I Tested And Ranked The Best Red Dot Sights For AK-47
It's hard to find the perfect red dot for your AK-47. Luckily for you, these affordable options come highly recommended from reviewers who really know their stuff.
FYI, prices and ratings are accurate as of time of writing.
1. Bushnell Trophy TRS-25 1x20mm Red Dot Sight
Top-rated: 14,660 ratings | 1000+ answered questions
Credit: Amazon.com
Highlight: Mounts easily on most picatinny rails, and is compatible with rifles, pistols, shotguns and muzzleloaders.
Helpful review: "I always put off buying a TRS-25. I figured it's a pricier "cheap" red dot. I always opted for the red dots in the $25-50 price range (Field Sport, Feyachi, Midten), figuring they're just range red dots. I've owned half a dozen of these red dots in that price range, and even the ones that are "TRS-25 Clones." I always assumed the ones that look just like the TRS-25 are pretty much the exact same thing with different markings on them.
6 years after buying my first cheap red dot for range time, I've finally bought the TRS-25 that I saw then. I just always figured it wasn't worth double or triple the cost of those. Upon closer inspection, they're actually a fair bit different, in small ways. I'm surprised in a good way, and the quality of the TRS-25 is a bit nicer.
The dot is actually clear, but it appears like a little star burst in the exact same pattern as all my other red dots. It's a very minor astigmatism I have, and it's not an issue. I noticed the same pattern on Aimpoint PROs, etc... It comes with the expected items in a nice cardboard box: little wrench, a bikini cover, and a battery that is not dead inside the unit with a plastic liner keeping it from making contact. Here are some insights:
- The emitter inside the rear seems a little more thoughtfully constructed and built in.
- Glass has a very light blue tint to it, which I've seen on some.
- The battery dial is easy enough to turn, but not loose.
- Again, having owned several of the cheaper red dots, some of them are looser, and some are so tight you can hardly turn the thing. This is a happy medium.
- The caps for the turrets do not have any notch or points machined into them to use them to adjust the actual turrets when they're off, but a shell case rim did just fine. They have a concave notch machined into them, so something like that shell case rim or a dime would work perfectly.
Everything about it feels like it's better finished and machined, and overall a bit nicer than my previous models. I didn't think the difference would be noticeable at all, much less as much as it is. Even the mounting screw and plate catch are better machined, and this mounting plate catch is spring loaded. Most are not.
I'm running it on top of a spare UTG 0.83" riser I already had, the medium model. It allows for the lower 1/3-ish co-witness with standard height AR rifle sights. The UTG riser is not included. I'm planning on purchasing another one for another rifle running a cheaper older model. The older model is nice, but costs about 2/3 of this price. It just started flickering on and off after a year. I had to open it up and tighten stuff up and hopefully it'll continue working." — C. Kiehl
Get it from Amazon now: $110.99 & FREE Returns
2. Sig Sauer Romeo5 1x20mm Red Dot Sight
Top-rated: 11,541 ratings | 726 answered questions
Credit: Amazon.com
Highlight: 10 illumination settings (8 daylight, 2 NV) for visibility in all light conditions.
Helpful review: "I've been going through many different AR builds and spent a great deal of money on optics. There are some great optics out there, better than Romeo, but by gosh at this price you are getting a ridiculously good and reliable optic without breaking the bank. Round after round, these hold true. I haven't had to re-sight any since installing them and haven't drained a battery yet. I will be standardizing on Romeo5 for all of my shorter range builds going forward. You can't beat this optic for this price in my humble opinion." — J.D.
Trending review: "Having recently purchased an AR, I wanted to put a good optic on it. I did a lot of research on red dot optics having already had ARs with tactical scopes, EO Techs,etc. and I wanted a red dot for fast acquisition of targets, repeated accuracy, durability, and battery life. I decided to jump on the Romeo 05 , especially at the price it was selling for. I am more than happy with my buy! This is a deal nobody should pass up if they are in the market for a quality red dot sight. I'll gladly pass on the Aimpoints, etc... they're great but why pay hundreds more when you can get this SIg optic at such a great deal. I put this on my rifle, cowitnessed it with my back up irons and headed to the range. The damn thing was dead on from the get go! I've read some negative reviews from folks saying they received theirs and finish was flaking off, it wouldn't turn on , the Motac feature didn't work, etc... If you read the instruction manual first it might help a little. The only thing the manual left out was that you must press the (+) button for 3-4 seconds to activate the red dot. All in all a great product for the money!" — Eric Mauser
Reassuring review: "This is far better than my old Eotech... for a much lower price. My old Eotech was nice, felt almost like cheating when at the range. Big problem was battery life. Eotech ate batteries like mad. Half the time I turned it on, the screen would flicker - low battery. Sometimes it was soo dead it would not even come on. This was mounted to my duty AR.... not very reliable if I actually ever needed it. I switched over to this Romeo5 sight a few months ago.... awsome!!!! Perfect co-witness with irons. Set your brightness, adjust if you need if conditions change.... that's it!!!! No need to turn it off, it will auto shut down. If so much as a fly farts on it, its instantly back on at the brightness you left it. Also, because its LED vs laser, the battery will last way longer than Eotech. Add in the fact the unit auto shuts down, I expect the battery to last quiet a while. Would have gone thru at least another set of batteries in my Eotech by now. There is only one down side... this is a red dot, not a fancy crosshair like Eotech. Turns out I don't miss the fancy crosshairs. Just sight the red dot where you want a hole at 50 yards." — El Conquistador
Most-discussed review: "I usually buy Vortex products, but I decided to try a different company. I own many Sig Sauer hand guns and have been pleased with their product and service. So I decided to purchase a Sig Sauer 2 mis red dot for my new AR-15, it came faster than I thought because of the Corona virus, the box was in perfect condition upon arrival. It was easy to install, zeroing it in was very easy... it was only off 1 click up, 3 clicks to the right. Either I got lucky from the factory or as the old saying, it’s better to be lucky than good. Shot 500 rounds through it and after shooting it this morning on Easter, I put it back on the bench to see if had moved again. At a hundred yards still held a zero after the 500 rounds. Well worth the money." — Sig Guy
Get it from Amazon now: $129.19 & FREE Returns
3. Feyachi Absolute Co-Witness Reflex Sight
Top-rated: 8,243 ratings | 437 answered questions
Credit: Amazon.com
Highlight: Fully adjustable height, brightness, windage and elevation. "Where the dot goes, so does the bullet!"
Helpful review: "First of all, I like this reflex sight. It’s size, weight, stout construction, functionality, and price is hard to beat. The field of view is more than adequate for fast target acquisition, plus various reticle brightness settings allow preferences in different light conditions. Combined with a variety of reticle choices and the fore mentioned features, it’s very hard to outclass this sight given its price range. And it looks cool on an AR-15 or variant rifle. Has to look cool.
As rifle owners and builders add components, functionality and gadgets to their builds, rifle weight increases. Personally, I’m concerned with weight. However, weight aside, besides the rifle itself, the sighting system is critical in the build. The sight must function according to the shooters requirements and provide accurate placement at various ranges. The RS-30 in my opinion provides excellent sighting in a compact, lightweight, easy to use package that doesn’t add unnecessary functionality and weight, such as lasers. Sighting in the reticle is accomplished using the provided wrenches. Reticle lock down is provided. Regardless of eye position, the reticle holds target adequately. Iron backup sights work exceptional well through the lens.
Construction is robust. The hood is stout providing a glare shield and should protect the lens area quite well. Rail attachment is good given the overall weight and profile of the sight. This is all accomplished by not creating a huge lump on top of a rifle keeping the overall profile of an AR-15 quite low and attractive. Looks cool. My opinion’ a good job Feyachi.
Electronics provide the on-off button location for a right-hand shooter’s support hand operation. Strong side left hand shooters should be able to adapt to this location with practice. The reticle selection lever is located in a protected position however easy to reach and adjust. Battery storage is good plus provides a coin operated cover for easy removal. Batteries are readily available at local stores I’ve not tested the one-hour auto-power shut-off feature. Battery removal may need to be revisited.
To my Feyachi friends, a couple of suggestions to improve on an already good sight. My suggestions would no-doubt add price to the optic however would significantly increase the reliability, desirability and overall functionality of the optic. This optic can compete with much more expensive optics.
First, a positive ‘click’ positioning lever on the reticle selection feature would insert the reticle precisely in the lens eliminating minor adjustments to center the reticle. Second, windage and elevation adjustments would be more convenient with coin operated adjustment screw; currently the operator must always have the adjustment wrench available. Watch out for painted directions on the optic as some builders paint their rifles. Third, add a quick rail attach or detach feature protected from unintended release. Lastly, and no-doubt the most costly improvement is providing some degree of waterproofing to the electronics and lens.
Given the existing sight and with these improvements, I would not have an issue paying more. Plus this sight could complete with optics costing hundreds of dollars more. Thank you for the opportunity to provide you my personal feedback to your RS-30 Reflex sight." — Richard Harrold
Get it from Amazon now: $69.98 & FREE Returns
4. Vortex Optics Venom Red Dot Sight
Top-rated: 5,196 ratings | 1000+ answered questions
Credit: Amazon.com
Highlight: The top load mechanism allows you to easily change the battery (without removing the sight).
Helpful review: "WOW!! What a beautiful optic for the hard to set-up optics AK rifle ! I will list all the items I used to get a real nice lower 1/3 co-witness on the AK. First of all, I never heard of anyone getting absolute co-witness with an AK, unless you use a dust cover type of rail system (in which the verdict is not in on how good they actually work). Some people love them, some people hate them. What I did for my optic set-up was, I attached a UTG steel side plate to my receiver. It can be a little tricky so if any doubts it, let a gunsmith or machinist do it so it is absolutely in line with the top of the receiver (or you will have problems). I then attached the Arsenal SM-13 picatinny low profile rail system. Just a word of advice , I had to make a 1/16 spacer plate to put between the receiver and UTG steel side plate, so the Arsenal rail would sit directly over the barrel. If not, the optic would have been too far to the right. To make the 1/16 spacer plate, I used a piece of 1/16 aluminum, put the UTG side plate on top of it and trace it out, marked where the holes are and center punched them. After cutting out the spacer plate and drilling the holes, I cleaned up all the rough edges with a file and sandpaper. Then, I painted it black to match side plate. I am extremely happy with the results and will let everyone know how it holds up in the real world. But I am pretty sure this set-up with hold tough." — John T.
Trending review: "Let's be honest while purchasing this item I thought it would definitely not hold up on the ak-47. Well after several attempts to prove so I can admit I was definitely wrong. The Vortex Optics Venom Red dot is amazing. This tiny little guy is amazing even for an ak-47. Now I wouldn't recommend anything past 100 yards with this red dot. But if you want to keep your gun dialed in for medium to short range, then this is the way to go. I would recommend to buying this sight for anyone." — Justin Manning
Get it from Amazon now: $249.00 & FREE Returns
5. Holosun 510C Open Reflex Sight
Top-rated: 3,672 ratings | 312 answered questions
Credit: Amazon.com
Highlight: 2 MOA Dot & 65 MOA Circle.
Helpful review: "The packaging of this product is impressive, and then when you get it open the product itself is very nice. I love the auto on/off feature and the selectable reticle (circle/dot, dot, or just circle). The QD mount is solid and the entire product is well built. It is the perfect height for absolute co-witness with my Magpul flip up sights and was easy to zero. It takes the very common CR2032 battery (which I use in a lot of equipment) and if it does even 1/10th of the advertised battery life it will be so much better than any of my current red dots. Been using it for several months now. Had it on a 12 gauge shotgun, a 5.56 AR Pistol, Tavor SAR in 5.56, and it finally came to rest on my AR Pistol in 300blk. The auto on/off feature is great." — M. Shillingburg
Trending review: "Using Aimpoints and EOTechs for most applications I decided to give Holosun a try as a “beater” optic. After destroying a few other budget brand competitors on the gas tub rail mount of an AK the 510c was the choice. Short of no cowitness with this particular setup it takes the heat and recoil no issue. The finish and clarity was impressive coming from an optic snob. I understand why folks enjoy the Holosun brand. I will continue to use the sight and further my thoughts and opinions. I would recommend for the right applications." — Kyle G.
Get it from Amazon now: $309.99 & FREE Returns
6. Vortex Optics Crossfire Gen-II Red Dot Sight
Top-rated: 2,537 ratings | 164 answered questions
Credit: Amazon.com
Highlight: Up to 50,000-hour battery life; night-vision compatibility.
Helpful review: "I won't say great "budget" red dot. I won't say "good for the money". That implies that you're giving up quality for price, and that's something I won't do. I will, however say that if you're looking for a tough, no frills, quality red dot, this one is for you. I wanted a red dot that could stand the rigors of being mounted to a defensive 12 gauge, and I wanted something that was free of gimmicks and unnecessary doodads. There are similar red dots out there, but nothing could sway me from the Vortex name. Owning a Vortex Strikefire II already, I've dealt with their customer service a few times, and let me tell you, nobody stands behind their product more than Vortex. When you have quality optics like this and incredible customer service to back it up, there's no other choice as far as I'm concerned.
PROS: No frills quality optic. Will withstand shotgun mounting. Two mounts included - so if I want to go from AK platform to AR platform, no problem. Small and unobtrusive. Wet conditions are no problem
CONS: Brightness control is a bit hard to turn, and it must be turned somewhere between zero and eleven when you want to use it. It does not go from eleven back to zero with one click. Further, it does not feature activation when it senses movement. You either turn it on, leave it on, or turn it off. I don't see this making a difference because I don't foresee needing a red dot if somebody kicks my bedroom door in.
This red dot is perfect for my needs, and you cannot go wrong with the Vortex name. Side note - I do have astigmatism. All red dots look like they're more of a line than a dot. People with better eyesight than mine tell me it's a nice, crisp dot." — T. Milhouse
Get it from Amazon now: $149.00 & FREE Returns
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