Looking for the best shotgun red-dot sight to take your shooting game to the next level?
Look no further! In this post, we’ve scoured the market and rounded up the top contenders for the title of “best shotgun red dot."
Whether you’re a seasoned pro or just starting out, we’ve got you covered with options that offer unbeatable accuracy, durability, and ease of use.
So let’s dive in and find your new go-to shotgun red-dot sight!
Best Shotgun Red Dot Sights at a Glance
- Crimson Trace RAD MAX Pro | Best for Hunting | $449.99 @ Crimson Trace
- Holosun 507C | Best for Home Defense | $309.99 @ EuroOptic
- Vortex Venom | $249.99 @ EuroOptic
- Burris FastFire 3 | Best Budget Shotgun Red Dot Sight | $189.95 @ Amazon
- Trijicon RMR | $388.62 @ EuroOptic
Where Do I Start?
Depending on your own financial situation, many hunters choose either the most expensive or the most affordable options.
I often see people buy a universal optic to ensure it fits a Picatinny rail, but didn’t think about how the optic fits their eyes and shooting style. When looking for the right optic, turkey hunters should ask themselves the following questions:
What Environmental Conditions Do You Expect to Encounter?
Spring turkey hunting is my favorite hunting season, and it’s not even close. I love waking up before the forest and listening to the animals and insects wake up as I sit in a blind or against a tree.
Spring weather can be very difficult to plan for because of the unpredictable rain showers and cycling between cold and hot temperatures.
Knowing the environmental conditions where you hunt is as important as anything else you plan for in a hunt. Having the right clothing for the season and the right weapon attachments is instrumental for a successful hunt.
Anything you use needs to be as effective at repelling water and dirt while maintaining operational capability in different lighting conditions.
For example, if you’re using an optic, it needs to be waterproof, shock-proof, abrasion-resistant, and have adjustable reticle settings for low-light and high-noon sunlight.
The best type of optic you can buy will have automatic adjustments to ensure you can keep your hands on the shotgun and your eyes on the target. For these reasons, the best optic for turkey hunting has to be the CT RAD Max Pro (Rapid Aiming Dot) Electronic Sight.
What Are the Benefits of a Red Dot Optic For Turkey Hunting?
One of my biggest complaints about a lot of hunters is how stringent some can be with traditional hunting gear and methods. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had people insult me for using an RDS on my shotgun in the past year.
As guns and ballistics improve, companies like Crimson Trace, Leupold, and Vortex, are constantly innovating along with the guns and modern ballistics. I believe in the next few years; most hunters will have an RDS on their shotgun.
- An RDS provides optimal eye relief over a front fiber optic sight. Eye-relief is the distance the optic is from your eye. A longer eye relief gives you a full view of your peripherals to track turkeys. As every turkey hunter can attest, it’s difficult to determine exactly where a turkey will come out from the trees. Having a longer eye-relief helps to cover more ground while staying on target.
- My accuracy is always better with an RDS over a front sight. Being able to point and shoot with confidence is an advantage that I’ll take every day of the week. Once you zero your RDS, you just place the red dot on your target and pull the trigger. Wherever the red dot is at is where your spread will go.
- Target acquisition is the time it takes for you to identify your target and gain the target in your sights. One of the biggest advantages of an RDS is the target acquisition time. The RAD MAX will ensure you don’t miss out on a shot because you were too slow in getting the sights on the bird.
Best Shotgun Red Dot Sights
Crimson Trace RAD MAX Pro
The Crimson Trace RAD MAX Pro has every feature that I might want for a shotgun optic. Spring turkey season might be my favorite time of the year, but my last couple of seasons look like the batting average of an aging catcher.
Understanding where you’re at in relation to the sun can make or break a hunt. Using an optic with no protection from the top and sides of the housing can be just as bad as without an optic.
The RAD MAX Pro has great protection from the sun from the sides and the top. The new top strap design that deflects the force of a drop on the top of the optic is another outstanding feature that won me over.
I believe the CT RAD MAX Pro gives me the best chance to stay mobile, quick, and quiet. I’m not saying I had a say in what materials Crimson Trace uses, but they built the RAD MAX Pro in line exactly with what I needed for this turkey season.
The CT Ambient Light Sensor is a game-changer for every turkey hunter trying to get an advantage on the life force of Earth (Sun). If the sun hits your RAD MAX Pro Lens, it automatically adjusts to the surrounding light. The reticle changes with its environment like a chameleon to manipulate the ambient light to its advantage.
Holosun 507C
The Holosun 507C is very small, easy to use, and gives you a lot of options for aiming your shotgun.
What sets it apart is that it not only has the same footprint as the Trijicon RMR, but also features a solar panel, a battery that can be loaded from the side, and several different reticles to choose from.
Additionally, the Holosun 507C has several different reticles you can choose from. They’ve got a 2 MOA dot, a 32 MOA circle, and a combination of both. For shotgun use, the 32 MOA circle is ideal.
Holosun 507C X2 Multi-Reticle Circle Dot Open Reflex Sight
If you’re a savvy shooter, you’ll take the time to pattern your load inside the circle at specific ranges.
For me, I’ve found that my home defense buckshot patterns perfectly within the 32 MOA circle at 12 yards, which also happens to be the longest possible shot range in my home.
Vortex Venom
The Vortex Venom is a HUD (Heads-Up Display) sight that’s specifically built for quick and easy close-range target acquisition, which makes it an excellent option for shotgun use in close quarters shooting scenarios.
In hunting situations, this sight can be a game-changer for taking down ground targets or critters that are up in trees. And for folks who participate in shotgun target competitions like three gun events, this HUD-style display sight could be a real asset.
One thing to note is that the 3 MOA dot size is a bit larger, which makes it ideal for low-light situations or any defensive scenarios where speed is of the essence.
When it comes to controlling light variations, the Vortex Venom has a control system conveniently located on the left side of the sight. Shooters have three different options for adjusting the dot intensity to match various lighting conditions.
One of the coolest features of the Venom is its auto-brightness mode, which uses ambient light sensors to automatically adjust the dot intensity. Of course, if you prefer to manually control the light settings, that’s an option too.
The sight also has 1 MOA windage and elevation click adjustments, with plenty of range to get your zero dialed in just right. And if you need to swap out the battery in the field, the top-loading design makes it a breeze.
Finally, it’s worth noting that all of the internal components of the sight are “O" ring sealed, which keeps dust and other field debris out of the sensitive areas and helps keep your sight working smoothly.
Burris FastFire 3
The Burris FastFire 3 is a fantastic mini red-dot sight that has a lot going for it, especially when used on shotguns.
For starters, it’s compact, lightweight, and user-friendly. It’s also tough and reliable, which makes it a great value for the price.
What really makes this red dot stand out, though, is the fact that it has three intensity settings as well as an auto setting that adjusts the reticle to the lighting conditions around you. I have to say, the auto setting is the real deal; it adapts super quickly and accurately to changes in the surrounding light.
I have to say, the Burris FastFire 3 is one tough little unit. I’ve put mine through a lot of abuse, and it never dies.
The FastFire 3 comes in two different options for dot size: 3 MOA and 8 MOA. Personally, I think the 8 MOA dot is the better choice for use on shotguns, but the 3 MOA isn’t too shabby either.
Trijicon RMR
Trijicon is a company that’s well-known for producing top-of-the-line optical systems for both sports enthusiasts and military applications. Their brand is the result of years of research and development, so you know you’re getting a quality product when you buy from them.
The overall quality of these sights is exceptional, but it’s worth noting that they do come with a higher price tag than some other options on the market.
The sight comes equipped with a 7 MOA dual illuminated RMR Tritium-phosphor lamp reticle, which is a fancy way of saying that it’s a really precise aiming system. And even in very low light conditions, the fiber optic technology ensures that the sight remains effective and easy to use.
So whether you’re shooting in the dark of night or just in a dimly lit indoor range, you can count on this sight to help you accurately hit what you’re aiming at.
The sight’s main housing is made from 7075-T6 aircraft aluminum alloy, and the design of the housing is such that it helps absorb the recoil shock from shooting heavier loads.
The lens is also worth mentioning, as it’s been treated with a true color multi-coating that ensures that the colors you see through the sight are as accurate as possible.
All of these features make this sight a great choice for modern shotguns, whether you use them for combat shooting or hunting small game.
Conclusion
It’s always important to remember the importance of aiming properly with a shotgun and having reliable sights. We hope that our suggestions have provided you with some great options to choose from.
READ NEXT – How-To Install a Red Dot Sight to a 12 Gauge Shotgun
Stay Tuned to the RE Factor Tactical Blog and be part of this all VETERAN-run website. Be sure to follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn for exclusive content and deals.
Check out our DAILY DEALS page for industry deals and discounts.
Visit our Amazon Influencer Page for more products we recommend: https://www.amazon.com/shop/refactortactical
Leave a Reply
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *