AK-47 red dot was manufactured in 1947, the name AK47 by Mikhail Kalashnikov, a Russian soldier and a weapon engineer. At that time then, it was favoured by the military and most others because of its high reliability, low cost, and effectiveness.
In 2007 study and suggested that best red dot for AK47 accounted for 15% of firearms worldwide. As a combat gun with a deadly effective range under 200 yards, it is suitable, and the upgrade is to make a faster target acquisition system with little to no diminishing FOV.
That’s why you can hold your eyes on surrounding threats and shoot with good speed and accuracy. Magnifying is not needed as shooting is done at closer range. Some myths on the internet claim the AK-47 red dot characteristic has a very high recoil, which is a wrong statement.
From personal experience, AK47 does not kick as high as a 12 gauge shotgun. The other benefit of AK47 happens to be a weapon of choice for third world countries child soldiers.
Quick List – Best Red Dot for Ak47
This article reviewed the best Red Dot for AK47 in detail and will enlist the top-rated AK47 Red dot.
- Bushnell Trophy TRS-25 Red Dot Sight Riflescope, 1x25mm
- Primary Arms 2 MOA Advanced Micro Red Dot (MD-ADS)
- Holosun HS510C 2 MOA Open Reflex Red Dot Sight
- Aimpoint PRO Patrol Rifle Optic.
Top 4 Best Red Dot for AK47
1 – Bushnell Trophy TRS-25 Red Dot Sight Riflescope, 1x25mm
Bushnell Trophy is an Affordable red dot. It cost us only about $100 at the time of this writing. The Bushnell TRS-25 keeps zero very well on my AK47, whether with eight hundred rounds something down the range.
Bushnell TRS claims 3,000 hours of battery life, which is quite enough. But it also depends on how you use it, at what brightness settings, etc. For typical use, it is more like 1,000 hours of battery life. Can also change the battery without removing the red dot.
Even though we suggest that you do not use it on a home defence gun as it is not that reliable, a fine red dot. The warranty of Bushnell is only one year. But for the cost, you can just purchase a new one when it fails.
Technical Specification:
| Brand | Bushnell |
| Color | Black Low Rise Mount |
| Item Dimensions LxWxH | 5.4 x 3.4 x 2.2 inches |
| Sport Type | Hunting |
| Item Weight | 0.23 Pounds |
| Magnification Maximum | 1 |
| Objective Lens Diameter | 25 Millimeters |
| Country of Origin | China |
| 9. Warranty Description | Lifetime Limited Warranty |
| 10.Suggested Users | Unisex-adult |
2 – Primary Arms 2 MOA Advanced Micro Red Dot (MD-ADS)
The primary red dot features 2 MOA dots with 12 brightness settings, 2 of which are night-vision compatible. The Primary Arms MD-ADS boasts 50,000 hours of battery life which is the same as an overstatement. But half of that is a pretty decent duration.
When the battery is running relatively low, brightness will stay at low power; that is time to change the battery of the primary red dot.
The optics can keep zero from the recoil of an AK-47. It is also waterproof for 72 hours under 2 meters depth, and the other feature is fog proof and shockproof. Plus, Primary Arms gives a three years warranty of life.
Technical Specification:
| Brand Name | Primary Arms |
| Country of Origin | United States |
| Color | Black |
| Material | Aluminium |
| Suggested Users | Unisex-adult |
| Est. Battery Life | 50,000 Hours |
| Manufacture | Primary Arms |
| Part Number | MD-ADS |
| Brightness | 12 setting |
3 – Holosun HS510C 2 MOA Open Reflex Red Dot Sight
The Holosun HS510C has three reticle choices and each of them is considered as the best red dot for ak47 that you can switch among with ease.
- 2 MOA Dot
- 2 MOA Dot with 65 MOA Ring
- 65 MOA Ring
Have long battery life, and this red dot has two sources of battery, standard battery and solar cells. Solar power is supplementary, as it cannot turn on the highest brightness level on its own. It said that it could power lower brightness settings and help lengthen battery life.
This red dot has an Auto on-off feature that is present. When it is put down and not used for 10 minutes, then it goes into sleep mode. One time you move it, it comes back on. There is No need to fumble that switch in an emergency and other saving battery life.
The red dot has an Auto-brightness feature available to detect the surrounding light ambient and select the appropriate brightness. But according to my experience, I feel that the intelligence chosen is frequently a bit dark. Although due to its most features, the Holosun HS510c is not as light as it should be (8.3 oz).
Technical Specification:
| Brand | HOLOSUN |
| Color | Black |
| Item Dimensions LxWxH | 4.75 x 3.62 x 3.12 inches |
| Sport Type | One Size All |
| Item Weight | 8.3 Ounces |
| Material | Aluminium |
| Objective Lens Diameter | 30 Millimeters |
| Part Number | HS510C |
| Model Year | 2016 |
| Included Components | CR2032 Battery |
4 – Aimpoint PRO Patrol Rifle Optic
Aimpoint Patrol Rifle Optic is the red dot on which you can depend your life, and even it is home defence or Afghanistan. Aimpoint products that are favoured by the military.
This red dot can withstand plenty of shocks (40 +/- 4 g in y and z-axis, 500 g in x-axis), and this red dot is waterproof up to 150ft.
The warranty of Red dot is two years for professional or competition use, and it is durable for 10 years for personal use. The Battery life or red dot is the weakest link because electronics tend to fail much quicker than glass and metal frames.
But with Aimpoint efficient energy design on the Aimpoint PRO, you get 30,000 hours of battery life with no need for any battery-saving tricks. Because those tricks can fail when you require the red dot most, for this Aimpoint PRO, you always leave it on, and it will not disappoint you.
The drawback is that even though Aimpoint PRO is a cheaper model in Aimpoint’s arsenal, it is higher priced than other optics mentioned.
Technical specification:
| Brand | Aimpoint |
| Color | Black |
| Item Dimensions LxWxH | 6.75 x 4.63 x 3.38 inches |
| Item Weight | 0.49 Pounds |
| Magnification Maximum | 1 |
| Objective Lens Diameter | 38 Millimeters |
| Compatible Devices | Shotgun, Rifle |
| Included Components | Aimpoint Patrol Rifle Optic, 1/3N Battery |
| Size | 1x38mm |
| Country of Origin | United States |
Types of Red dots
There are three types of the red dot in the marketplace that is considered as the best red dot for ak47.
- Reflex sight
- Holographic Sight
- Laser sight
Reflex Sight:
The reflex sight is a low-power LED reflected on the objective lens to develop the red dot. Due to its more straightforward construction, it is lighter and less bulky than holographic sights. An example of this is the ” Aimpoint model”.
Holographic Sight:
Holographic Sight is A more powerful laser that is bounced on mirrors to create the red dot. Due to its structure, parallax error is less than reflex sights. However, it consumes much quicker batteries. ECOTech products are the best examples of this model.
Laser Sight:
The other type of red dot is laser sight. This is just a laser pointer that is usually attached to your firearms. The dot is generally placed on your object instead of the glass
What to Look for the Best AK47 Red Dot?
Whenever you go to buy a red dot, there are some essential things that you must know and keep in your mind. Most buyers ask before buying a red dot. What to look for in red dot. Here are some common points:
- Reticle size
- Rectile shapes and colour
- Reticle Intensity and Night Vision Compatibility
- Lens coating
- Tube shapes and sizes
- Battery life
- Durability and warranty
- Co-witnessing
- Objective Lens Diameter
- Parallax.
Reticle Size:
As the name suggests, a single red dot is the most common reticle for a red dot sight. This red dot size is measured in MOAs. Generally, it would help if you had a red dot that is large enough for you to see, but it is not too large that it obscures your object or makes shooting inaccurate.
As a rule of thumb, 1 MOA equals 1 inch at 100 yards, 2 inches at 200 yards, 3 inches at 300 yards, and so on. Small MOA is like 1-3 is suitable for shooting accuracy, although giant MOA is good for quick target acquisition.
Imagine placing a shot at 50 yards away with 3 MOAs red dot. Your dot will have 1.5 inches in diameter, which should be good enough in many cases.
Reticle Shapes and Color:
Except for a plain dot, some red dots give shapes like crosshairs, dot with a circle, dot with semi-circle, and many others. There are so many different colours other than red such as green or blue. But in my opinion, the red dot is the best way to spot on most occasions.
Reticle Intensity and Night Vision Compatibility:
As an ideal red dot, there must be very easily seen as a perfect red dot in bright Daylight and close-quarter rooms with few lightings. There is another helpful feature of red dot’s compatibility with night vision optics.
Whenever it is turned on, night vision brightness settings should be vague enough not to blind you; however, using night vision optics. This will give you the edge whenever you are shooting in the dark, but occasionally it comes with a higher price.
Lens Coating:
As with other optics, the quality lens coating usually helps with image quality and eliminates glare from looking in the direction of or away from the sun.
Tube Shapes and Sizes:
There are two different styles of shapes that may consider
- Tube Sight – tube sight may look similar to a scope. Its benefit is durability. And in any case of very bright sunny days, you can use different filters to make the red dot more visible.
- Open Sight – This characteristic a square screen you can look through. It is lighter and less bulky. But it does not go along with other filters.
Battery Life:
A critical factor for red dots and no dot is visible if you run out of power. However, battery technology has improved day by day so much over the years, and can turn on some of the red dots for 3-5 years straight; however, most people turn it on all the time, instead though firearms probably are sitting in storage.
Holographic sights may use lasers, and it is not LED as regular red dots. They usually tend to consume lots of energy. However, Holographic sights have a limited battery life.
The one point that to be noted is, cold weather drains more battery power. So if you live in colder areas, you need to prepare a backup or check your battery often.
Most optics employ alternative ways to lighten up the reticle. The Trijicon AccuPoint uses Tritium. However, some other models use solar panels to help and develop power. These tend to have a longer life but lower brightness.
Durability and Warranty:
A practical red dot requires it to be waterproof, fog proof, and shockproof. The optic must be capable of withstanding plenty of abuse and the recoil of AK-47.
Must remember that Aimpoint makes the highest durable red dots. If you are going on military operations, it is the best choice to look at. The other thing that to be noted is super durable optics also come with a higher price.
In the end, if all else fails, everyone requires a good warranty and customer service from the manufacturer. Defects and accidents do happen. And there is the matter of transferability warranty, which generally makes reselling value much higher.
Co-Witnessing:
Co-witnessing is also mounting red dot sights, however retaining iron sights to serve as a backup. This is not an essential thing to do, but basically, it can help you when the red dot fails. There are two most famous setups for this:
- Absolute co-witness – Aligning rear Sight, red dot sight, and Front Sight on an exact line
- Lower ⅓ – Aligning the red dot sight higher however iron sights are at about ⅓ of the overall red dot sight picture
Objective Lens Diameter:
There is a larger objective lens which does not mean so much for a red dot as you agree to use it with both eyes open. Your field of view should be unlimited. The Larger objective lens likes to be heavier and probably makes it more difficult for absolute co-witness.
Parallax:
Some red dots give a parallax-free feature which is favourable. Although no optic is parallax-free, you must note that the term “parallax free” in industry-standard is parallax free from almost 30 yards onward.
Final Verdict – Best Red Dot for AK47:
The essential thing for AK-47 red dot is how quickly you can target and shoot your close-range object within 200 yards. If your like to use AK is for your home defence, the Aimpoint Pro becomes the most reliable, durable red dot of everyone’s choice.
With all of this you. Will have peace of mind, that is, knowing that it will never fail you in the time required. If you have a reasonable budget, this is one of the best red dots to have.
Although not everyone has plenty of money to spend, you have to go for Primary Arms 2 MOA Advanced Micro Red Dot (MD-ADS) if you are even tight on budget. It gives good quality at a very reasonable price. It has Daylight bright, clear dots, night vision brightness, and lightweight.
In this article, we review the Best AK 47 Red dot and its types. This article will guide you and help you choose the Best red dot for Ak47 according to your budget and need
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