Trijicon SRO dot size

[Ohioguy]

1 Moa, 2.5, or 5 for USPSA Carry optics.

 

Anyone have side by side actual experience with the above mentioned dot sizes?  I have nowhere local to check them out, so I am looking for some input.  1 Moa seems small, but again, no experience.

 

I wear corrective lenses, astigmatism, and first time ever purchasing a reflex sight for a pistol, if that helps.

[davsco]

i'd go with the 5 moa.  the prob with reflex sights is the dot sits higher than your typical iron sights.  thus for me and at least some others, harder to pick up because you're used to the lower iron sights.  so bigger will help you acquire it faster.  at your next match, ask folks there to let you look thru their optics so you can see for yourself what might work best for you.

[Boomstick303]

On the SRO the 5 is a more crisp dot especially if you have an astigmatism.  I have no issue running the 2.5 SRO which I own two of with my astigmatism, but 5 MOA dot is distinctly more crisp.  I am currently switching to Sig Romeo 3 Max with the 3 MOA dot and it is the most crisp dot is as crisp or maybe more crisp as the SRO with the 5 MOA dot.  I like the SIg Romeo 3 Max more than my SROs, but I have only ran one match with it, so the jury is still out. 

[Ohioguy]

Thanks guys.  

 

I figured the 5 would be a little easier to pick up.  I will ask to see some dots at the next match, maybe even luck out and someone has an SRO.  Also looking at a RMR, maybe I will luck out there too.

 

[mveto]

I’ve got the 5 MOA on my carry optics gun, it’s a great dot very easy to pick up. I’d get an SRO over and RMR do to the window size, I originally had a Vortex Venom and with the smaller window size it can be more difficult to both pick up the dot and keep the dot within the window while shooting.

[CClassForLife]

I have astigmatism and both the 3.25 RMR and 5.0 SRO.

 

The SRO is far superior for competition use. The window is much larger which helps in not losing the dot during shooting. Also, 5 MOA is more than precise enough for any of the shots you'll take in USPSA.

 

As a side note, if you're shooting under bright sun, then you'll most likely be maxing out the brightness on either optic. However, the dot will still come across as not that bright when wearing sunglasses. I recently bought a pair of Hunter HD Golds to mitigate this issue.

 

 

[Ohioguy]

2 minutes ago, CClassForLife said:

I have astigmatism and both the 3.25 RMR and 5.0 SRO.

 

The SRO is far superior for competition use. The window is much larger which helps in not losing the dot during shooting. Also, 5 MOA is more than precise enough for any of the shots you'll take in USPSA.

 

As a side note, if you're shooting under bright sun, then you'll most likely be maxing out the brightness on either optic. However, the dot will still come across as not that bright when wearing sunglasses. I recently bought a pair of Hunter HD Golds to mitigate this issue.

 

 

Good to know.  

 

I have a pair of prescription Oakley's, though are not progressive lenses like my daily wear.   It will be interesting to see what happens with those.  Might have to get another with progressives (bifocals).  It sucks getting old.

[SteelCityShooter]

13 minutes ago, Ohioguy said:

Good to know.  

 

I have a pair of prescription Oakley's, though are not progressive lenses like my daily wear.   It will be interesting to see what happens with those.  Might have to get another with progressives (bifocals).  It sucks getting old.

The dot is basically at "infinity" so your distance correction is what you use to see it.  That's the beauty of red dot sights, particularly for those of us with older eyes.  Both the dot and the target are seen as being distant objects so there is no need to focus on a target (far) and sights (near and nearer) at different distances as with irons.

[shred]

I have two identical CO Lim Pros, except one has a 2.5 Min SRO and one a 5 Min SRO

 

You can't really go wrong with either dot size.  The 2.5 "feels" more precise but the 5 "feels" faster.  Any actual difference is virtually impossible to see on the clock.   I find it a bit easier to "focus on the dot" with the larger size (this is not generally desirable in most situations, but can be trained out), probably because it picks up just a bit faster.

 

Either are plenty bright enough even in full Texas sun.

 

 

 

 

[ck1]

I went with the 5 moa, and am digging it. I also have a slight astigmatism and most dots don't look so great to my eyes, but for some reason the SRO's 5 moa looks great, the 2.5 was better than most for me, but the 5 won no contest for my eyes. If you're on the fence, the 2.5 moa dot cranked up can be made to look bigger, can't really make the 5 moa smaller, but you really don't need to crank it up as much either.

Some guys (usually Timmys, not so much the guys around here) get all deep in the weeds about how a smaller dot is more precise... but remember a 5 moa dot is only 1.25 inches at 25yrds so...

Try to check out both before you buy, they're both good, pick the one that "sparks joy" lol. 

Edited May 20, 2020 by ck1

[Ohioguy]

1 hour ago, SteelCityShooter said:

The dot is basically at "infinity" so your distance correction is what you use to see it.  That's the beauty of red dot sights, particularly for those of us with older eyes.  Both the dot and the target are seen as being distant objects so there is no need to focus on a target (far) and sights (near and nearer) at different distances as with irons.

Did not know that.

 

[Ohioguy]

8 minutes ago, ck1 said:

I went with the 5 moa, and am digging it. I also have a slight astigmatism and most dots don't look so great to my eyes, but for some reason the SRO's 5 moa looks great, the 2.5 was better than most for me, but the 5 won no contest for my eyes. If you're on the fence, the 2.5 moa dot cranked up can be made to look bigger, can't really make the 5 moa smaller, but you really don't need to crank it up as much either.

Some guys (usually Timmys, not so much the guys around here) get all deep in the weeds about how a smaller dot is more precise... but remember a 5 moa dot is 1.25" at 25yrds so...

Try to check out both before you buy, they're both good, pick the one that "sparks joy" lol. 

With aimpoints and such, the dots look like a bunch of grapes, with a few hanging down to the left.  It doesn't appear round at all to me, and is distracting.  Hoping these don't go the same way for me.

[ck1]

1 minute ago, Ohioguy said:

With aimpoints and such, the dots look like a bunch of grapes, with a few hanging down to the left.  It doesn't appear round at all to me, and is distracting.  Hoping these don't go the same way for me.

 

I've seen the grapes, comets, blobs, etc with Aimpoints... forget about EOtechs for me, looks like lipstick smeared across the lens lol. The SRO is worth a try, but I'd see if someone will let you look through one in the safe area at a match before you buy if you can, $500 is $500, and if it looks crappy, better to know before you buy... or at least order one from a place that does easy returns/refunds so you can play with one unmounted for a bit before you commit.

 

As an aside, for some reason Holosun's dots look good to my eyes with my astigmatism; I know it's not the hottest thing out, and the glass isn't as big as the SRO/R3Max/R3XL types, but if all the others look wonky the Holosun's are worth at least giving a look...

[Camhabib]

I have a bad astigmatism and after looking through a few RDS, the SRO was the best looking of the bunch. Only one that had an actual usable dot.


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[RangerTrace]

Based on advice from BJ Norris, I recently  bought an SRO with the 5MOA dot to replace a DPP with the 2.5 MOA dot.  Only because it appears Leupold has discontinued the 7.5 MOA triangle.  I honestly can't tell the difference between the two optics other than the DPP does have clearer glass.  My eyes cannot discern the  difference between the 2.5 and 5.0 MOA dots.

[45 Raven]

I run two CZ 75's.  One Shadow and one non-Shadow model.  Shoot them both in IDPA CO Division.  Both have Trijicon SRO's with the 5 MOA dot.  I have previous experience with the Leupoid DPP with the 7.5 MOA "delta" and the Trijicon RMR06 with the 6 MOA dot.

 

In my opinion, the SRO with the SRO with the 5 MOA dot is far, far superior for my eyes.  No contest.  The screen size is what makes the difference, I think.

[Moto_wrench]

Another vote for 5 moa. 
I used a 6 moa Vortex venom for 2 years on a Glock before I upgraded. Not sure where that diminishing return starts on for size, but for the most part I’d say bigger is better. 

[Camhabib]

Thanks everyone. I should probably updated: I purchased both the 2.5 and 5MOA and the 5 was the clear winner. The 2.5 was far too small and had a lot more distortion to the dot due to my astigmatism.

[SGT_Schultz]

19 minutes ago, Camhabib said:

Thanks everyone. I should probably updated: I purchased both the 2.5 and 5MOA and the 5 was the clear winner. The 2.5 was far too small and had a lot more distortion to the dot due to my astigmatism.

 

You're not the only one who has noticed that smaller dots magnify the astigmatism-created distortions.

 

I have rifle RDS with both 2 and 4 MOA dots and the larger ones are noticeably crisper and rounder than the smaller ones.