If you know anything about gun sights or scopes, you know about red dot sights. They are not a specific type of guns sights but rather a common term for scopes with a “Red” dot. However, if you read one of those top 10 red dot sights lists these days, more specifically in the last few years, the color of the dot evolved from red to other colors. Most commonly used colors in guns scopes these days are green, after red of course.
Since there are two common options for the reticle color, I get asked very often about my preference between red & dot. So, here is my analysis or comparison of red dots and green dots for you.
1. Color and Technology of Red Dots & Green Dots
Since green dots came much later into the game, they have much better technology involved in the process. Besides, while red dot sights can only be one shade of red, the green dots offer several shades. These different shades of green are named or identified by the wavelength of that green shade.
2. Comfort to eye
You might already know that a big group of people on this planet, especially males have a tough time seeing the color red. These cases are extreme for color-blind patients and old age shooters. However, green color is much more comfortable to the eyes, even the strained ones.
3. Power consumption
Power consumption of the gun scope is a big concern for regular shooters. While both red and green color is almost similar in power consumption, green is much more efficient in the night time. So, for nighttime hunting, green dots are my preference.
4. Ease in spotting the reticle
If you ever took a Physics class on light, you must know that red color has a high wavelength. Due to the wavelength of red color, they are easier to spot. That’s why if you are going to a place where the background is not subtle, you might find red reticle more appropriate.
5. For Astigmatism, Green is better
When you are tired and you can hardly keep your eyes open, you might have noticed that red is blurring out. You can see the blurry red on the traffic light or in the decoration lights. This is because the color red spreads more than other colors. But this situation gets even worse with the Astigmatism.
If you are suffering from Astigmatism, you start to see everything blurred. In this situation, using red makes everything even worse. However, green makes perfect sense in this situation.
6. Acquisition
Faster target acquisition is very important for optimal performance. As for acquisition with a red dot, they, unlike the holo sights, focus directly top the ogle, giving the pivotal distant at sight. On the other hand, the green dots help old-timers in getting the target lot faster than red dots.
Bottom line
Now that the comparison of red dot and green dot is laid out in front of your eyes, it’s your time to pick a side. Read those top 10 red dot sights lists and their reviews to get more insight on each individual unit if you need.
