TFB Review: AT3 Tactical ARO-MINI 3 MOA Red Dot

TFB Review: AT3 Tactical ARO-MINI 3 MOA Red Dot - Economic Hit, or Cheap Miss?

We are living in a renaissance for red dots on handguns. It is a glorious thing. It was not that long ago that your only options were a Trijicon RMR (good, but insanely expensive), a Burris FastFire (unexciting, but OK), and a hoard of untested, foreign red dots that now don’t exist anymore. Flash-forward to today and the moment you walk through a gun shop’s door you are tripping over options. If you want to spend $1K on a handgun red dot, there is some manufacturer out there making one with thermal, a million hour battery life, and GPS plotting (I’m kidding, but what if). What about the other end of the spectrum? How low can we go on price and still get a “bulletproof” red dot?

AT3 Tactical enters the chat and sets down their beer…

A new player has entered the game in AT3 Tactical. I would have never heard of them if not for my younger yet more scholarly looking friend and writer, Samuel Schaust, turning me on to them. They announced their ARO-Mini red dot that currently sells for $149 a couple weeks ago, and I was skeptical. I have killed my fair share of cheap red dots in my lifetime and was authentically curious if this would be next. So, today we are going to review the AT3 Tactical ARO-MINI 3 MOA Red Dot to see if it is an economic hit, or cheap miss? Let’s dive in!

Red Dots @ TFB:

• TFB Review: C&H Precision COMP Red Dot
• TFB REVIEW: Trijicon RCR Closed Emitter Red Dot Sight
• TFB Review: Meprolight MPO-F Red Dot Sight
• TFB REVIEW: The Trijicon RMR HD Red Dot Sight

Specifications - AT3 Tactical ARO-MINI 3 MOA Red Dot

The AT3 Tactical ARO-Mini Red Dot dons a standard Shield RMS/RMSc footprint making it widely compatible with nearly all of the popular micro-compact carry pistols currently on the market. It's not night vision compatible - which shouldn’t turn away many customers anyways - and it has a standard IPX7 waterproofing. So, if you spill your Baja Blast Mountain Dew while chowing down on a Crunchwrap Supreme, you’re still golden and protected from the elements. The rest of the essential specs you may want to know are listed below by AT3 Tactical:

• Reticle: 3 MOA Red Dot
• Overall Size (LxWxH): 40.8mm x 25.3mm x 25.7mm
• Window Size: 20.5mm x 16mm
• Material & Finish: 6061-T6 Aluminum | Matte Black Anodized
• Battery: CR1632 | 10,000 Hours
• Brightness Settings: 6 Daylight and Auto Brightness
• Shake Awake Auto Shutoff: 15 Minutes
• Elevation/Windage Range: +/- 50 MOA (total adjustment range 100 MOA)
• Rear Shelf Height: 7.5mm
• Center Dot Height: 15mm
• Eye Relief & Field of View: Unlimited
• Parallax Adjustment: Fixed

AT3 Tactical makes 2 models of red dots carrying the ARO moniker, but to reiterate for clarity, we are reviewing the lil’ guy today - the AT3 ARO-MINI™ Red Dot. Both models are listed below if you are interested along with their suggested pricing:

• AT3 ARO-MINI™ Red Dot: MSRP $213.99  Sale $149.99
• Subcompact Pistols (RMS/RMSC Footprint)
• AT3 ARO™ Micro Red Dot: MSRP $213.99  Sale $149.99
• Full Size Pistols (Doctor/Venom/Fastfire Footprint)

In the rare event that you should ever need service for your red dot, AT3 Tactical has a Lifetime Warranty that stands behind all of their products.

“All AT3 Tactical Brand Products carry a lifetime warranty against manufacturer’s defects. This includes AT3 Red Dot Sights, Handguards, Iron Sights, and any other product that carries the “AT3 Tactical” or “AT3™” name. In the event that your AT3™ product becomes unusable, we will repair or replace the product at no charge to you."

A Word from AT3 Tactical on the ARO-MINI 3 MOA Red Dot

What excites me about this red dot is not that it has fancy marketing hyperbole or made up descriptive adjectives that make it sound cool. Rather, it appears to do everything you need it to do at a much better price point than “all the big boys.” AT3 Tactical reiterates those points in their press release statement below:

“A concealed carry red dot sight made for the working people of America. The ARO-MINI is a sleek red dot designed for simplicity and performance on your favorite subcompact pistol. With an RMS/RMSc optic footprint, and a daylight bright 3 MOA dot with Shake Awake and Auto Brightness settings, you can equip your CCW with a dependable optic that’s ready when you need it most. Priced better than the big boys in the industry, with all the performance and precision you demand.”

What is the Elevator Pitch for the AT3 Tactical ARO-MINI 3 MOA Red Dot?

The AT3 Tactical ARO-Mini is not something we haven’t seen before. It appears to be a reliable micro red dot with a bevy of features concealed carry advocates would desire. It touts a Full AT3 Lifetime Warranty, top-loading battery, and sports an RMS/RMSC Footprint. All good traits. So, what is the secret sauce to set themselves apart from the rest of the “red dot pack?”

• Shake Awake for 10,000+ hour battery life
• Shield RMS/RMSc footprint
• No Slide Overhang on micro-compacts
• Only $149.99
• Actually a metal red dot; not a cheap plastic housing

 What’s in the Box?

A common yet simple question I have as a prospective buyer is, “What is in the box?” Ultra basic yet important because if you need extra screws or plates or whatever else to get an accessory adapted to your favorite pistol, you will want to know that up front. So, this is everything that AT3 Tactical includes with their ARO-Mini Red Dot.

• ARO-MINI Red Dot Sight
• CR1632 Battery
• 1 Degree Shim Plate
• Instruction sheet
• Lens cloth
• Torx Wrench for Mounting Screws and Windage/Elevation Adjustment
• Flathead Screwdriver for Battery Cap
• Mounting Screws for Optics-Ready Pistols
• Glock 43x and 48 MOS
• Smith & Wesson Shield Optics Ready
• Sig Sauer P365 Optics Ready
• Springfield Hellcat Optics Ready

Range Session - AT3 Tactical ARO-MINI 3 MOA Red Dot

So, how did this red dot perform out on the range? I topped off my Springfield Armory Hellcat Pro Comp with the AT3 Tactical ARO-MINI and performed various range drills while drawing from concealment, off a range table, and free standing. The red dot mounted easily enough being as it is RMS/RMSc compatible, and I could direct mount it to the Hellcat Pro Comp. It fastens easily, and AT3 Tactical provides you with plenty of mounting screws whether you have a Hellcat or other currently common carry guns.

As far as the picture you see, I did not notice any edge distortion of any kind while shooting and the red dot had good clarity as well. Also, the refresh rate must be pretty high because the dot was always there, constant, and bright.

The red dot didn’t sit quite low enough where you could co-witness your standard irons with the red dot, but that’s not a metric I judge red dots by. Simply something of note for the readers out there.

When drawing from concealment or generally shooting, it was relatively easy to find the red dot compared to other RMS/RMSc sized red dots. The window size is comparable to most of the RMS/RMSc red dots I own or have shot in the past. So, the learning curve is not bad at all. Within a mag or two, you can repeatedly and expectedly find your dot.

To test the AT3 Tactical ARO-MINI, I ran a bunch of Federal Premium’s Gold Medal Action Pistol 147 Grain Full Metal Jacket (FMJ). I’ll gladly give them a shout-out for a minute as this ammo in recent reviews has been reliable, clean, consistent, and given me good energy knocking down steel plates at the range. All good attributes you’d want and expect from your range ammo. So, thank you to Federal for providing that ammo.

So, the red dot passed most of the basic range tests that I have:

• How is its presentation? Can you catch the dot quickly?
• Is the picture clear? Is there distortion?
• Is it easy to mount? Does it have a standard footprint?
• Is it reliable?

Does it pass the “Two by Four Test?” That is my last test for red dots that I might be willing to trust my life with on a carry gun. Can I rack the slide of my pistol on a piece of 2x4 lumber repeatedly. To execute this test, I jacked the red dot against a 2x4 at the range 50 times in a row in under a minute. To my surprise - or maybe I shouldn’t have been - the red dot never wavered.

This is likely because those 2 Phillips screws being zinc, nickel, or whatever metal material that they are, were not anodized or finished in any coating and simply rubbed off a little bit. Do I care that under my cover plate or red dot there is a bit of rub-off from this red dot after use? I don’t. I don’t care at all. My guns are tools to me and they will exhibit use over time. So, that is up to you to decide if you care or not either.

When I reached out to the AT3 Product Development Manager about this, he had this to say:

“For our final production units, all the screws have the black finish instead of that silver finish, if the finish is what was causing the markings on the slide, then that will already be resolved. I am confident that the new finish and any other changes we make to ongoing production will resolve the markings.”

Hearing that, I appreciate the initiative they’ve taken to correct something that was brought to their attention and to hear out customer feedback (even if I’m just a hick gun writer).

Departing Thoughts

So, what are my final thoughts on the AT3 Tactical ARO-Mini red dot?... Overall, I am surprised and impressed. For a red dot that retails for less than $150, this thing is legit. I didn’t expect it to pass my “Battering Ram Test” because very few red dots do, but it passed with flying colors. All of the other more mundane metrics - ability to mount, clear picture, reliable, etc - it also passed with no issues. If you want an economical red dot that is not cheaply made, this is one that you will want to consider.

In closing, I want to say thank you to AT3 Tactical for allowing The Firearm Blog and myself the opportunity to try out their AT3 Tactical ARO-Mini Red Dot. That is greatly appreciated. Also, we would like to know what all of you guys and gals think?

Do you believe that the AT3 Tactical ARO-Mini Red Dot is something worth spending your money on? Would you take one with you hunting? Shoot a league or competition? Potentially deploy it for EDC (everyday carry)? As always, let us know all of your thoughts about AT3 Tactical and their ARO-Mini Red Dot in the Comments below! We always appreciate your feedback.