April 02, 2024
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Pistol-mounted red dots are the new hotness. Everyone seems to want one on their CCW pistol, and so a lot of companies are jumping on that bandwagon. But in-between the segment-leading electro-optics from Trijicon, Holosun, Aimpoint, etc., and the bargain-basement Chinesium clones packed full of stolen intellectual property, there are a number of quality products on the market you might not have heard of.
EOTech EFLX Mini Red Dot Sight
The first is the EFLX Mini Red Dot Sight from EOTech. Yes, that EOTech. They came out with the EFLX last year, but I’ve heard so little about it I had to double-check that they were still in fact making it. I guess since most of their business is the full-size EOTech HWS they aren’t spending much of their marketing budget on the EFLX. The EOTech EFLX is an all-aluminum open-emitter mini red dot optic with glass lens, which uses a Leupold DeltaPoint Pro footprint. Brief detour—both this and the next optic, the Bushnell RXS-250, use the Leupold DeltaPoint Pro footprint. Compared to the Trijicon RMR the DPP footprint is a bit bigger, which allows for a bigger optic. The window can be wider. Considering the biggest disadvantage to a red dot sighting system for your handgun is losing the dot in the window, a bigger window is a good idea. The EFLX is advertised as “assembled in the USA,” which means some of the components are manufactured elsewhere, but final assembly is done in EOTech’s facility in America, to the same standards as their HWS.
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The EFLX is available in black or FDE, with a 3 or 6 MOA dot. The window is the closest to a pure unadulterated rectangle that I’ve seen on a red dot. The glass measures 0.95″ x 0.75″ and is clear with no visible tint. Overall, the optic is 1.9″ x 1.2″ x 1″ and weighs 1.4 ounces. The EFLX has eight daylight brightness settings and one NV. I was shipped a 3 MOA reticle sample optic, and at its brightest setting it was more than useful outside on a bright sunny day. The optic has 1 MOA windage and elevation click adjustments. Power is provided by a CR2032 battery that is top-loaded, so you don’t have to remove the optic and lose your zero to change the battery. Battery life is an advertised 25,000 hours for a 3 MOA dot at level 5. The brightness controls are rubberized buttons on the left side of the optic. MSRP on the EOTech EFLX is $389.
Bushnell RXS-250
Bushnell has several new mini red dots. Their RXM-300 has a huge 28mm x 24mm window, but I honestly think it is bigger than what most people will want to mount to their carry pistols. For this column, I’m looking at their RXS-250, which is an open-emitter red dot sight. The new Bushnell RXS-250 has an aluminum housing with a clear glass lens. This optic has a 4 MOA red dot reticle and uses a Leupold DeltaPoint Pro footprint, although it also ships with a low picatinny (MIL STD 1913) rail mount. It has 1 MOA windage and elevation adjustments. While the housing of the optic is flat across the top, the window itself is arched, so you’ve got beefy corners in the optic to handle impacts. The window measures 0.94″ x 0.75″, and overall, the optic is 1.9″ x 1.21″ x 1.05″. It weighs 1.5 ounces with the battery installed, about the same as the EOTech EFLX, and is nearly the same size, which isn’t surprising as they are both built for the same footprint.
The Bushnell RXS-250 has ten brightness settings, including two that are NV compatible. The optic has an automatic 12-hour shutoff if no buttons are pushed, but this can be deactivated. As the Bushnell uses a more efficient point-source LED emitter, the battery life on the optic is 50,000 hours at a medium setting. There are rubberized controls on either side of the housing—an up arrow on the left, and down arrow on the right. The battery is top-loaded, and the optic has an IP67 waterproof rating, which means it is able to withstand water hose and jet sprays and being submerged up to thirty minutes. The sight is also drop tested/rated to MIL-STD-810H standards. This optic ships as a package—you get the optic, a battery, a low rail mount, a rubber cover, a lens cloth, and two small tools to do everything you need to, from replacing the battery to zeroing the sight. MSRP on the RXS-250 is $249.99.
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RITON 3 Tactix EED
Last on the list is the brand new RITON 3 Tactix EED. If you haven’t heard of them, RITON is a relatively new optics company that offers inexpensive optics that are getting a lot of attention. The 3 Tactix is a line of optics, and the EED is an enclosed emitter dot sight meant to fit on an Aimpoint ACRO base. Enclosed red dots have distinct advantages to exposed emitter types. If drops of water get on the inside of the lens of an open red dot optic, no dot. If dirt gets in front of the emitter on an open optic, no dot. Their disadvantage is they tend to be big and blocky. The optic has a 3 MOA dot and ten brightness settings. The optic has an aluminum housing with glass lenses. The lenses do not have any visible tint. It is powered by one CR2032 battery which loads in the top. The window is not quite square, 0.81″ wide by 0.65″ tall.
Both the EOTech EFLX and Bushnell RXS-250 have very slight magnification, due to the curvature of the lens, but barely enough to be noticeable. The Riton EED has no discernible magnification. Interestingly, even though it appears bigger than the two optics above due to its boxy design, it is in fact not as long and a tiny bit narrower. Without a battery it weighs 1.5 ounces. Brightness controls are small rubberized buttons on the left side of the optic body. This optic ships with two adapter plates, one for the Glock MOS and another for the Shield RMSc plate, which is a nice addition. The
3 Tactix EED has an MSRP of $349.99.
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