TRIJICON RMR and The LEUPOLD DELTAPOINT PRO

Posted on by

Whenever something new enters the market end users begin comparing it to the status quo.  That is good as Choices and Wants are what capitalism and the American dream are all about.

The Trijicon RMR has been the status quo now for more than six years.  But by the admission of insiders at Trijicon, it is a big ponderous machine that changes slowly and react, it seems, always too late to market demands.  Nonetheless, the Trijicon RMR sits atop more handguns than any other red dot today.  When we began this red dot pistol odyssey in 2009 the RMR was the only optic sufficiently rugged for the purpose. But others have been watching and moving to take some market share from Trijicon.

One of these companies is Leupold.  Leupold has been around for a very long time doing the same thing…making optics.  When I was a team sniper the scope on my rifle was a Leupold 3.5×10.  The scopes on my personal rifles today, even though there are a myriad of choices, are all Leupold TMR scopes. They do what they do – make optics – very well.  So I was very enthusiastic about checking the new Leupold Deltapoint Pro as well as how it would integrate into our red dot pistol doctrine.

What follows is a comparison of the Delta Point Pro with the Trijicon RMR.  I will give a short cut to the guys that skipped reading comprehension in school.  One is not better than the other.  They are different and bring different things to the table.  here is a comparison of those different things.

First I will give a face-to-face comparison of the specs of the two optics.

Magnification – There is none of course.  Both are what is called 1x.  In essence you look through the glass and what you see is what you see without looking through the glass.  But on the topic of glass, I will say that nothing is as clear as Leupold glass.  That is not to say that the RMR is dim or dark, but they do seem to have a bluish hue to the glass. Trijicon states, ” The coating is to maximize the efficiency of reflecting the LED’s wavelength resulting in a longer battery life”.

Moreover, the lens design on the Delta Point offers a much wider field of view than the RMR.  The protective housing aids in picking up the dot, whereas the RMR’s “cat ears” don’t seem to offer the same effect. The RMR is slightly more compact.

Footprint, or size – This is where it could get interesting.  Trijicon says their sight is  1.77″ (converted from 45mm).  Leopold’s is slightly longer at Length: 1.82″.  The Leupold is markedly narrower, fitting perfectly on a Glock 17 slide, whereas the RMR tends to overhang very slightly (making a perfect fit on a Glock 21 for example).

Leupold offers a rear sight that can be affixed to the Delta Point, allowing for not only co witnessing, but also for easy adjustments.

The RMR is slightly lighter than the Delta Point Pro, but the Delta Point Pro does not need an interface plate between the slide and the red dot.

Both use an LED dot. The RM06 being the closest comparison in the RMR line is a 3.25 MOA, while the Delta Point Pro is a 2.5 MOA dot.  Both are adjustable for 1 MOA clicks.  On that note, the dials on the RMR are not nearly as distinct – nor I think as robust – as on the Delta Point. Adjusting the Delta Point Pro feels like you are adjusting the dials on a $2000 rifle scope.

Both optics use the same CR2032 Lithium Battery, and both are waterproof to the same depth.

Now to the more drastic differences.

The Delta Point has a sensor titled “Motion Sensor Technology”, that picks up any movement of the sight and automatically activates the illumination.  I tested this in several ways and suffice to say that no human will be faster than this.  The fact that the sight can “go to sleep”, like your computer, when it is in a safe, on the night stand, etc. is a huge asset to battery life.  Like the RMR, the Delta Point can be manually turned on, or off as well.

The RMRs have an auto brightness adjustment, which the Delta point lacks.  I am told that the military wanted the feature removed.  My opinion is that I do not like the auto adjust and do not use it on my RMRs.  The Delta Point is manually adjustable and with the dot set in the middle point, it is suitable for most situations.  One can always go brighter.

One feature that I really like on the Delta Point is the DP Pro flashes the dot 10 times when it detects a low battery (starting when there’s “several hours” of power left). Whether or not you notice this is another matter but if we make checking the dot as a part of the “Weapons Check” then you will, and you will be able to remedy the matter.

Here is where the DP outpaces the RMR…for some users.

The DP’s battery compartment is on top and once the DP is mounted on the pistol it never need be removed to change a battery.  Nor do you need any tools to change the battery.  Pop open the housing’s door, replace the battery, and off you go.

The only price is that the DP sits higher on the slide, necessitating a taller front sight than usual.

I have been running a DP on one of our SI-334 slides now for a few months as has a number of our staff, and I have not found any drawbacks to using this optic as an alternative to the RMR.  Is it a better optic?  No, not really.  It offers some benefits over the RMR, and the only drawback that I have found is a slightly taller profile and limited model offerings.