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Mini RDS on AR15? Not such a bad idea, we tested the Oberland Arms RDS.

Small, built like a tank, 60 grams in weight (without mounting) – that's how the small red dot sight from Oberland Arms presents itself to us. It actually comes from the British company Shield, which has been manufacturing red dot sights for JP Enterprises for many years. Recently, they have also been represented under their own name and have primarily specialized in mini red dots. You mostly find them on pistols or offset next to scopes on rifles.

Compared to the other shields, the Oberland RDS, which is actually a Shield SIS (Switchable Interface Sight), appears more robust. The focus of the SIS was on robustness, and the electronics have been upgraded. The SIS comes with four different reticles, which you don't switch between but rather get fixed:

Switching is done by briefly pressing the plus and minus buttons for brightness adjustment. The reticle starts blinking. Now, you can switch up and down through the modes with plus or minus. To save, press plus and minus simultaneously again. We particularly like that it has a 1 MOA point (which is rather rare - 2 MOA is the standard) AND then a large, easily visible 8 MOA dot. Paired with the 65 MOA circle for both points, it results in a reticle that is quickly graspable and can be used both ultra-precisely and roughly.

You have to look closely - the 1 MOA point is hard to make out. When you add the 65 MOA circle, it becomes worlds faster.

The brightness in the picture is deceiving. Actually, when viewed with the naked eye, the reticle is much brighter, as you can see in the video as well. There you will also notice flickering, which in turn is not perceptible to the naked eye.

The brightness adjustment is located on the left side. The buttons are a bit small, making it not easy to readjust with gloves on. However, this is not a big issue: the SIS has an automatic brightness adjustment. There are 12 brightness levels in manual mode and three automatic levels (High, Medium, Low) available. The battery (CR2032) lasts 2-3 years with average use.

Here is the user manual for you: check out the Manual in PDF format

To zero in, you need a screwdriver and can then adjust the elevation and windage of the point.

The reticle and its diode are housed behind two polycarbonate windows. This allows the sight to function in dirt and rain - no diode that can get dirty. For the rain, the housing also has drainage outlets on the right and left, so that no water can collect in front of the window.

The red dot sight from Oberland Arms comes with mounting directly. It fits well on an AR15, although it does not have a quick-release mechanism and is relatively heavy. The optical height with this mounting is Co-Witness on the AR15, so Iron Sights can be used. The magnifier also seems to fit well in terms of height, but we only see a "comet" and not a point. Let us know in the comments if it looks the same for you.

Even though it may look like a chunky block in the pictures, the Oberland RDS is not at all disturbing. It shoots just like a Micro RDS with a tendency towards the Open Reflex Sight, since the housing is not round.

You get used to the optics relatively quickly, and on the AR15, it makes a good impression as expected.

CONCLUSION: The Oberland RDS is the king of micro sights. If you want to stand out from the crowd, prefer a precise 1 MOA point or an 8 MOA point for rough shooting, the SIS is just right. The mounting from Oberland Arms is well made, with the underside hollowed out for weight savings. The only downsides of the RDS itself are the somewhat small controls and the question of whether the optic can be used with a magnifier.

The Oberland RDS is available directly from Oberland Arms in the shop for 660 euros.

OBERLAND ARMS on the web: www.oberlandarms.com