Hello! Dear shooters. Here are we with another fun and exciting review just for you. We have come a long way in our journey of red dots, haven’t we? From knowing what a red dot is, what its MOA size is, and how to mount a red. We will discuss in this article “how to manage red dot brightness.”
We have always given you guys the best of both worlds as we have saved up the precious time you might have wasted searching and surfing the internet. If not for us, by this time, you would have been reading, analysing, and thinking about those hard-to-understand articles with tons of information that only make things more complicated for you now. We have made the choices easier for you in terms of buying and using the weapons and gadgets in the firearms market. Let’s get started on how you can adjust your red dot’s brightness for a better experience.
Know How Do Red Dot Sights work?
Now the mechanism of how a red dot sight is pretty simple. It consists of the lens/ plates of glass and light the shooter utilizes. The red dot sight has a spherical mirror that reflects the light emitted from the red LED source from the axis focus. The spherical mirror inside a red dot has a coating that does not allow the red LED beam to pass through and reflects the beam into the eye of the shooter. Also, it prevents other light beams from causing any disruption in the reticle. Also, the spherical lens is positioned at a certain angle for this phenomenon to occur.
This creates your reticle, which only you can see. Ultimately, you do not focus on the dot; instead, you focus on the target. But, the dot is free to move all over the lens or the area of your reticle concerning your head movements. For instance, if you move your head to the right, the dot moves to the right side.
Is your red dot sight not bright enough?
I hope the quick review of red dot sight was helpful enough for you guys. Moving forward with our article, we now come to the main topic, adjusting the brightness in red dots.
We all have problems in our life related to many things similarly, and it is no surprise for a shooter to have issues with gadgets or weapons. Shooters typically new or using the red dots for the first time are prone to face quite some challenges. I also struggled with getting a better target acquisition in my initial days of using the red dot sight.
The most frequently asked questions are when to dial up or dial down the brightness, queries regarding auto-adjustments, and how the brightness of the red dot sight impacts the target acquisition. Without any further delay, let us get going.
Brightness in the daylight
As the topic is the adjustment of the red dot, it is to know that most red dots have no auto adjustment feature. It is why a shooter should know when to dial up or dial down the brightness. If you are using any red dot sight, let’s say you are using Trijicon MRO in broad daylight, you might resort to adjusting the brightness of the dot as it might be too dim.
As I remember, when I was using it one sunny day, I could not pick the dot on the reticle, and, for a moment, it scared me as I thought the battery might have died up. After a few moments of struggle, I realized I had to increase its brightness.
Another time you have to dial up the brightness is when you are shooting with a red dot with bright indoor lightning. For instance, participating in an indoor shooting competition would be wise to increase the brightness.
Nowadays, the brightness range that many red dot sight offer is from 1-10+, which works perfectly well.
Brightness at the nighttime
As my dear shooters, we have mastered how to dial up the brightness in a red dot. We move on to dialing down the red dot, which is also as easy as A, B, and C. During the nighttime, it is clear that certain lights are just too bright. Similarly, the red beam can also become too bright for the liking. It is where you need to dial down the brightness of the dot. For example, if you go shooting, at night or midnight, without adjusting the dot, it becomes more prominent for your target to notice the beam. It also creates hindrance by blocking the target due to reticle starburst if you have astigmatism.
Also, the larger the MOA dot size, the larger the brightness of a red dot sight.
Brightness at dusk time
Similarly, the dot should dial down at a dusk time. Because in the daylight, it has been dialed up, which is why in the evening, then it would be brighter than usual. Hence to have a better target ID, it is best to keep the brightness low.
Auto-adjustment Feature
Many red dot production companies are now introducing auto-adjustment features to their red dot sights. This feature is of particular importance as it saves up the time taken in adjusting the brightness, that also in certain situations where the shooter is an undercover cop. Here are some of the red dots that are offering this feature
- The Holosun fail-safe feature
- Trijicon SRO
- And Sig optics
Conclusion
Ending up this article with the thought that by now, you may have known a thing or two about red dots. The red dots are extremely easy and reliable to use once you get a hold of them. The red dots that are larger MOA size are not best for nighttime use. As their alternate use, a red dot with 1 or 2 MOA size as you not only have a smaller circle but also does not covers up the target. Once you have understood these tips and tricks, a better and smooth experience with the red dots awaits you. I hope that my shooters have now gained clarity and have enjoyed this article.
FAQs
Are there any auto-adjustment red dot sights in the market?
Yes! Many companies, such as Trijicon SRO and Holosun, etc., are introducing and offering the auto-adjustment brightness feature.
What is the impact of the red dot’s brightness?
The brightness would not have any impact on the zeroed red dot, but it does not mean that you would have a better experience. The emitter would end up taking all the space on the spherical mirror, blocking your target and resulting in inaccurate shots.
