Let’s face it… There are a TON of amazing red dot sights out on the market right now.
They come in all sorts of different shapes and sizes, and there’s a wide variation in terms of pricing too…
I love that there are so many options to choose from, but the one negative aspect of having so many options is that you can easily get overwhelmed by the amount of choices you have…
You might simply freeze up, not knowing what to go with.
So if you’re in a situation where you need a red dot sight for your AR 15 (or really any type of long gun), and you don’t know where to start…
….here’s my current list of the Top 5 Best Red Dot Sights For An AR 15.
In this list, I’ve tried to include sights at different price points that have unique strengths that make them stand out from their competitors…
So no matter which features you’re looking for, you should be able to find a great optic from this list!
1. Sig Sauer Romeo 5 (My Top Budget Pick!)
The Sig Sauer Romeo 5 is my number one recommendation for a red dot sight. I’ll be honest, I think it’s the best red dot sight for the money because it’s SUPER-AFFORDABLE and comes packed with features.
To start off, the sight housing is made of high-strength aluminum, which makes it very strong. and the adjustment knobs sit low within the sight housing…
So they won’t snap off if they accidentally get bumped. In addition to that, the Romeo 5 is also waterproof… So rainy and wet conditions will not cause it any problems.
Now, the adjustment clicks are tactile and positive, and they move the reticle 0.5 MOA, which is perfect for a red dot sight.
The lens on the Romeo 5 is incredibly clear. It doesn’t have any blue-ish or green-ish tint, and the reticle is a simple 2 MOA dot…
I think the 2 MOA dot is an awesome reticle for a red dot because it’s fairly easy to pick up when you take aim, but it’s also small enough to make precise shots at targets in the distance.
There are 8 daylight settings you can choose from and 2 night vision settings, and the CR2032 battery will last for 50,000 hours…
On top of that ultra-long battery life, the Romeo 5 includes something called MOTAC (Motion Activated Illumination), which means that the sight will automatically turn off after nonuse and automatically turn on when it senses motion.
This is a feature I love because if you have to use your rifle in an emergency, you won’t have to fiddle around with the buttons on your sight to turn it on.
Last, the Romeo 5 comes with a bikini lens cover that fits the sight really well, and included in the box there are 2 mounts.
One of the mounts is a high mount, which will give you an absolute co-witness with backup iron sights on an AR-15…
…and the other is a low mount which makes this a great sight for use on a shotgun or a pistol caliber carbine.
All in all, the Romeo 5 is tough, has great battery life, has a great reticle, and it comes in at a fantastic price.
Click The Button Below To Check The Sig Romeo5 Price On Amazon (Over 6,830 Reviews!)
2. Holosun HS510c
The next red dot sight on my list is the Holosun 510c. This is a fantastic open-style reflex sight with a HUGE viewing area.
I really love the huge viewing area because it doesn’t give you the feeling that you’re looking through a small tube, the way you do with some other red dot sights.
The lens is super clear and doesn’t have any green or blue tint to it. The reticle is also very clean, and Holosun includes a feature called the Multiple Reticle System (M.R.S.).
This means you can change between 3 reticle options, which include:
- a 2 MOA dot
- a 65 MOA ring
- a 2 MOA dot with a 65 MOA ring around it (the Holosun Circle Dot)
Personally, my favorite is the Holosun Circle Dot because it’s really fast for use up close, but you still have that 2 MOA dot in the center for precise work.
I do think it’s cool that you can choose between the 3 reticles though because it means you can tailor the sight to your preferences.
In addition to the awesome reticle options, this sight also has 50,000 hours of battery life (on one CR2032) and 10 daylight brightness settings (which get extremely bright) and 2 night vision settings.
Along with the ultra-long battery life, this optic has a solar panel which means you don’t even need a battery to run it as long as you have daylight.
Holosun also includes something they call the “Shake Awake” feature, which means the 510c will automatically turn off when it’s not in use and automatically turn on when it senses motion.
As I said earlier, I really like this feature because it means your sight is always ready to go just in case you have to use your rifle in an emergency home defense situation or something like that.
Next, the 510c is a very durable sight. It has a high strength aluminum sight housing and the lens is protected by a titanium hood.
It’s also waterproof in up to 1 meter of water and can easily handle wet conditions as well.
Last, you get a quick detach mount included with this sight in the box. It sets the sight up for an absolute co-witness with back up iron sights on an AR 15, and I’ve found that it’s pretty high-quality.
Like I mentioned at the start, the huge viewing area is one of this sight’s greatest strengths…
…but the long battery life, solar power, shake awake feature, and multiple reticles also add a ton of value into this optic… and being a Holosun, the price is pretty decent too!
Click The Button Below To Check The Holosun 510C Price On Amazon (Over 6,830 Reviews!)
3. Trijicon MRO
Next on the list is the Trijicon MRO. Trijicon optics are known for being extremely durable and the MRO is no different.
Its sight housing is made from forged 7075 aircraft-grade aluminum, and it has that trademark Trijicon finish which oddly enough seems rubbish and metallic at the same time.
It’s rated to be waterproof in up to 100 feet of water, and it’s just an insanely strong red dot sight. In addition to that, it has a 25 mm objective lens which makes it unique for a micro red dot sight…
This gives you a very large field of view, and it makes this sight very easy to use. The reticle is a 2 MOA dot, which as I’ve mentioned before, is a good reticle for a red dot, and it has 8 brightness settings.
2 of those settings are for use with night vision equipment… 5 of them are for different daylight brightness settings, and 1 is for extra bright conditions.
The MRO runs on one CR2032 battery that can last for 5 years if the optic is on brightness setting number 3.
Again, I love ultra-long battery life like this because it just means that you can leave your sight on all the time and keep your rifle ready to go.
When you buy the Trijicon MRO, you’re usually given the option to include a factory mount with the optic.
I recommend doing this because you’re going to need a mount to use the sight and the factory mount is actually pretty high quality.
It’s also quick detach which is a feature I like on a mount when I can get it.
To sum it all up, the Trijicon MRO is a super-strong sight, it has a huge field of view, and you can get it with a factory mount… And considering that it’s a premium quality optic, the price really isn’t too bad.
Click The Button Below To Check The Trijicon MRO Price On Amazon (Over 341 Reviews!)
4. Holosun HS503CU
The next sight on the list is the Holosun HS503cu (perhaps the best Holosun red dot model). This is the second Holosun I put on the list, and to be perfectly honest, it’s actually very similar to the one I mentioned earlier (the 510c).
The biggest difference is that it packs all of those same features into the form of a micro red dot sight.
Now, the sight housing on the 503cu is made of high-strength aluminum, and it actually comes up over the windage and elevation knobs, giving them added protection.
It’s also rated to be waterproof in up to 1 meter of water, and it’s built to be very solid. Just like the 510c, it runs on one CR2032 battery which gives it 50,000 hours of battery life.
It also has 10 daylight brightness settings and 2 night vision settings, and it also has the Multiple Reticle System which means you can change between:
- a 2 MOA dot
- a 65 MOA ring
- a 2 MOA dot surrounded by a 65 MOA ring (The Holosun Circle Dot)
Like I mentioned before, the Holosun Circle Dot is my favorite reticle on a red dot sight. But again, if you prefer the 2 MOA dot or just a 65 MOA ring, the option is there for you to tailor this sight to your preferences.
The 503cu also has the Shake Awake feature, which means it will turn off automatically after not being used and will automatically turn on when it senses motion.
Again, this is perfect for a home defense rifle because as soon as you grab your rifle your optic will automatically turn on and be ready to go.
In addition to that, it also has the solar panel on top which means you can run this optic without a battery or switch it to solar to save the 50,000 hours of battery life that you already have.
Last, you get two mounts included with the 503cu. One of them is a high mount for use on an AR-15 and the other is a low mount which allows you to use this optic with a shotgun or a pistol caliber carbine.
All in all, the Holosun HS503cu is one of my favorite red dot sights available because it has that circle dot reticle, it’s a micro red dot sight, it shakes awake, it has a solar panel, and the prices on Holosuns are always very reasonable.
Click The Button Below To Check The Holosun HS503CU Price On Amazon (Over 341 Reviews!)
5. Aimpoint PRO – Patrol Rifle Optic
The last red dot on my list is the Aimpoint Pro Patrol rifle optic. Aimpoint is a legendary company when it comes to red dot sights.
They make some of the toughest and most high-quality sights you can find, and the Aimpoint Pro Patrol inherits all of that toughness and quality.
As its name implies, it was created to be used on law enforcement patrol rifles, shotguns, and pistol caliber carbines.
It’s an extremely strong optic with a high-strength aluminum sight housing, and it’s waterproof in up to 150 feet of water.
It runs on one 3v lithium battery, which can last for 3 to 5 years, and it includes 4 night vision brightness settings, 6 daylight brightness settings, and 1 extra bright setting.
The lens is crystal clear and the reticle is a 2 MOA dot, which once again is a great choice for a red dot sight.
In addition to that, the objective lens is 38mm which means your field of view when looking through this sight is huge (that’s part of the benefit of having a large red dot sight).
Last, the Aimpoint Pro Patrol comes with a quick detach mount. Aimpoint calls it the QRP2 mount, and I’ve found that it’s very high quality.
To sum it all up, the Aimpoint Pro Patrol is a tough-as-nails red dot sight that comes with a high quality quick detach mount…
…and unlike some other Aimpoints, it’s not going to cost you an arm and a leg. I think it’s a fantastic choice for any rifle you have.
Click The Button Below To Check The Aimpoint PRO Price On Amazon (Over 1,251 Reviews!)
Top 5 Best Red Dot Sights For AR 15 – Conclusions…
So there you have it. If you’re looking for a red dot sight and don’t know what to go with, you can’t go wrong if you choose from this list.
- If you’re on a tight budget… go with the Romeo 5.
- If you want a huge viewing area… go with the Holosun 510c.
- If you want insane durability in a small package… go with the Trijicon MRO.
- If you want a circle dot reticle in a small package (and solar power)… go with the Holosun 503cu.
- And if you want tough-as-nails reliability and a large field of view… go with the Aimpoint Pro Patrol.
Again, you can’t go wrong with any of these sights.
I hope this helps you out!
-Red Dot Shooters