The POLICE Pistol Optics Survey

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Nine years ago POLICE published its first detailed article on the use of handgun optics by law enforcement officers. The article looked at the benefits of using optics on duty pistols and spoke with firearms industry experts about how their newest duty weapons were designed for using optics.

I wrote something in that article that predicted fairly rapid adoption of pistol optics in law enforcement. It read: “Predicting the future is a hazardous occupation, but barring some unseen events, reflex sights will likely be on many law enforcement duty handguns within the next five to 10 years. The reasons why this transition from iron sights alone to co-witnessed pistol optics will probably occur are about the shooting skills new recruits bring to the academy, the needs of aging officers, and the benefits of improved accuracy and faster target acquisition in critical incidents.” At the time the factor that was roadblocking the adoption of optics for law enforcement handguns was holster availability.

Four years later in 2020, duty holsters that accommodate pistols with optics were becoming more available. Which meant that more agencies were allowing officers to fit pistol optics to their sidearms. One agency, the Houston Police Department, was actually training its recruits to shoot handguns with both iron sights and optics. I saw that as a watershed moment and covered it in a January 2020 feature article.

The Survey

Now, five years later, POLICE decided to take a look at the penetration of handgun optics into the law enforcement market. In January 2025, we conducted a survey of active duty law enforcement officers, and the results actually surprised me.

I’ve learned in 23 years of working as editor of this publication that making predictions about technology adoption and other issues can be tricky. But, boy, did I nail it back in 2016. Actually, I underestimated how prevalent handgun optics would become in law enforcement.

Our survey of working officers shows that police have embraced handgun optics with great enthusiasm. Of the officers who completed our entire survey, 77% said their agencies allow them to use handgun optics on duty. Out of that same respondent population, 76% said they were using optics on either their duty weapons or duty backup guns.

Officers were also asked if they use optics on their off-duty handguns. Their answers show that optics are not as popular for concealed carry off duty, as the majority of respondents—some 63%—say they do not use optics on their off-duty pistols.

Popular Optics

The survey asked respondents who said they use optics on their on-duty weapons a follow-up question about their preferred optics for their sidearms and backup pistols. The most popular brand was Holosun, followed by Trijicon, Aimpoint, SIG Sauer, Leupold, and unspecified.

That same question about brand preference was also asked about off-duty handgun optics. Holosun was also the most popular brand for off-duty and at an even higher percentage, 52% in contrast to 39%. In order of popularity, the respondents who are not using Holosun are using Trijicon, SIG Sauer, Aimpoint, Leupold, and unspecified.

Holosun— California based Holosun makes a variety of miniature red dot optics for pistols. The company’s HE508T-RD X2 is popular with both law enforcement and military. Like all pistol optics, which must survive the punishing torque of the slide when a round is fired, the HE508T-RD X2 features rugged contruction. The optic also offers always on capability with a battery life of up to 50,000 hours, crisp optics, and customizable reticles. Another popular Holosun model is the HS507K X2. This optic has a small form factor and a low profile, which makes it suitable for concealed carry pistols. Features include Shake Awake technology and a side-mounted battery tray so that users can change the battery without removing and re-zeroing the optic. The latest Holosun pistol optic is the HE509T, an enclosed emitter model with solar and battery power systems. 

Trijicon—Michigan-based Trijicon makes the RMR (ruggedized miniature reflex sight) series of red dot optics. The RMR was one of the first handgun optics to meet the demands of law enforcement and military shooters. Released in 2023, the RMR HD is the company’s latest pistol optic and a popular police option. The RMR HD offers two reticle sizes—1 MOA and 3.25 MOA. There is also an option for a segmented circle reticle with a center dot. The RMR HD is a little bigger than the standard RMR, allowing it to have a larger objective window for quicker target acquisition. One of the coolest features of the RMR HD Is that it has a forward looking light sensor that detects the target’s brightness and automatically adjusts the intensity of the dot and/or reticle to give the shooter the best illumination. Battery life offers three years of continuous use on dot only mode, and the top loading battery design allows the user to change the battery without removing the sight and screwing up the zero. 

Aimpoint—The ACRO P-2 is Aimpoint’s newest red dot pistol optic. The sight incorporates an improved LED emitter coupled with a higher capacity CR2032 battery to provide five years (50,000 hours) of constant-on power. Designed to endure the intense G-forces generated by semi-automatic pistol slides, the Acro series was the first pistol sight to offer a fully enclosed optical channel to protect the LED emitter from rain, mud, sand, snow, dirt, and dust. The Acro P-2 has been tested and proven to withstand the extreme shock, vibration, temperatures, and material stresses generated by firing over 20,000 rounds of .40 S&W ammunition. It features a 3.5 MOA dot for fast target acquisition. 

SIG Sauer—Popular firearms maker SIG Sauer introduced its Romeo-X handgun optic in 2023. The Romeo-X is available in a compact version (Romeo-X Compact) for micro-compact pistols, and a Pro version (Romeo-X Pro) for duty -size pistols. Both versions feature a distortion-free aspheric glass with a beryllium copper flexure-arm adjustment system set in an aircraft-grade aluminum housing. The Romeo-X series has a high-efficiency point source red LED emitter with 2 MOA dot / 32 MOA circle reticle, side independent brightness adjustment buttons, 15 brightness settings including night vision settings, and a side-mounted battery compartment so the optic does not need to be removed from the pistol for battery changes. The sight is motion activated. 

Leupold—The Leupold DeltaPoint Pro is a popular reflex sight designed for use on both handguns and long guns. Made of aircraft aluminum, the sight is designed, machined, and assembled in the U.S. The DeltaPoint Pro has a 2.5 MOA dot that does not obscure the target and enable quick target acquisition. www.leupold.com

Factors for Growth

Handgun optics have greatly improved in the last decade and there is now a much larger variety of holsters available for protecting and securing pistols fitted with red dot sights. These have been driving factors in the rapid adoption of this aiming tool for patrol duty.

Even chiefs and sheriffs that were once skeptical about the value of handgun optics are now deciding to let their officers and deputies use red dots on their duty pistols and backup guns.

In the current POLICE survey, one chief wrote: “Originally, I only allowed the SWAT team to have these sights. But I learned from my firearms instructors that these sights make a good shooter great. They give an officer confidence. They are one of the best investments in equipment if the officers are trained properly.”