightmark Ultra Shot LQD is almost identical to the Ultra Shot FMS, which we’ve already reviewed. It has the same 16 brightness settings, including the 6-night vision settings, and the same 5-minute motion sensor. It also has the same integrated sunshade, which is also susceptible to breaking if it’s dropped.

What this sight has that its brother doesn’t have is the quick release lever, which allows you to easily switch it between guns. A lot of quick-release levers are flimsy and lead to sights flying off under recoil. That’s not the case here. This one stays locked when you close it, keeping your sight nice and secure.

The LQD is a bit pricey, but it’s well worth the money if you have a few guns and don’t want to invest in a separate sight for each of them.

Pros

• Integrated sunshade
• 6-night vision settings
• 5-minute automatic sleep mode
• 12-hour automatic shutoff
• Quick-release lever

Cons

• Flimsy sunshade
• On the pricey side

If you need a red dot sight that can be easily switched between guns, this is the best choice.

Bottom Line

A lot of firearms enthusiasts dislike red dot sights and prefer traditional optics. For a lot of rifle shooting purposes, they’re right. Even the best red dot sight isn’t anywhere near as accurate as a halfway decent optical sight.

But you’re not using your Glock to go deer hunting.

Most people use their pistol at the shooting range, and pray it can stay in their holster at all other times. But sometimes, things go wrong, and there’s an immediate threat to your life. When that happens, you don’t have time to bring your pistol three inches from your eye and take careful aim.

You need quick target acquisition, and you need it at arm’s length. That’s what red dots excel at.

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