9 Best Red Dots For AK47 Rifles

Best Red Dot For AK47

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Red Dot or Reflex Sight, what is the difference? Not much, don't get me wrong, there is a difference, but many similarities. Which one is better? That is what we are going to find out today.

The Reflex Sight is made to put that long gun to your shoulder, and the Reticle is on target, two eyes open shooting with a wide field of view, like an everyday thing. Some folks, myself included that can not get my brain to use both eyes open, so the sight needs to work with one eyeball shut, and they all do.

The red dot scope is the transition from Rifle Scope to Reflex Sight the Red Dot Sight is right there, and still very useful, and for good news on the Red Dot Sight, usually less expensive.

The Red Dot sights are becoming more pistol friendly than rifle friendly, and for a good reason, they can be smaller (especially micro red dots) and lighter, so naturally, that lends itself to handguns. Unlike the magnum revolver world keeping one foot in the scoped handgun world, the pistol world favors the Red Dot style

Since we are talking about these optics in the context of AK47 rifles, this gun has been a battle rifle platform gun since the day it was born, and they need the durability to work in every environment and work when they are dirty, no matter what, they keep working. 

PRODUCT

DETAILS

Products

BEST FOR SHORT RANGE

EOTech HWS 512

EOTech HWS 512

  • Diameter: 22mm
  • Weight: 10.9 oz
  • Length: 8 in
BEST FOR ACCURACY

Aimpoint PRO Red Dot Reflex Sight

Aimpoint PRO Red Dot Reflex Sight

  • Diameter: 30mm
  • Weight: 11.6 oz
  • Length: 5.1 in
BEST FOR LIGHTWEIGHT

EOTech XPS2-0

EOTech-EXPS

EOTech XPS2-0

  • Diameter: 22mm
  • Weight: 9 oz
  • Length: 3.8 in
BEST FOR HUNTING

Vortex Crossfire II

Vortex Crossfire II

  • Diameter: 22mm
  • Weight: 5.2 oz
  • Length: 2.5 in
BEST FOR ACCURACY

Burris FastFire II Red Dot Reflex Sight

Burris FastFire II Red Dot Reflex Sight

  • Diameter: 21mm
  • Weight: 1.6 oz
  • Length: 1.8 in
BEST FOR WIDE RANGE

Vortex Optics SF-RG-501 StrikeFire II 

Vortex Optics SF-RG-501 StrikeFire II 

  • Diameter: 30mm
  • Weight: 7.2 oz
  • Length: 5.6 in
BEST FOR WEATHER

TruGlo

TruGlo

TruGlo

  • Diameter: 30mm
  • Weight: 3.8 in
  • Length: 9 oz
BEST FOR FAST TARGET

Bushnell Trophy TRS-25 Red Dot Sight

Bushnell Trophy TRS-25 Red Dot Sight

  • Diameter: 25mm
  • Weight: 4 oz
  • Length: 2.48 in
BEST FOR DURABILITY

Vortex Optics Venom Red Dot Sights

Vortex Venom Red Dot Sight

Vortex Optics Venom Red Dot Sight

  • Diameter: 25.4mm
  • Weight: 1.6 oz
  • Length: 6.7 in

And because AKs typically don't come with top rail, you need an optic that can work with either a side mount or gas tube scope mount.

If the sight in question is not up to the task, I will say it, we review and give advice here, and let the "chips fall where they may," and if that means bending an ego of individual manufacturers, then that is the way it is.

The Russian-designed AK47's 7.62 ammo does bring a bit of recoil, especially if your optic is mounted over the gas tube instead of on a side rail, and rough recoil actions when shooting it to positively factor in shock resistance. 

Fog and water resistance will factor heavily as well, and if I can dig up some facts on impact stats, I will include that as well, but they have to be facts, not stories from once upon a time. Please, do not get me wrong, those stories are more valuable than gold or any amount of money, but they are not facts.

All right, I think we will start down this rabbit hole with the holographic or reflex sights.

Enough babbling-on and rambling; let us get to it and figure out the best scope for the AK47!

Best Red Dot For AK47 [Top 9 Sights]

Holographic Sights

The big dawg in this pile is the EOTech, I am sure no one can argue that fact, but if you are shooting an AK47, you most likely do not afford (even if you have the cash) the EOTech. Even if you can spare the cash, the optic is just high on price, more formidable than a cast iron dutch oven, but spendy.

We will start there and look at a great option that has come to my attention in a minute.

1. EOTech HWS 512

best red dot for ak

Right off the bat, just to set the pace, the 512 is not night vision equipment compatible. Model 522 is the same sight if you need that option but has the workings to function with night vision equipment.

The EOTech is not a big optic, but it is a chunky sight. Made so by a large "tube" to sight through and created from Aircraft Grade Aluminum, it can take the hits and keep on going. Water-resistant to 10 feet, if you need to wash that AK in a mud puddle (if you are an AK person, you get it).

The EOTech mounts on a standard Military rail, with a quick-release lever if you need to swap back to open iron sights.

As I said, the size is small, at 51/2 inches long, 2 inches wide, and 21/2 inches high, and weighing in at just under ¾ of a pound. It is a lot of optic in a small package, which is great if you want to run this optic with a magnifier combo, and it's backed up by EOTech's excellent no-BS lifetime warranty.

EOTech HWS 512

The price of EOTech HWS 512 varies, so check the latest price at

Check out the blog on Best Eotech Replica by Hunting Mark.

2. Aimpoint PRO Red Dot Reflex Sight

best red dot for ak47

Here we have one for the gear heads that goes head to head with the EOTech, and let us see how it matches up.

The aperture is only 23mm, so it does take some squinting, not a good thing if you are in a hurry, but that is just one opinion. The Reticle is 2 MOA Dot, so that is pretty good, still able to get a precise shot, maybe not choose the button on a shirt accurate, but put it in the middle good.

The Reticle has 4 Night settings and 6 day settings, plus an Extra Bright High NOON kind of sunshine setting that no one else offers. The PRO is also NVG compatible with all makers. 

Aimpoint PRO Red Dot Reflex Sight

Aimpoint claims the lithium battery will last for 3 years, with the sight left on at seven on the scale. I don't have any plans to turn one on and wait around, so we will take their word on that.

The Aimpoint PRO comes with flip-up caps for front and back and includes Aimpoints QPR2 mount, which claims that you can take off the optic, put it back on the gun, and it will have correctly aligned sights. The optic co-witness with the front sight post, if you use the supplied spacer.

The Aimpoint PRO is submersible to 150 feet! So obviously, it is waterproof, fog-proof, and shockproof. The operating temperatures with the Aimpoint PRO are -49 – 160*F, anyone shooting this at 160*F, please let me know how it worked.

Unlimited eye relief and Parallax free, but you will want it somewhat close to your eyes with a small aperture. The front of the bell is threaded to use a thread on scope covers or anti-reflective covers.

Aimpoint PRO Patrol

Aimpoint PRO Red Dot Reflex Sight

The price of Aimpoint PRO Red Dot Reflex Sight varies, so check the latest price at

3. EOTech XPS2-0

best ak scope

And, while we are at it, another EOTech, just for giggles. The EOTech XPS2-0 is a non-night vision compatible offering. The XPS3-0 will work with the NVG stuff.

The XPS2-0 has three reticles to choose from, all in red only. The circle and Dot, the Circle, or just the Dot. The dot is a 1MOA dot, which is excellent for rifle and precision types of shooting, and the circle will make picking up the Reticle very quick for faster target acquisition.

The XPS2-0 has 20 brightness settings! If you can't find the right one, you need to take it off and use the open irons. The maker says the optic has 1000 hours of battery life set on 10; if you try this, and keep track of the hours on a stopwatch, let me know if they are right or not.

Eotech xps2-0 Reticle

As with all reflex style optics, the XPS2-0 has unlimited eye relief and is Parallax free. The operating temperatures are not as impressive as those above. The rate at -2 – 122*F, so that is still better than I care to prove, especially the 122F, dang!

The XPS2-0 has the battery mounted as a transverse, and that means they have put the battery bay across the front of the sight, not in the base, making a smaller footprint, both in length and height.

EOTech-XPS2

EOTech XPS2-0

The price of EOTech XPS2-0 varies, so check the latest price at

You might want to know about Eotech EXPS3-4, Check out our detailed review

Red Dot Sights

And now, on to the Red Dot Sights

Looking at the Red Dot style sights, they are like a scope. Some have very little magnification, but not enough to truly call them scopes, so we will not spend a ton of time here.

4. Vortex Crossfire II

best ak scope

First up for the red dot style is the Vortex Crossfire II. For the price, value, and excellent quality, if you need a red dot, this is one to look at hard. Made from aircraft-grade aluminum, hard anodized matte black, and it comes with a rubber armor skin if you feel the need.

The body is nitro purged, shockproof, waterproof, fog-proof, and Parallax free, with a 2 MOA red dot reticle. Put the red dot on what you want to be shot, and pull the AK47 trigger, done deal.

The "scope" sports a 1x magnification. That last sentence gets many arguments as to 1x power is or is not magnification. Please leave it in the comments, and let us see what everyone has to say.

The optic has 11 brightness settings and also comes with night vision compatible sets for those of you that need that option. The mount sits very low on most rifles, and you will be able to co-witness the open iron sights in the lower 1/3 of the ocular.

Punching in at a whopping 5.2 ounces, 2 ½ inches long, 21/2 inches wide, and 41/2 inches high, this is lots of optic in a tiny package. Powered by a single CR2032 battery.

Vortex Crossfire II 1x22mm

Vortex Crossfire II

The price of Vortex Crossfire II varies, so check the latest price at

5. Burris FastFire II Red Dot Reflex Sight

red dot for ak47

Ah yeah, Burris. Burris FastFire II is a great place to stop and take a second to enjoy the hard to match engineering and impossible to beat. Now that most everyone is upset, no need for a coffee refill. 

The FastFire II was built initially for pistols. So the engineering is for heavy recoil and the pounding from the slide working, the FastFire II is rated for shock up to 1000 Gs!

Today, the Burris FastFire II is used on many turkey guns and slug shooters due to its lightweight and ability to take the beating. The Reticle is a 4 MOA Red Dot, and I think that is too big for a rifle, great on the others, but not for a rifle. With a parallax-free at 50 yards and unlimited eye relief, it is good to sit on top of or the side of anything you want to put it on.

The optic comes with a Picatinny or Weaver mounting plate, fully multi-coated lenses, waterproof, shockproof (obviously), and fog proof.

Now get this, the FastFire II has a target-directed light sensor that will auto adjust the reticle brightness for you, so your hands stay where they need to be, on the handle or grip, and the operating features, not screwing around with the brightness setting. The FastFire II will also conserve its battery power.

Burris FastFire II Red Dot Reflex Sight

The price of Burris FastFire II Red Dot Reflex Sight varies, so check the latest price at

6. Vortex Optics SF-RG-501 StrikeFire II 

best optic for ak47

All right, just in case everyone was thinking, "this guy is too in love with Vortex" you may be right or wrong, let us see what you think when this section is done.

The SF-RG-501 StrikeFire is fantastic! Unless you shoot something other than an AR platform rifle, then they are just good, maybe in the better column, but they are made for the AR platform from birth.

Like all of the Vortex, this body is made from high-quality aluminum alloy, and the clear glass lenses are fully multi-coated. 

The body is 30mm, so it is nice and wide, comes in at 5 ½ inches long, and weighs 7.2 ounces. Vortex included the plastic flip caps, which is very nice to keep the junk out of the objective.

The Reticle is large at 4 MOA, it has ten brightness adjustments, and can paint the reticle dot red or green. It runs off of one C2032 battery. Many of the Red Dot optics we are talking about have the Picatinny built into or milled in the body. This optic needs rings, or more correctly, one ring to mount.

The eye relief is unlimited, and the Parallax is non-existent. This unit is built solid as a rock, the StrikeFire II is fog proof, waterproof, and shockproof, and its operating temperatures are -22 to 140*F!

Vortex Optics SF-RG-501 StrikeFire II

The price of Vortex Optics SF-RG-501 StrikeFire II varies, so check the latest price at

7. TruGlo 30mm Dual-Color Dot Sight

ak 47 red dot

For another side of this Red Dot story, let us dive into the TruGlo brand.  The TruGlo brand is throwing some smoke; the high powered guys need to pay attention to this critter.

The TruGlo comes with both red and green Reticle, which is adjustable for brightness. To call a fair game, it is not levels of brightness, just a turning rheostat, like a volume knob, so that is a small issue if you need exact bright settings, like NVG, this is not the choice.

 The magnification is 1x30, so the tube is nice and large to see thru and again, is 1x power a magnification? The tube is waterproof, fog-proof, and shockproof. 

The Reticle is dual colors and 5 MOA. Furthermore, to call it fair, you are shooting a rifle here, not a shotgun or a fast action pistol, so 5 MOA may be a thing to think a bit longer.

The battery is one CR2032, the manufacturer does not list a time frame for the duration of power, so I would make sure to turn it off when you are not pointing it at targets.

It is free of Parallax from 30 yards to infinity and mounts with weaver style mounts, so the old guns, or those that don't come with a flat top or a rail built-in (say the AK47), will find it comfortable. The sight or scope, as it were, weighs in at 9 ounces and is only 3.8 inches long.

And for the best part, you will need to use that hyperlink to see the price, but man, is it a good news day when you know that part.

TRUGLO Dual-Color

TruGlo

The price of TruGlo varies, so check the latest price at

8. Bushnell Trophy TRS-25 Red Dot Sight

ak47 red dot

Now we get to the Bushnell and the half warm, half cold-hearted feelings for this manufacturer. The low and middle of the road quality they build for deer or elk rifle scopes can at times need some improvement, and now and then you get one that must have been made after the coffee break; it is fantastic, buy another one, and it was made ½ hour before quitting time and half-assed is the best you can give it for a review.

The Bushnell Trophy TRS-25 is almost always right on the money awesome. Maybe assembled in a different plant, perhaps this glass is from another maker, I don't know, but I only know one person that was not amazed by hers, and it was on a crossbow, so that is just another animal altogether.

The Trophy TRS-25 is a Red Dot only, with 11 brightness settings, and runs on one CR 2032 battery. The Reticle is a 3 MOA Dot, a relatively big reticle size for a rifle, but great for shotguns and handguns, and I suppose crossbows. 

Bushnell Trophy TRS-25 Red Dot Sight

The Trophy TRS-25 is a compact unit at 5 ½ inches long, 3 ½ inches wide, and just over 2 inches high; it weighs in at 3.7 ounces.

Bushnell is quick to brag how this little guy made to take the bumps and general rough handling bumps, as well as the recoil stresses. They sealed the optic with O-rings, nitro purged the body, waterproof, submersion-proof, and humidity should have zero effects.

The Parallax is -50, so pretty much fixed at infinity, and the eye relief is unlimited. This is the way to go, and lightweight, plus use that link and look at that price tag, dang! 

The body has the Picatinny rail milled right in, and the mount is very convenient, but it can get wobbly. The sight will survive the rough stuff but may shoot a bit off after a tumble down a ditch bank.

Bushnell Trophy TRS-25 Red Dot Sight

Bushnell Trophy TRS-25 Red Dot Sight

The price of Bushnell Trophy TRS-25 Red Dot Sight varies, so check the latest price at

9. Vortex Optics Venom Red Dot Sight

ak with red dot

Yes, another Vortex Red Dot sight! There is no reason not to talk about everything excellent in the Red Dot world, to keep the page tidy. We are talking best, so here is another one.

The Vortex Venom is built on the Vortex standard of tough aluminum alloy body, high-quality glass, and fully multi-coated lenses. The Venom is O-Ring sealed to fight off moisture, dirt, and debris. 

For size, this optic may be more pistol friendly than anything else, or the 45 degree iron sights for a magnified scope in run and gun. The sight is about 2 inches long and weighs in at 1.6 ounces with the supplied low rail mount.

Vortex Optics Venom Red Dot Sights Reticle

The venom ships with the low mount, almost like they plan on it fitting pistols, however, a riser can be purchased as an option that will lift it right up for rifles, and shotguns, probably are great on a muzzleloader as well.

The Red Dot is Parallax free, has a 3 MOA red Dot, or can be had with a 6 MOA dot if that is more to your liking. The Reticle has ten power settings, and the power button and adjustments are on the left-hand side, so that may be a concern depending on how you shoot. 

The Venom does have a great feature of auto-brightening and uses a light sensor, so once you have it on a setting, moving from shade to sun, or indoors to outdoors, you can keep your eyes where they belong, looking for targets, whatever that target is that day.

The battery is a top loader, so the sight does not have to be removed to replace the battery, and the battery will last 150 hours set at high and 30K hours set at low, so you should be sufficient for quite a while.

Vortex Venom Red Dot Sight

Vortex Optics Venom Red Dot Sight

The price of Vortex Optics Venom Red Dot Sight varies, so check the latest price at

If you have a handgun like the SIG P320 and are looking for a red dot, then check out the best red dot for a SIG P320 that is available on the market.

Summary

So, which of these are the best red dot sights for your money? You can afford the one you will use to the level of that much money you spend for that optic.

A cop-out answer is a standard in the article world, and yes, it is a cop-out answer. Let me explain why I chose to use it.

It does no good at all to always lust after the big dollar optics and does nothing to train to use such a creature when you can finally afford it, and you may just put in away in the gun locker and take it out twice a year for some range time, is that worth the money?

If you shoot all the time and get very involved with your rifle or shotgun platform with one of these on its top, the money spent will be worth every penny.

If you wish to see which is better, maybe start on the lower end of costs. When you find the optic style that best fits your type of shooting, put some money away, or get a brand-new credit card, that is your business. 

Make sure to get the right one for you, and as always, choose a reputable seller, such as certified Amazon distributor or a well-known site like OpticsPlanet.

Good Luck, happy shopping, and good shooting!

References

Featured Image Reddit.com

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