Trijicon SRO VS RMR: Pick Your optic

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The main difference between the Trijicon SRO and RMR is that SRO – specialized reflex optic was deliberately designed for pistols. Its use mainly lies in competition and sports, hence the larger field-view window. While the RMR – ruggedized miniature reflex sight was designed keeping rifles in mind but later adapted to pistols. It has great durability. Therefore, it’s considered best for more of a rough application or on-duty use.

Trijicon SRO vs Trijicon RMR

Hey shooters! Welcome back to my review of trijicon SRO vs RMR.

This time I’m taking you along on a journey to explore the differences and similarities between two red dot sights that are currently leading this market – Trijicon SRO and Trijicon RMR.

Since red dot sights are the new “It” in the weapon world, I’m sure you must be on the lookout to get your hands on a nice one like any other gun enthusiast.

Hailing from a military background, I have found Trijicon to be extremely reliable and durable after spending a good part of my life on weapons and firearms. So, we’ll talk about these two gems from Trijicon’s chest – SRO and RMR.

As discussed earlier, the main difference between both is that one takes the trophy in durability while the other stands out in accuracy. Also, both were initially designed for different purposes.

The detailed analysis of the differences and commonalities based on features and price is given below, so let’s dive right into it. 

What To Look For?

This article consists of a comparison between the features of Trijicon SRO and RMR, along with the mention of the winner in each category. 

  1. Durability
  2. Size and Weight
  3. Reticle
  4. Accuracy
  5. Battery life and other features
  6. Brightness
  7. Footprint
  8. Price

Trijicon SRO vs RMR: Specifications

SRO vs RMR: Features

I have compared all the features of SRO and RMR below. 

1. Durability

Any optic mounted on a weapon must be extremely durable and impervious to shocks. If a red dot starts to flicker after some recoils or the glass of the window breaks after being dropped, then you should know at that instant that your money went down the drain. Hence, the durability of any red dot sight is a very important factor to keep in mind while buying one. Talking of which, our products for this review – SRO, and RMR come with the signature durability of Trijicon.

Aluminum Housing

Both SRO and RMR have great aluminum built. This provides them with maximized finishing and durability.

Due to the 7075 aluminum housing, SRO and RMR get utmost protection from heat and extreme altering temperatures. And when it comes to protection, heat is just one aspect. Aluminum also saves the optic from corrosion, fog, dust, etc.

Moreover, what benefits aluminum housing provides is that it doesn’t make the sight heavy since aluminum is a lighter building material. Therefore, SRO and RMR are both extremely lightweight.

Waterproof

The waterproof rating is another measure of durability for any optic. Being submerged in water for a long time can damage any product’s working, especially an optic; therefore, these days, they’re made waterproof to different extents to resist water damage.

Trijicon SRO is waterproof up to 10 feet (3 meters), while the RMR will work just as fine after submerging under 66 feet (20 meters).

Durability Test 

After 1 and 2 years of my experience with RMR and SRO, I have completed 2500 and 1600 rounds of each. I found both extremely durable and reliable since they could hold zero after various rounds and drops in rough conditions and handling.

For more reliable and rigorous testing, I would refer to two big names from YouTube, Mike from Mrgunsngear Channel, a former military person, and Aaron Cowan from Sage Dynamics.

The former conducted a shoulder height drop test on grass and wood while the latter tested their durability by following methods:

  • 500 round burn-down

This test is done to see if the optic keeps functioning normally or gets affected by the heat. Although you’re not going to generate that amount of heat in your handgun, there goes nothing here, hence the 500-round burn-down test.

In this test, both optics performed presumably well, with no compromise on the performance later.

  • One-handed manipulation

In this test, we witness Aaron rack the handgun against wooden beams during single-handed manipulation, and both SRO and RMR came out of this test with flying colors with no damage to the window or losing zero.

Shoulder-height drop test

This test was done by both Mike and Aaron in their videos, whereas Mike already predicts that SRO won’t survive the impact.

Mike dropped the SRO on grass and then on a wooden surface, while Aaron dropped both on concrete and other surfaces from shoulder height.

The RMR survived the impact while SRO broke its window’s glass in the test. 

Housing shape

One reason for RMR to withstand the impact was its unique curved window shape that provided much-needed rigidity to avert the force of the shock, adding to the durability. SRO has a circular window which is, no doubt, larger but adds no value to durability.

Winner: RMR

Both SRO and RMR have the legendary durability of Trijicon, but if you’re looking for an on-duty red dot sight that won’t betray you, then RMR is your thing. Otherwise, SRO is suitable for home defense or hunting competitions, etc.

2. Size and Weight 

SRORMR
Height(inches)1.41
Width(inches)1.31.1
Length(inches)2.21.8
Weight(ounces)1.61.17

As visible from the table, there isn’t much difference between SRO and RMR regarding dimensions, but these subtle differences make a great deal for people who take shooting as a serious business.

The SRO has more height and length, hence a larger window, which has benefits, but this length and height come with certain cons. The height adds to the profile, and some people like low-profile optics for pistols because of the sleek look. Also, the length matters a lot because, in any case, you wouldn’t like your hand to go past the muzzle, so most people would prefer a shorter optic. Hence, SRO has a dimension setback due to more height and length while RMR steps forward.

Moreover, a weapon meant for conceal carry must be accompanied by lightweight optics like RMR. SRO is slightly heavier than RMR.

Winner: RMR

RMR takes the cake in this category because of its lightweight and snag-free design – lesser height and length.

3. Reticle 

SRO

SRO gives you 3 reticle options to choose from – 1 MOA, 2 MOA, and 5 MOA. 1 and 2 MOA are widely used since they provide more precision and accuracy and let you acquire targets at large distances. These are used by pro-shooters and are mostly mounted on rifles and target pistols.

While the 5 MOA is used for faster target acquisition at relatively closer distances, it allows the dot to be recovered shortly and provides speed. This dot is best for competitive sports or home defense, where the target is relatively closer to the pistol.

RMR

RMR features two reticle options for its users – 3.25 and 6.5. 3.25 gives precision at longer ranges, while 6.5 provides speed and faster recovery at short distances.

So, it’s really up to the application of the pistol. If you need it for duty use, accuracy is a must. Hence, go for the 1/2/3.25 MOA from either RMR or SRO. And if you are into hunting sports or need the pistol/ gun for self-defense, keep the 5/6.5 MOAs.

Winner: SRO

Although different reticle options have their own pros and cons and it depends on the user’s application, SRO is the winner in this category since it features more distinct options of reticles than the RMR.

4. Accuracy  

One of the main functions provided by a red dot is accuracy and precision. There are certain parameters to measure accuracy in a red dot which are mentioned below.

Parallax free design

A parallax-free design provides a great edge to a red dot sight. It allows you to retain the dot’s position on the target even if you move your head around. Both RMR and SRO have parallax-free designs that add to their precision value.

Field of view

SRO provides an unobstructed and larger field of view because of its large circular window. RMR has a curved, slightly smaller window design that has its benefits but lacks such a large field of view which is vital for situational awareness and tracking moving targets in hunting, etc.

Windage and elevation adjustments

Before dwelling right into it, let’s see what windage and elevation are and why it is adjusted.

When you shoot, the bullet doesn’t hit the exact aim point. This is due to different factors like gravity etc. This difference between the point of impact (where the bullet hits) and aim point (your actual aim) is now adjusted through sights by windage (horizontally) or elevation (vertically), which you call zeroing. Now, to make your zeroing stress-free, both RMR and SRO feature convenient windage and elevation settings, and you won’t even need tools for that.

Winner: SRO

SRO has excellent accuracy and precision and provides a sharp shooting experience due to the large window.

5. Battery features

Battery life

If you ask any gun enthusiast what their biggest fear regarding firearms at a shooting range is, I bet the answer that you’ll get the most will be dying of batteries. Because no one wants an optic that dies on him in the most critical situation, like a home invasion, you would always want your optic to be ready on the word “go.”

SRO releases you from the stress of charging your sight now and then and provides you with an incredible battery life of 30000 hours at a brightness setting of 4 or 8. But, RMR takes a step ahead and features 40000 hours of battery life at the same settings, which means almost 4 years of non-stop usage. Great, isn’t it?

Battery Compartment

SRO has a top-loading battery compartment which makes the whole process of battery replacement a breeze, and you don’t have to worry about your zeroing or other adjustments being messed up. Just open the compartment and switch the batteries.

Whereas RMR might give you a little bit of a hard time here since you’ll have to remove it to change the batteries.

Battery saver mode

RMR has a battery conservation mode which is activated after 16.5 hours of continuous use. It automatically adjusts the reticle’s brightness to match the surrounding lighting conditions to save power.

Winner: RMR

RMR gives you 10000 more hours of battery life than SRO and has an additional battery conservation feature, so it’s the winner of this category.

6. Brightness settings

Brightness features are usually what makes a red dot sight extremely user-friendly or not. A red dot must be well-suited to be visible in all lighting conditions. Otherwise, it’s of no use.

Both SRO and RMR have 8 brightness settings, 1 of which is super bright while 2 are suited for night vision.

Both of these sights allow the settings to be manipulated by the user – with easy toggle switches or set automatically by sight to match the environment.

Button lock-in/ lock-out mode

SRO has a button lock-in mode to secure the user-selected brightness setting for the reticle. In contrast, a button lock-out mode secures the automatic adjustment of the reticle brightness according to the surrounding lighting condition.

The former is considered best for competition, sports, and target shooting, where the user chooses the brightness to his will, while the latter is much needed in hunting treks or routine shooting.

RMR also features the button lock-out mode.

Winner: SRO

SRO is the winner in this category because even since both feature the same brightness setting options, SRO advances with the button lock-in mode, which RMR lacks.

7. Footprint 

RMR is extremely convenient to be mounted on any weapon, and that makes the footprint of RMR the most widely used footprint in the industry.

RMR can be mounted straight to a handgun, pistol, or rifle, or if you like, you can purchase a mounting plate or a rail mounting option like Dueck Defense RMR mount or ALG 6-second mount.

SRO uses the same footprint as RMR. Both are extremely easy to mount and detach from your weapon. 

Winner: none

Both have the same footprint; hence none takes the flag here.

8. Price

Price is usually one of the deciding factors eventually. RMR and SRO have a difference of 50 to 60 bucks in the current market. Both being from the same brand – Trijicon, have almost the same features hence little price difference. But anyways, RMR allows you to spend a few fewer pennies than you would on SRO.

Winner: RMR

Clearly, RMR is the winner here, being less expensive than SRO.

Trijicon SRO VS Trijicon RMR – Comparison Videos

Trijicon RMR Vs SRO – Overall Winner

As said earlier, RMR and SRO have many common features, so it’s really hard to pick one to be the best but keeping in view the durability, size comparison, battery features, and last but definitely not the least, price, RMR is the overall winner.

Its ruggedized design and patent window make it extremely durable and resistant to impact or abuse. And the concealed carry design and long-lasting battery make it a perfect fit for duty use without going overboard the budget ship.

My Pick 

My personal pick is also RMR. To me, durability and battery life are the two most important things, and RMR has made this worry of mine vanish. Its ability to withstand abuse has impressed me many times. In short, I love this mini but mighty optic.

Verdict

RMR and SRO both belong to Trijicon and undoubtedly are the star products of this brand. Choosing one between them sure isn’t easy, but I hope the comparison was of some help. Ultimately, it’s up to the user application and matter of preference.

As you see, RMR proved tremendously durable in all durability tests due to its ruggedized design, aluminum housing, and curved window shape, while SRO also gave good competition.

SRO is slightly heavier, taller, and lengthier than RMR; hence not so well suited for concealed carry but recommended for home defense, etc.

While the reticle options provided by SRO are more diverse than RMR, SRO has 1, 2, and 5 MOA reticle dot sizes while RMR has 3.25 and 6.5.

In accuracy, too, SRO came out with flying colors, with its large and unhindered field of view and large window size, parallax-free design, and easy windage and elevation adjustments. RMR also has all of these except the large window size.

SRO provides you with 3 years of battery life, while RMR gives you 4 years. SR has a top-loading battery compartment, while RMR has a battery-saving mode.

Both have 8 automatic and manual brightness settings, and SRO has button lock-in and lock-out mode while RMR only has button lock-out mode.

Both have the same footprint – the RMR footprint.

Finally, RMR is less expensive than SRO.

For further queries, head to FAQs.

FAQS

Is there any difference between type 1 RMR and type 2?

Type 1 RMR was designed for duty use, especially fit for rifles. Later, Type 2 was introduced, which was adapted to pistols by making necessary changes.

What is the difference between 2 MOA and 5 MOA?

2 MOA is used to acquire targets at larger distances with precision, while 5 MOA is used for faster target acquisition at relatively closer targets. With 5 MOA, it is easier to recover the target. It is used when you need speed more than accuracy, like in self-defense situations where the target is up-close. At the same time, 2 MOA might be needed when you are on duty or by experienced shooters when you need to aim at a point far away, and you require a crisp red dot.

What footprint does SRO use?

SRO uses the same footprint as RMR.

Is Trijicon RMR waterproof?

Yes, Trijicon RMR is waterproof up to 66 feet (20 meters). It won’t show any malfunctioning or wear-tear being submerged in water to this level for 30 minutes.

What kind of lens does Trijicon RMR use?

Trijicon RMR uses a multi-layered, true-color lens that allows a wide band of light to transmit through it, causing a minimum change in the color of the target area.

Does SRO come with a battery?

Yes, Trijicon SRO comes with a CR2032 battery that can also be later changed very conveniently through the top-loading compartment.

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AUTHOR

My name is James Frost. I'm a veteran shooter and content creator who enjoys writing firearm gears reviews for scopesandstuff.com. I love teaching people about guns and gear and helping them to become better shooters.

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