Best Red Dot for 45 Degree Mount [Reviewed 2024]

Mounting a red dot on a 45-degree mount has become increasingly popular among the competition and tactical shooters alike, so it’s no surprise that many other shooters are taking notice and want to mount a 45-degree dot themselves. 

I use this shooting setup myself, and I’ve found it to be very effective, just like many other folks have. You can even see this rifle configuration showing up in movies and TV these days!

Today we’re going to take a look at the best red dots for 45-degree mount setups, as well as what makes a good dot for this kind of configuration and how to choose the perfect dot to complete your setup.

Product Reviews

1. Leupold Delta Point Pro

Our top overall red dot for a 45-degree mount is the Leupold DeltaPoint Pro.

Like all Leupold optics, the DeltaPoint Pro has a stellar light transmission and picture quality. It uses Leupold’s Profession-Grade Red Dot Optics System to achieve that. 

The standard version of the DeltaPoint Pro has a 2.5 MOA red dot, but there are also models with a 6 MOA dot for those of you who want something better for close quarters. Either way, the dot has eight brightness settings.

The sight features Motion Sensor Technology (MST) to automatically boot up when it detects motion and deactivate after 5 minutes of no motion to save battery. You can get up to 1600 hours from the CR2032 battery on the lowest brightness setting.

In addition, this battery has an easily accessible battery compartment that doesn’t require you to remove the sight to change your battery, so you don’t have to re-zero the sight after every battery change. This is the best red dot sights for 45 degree iron sights for AR 15, 

The DeltaPoint Pro has aircraft-grade aluminum housing with a matte black or matte FDE finish. It’s waterproof, fog-proof, and impact-resistant. It also comes with a lifetime warranty.

Pros 

• Multiple dot size options
• Motion Sensor Technology
• Excellent optical performance
• Easy to change the battery
• Lifetime warranty

Cons 

• Doesn’t come with a mount
• On the pricier side of mid-range

2. Trijicon RMR Type 2 Adjustable LED Red Dot Sight

If you’ve got some extra money to spend, the Trijicon RMR Type 2 Adjustable LED Red Dot Sight is an even better option. 

This red dot is slightly different from the original RMR in that you can manually adjust the brightness between the eight different settings using buttons on the base of the sight. However, you can also allow the sight to select the brightness setting automatically. To conserve battery, after 16.5 hours, Battery Conservation Mode turns on, automatically setting the dot’s brightness to ambient light conditions. 

The Trijicon RMR Type 2 Adjustable LED Red Dot Sight uses a single CR2032 battery to provide more than four years of continuous use.

This sight is available with 1 MOA, 3.25 MOA, and 6.5 MOA dots to suit various needs. 

Another distinguishing feature of this sight, like all Trijicon optics, is its durability. It has a specially designed forged aluminum housing that transfers energy along the sides of the housing to protect the lens. The sight is also waterproof to 20 meters (66 feet).

Pros 

• True color, multicoated optics
• Both manual and automatic brightness options
• Multiple dot sizes to choose from
• Battery Conservation mode
• Highly durable

Cons 

• The battery compartment opens underneath the base, so the sight has to be removed for battery changes.

3. Tacticon Predator V2 Reflex Sight

On the other end of the price spectrum is the Tacticon Predator V2 Reflex Sight. 

Tacticon isn’t as well-known as the other manufacturers on this list, like Leupold, Trijicon, and Vortex. However, it’s hard to top the Predator V2 for value if you’re on a minimal budget. And you can even feel good because you’re supporting a company owned by a combat veteran.

One thing that really makes this red dot stand out from other options, especially at its price point, is the multiple reticle options. The sight provides four different reticle patterns and even the option to display all 4 in either red or green. And to top it off, all of those options can be displayed in any of the nine different brightness settings.

It’s also solidly durable, especially for a red dot at this price point. It has an aluminum alloy housing and is both waterproof and fog-proof, though Tacticon doesn’t make any promises about the Predator V2’s shock resistance. 

It even comes with a 45-degree angled offset mount!

So how does Tacticon manage all of this on a sub-$100 optic? Well, to start, it’s heavy at 5.5 ounces. That’s far more than most other micro red dots and more than twice the weight of all but one other red dot we recommend here. 

Furthermore, Tacticon doesn’t actually advertise the Predator’s battery life, so what that looks like is unclear. However, we do know that it uses three LR44 batteries, and Tacticon includes six with the sight. 

Pros 

• Four reticle patterns
• Red and green reticle options
• Very affordable
• Comes with a 45-degree mount

Cons 

• Heavy
• Unknown battery life
• Doesn’t offer the optical quality of costlier red dot sights

4. EOTech EXPS2

Holographic sights work a bit differently from traditional reflex sights, which account for almost all red dots. 

We’ll skip the technical bits, but the gist of it is that holo sights appear to project the image of the reticle onto the target itself, while the reticle on a red dot just appears on the lens. This delivers really great optical performance but generally comes at a high price as well. 

EOTech is the king of holo sights. We bypassed their flagship model, the 512, for the XPS line because these sights are a bit smaller. Specifically, we chose the EXPS2 because EXPS models come with a higher mount than XPS models, so the sight is less likely to be obscured by your scope. In addition, the EXPS2 is more affordable than the EXPS3 because the EXPS2 doesn’t have any night vision settings that you’re probably not using anyway on a 45-degree mount. 

The EXPS2has a circle-dot reticle, with a 1 MOA center dot surrounded by a 68 MOA ring. The dot provides aiming points for 50 and 200 yards, while the bottom of the ring provides an aiming point for 7 yards (using .62 gr. .223)

The EXPS2 is incredibly durable, has 20 daylight settings, and provides 1,000 hours of run time on setting 12. 

Pros 

• Holographic sight
• Durable
• Excellent reticle
• Likely to eliminate the need for a spacer

Cons 

• Heavy
• Costly

5. Aimpoint Acro P-1

With a red dot for a 45-degree mount, you want something lightweight and compact. Generally, that means a micro red dot. However, there are a few enclosed red dots that are still small and lightweight enough to make things work. 

Of those, my favorite is the Aimpoint Acro.

At 2.1 ounces, it’s right around the same weight class as the other sights on this list. It has a 3.5 MOA dot that displays in six daylight settings and four night vision settings, providing 15,000 hours (more than 1.5 years) with one CR1225 battery. One battery is included, and you can swap out the battery without removing the optic from its mount. 

It’s designed primarily for handguns but is just fine for other close-quarters applications, including on a 45-degree mount. 

The Acro is also very durable, recoil tested against more than 20,000 rounds of .30 S&W, and submersible to 80 feet. The sealed, enclosed housing protects the internal electronics from rain, snow, mud, and more. 

Pros 

• Enclosed for those who prefer that style
• Durable
• Designed for CQB
• Can swap battery without removing from mount

Cons 

• Some users report that the battery life isn’t as good as advertised

6. Bushnell Advanced Micro Reflex Red Dot

Back in the world of micro red dots, our next recommendation is the Bushnell Advanced Micro Reflex Red Dot. 

This is another great budget option that’s a small step up in price from the Tacticaon Predator V2. 

This Bushnell optic projects a 5 MOA red dot and has 12 different brightness settings. 

You can manually change the brightness setting easily enough, with rubber buttons that provide both tactile and audible feedback. They also protrude from the housing a bit, making it easy to find without looking. However, this red dot sight doesn’t have an automatic brightness option. 

You can get up to 50,000 hours of battery life from a CR2032 battery, but you do have to turn off the red dot on your own since there’s no automatic shutoff function.  

The durability is pretty good for an optic of this price, with an IPX7 waterproof rating, which means the sight can be submerged up to a meter for up to a half hour.

Pros 

• Budget-friendly
• Easy manual brightness adjustment
• Good durability
• Good battery life

Cons 

• The plastic body isn’t as durable as other materials
• No automatic brightness mode or automatic shutoff

7. Swampfox Kingslayer Sight

Next up is the Swampfox Kingslayer. It’s another step up in price but still falls under $200, so it’s still an excellent option for those on limited budgets. 

It has excellent optics for the price point, with a clear and bright picture. It comes in options for three different reticle patterns: red dot, red circle dot, and green circle dot. All three have a red center dot, and the circle dot reticles have a 65 MOA ring. 

Whichever reticle pattern you opt for, you get ten brightness settings. 

At just 1 ounce, this Kingslayer is very lightweight. However, it’s also very durable, with aircraft-grade aluminum housing, IPX7 waterproof rating, and 50,000 round guarantee.

The downside is the battery life. The kingslayer offers only 1,500 hours of battery life, though it automatically turns off after 4 hours of inactivity to help preserve that battery life. In addition, the battery compartment is accessed through a side drawer, so there’s no need to remove the sight to swap batteries, so it’s not as inconvenient as it could be. 

Pros 

• Comes in three versions with different reticle patterns
• Auto shutoff
• RMR compatible footprint
• Durable yet lightweight
• Side battery access

Cons 

• Battery life

8. Holosun HE509T X2

Our next recommendation, the Holosun HE509T X2, is our other enclosed red dot sight recommendation. 

Like the Aimpoint Acro P-1, this sight was designed with handguns in mind but is also suitable for CQB rifles. 

There are a couple of main features that make this sight stand out. 

First, it has a titanium housing. This is even more durable than the more popular aluminum but still allows the sight to be lightweight. It weighs just 1.72 ounces.

Second, this sight features Holosun’s Solar Failsafe technology. That means there’s a small solar panel on top of the sight’s housing, which allows the sight to continue functioning if the battery fails. It uses automatic brightness adjustment, so your red dot will be brighter outdoors under the bright sun and dim if you move indoors or into shadows. 

However, with up to 50,000 hours of battery life from a CR1632 battery, you’re unlikely to find yourself depending on the Solar Failsafe function.

This sight is available in red or green; with each, you can choose between dot, circle dot, and circle-only reticle patterns. The dot is 2 MOA, while the circle measures 32 MOA. 

Pros 

• Solar Fail safe
• Shake Awake
• Side battery access
• Ten daylight settings and 2 NV settings 
• Multilayer Reflective Glass

Cons 

• Some shooters notice glass distortion
• Doesn’t feel as durably constructed as some other options

9. Holosun 507K-X2

Next is another Holosun red dot, this time the Holosun 507K-X2. 

It’s a compact and lightweight option, weighing just one ounce, and it uses an open reflex design. It has multiple reticles, making it a great multi-use optic that you can swap around onto different rifles or even different platforms. 

It also features Holosun’s Super-LED technology that gives you up to 50,000 hours of battery life which is extended by the Shake Awake feature. After a certain amount of time, the sight goes into sleep mode until it detects movement, at which point it comes right back on to the previous setting.

The reticle is a 32 MOA circle with a 2 MOA center dot, and you can choose any combination of the two quickly and easily with the low-profile buttons. You can also disable all of that with the lock button, so you don’t have to worry about accidentally changing your dot settings in transport.

You can even disable the Shake Awake setting if you want to, though most shooters tend to find that they’re a big fan of the feature, and it gives them considerably more battery life (over five years). 

Lastly, the casing is IP67 waterproof and is made of high-strength, aircraft-grade aluminum for durability. We’ve dropped our test rifles right on the optic on hard floors, and the HS507K survived without issue.

Pros 

• 5-year warranty on glass, 3-year warranty on electronics
• 12 Brightness settings
• Durable 7075-T6 aluminum frame and body

Cons 

• Not US-made
• Not as durable as some military-focused optics

10. Vortex Venom

Lastly, we have an extremely popular option that has seen a lot of success in the competition world, the Vortex Venom. This is a multi-purpose dot that is designed primarily for pistols, but works great on rifles as well (particularly as an offset red dot).

This is one of the best values in the optics world and is a recommendation we keep returning to. It is available in 3 MOA and 6 MOA dot sizes, and we generally gravitate towards the 6 MOA dot for pistols and offset sights, but if you want more precision, the 3 MOA is great too.

Like the Holosun above, it has an auto-wakeup feature that will shut the dot off if it doesn’t detect movement after a while and then wake the dot up as soon as it detects movement. This is great for saving battery life and helps ensure the dot will be ready to go when you pull it out of storage or grab it from a quick-access safe.

With the auto-sensing feature enabled, the dot will run for around 25,000 hours on the 5th of its ten brightness settings, which is more than enough time for us. We recommend changing optic batteries at least every year anyway, as it’s a small price to pay for peace of mind.

Finally, this is one of the lightest optics on this list (and the market in general) at just a touch over 1oz, so it won’t weigh down your rifle or throw off the balance when you add it. It also doesn’t stick out very far, so it’s less likely to snag on anything. 

Pros 

• Compact and lightweight
• Very affordable
• Lifetime warranty (best in the industry)

Cons 

• No way to change the reticle

Buying Guide

Durability

You want most things that you buy to be durable, but it’s essential with things like red dots that will be exposed to recoil and possibly the elements in the field. 

Look for a red dot that’s waterproof, fog proof, and shockproof. 

Ideally, a red dot should have recessed lenses and a housing made from a durable material like aluminum or titanium. Scratch-resistant coatings on the lenses are also a huge advantage.

In many cases, you get what you pay for when it comes to durability. Features like waterproofing and shock resistance are common places for budget red dot manufacturers to cut corners. 

However, there are red dots that are both durable and affordable, and a high price isn’t a guarantee that a red dot is durable, so you still need to be careful to look at the specs before buying.

All of the red dots that we recommended above offer durability that’s at least pretty good. 

Picture Quality

Of course, with any optic, the quality of the picture is also hugely important. 

Your red dot should have a wide lens made from high-quality glass with anti-reflective lens coatings.

Lens coatings filter light as it travels through the lens. They block specific wavelengths, which cause glare while keeping the rest of the light to provide a clear, bright image. Lens coatings can even improve color fidelity and picture definition. 

Ideally, a sight will have fully multicoated lenses, meaning that the lens is completely covered with multiple layers of coating. More layers allow the coating to be more effective.

Dot Size

While some things, like picture quality and durability, are pretty objective, some other factors are up to your individual needs and preferences. One of those factors is dot size. 

The correct dot size primarily depends on what you’ll be doing with your red dot sight. 

Large dots are easy to see, allowing fast target acquisition, but they cover more of the target, so it’s harder to get a precise shot with them. They’re better for close-range shots. 

On the other hand, small dots are better for more precise shooting and long-range shots but aren’t as easy to see, so they’re not good for speed.

Some red dots have more complex reticles, which can help balance the two. For example, many have a small dot but a larger circle around it. The larger circle helps with target acquisition, while the small central dot still allows precision. 

Most red dot sights have dots between 3 and 6 MOA, but you can commonly find sights with larger or smaller dots.

Brightness 

You need a red dot with a good range of brightness settings that performs well in a range of different light conditions. 

The brighter the surrounding light is, the brighter your red dot needs to be. It’s just like your cell phone: when you’re outside on a sunny day, you probably need to turn the screen brightness all the way up, but if you’re laying in bed scrolling, you probably set the brightness a lot lower. 

Likewise, if a sight’s dot is too bright, it can obscure your target and waste battery power. A red dot that’s not bright enough can be difficult to see. 

A red dot sight with many brightness settings allows you to select the perfect balance for your light conditions. Many red dots will even automatically set the brightness level for you based on the level of ambient light. 

Some even have night vision compatible modes, though you probably won’t be pairing your red dot with a night vision device if you’re using the sight on a 45-degree mount. 

Battery

Most red dots use one CR2032 battery. These batteries can provide thousands of hours of usage before requiring a battery swap but take up minimal space and add minimal weight. They’re also cheap and easy to find in most stores.

Some of the best red dot sights use other types of batteries, but for the most part, I wouldn’t consider battery type a make-or-break feature.

More diversity shows up in features like battery life and battery-saving functions. 

Obviously, the higher the battery life, the better, but red dots generally have such long battery lives that you don’t need to fuss too much about that, either. That’s especially the case if your red dot features automatic shutoff, so you don’t have to worry about running down the battery life when you’re not using the sight. 

Finally, you’ll want to consider how easy it is to change the battery. Sure, you won’t have to change it frequently, but some sights require you to completely remove the sight to change the battery, so you have to re-zero the sight every time. It’s much simpler to change the battery on a sight with a battery tray that simply slides out from the mounted sight.

Unit Size

Finally, you’ll want to be careful about choosing a red dot that’s too large. Something too big will be too heavy and bulky, especially since you might have to use a spacer to get the height right, so your scope mount doesn’t block the red dot.

Generally, micro red dots will be the best option, but some smaller enclosed red dots will also work, like the Aimpoint Acro and Holosun HE509T X2.

FAQs 

Conclusion 

Running a red dot on a 45-degree mount in addition to an optic like an LPVO is a great way to ensure you can quickly and efficiently address targets at various ranges. This setup is becoming more common with military, police, and competition shooters, and with good reason.

Our top overall pick for a red dot for these kinds of setups is still the Leupold DeltaPoint Pro, but any of these red dots will work well, and some of them could be better based on your needs, preferences, and planned rifle setup.

At the end of the day, whichever one of these dots you go with, you can rest assured you’ll be able to address targets at all ranges and do so quickly and efficiently. That’s the power of an offset red dot.