Unbreakable Aiming Solution:
Trijicon Green RMR
Now in green! The Trijicon RMR Type 2 is available with a green 3.25 MOA dot size.
For just about 16 years now, some variation of the Trijicon RMR red dot sight has set the durability and ruggedness standard for rifle and pistol optics.
There are lots of red dot sights on the market — they’re nothing particularly new — but considering the greatest source of resistance to adopting the “new” way of sighting a handgun is the “it’ll just break at the worst possible moment” argument, there’s a lot to be said for one where the primary feature is not breaking.
In fact, I’ve (deliberately) thrown, banged and smashed them. On one occasion, when challenged by some Trijicon engineers, I zeroed one for 15 yards, unloaded the pistol, flipped it upside down, and proceeded to smash it against a nearby 2×6 piece of lumber as hard as I could. Not only did it not break, it remained on. And not only did it remain powered on, it maintained its zero perfectly.
So, in my book, while anything electronic can fail, this particular setup falls into the extremely low probability of failure bucket. Do your part and make sure to proactively change the battery every New Year’s Day, and you’ll be good to go for a long, long time.
Trijicon RMR Type 2 (Green) left side. Note the windage adjustment.
RMR Variants
From the early days, Trijicon has offered different solutions for different needs and preferences. One of the first models, way back when, that caught my attention was the battery-free dual illumination model. Lit up by either fiber optic or an internal Tritium lamp, depending on ambient light conditions, you didn’t even have to worry about the annual battery change.
More recently, the company has come out with different battery solutions, too. For example, some models are described as “Automatic LED” and “Adjustable LED.” The short description of the difference is that the “Automatic” family has circuitry that dims and brightens the LED depending on the current light conditions where you are. The “Adjustable” models also feature automatic adjustmen,t but allow you to “hard code” your preferred brightness and leave it there using buttons on both sides of the housing. Of course, you can always use the side buttons to adjust for anticipated dark or bright conditions.
More recently, the company has come out with the HD family, adding circle and dot reticle options among other features.
But one thing has been missing all these years…
Left side. The adjustable model allows user-selectable brightness and has auto brightness compensation features.
Green Machine
The latest iteration of the Trijicon RMR adds a green LED option to its reflex light family.
This newest Type 2 RMR (Ruggedized Miniature Reflex) produces a 3.25 MOA Green Dot. The idea behind green versus red is visibility in daylight. While the “housed” or at least “covered” nature of optical sights makes red adequately visible in daylight conditions, it does sometimes require operation at the brightest settings for best visibility. As for the new green, you can’t miss it. It literally leaps into view through the sight’s window.
It’s just a human eye thing. The “fluorescent” green produces a color wavelength that the human eye is just more sensitive to. So, in addition to bright conditions, it’s also more visible in hazy or foggy environments.
Green Adjustable Features
The sight window itself is the same size as all the other RMR Type 2 models, at .87″ x .63″. That translates to an overall sight body size of 1.8 x 1.2 x 1.0″ or just a shade less tall than the new RMR HD model.
Like most others, it’s powered by a CR2032 battery, which is common enough to find just about anywhere. For this model, you will have to pop the optic off to change the battery, but considering it’s supposed to last a full two years at the 4 out of 8 brightness setting, that’s not much of a worry. Even using my once-a-year proactive battery change system, checking the zero isn’t a big deal. Besides, in the past, I’ve not seen the zero change materially during a simple battery swap anyway. But I’ll always want to check it to be sure.
Mounting
No difference in the hardware with this new release. I replaced an existing RMR HD sight with this one for testing on a Staccato C pistol already equipped with RMR-compatible plates and locking pins. It went right on using the same screws and everything.
Top view. You will have to remove the side to replace the CR2032 battery underneath.
To zero, just use the elevation and windage dials with a small flathead screwdriver or similar tool (it’s got a simple slot so you don’t need anything special, and a pocketknife will do in a pinch). Each click on the top and side adjustment dials will shift the dot and point of impact by 1 minute of angle. At 25 yards, that’s just a hair over 1/4” on your target, so if you use some rough match after the first shot, you’ll get pretty darn close.
The green dot configuration of the RMR Type 2 only costs about 30 bucks more than the red option, with an MSRP of $810.
For more info: Trijicon.com
