Meprolight has been building optics for decades, and the Meprolight Tru-Vision SR red dot sight brings a compact, rugged rifle optic to the table. In today’s review, Alan Rice mounted it, zeroed it and ran it to see how it performed. The optic was provided by the company to the author for review.
Meprolight has made tritium and reflex sights since 1990, building a reputation for supplying quality optics to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). In addition, the company also makes products available for the United States market. The company says that the words “quality control” take on a new meaning when lives depend on a product. As a police officer and trainer, I wholeheartedly concur!
Over the past 35 years, the company has added magnified optics as well as pistol sights to its now extensive product line. I was recently sent a Mepro Tru-Vision SR red dot sight for review.
This particular sight is an upgrade of the original Mepro Tru-Vision, and SR stands for “Speed Ring”. The Tru-Vision SR’s reticle can be switched between a 65 MOA Speed Ring (circle) with a 2 MOA dot in the center; or, the operator can use just the 2 MOA dot. Both reticles are red, and the sight is night vision compatible.
Meprolight products meet worldwide military standards such as: MIL-STD 810, MIL-STD 704 and NATO standards, and the company’s production processes comply with ISO9001 (quality management system).
What You Get with the Tru-Vision SR
While one generally shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, in the case of the Tru-Vision SR the “cover” — the box and packaging materials — are top-notch.
When I opened the box, I found the sight attached to a small plastic section of Picatinny rail, and it was protected by an abrasion-resistant Neoprene “field cover”. The top half of the box was foam-lined. The box also held a CR123 battery, a lens cloth, a lens brush and a user manual.
The box is also made from heavy cardboard. Clearly, much thought went into the packaging. This type of attention to detail sends a strong message that Meprolight takes pride in every aspect of its products.
Despite its small size and low 10-oz. weight, the Tru-Vision SR is packed with a bevy of modern features that soldiers, law enforcement officers and private citizens should all appreciate. The stated battery life exceeds 10,000 hours, or more than 400 days, if left on at all times.
The Tru-Vision SR includes important battery-saving features. When in “Auto Mode”, the reticle’s intensity, or brightness, adjusts automatically based on ambient light. Notably, the light sensor is a little different from the Tru-Vision. I’ve been told it is more responsive to changes in lighting.
If the sight is left on but has not been touched or had any buttons pressed for about 25 minutes, it will enter “Sleep Mode”. The sight “wakes” if it is moved or any button is pressed. If the sight is mounted on a rifle that is in a moving vehicle, it will probably not enter sleep mode. If the rifle and sight are not touched for eight hours (this can be manually switched to four hours) the sight will turn completely off — as if the operator turned it off.
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The low-battery indicator comes on when about 50 hours of battery remain. I strongly recommend replacing the battery at least once per year — whether or not the low-battery indicator is on. This ensures the sight will always work and gives the operator an opportunity to inspect the inside of the battery compartment and clean away any visible corrosion.
Additional Features
The Mepro Tru-Vision SR is rated waterproof up to 10 meters (32.8 feet) for about one hour, and it will operate in temperatures ranging from -40° up to 160°F.
The Tru-Vision SR can be mounted on any rifle with a Picatinny rail. Because it is so small, I found it mates up particularly well with the Springfield Hellion Bullpup. The sight includes a quick-release mount. Should the sight fail, it can be quickly stripped off the rifle and your back-up iron sights can be “flipped up” and used.
After mounting the Tru-Vision SR to the full-length, all-metal rail on the Hellion rifle, I read the instructions for battery installation and zeroing and then headed to the range. I also placed a spare CR123 battery in my Hellion’s pistol grip storage compartment.
Since the Tru-Vision SR is made in Israel, I thought it appropriate to zero it with IMI M193 ball ammunition. There are many valid opinions as to the proper distance to zero tactical optics; none are necessarily wrong. Different zero ranges depend upon how someone expects to deploy a specific rifle and sight combination.
Meprolight Tru-Vision Specifications
| Magnification | 1x |
| Display Window Dimensions | 25 x 20 mm |
| Weight with Battery | 290g (10.2 oz.) |
| Dimensions (L x W x H) | 3.1″ x 2.3″ x 2.7″ (78 x 58 x 69 mm) |
| Reticle Color | Red |
| Power Supply | 1x CR123 Battery |
| Click Size | 0.5 MOA (0.14 mRad) |
| Brightness Levels Adjustment | 12 Day + 4 Night + Automatic |
| Weapon Mount | Picatinny Rail Quick Release (MIL-STD 1913) |
| Environmental | MIL STD-810 |
Using the Meprolight
Police officers and legally armed citizens must properly identify a target and, later, explain why the person they shot at (or pointed a firearm at) posed a lethal threat. As distance increases, it is harder to identify a threat — even more so with a non-magnified optic like the Mepro Tru-Vision SR. With that important consideration in mind, I zeroed the optic at 35 yards.
This specific zero range allows the operator to hold the dot or speed ring in the center of mass on a threat target and, if using a steady hold and proper trigger-press, the round will impact within a silhouette target’s torso area from distances of “arms length” out to 100 yards using 55-gr. bullets. In other words, the bullet will hit a little more than one-half inch below point of aim at 25 yards, and a tad more than one-half inch above the point of aim at about 50 yards. At 100 yards, the point of impact will be about 1.625” above the point of aim. Similar zeros can be used with other bullet weights.
After I used a Lyman Bag Jack to zero the optic from a prone position, I put the rifle and sight through several tactical training drills. I shot prone, as well as kneeling, seated (on the ground) and standing. The sight allows fast target acquisition because all the shooter needs to do is place the dot or Speed Ring where they want the bullet to hit — there is nothing to align.
At all distances, I found that the speed ring worked well. I’ve shot plenty of rifles with red dots, and the MeproLight Tru Vision SR was easy to employ. The advantage to using this particular sight is the Speed Ring and the large 29 X 20mm window. I shot about 200 rounds using the Speed Ring during my testing, and it’s very intuitive.
Conclusion
Meprolight, Israelis and the IDF understand defense to an extent and depth that many Americans have probably not even contemplated. In short, equipment used by the IDF must work every time it’s deployed — without compromise.
The MSRP of $599.99 is quite reasonable for a sight that is packed with modern features. Furthermore, the sight is made by a company with an impeccable track record. Meprolight is certainly here to stay. They are celebrating their 35th anniversary, and anyone who needs a modern tactical optic should seriously consider the Tru-Vision SR.
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