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Choosing the best Ruger 10/22 sights is always a challenge because there are many different factors to consider. You need to look for a large reticle, the right color variations, and some features to help prevent glare.
After tirelessly researching and reading up on the latest firearm optics trends, we put together this complete guide to the best Ruger 10/22 sights. Let’s dive right in!
- 14 Researched Sources
- 1.9k Reviews Considered
- 10 Hours Researching
- 28 Products Evaluated
Best Flip-Up Sight: Tech Sights Ruger 10/22 TSR100 Gi-Style Sight
Pros
- Simple to install
- Great for close and long-range
- The design prevents damage and misalignment
Cons
- A large aperture is too small in many cases
- Might have to order hardware separately
This factory replacement GI-style sight offers exceptional accuracy. The Tech Sights red dot is simple to install, doesn’t require any alterations to your rifle, and you don’t need to worry about paying a gunsmith to install it. You should have no issues installing this yourself at home, so that saves you an added cost right off the bat.
The flip-up sight is designed to offer a great picture, increased accuracy, and the rear sight also adjusts for windage so you can use it for both close and long-range shooting.
Misalignment of the sight can cause damage or severe issues with accuracy. The all-steel front sight assembly makes it simple to install, and it’s surrounded with protective ears that guard it, preventing damage.
Whether you’re trying to get accuracy on the range for plinking or out in the field, the Tech Sights Ruger 10/22 sight is the right choice if you’re looking for a no-frills, to the point, red dot sight that gets the job done.
Best Red Dot Sight: Vortex Optics SF-BR-503 Strikefire II
Pros
- Great durability and element protection
- Affordably priced
- Bright sight
Cons
- Difficult to zero in
Vortex is a household name in Ruger optics, and they’ve made that all the more clear with the Vortex Optics SF-BR-503 Strikefire II red dot sight. If you’re looking for a great Ruger 10/22 laser sight, this one is our top choice.
The lens contains a dual coating that maximizes light transmission while minimizing reflection. This means you get the best image all the time regardless of the amount of sunlight you’re experiencing outside.
This is the Strikefire II, but it has a lot of the design features from the original Strikefire, which was a favorite among Ruger enthusiasts. It’s still sturdy enough to handle the recoil and impact while maintaining a compact design and lightweight functionality.
It has a hard-anodized finish producing less glare and allowing more tactical shooting. It’s also fog and waterproof, so you can take this into any weather no matter what you’re doing. You’ll find a reason to break out this red dot sight everywhere you go and put it to use.
Finally, it has an o-ring sealed lens, so no longer will you have to worry about the elements getting into the chambers, causing excessive moisture buildup.
Best Fiber Optic Sight: HIVIZ Ruger 10/22 Front/Rear Combo
Pros
- Simple to install
- Bright colors and sight
- Extremely accurate
Cons
- Requires shimming
- The rear sight is too small for some
Now let’s look at one of the best replacement sights for Ruger 10/22. The HIVIZ Ruger 10/22 has both a front and rear sight, which increases the chances of you hitting your target.
It fits onto bull barrels and standards from Brownells of about 18 inches in length, and both sights come with something they call LitePipe colors. It means that the front sights are green, red, and white, and the rear sights are green and red.
Both sights are incredibly bright and align easily so you can deliver the most accurate shot possible. You can adjust this sight for elevation, and it’s foldable, so it doesn’t take up too much room on your firearm.
One thing we love about the color feature on this sight is the fact that it doesn’t just help with accuracy, but it also helps with target acquisition. The color makes it easier to pick up on targets that might be further down the range. This factor is especially helpful when hunting varmint.
Best Visibility Sight: MeoSight III
Pros
- Lightweight and durable
- Highly adjustable
- Great on many different firearms
Cons
- Costly
If high visibility is what you seek, you’ll want to check out the MeoSight III. This single lens sight is incredibly durable because it’s made with aircraft-grade aluminum. It’s a mini red dot with a semi-square lens, but that doesn’t compromise your accuracy or visibility.
The red dot is centered in the middle of the lens, which provides the clearest picture possible while also using a proprietary system of ion-assisted multi-coatings.
That’s where the sight gets its name. The multi-coating is called Meobright. This design intends to reduce glare, reflection and guarantee 99.8% light transmission at all times. It’s a shockproof and waterproof sight that handles recoil much better than some of the other aftermarket Ruger 10/22 products.
One of the most significant upsides to this sight is the fact that you can use it for almost anything; it isn’t limited to rimfire rifles. You can use it with shotguns, handguns, centerfires, and much more.
Best Laser Sight: HOLOSUN HS403G Micro Red Dot Sight
Pros
- Highly visible red dot
- Waterproof up to 100 feet in depth
- Long battery life
- 2 MOA red dot
Cons
- Difficult to mount
Next, we have the HOLOSUN HS403G Paralow Micro Red Dot Sight with T1. This red dot sight is durable and able to withstand some serious abuse due to its design with aluminum materials and MAO finish.
You can submerge this sight in water up to 100 feet, and it will still work. It comes with an adjustable turret that you can easily adjust by hand, even if you’re wearing gloves. The thing that impresses us the most is the red dot sight. It’s incredibly visible because it’s a 2 MOA, which means it’s much larger than the other sights.
It stays parallax free, which keeps everything crisp when you’ve found your target, and the long battery life ensures that the brightness doesn’t fade right when you’ve locked on.
The only downside we have noticed is that a lot of firearm owners have a hard time getting this one mounted. It seems like it requires small modifications for some, and others have no problem depending on the type of rifle you’re using.
Best Budget Sight: Fire Sights Ruger 10/22
Pros
- Easy to install
- Bright and well illuminated
- Affordable
Cons
- Small dot
- Could use more features to protect it
If you’re looking at all these sights and trying to figure out how you can afford them, we’ve got an option for you. The Fire Sights Ruger 10/22 sight has both a front and rear sight, and they’re both fixed with high-quality aluminum plating for durability. You don’t have to deal with cheap materials even though you’re getting a highly affordable red dot sight.
The front sight uses an orange color, and the rear is green. They both work perfectly together, so it helps increase your rate of target acquisition and allows for a more accurate shot.
It’s lightweight, durable, and simple to install, so you don’t need to hire a gunsmith. For something so affordable, it’s pretty impressive how they’re able to pack so much into a small sight like this.
Best Front Sight: MSP Fiber Optic Front Sight
Pros
- Simple installation
- Bright color
- Factory sight replacement
Cons
- The size of the sight could be bigger
There are many reasons why people purchase front and rear sights separately; if that’s what you’d prefer, here’s what we have. This front sight for the Ruger 10/22 has a CNC-machined housing made with high-quality steel. It’s extremely durable, long-lasting, and can put up against some serious abuse.
The sight itself is red, which offers a great advantage and accurate shooting. It’s better than iron sights and all other standard offerings according to our research.
It’s simple to install and does the job for most Ruger owners. It fits almost any style including carbine, rimfire, and takedown. While it’s not the “most impressive” option on the market; if you’re looking to increase your accuracy, you’ll land more shots with this than you would without.
Best Rear Sight: Nodak Spud Rear Sight with Rail
Pros
- Improved accuracy from iron sights
- Easy to install
- Rail is a great bonus
Cons
- Rear sight only
If you’re a fan of the Picatinny rail, you’ll love this rear sight for the Ruger 10/22. It offers a rugged militaristic appearance with ten positions for you to adjust based on windage. The rail also allows you the room necessary to add more accessories.
Installation is simple, and they provide you with four screws for mounting. You don’t need any special gunsmithing skills, and you won’t have to hire a professional to install it. If you’re in need of a great rear sight that’s easy to install, accommodates other add-ons, and works great with most front sights, give this one a further look.
Ruger 10/22 Sight Types
Understanding the different types of sights should be the first thing you think about when shopping around. If you know what each sight does and how it improves your accuracy, then you can use that to then make the right purchase for your style and preferences. Let’s take a look at the three best Ruger 10/22 sight types.
Open Sights
These are the standard sights that come with most of your rifles and shotguns. They’re on the front end of the gun by the muzzle, and they appear almost like a ball that you’re trying to center on your target. These sights are very simplistic, and they offer nothing more than a benchmark for you to go on.
The downside with open sights is they don’t accommodate windage, distance, or anything else, so you need to factor all of that in yourself. Of course, our forefathers didn’t have all this fancy technology, and they got by just fine, but most people would like to upgrade to a better sight.
Peep Sight Picture
Peep sights have the same function as an open sight, but the main difference is that you have to look through a lens similar to a scope for these to work. They work best in close range because they don’t offer the accuracy necessary for long-range shooting.
This doesn’t do much other than provide a clearer picture of what you’re seeing in the distance. It helps improve your visibility, but it doesn’t actually hone in on your target or make it any easier to hit them where you want.
Telescopic Sights
These are different from scopes because they don’t have the same level of precision in the long-distance shooting. While we do recommend these for long-range shots compared to the other two options, telescopic sights provide improved accuracy, a clearer picture, and a better chance at nailing your target.
Tech Sights
While a tech sight is not its “own” type of sight, it is worth mentioning here. Tech Sights are similar to your standard iron sight and they come in a few different models. Some have dual leaf flip apertures and others have single elevation, it depends which model you choose. They use incremental windage adjustment and you can use them on all types of Rugers including carbines, .22s, and rimfires.
How to Choose the Best Ruger 10/22 Sights
Now that you understand basically everything you could want to know about Ruger 10/22 front sights, rear sights, tactical sights, and more, let’s talk about how you can choose one for yourself today. Here are the most important things to look at before pulling out your wallet.
Sight Type
As mentioned previously, we need to take a look at the sight type. While we didn’t recommend any iron sights, most of the options recommended above are telescopic sights, which means they contain a red dot that helps improve your accuracy.
These are the sights you want if you’re going to spend any amount of money, they’ll improve your shot the most and won’t leave you wanting to spend more money down the road.
Ruger 10/22 Sights Installation
Installation is important because you can’t use your Ruger 10/22 sight if you can’t install it. Furthermore, even if you can install it, the installation process needs to be easy; otherwise, you’ll throw off your accuracy worse than you were without the sight. Even if you’re off by as much as a 32nd of an inch, it can mean the difference between hitting and missing your target.
Material
Most of the sights we looked at contain the best materials possible, and it’s important that they do. One way to always ensure durability comes your way is to shop according to the brand. We don’t ever recommend purchasing firearm related accessories from an off-brand or something you’ve never heard of.
While it might not make too much of a difference to buy “off-brand coffee creamer,” if you buy a generic red dot sight, you might know it. Look for CNC machined products using steel and metal housings instead of plastic. They’ll withstand the recoil better and last longer.
Reticle
One of the reasons you’re buying a sight is for the red dot, right? Well, it wouldn’t help you much if you couldn’t see it, so we want to pay close attention to the quality of the reticle itself. Some are bright, and some are dim. Some come with a bunch of settings that allow you to adjust the brightness while then shortening the battery life. As the battery gets low, it automatically turns down the brightness, which impacts your performance.
You also want to look at the color combinations on the front and rear sights. Do they provide a clear image? Think about the different scenarios you might face and how those colors would impact your accuracy.
We also suggest going with a reticle that is as large as you can find. Having a large sight will make it much easier to hit the target where you want to.
Style
The style of the sight is important because you’re putting it on your Ruger 10/22. First, you want it to look good, so it enhances your rifle’s appearance rather than brings it down. Also, do you want to go for a tube style or open style?
The open style design is more compact but also lacks in durability. The tube style definitely takes up more space, is bulkier, but looks more conventional and provides better durability.
Ruger 10/22 Sights Price
The price of the sight is always a consideration. Think about your motivation here, why are you searching for a Ruger 10/22 sight? Are you simply playing around with your toys? Or do you have an objective to improve your hunting skills for a specific reason? Regardless of your purpose, allow that to guide your decision when determining a budget.
Sights vs. Scopes
In this section, we’re taking a look at the difference between red dot sights, holographic sights, and full-on scopes. All three of these have their similarities and differences so let’s make a side-by-side comparison to help understand.
Red Dot Sight
So, to provide the simplest explanation – a red dot sight puts a red dot on the target. That dot tells you that you’re on-point, and if you fire the gun right now, you have a solid chance of hitting right where the dot is.
You can use red dot sights in addition to iron sights or as a replacement for them. Sizes range between 1 MOA and 8 MOA. Generally, the smaller the size, the smaller the gun. A pistol would only have a 1 MOA, and a shotgun would have an 8 MOA. The size of the dot also plays into the distance you would fire.
The main downside with red dots is that they don’t come with magnification, but you can combine them with a magnifier, though. They have magnification reaching 3x or higher, which makes them great for long-range shooting.
Holographic Sight
Holographic sights are smaller than red dots, and they usually have a rectangular frame with glass inside of it. This allows you to view the sight through the reticle, which offers a 3D presentation of your target. What this does is it helps you not only acquire the target, but it also helps you stay on them and account for environmental factors that may impact your shot.
They do not come with magnification either, but you can get one with zoom providing up to 3x magnification. Comparing a holographic sight to a red dot is difficult because the differences are so minimal.
We personally think that holographic sights work better because of the lens, which makes it much easier to zero-in on a target but of course, that comes with an added cost.
Scopes
The main difference between the previous two options and scopes is that a scope can magnify, that’s about it. Some scopes do offer red dot reticles, and most will even compensate for windage and elevation adjustments.
With scopes, you have the first frontal plane and the second frontal plane. The first comes with reticles that grow and shrink to magnify your image of the target. The second frontal scope offers a much more magnified image, which causes issues when calculating windage and elevation. Most people use the first frontal plane scope for shooting and hunting.
Ruger 10/22 Sights: Final Thoughts
Finding the best Ruger 10/22 sights is simple when you know what you’re looking for. By this point, you should understand the different types of sights, why you would choose one over the other, and which one you should choose for yourself.
Now, there’s only one thing left to do. Buy it, install it, and put it to work!