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Most people who hunt with a handguns use some sort of optical sight for the simple reason that it improves accuracy and can increase your maximum effective range. Optical sights are popular with target and recreational handgun shooters too. However, with the rise in popularity of non-magnifying red-dot sights, the selection of good and trustworthy traditional handgun scopes has dwindled to just a few. So, below, I've evaluated and reviewed the best magnifying handgun scopes, as well as a couple of excellent non-magnifying sights. As far as the scopes below are concerned, I get that my list might look a bit like a Burris advertisement, but it's just a result how my honest assessments shook out. The simple fact of the matter is that today, Burris makes many the best handgun scopes you can buy.
Best for Hunting: Burris 2-7x32mm
Best for Target Shooting: Burris 3-12x32mm
Best Value: Burris 2x20mm
Best Red Dot Sight: Aimpoint ACRO P-2
Best Reflex Sight: Trijicon RMR Dual Illuminated Reflex Sight
What is a Handgun Scope?
Scopes for pistols and revolvers primarily differ from scopes for rifles and shotguns in that they have a much longer eye relief. Riflescopes and scopes for shotguns tend to have an eye relief of between 3 and 5 inches, while the eye relief of handgun scopes can extend from around a foot out to about twice that far. Don’t make the mistake of confusing a handgun scope with an extended- or intermediate-eye-relief scope or a scout scope. With both, the eye relief is too short to permit shooting a handgun with your arms extended.
While reflex and red-dot sights are not technically scopes, they are optical sights that are very popular, and they are ideally suited to handguns for several reasons. First, they are incredibly compact and lightweight. Second, they offer a parallax-free aiming point. And third, they have illuminated reticles. However, all these positives come with one major negative, and it’s that reflex and red-dot sights for handguns provide no magnification, which can be a deal breaker if you are using them to hunt.
Best for Hunting: Burris 2-7x32mm
Specs
Magnification: 2-7x
Eye Relief: 11 to 21 inches
Weight: 13 ounces
Length: 9.7 inches
Reticle: Plex or Ballistic Plex
Price: $468 to $504
Pros
Two reticle options
Black or silver finish
Cons
Variable eye relief
This handgun scope offers a great magnification range for most types of hunting. You can also choose between the standard plex reticle or the Ballistic Plex reticle. For most handgun cartridges, the standard Plex reticle is fine, but the Ballistic Plex reticle is an ideal choice for single-shot pistols chambered for rifle cartridges that might be used at extended distances. Regardless, both have capped adjustment turrets with ¼ MOA adjustments, and one version is offered with the Burris Posi-Lock system, which is a good choice for the hardest-recoiling handguns. The Burris 2-7X handgun scope also comes with a matte black or silver finish so you can better match it to your handgun.
Like all Burris handgun scopes, the 2-7x has index-matched Hi-Lume multicoated lenes to aid with glare reduction and to provide better low-light performance. It’s built on a 1-inch tube and comes with Burris’ forever warranty. It has a variable eye relief that changes with magnification. At lower magnifications, it can be used for freehand shooting, but at maximum magnification, eye-relief is only about 12 to 13 inches, which means it will work best from a rest, where you can get your eye closer to the optic.
Best for Target Shooting: Burris 3-12x32mm
Specs
Magnification: 3-12x
Eye Relief: 10 to 19 inches
Weight: 16 ounces
Length: 10.8 inches
Reticle: Ballistic Plex
Price: $600
Pros
Ballistic Plex Reticle
Adjustable parallax
Cons
Variable eye relief
Heavy
Burris builds this handgun scope on a double-stress-free, solid, one-piece, 1-inch tube, using high-grade optical glass, with index-matched Hi-Lume multicoatings to aid with low-light performance and glare elimination. Just as with the other Burris handgun scopes, it’s waterproof and comes with Burris’ forever warranty. It has capped reticle adjustment turrets that provide ¼ MOA adjustments and operate on a double internal spring tension system to help the scope survive harsh recoil.
The only reticle available in this handgun scope is the Burris Ballistic Plex, which was one of the first ballistic reticles and is still one of the simplest that can also be matched to any cartridge or bullet weight. At a pound, this scope is a bit heavy and is probably a best fit on larger handguns chambered for rifle cartridges that will be most often shot from a rest. Like the 2-7x Burris handgun scope, the eye relief is variable and substantially reduced at maximum magnification.
Best Value: Burris 2x20mm
Specs
Magnification: 2x
Eye Relief: 10 to 24 inches
Weight: 7.0 ounces
Length: 8.9 inches
Reticle: Plex
Price: $312
Pros
Compact
Lightweight
Affordable
Cons
Low magnification
The great thing about the Burris 2x handgun scope is that it is compact and lightweight enough to work with a wide selection of handguns. Its only limitation is its low magnification. However, it’s still a great replacement for open sights and provides twice as much magnification as non-magnifying reflex and red-dot sights. Just as with the other two Burris handgun scopes, the fixed power 2x comes with Burris’ forever warranty.
The positive steel-on-steel internal adjustments of this fixed-power handgun scope makes it an ideal match for handguns with substantial recoil. Though it may seem simple, it still uses the same quality glass and multicoatings as the other Burris handguns scopes, and just as with the others, it’s also waterproof. With its Plex reticle, it can be a great companion for traditional pistols and revolvers, whether they are used for hunting or recreational shooting. The Burris 2x handgun scope is also the least expensive handgun optical sight on this list, which solidifies it as our Best Buy winner.
Best Red-Dot Sight: Aimpoint ACRO P-2
Specs
Magnification: None
Eye Relief: Unlimited
Weight: 2.1 ounces
Length: 1.9 inches
Reticle: 3.5 MOA red dot
Price: $608
Pros
Incredibly lightweight and compact
Long battery life
Fully enclosed
Cons
CR 2023 battery required
No magnification
When it comes to miniature dot sights for handguns, the primary downside to common reflex sights is that the emitter is exposed. This means that if snow or dirt get on the sight, it can block the emitter, and the dot you aim with will disappear. The ACRO P-2 sight is a fully enclosed sight. That makes it more like a conventional scope; however, as a dot sight, it is parallax-free and provides no magnification. The ACRO P-2 is a rail-mount sight. It can mount direct to a rail on a handgun or to a railed adapter plate for pistols with an optics cut in the slide.
This sight does run off a battery, but has an advertised 50,000-hour continuous run time, and there are 10 brightness settings that include four night-vision-compatible settings for the 3.5 MOA dot. The ACRO P-2 has a Cerakote finish, and it is submersible to 115 feet, so it is completely waterproof. Aimpoint has tested the ACRO P-2 to withstand more than 20,000 rounds of 40 S&W, and due to its rail-mount feature, it can also be used on carbines, rifles, and even shotguns.
Best Reflex Sight: Trijicon RMR Dual Illuminated Reflex Sight
Trijicon RMR Dual Illuminated Reflex Sight
Specs
Magnification: None
Eye Relief: Unlimited
Weight: 1.2 ounces
Length: 1.8 inches
Reticle: Amber or green 9.0 MOA dot
Price: $856 to $1010
Pros
Incredibly light and compact
Requires no battery
Cons
Expensive
No magnification
Large aiming point
The downside to most miniature reflex sight for a handgun is that they need a battery. Because the dual-illuminated Trijicon RMR runs off Tritium and fiber optics, it does not. Not only will you never have to worry about a dead battery, but you will also never have to buy a battery. Though limited by its lack of magnification, the Dual Illuminated RMR is ideal for any general-purpose handgun that might be used for hunting, recreation, bear defense, or combat competitions.
Many modern pistols with an optics cut in the slide are configured to work with the RMR footprint. But Trijicon also offers a version of this RMR that comes with a low Picatinny-rail mount. Trijicon RMRs are arguably the most rugged exposed emitter sights you can buy, and they withstand recoil so well they are often even used on big bore dangerous-game rifles.
Best Used Handgun Scope: Leupold FX-II 4x28mm
Specs
Magnification: 2x-7x
Eye Relief: 18 inches
Weight: 6.0 ounces
Length: 8.0 inches
Reticle: Duplex
Price: $350+
Pros
Very light and compact
Black or Silver Finish
Cons
Discontinued
We normally do not list discontinued items on our “best” lists, but with the limited amount of quality handgun scopes available, the Leupold FX-II 2x20mm handgun scope is just too good to leave out. Over the last several years, Leupold has discontinued a lot of riflescopes and all of their handgun scopes. With the combination of its diminutive size and weight, combined with the Multicoat 4 lens system and its rugged fixed 4X design, this scope—even slightly used—is one of the best handgun scopes ever built.
Built on a 1-inch tube, the 4x FX-II Leupold has a lockable, fast-focus eye piece, a fixed 18 inches of eye relief, and 86 MOA of windage and elevation reticle adjustment in ½ MOA increments under capped turrets. This scope was originally offered with either a gloss black or matte silver finish and they were renowned for their ability to withstand heavy recoil. If you’re looking for a good handgun scope and can find one of these in good condition on the used market, you should buy it. Though admittedly limited by its fixed 4x magnification, it is optically as good as any handgun sight currently manufactured.
How We Tested Handgun Scopes
I have shot with and evaluated every handgun sight here, relying heavily on my 40-plus years of experience with handguns and optical sights of all types to help make the selections. I looked at things like magnification and reticle style for the intended purpose, size and weight, and most important, durability.
Why Trust Us
For more than 125 years, Field & Stream has been providing readers with honest and authentic coverage of outdoor gear. Our writers and editors eat, sleep, and breathe the outdoors, and that passion comes through in our product reviews. You can count on F&S to keep you up to date on the best new gear. And when we write about a product—whether it’s a bass lure or a backpack—we cover the good and the bad, so you know exactly what to expect before you decide to make a purchase.
