RDS or Red Dot Sights have started to become a default item on most handguns today. The primary benefits of the RDS, like the Haven from AMERIGLO, are a large field of view downrange and quick target acquisition. Yes, it does take some repetitions to align your presentation, but after that it is a very fast system.

The AMERIGLO Haven RDS

As with anything popular in the firearms world, there is a spectrum of companies producing products to meet demand. Some of those are spectacular and some not so much. While there seems to be a new optic every week, I was very interested when I heard that a long-time sight company would be producing their own optic.

AMERIGLO has been making tritium, painted dot, fiber rod, and custom OEM iron sights for the firearms industry for decades. They have now entered the RDS market with a new optic called the Haven.

As with any new product entering the market, I wanted to get my hands on one and see it perform for myself. No sooner had I uttered those words, and an invitation from AMERIGLO hit my email. I received an invite to get an early look at the Haven and run it through its paces for myself.

Shortly after, I was on the ground in Pearsall, Texas at the G2 Ranch & Resort. This would be my preferred manufacturer event set up, as we would be on the range to run the optic in a variety of applications. Add a little environmental bonus, because the team at AMERIGLO set up in the lovely August sun in West Texas.

Weapons wise I would be running the Haven on a Glock 19 in a Crossbreed holster and shooting Winchester ammunition. First up, we gathered around the table for a technical briefing from the design team.

Haven Details and Features

AMERIGLO designed the Haven RDS from the ground up to fit the personal defense needs of American gun owners. The optic uses a Trijicon RMR footprint and is available with a 3.5 or 5.0 MOA dot.

One unique marketing plan they are doing is offering the optic as a package with iron sights.  You get both the optic and the sights in one package. Their Carry-Ready Combo includes optic-compatible iron sights for the GLOCK MOS system. This eliminates the guessing of what sights would work best with a new optic.

The Haven has a large window, bright red dot, and high-visibility vertical line on the rear deck. As a result, this creates an immediate and intuitive aiming point for the shooter. AMERIGLO was intent on making a durable optic and used an advanced electronics and enhanced opto-mechanical design. It is guaranteed to survive even heavy recoil guns.

Developed for personal defense, the Haven is compatible with the most common IWB/OWB holsters used for concealed carry. Battery wise, it has a side-loading battery compartment which means there is no need to re-zero when the battery is changed. The Haven runs on a single, common, CR2032 battery, which can last up to three years on the low setting and one year on a mid/high setting.

The Haven conserves Battery life through a well-designed power management system.  The Haven’s Power Protect feature offers a 12-hour runtime and a 12-hour, motion-activated auto-on. If you do need to change it, the process is simple. AMERIGLO includes a small tool to remove the screws. Simply unscrew it, open the tray, switch the battery and reinsert the screws.

Operation and Compatibility

The Haven features 11 brightness settings, including two night-vision compatible options. The optic’s proprietary Carry-Loc mode fixes the illumination at the user’s desired setting and prevents unintentional button presses.

Designed with precision-engineered adjusters for windage and elevation adjustments at one click per 1 MOA, the red dot has an adjustment range of +/- 45 MOA.

The optic is compatible with optics-ready pistols including the GLOCK MOS (excluding Slimline models), Smith & Wesson’s C.O.R.E., Springfield Armory’s OSP, Beretta APX RDO, Canik TP9SFX, FN 509 MRD & Tactical Series/FNX, CZ-P10 optic compatible models, the Walther Arms Q4/A5/PDP, and many more.

Range Time

With the technical briefing and question section completed it was time to hit the range. They conducted the range session like a class. The man running this side of the event was Dan Brokos, of Lead Faucet Tactical. We did our safety brief and were quickly on the range.

Our first order of business was to confirm zero on our guns. Like most events, the manufacturer team set the guns up and try to zero everything, but it is always good to confirm. Adjustments on the optic were very intuitive and easy. Turning the windage and elevation screws produced an audible click, as well as a tactile feel. There is no guessing about how many clicks you have moved the dot.

As a shooter that is militant about accuracy, I like the fact that they made the adjustments in 1 MOA clicks. This gives me ¼ inch adjustments at 25 yards. I encourage anyone using an RDS to take the time to really dial in your zero.

Red Dot Tips

Brightness wise, the optic has a good range from dim to bright. As a rule, I encourage people to run the dot only as bright as it must be to be seen. That varies depending on the environment. Inside you do not need much power, but outside in the bright sun you may need a little more to see the dot clearly.

Glass wise the Haven is very clear. While you may be thinking to yourself that this is an obvious trait of an RDS, that is simply not the case. On some lower end optics, you will see distortion on the edges of the glass. AMERIGLO has used high quality glass in this optic, and it shows.

The actual lens is 1.1 inches by .75 inches, which is a good balance between size and field of view. As I mentioned this optic comes in both a 3.5 and 5.0 MOA version, to fit your individual preference. Once again, my OCD about accuracy drives me towards the 3.5 MOA dot.

Overall Impression

My overall impression of the optic is very positive. I found it easy to acquire in fast drills, giving me solid groups at speed. The dot held zero the entire session, which is important. In fact, this was very impressive, considering that we burned through almost 5000 rounds in the testing.

The optics were covered in West Texas dust and gun goo by the time we were done, and they still ran well. As the event went on, curiosity got the best of us, and we ended up shooting at a Texas Star target at 100 yards. Two of our shooters managed to knock off plates as the rest of us cheered them on.

My final take on the Haven is that it is a winner. It is feature rich and produced by a company well known in the industry. This is not a “me too” optic, but rather a serious player in the space.

With an MSRP of 379.00 the AMERIGLO Haven RDS is a great option for anyone interested in putting a red dot sight on their pistol.

For more info, please visit AMERIGLO.com.

AMERIGLO Haven Red Dot Specs

Lens Size: 1.1 x 0.75 in. (28x19mm)
Optic Size: (L x W x H) 1.78 x 1.24 x 1.11 in. (45.2 x 31.4 x 28.3mm)
Adjustment Range: +/- 45 MOA (1 click = 1.0 MOA)
Dot Size:
HVN01: 3.5 MOA
HVN02: 5.0 MOA
HVN03: 3.5 MOA Carry-ReadyTM
HVN04: 5.0 MOA Carry-ReadyTM
Battery: CR2032
Battery Life: Setting 4: 1 year (constant on)
Brightness Settings: 11 brightness settings, 2 NV
Housing Material: Aluminum
Waterproof: 1m (30 minutes)
Temperature Range: -4°F to 122°F
MSRP: $379.00 – $439.00