The Trijicon MRO (Miniature Rifle Optic) SD is a sealed reflex-style optical sight optimized for use on rifles, carbines, and shotguns. It will make your typical Modern Sporting Rifle, aka AR-platform rifle, with iron sights into something altogether better, faster, and more versatile. Featuring a ruggedized chassis, easy-to-use controls, and the finest pedigree in the industry, the MRO SD makes any good gun great.
Trijicon also offers a matching 3x magnifier that swings clear when not in use, weighs about nothing, and perfectly complements the superb MRO sight. The MRO SD sports a simple dot reticle. The MRO HD features a circle and dot.
Trijicon: Father of Modern Close Quarters Optics
It's pretty rare to find an individual who literally revolutionized armed combat. Sam Colt built a wheelgun of some renown. John Moses Browning designed not only the timeless M1911 .45 pistol but also every rifle-caliber automatic weapon used by American forces during World War 2.
Eugene Stoner showed us how to apply modern aviation technology to the world of small arms. And then there was Glyn Bindon. That guy changed everything about how armed professionals ran their guns.
Glyn was an aeronautical engineer who worked on the F-8U Crusader fighter plane as well as several projects for NASA. In 1981, he visited a friend in South Africa and discovered the tritium-powered Armson OEG (Occluded Eye Gunsight).
This was the evolutionary development of the rudimentary Singlepoint red dot sights first used in combat by Special Forces commandos on the Son Tay raid in Vietnam in 1970. Enamored with the thing, Glyn accepted a part-time gig peddling these advanced optics back in the U.S. He literally opened his business in his garage while retaining his day job as an engineer. Glyn’s first sale was for half dozen sights.
In 1985, Glyn changed the name of his enterprise to Trijicon. Two years later he dreamt up the ACOG. ACOG stands for Advanced Combat Optical Gunsight. The ACOG changed absolutely everything about gunfighting.
With the ACOG, mediocre shooters became good, and good shooters became great. Militaries throughout the free world consumed the compact, indestructible optical sights literally by the hundreds of thousands. Along the way, Trijicon expanded into pistol-mounted micro red dots, machine gun reflex sights, conventional hunting optics, and multiple evolutions of the classic ACOG. In 2015, they released the first MRO. In 2017, Trijicon sold its millionth ACOG.
Throughout it all, Trijicon has remained true to its roots. Tragically, Glyn lost his life in a plane crash in Alaska in 2003. However, the spiritual legacy he imprinted on the organization still burns brightly. If you know where to look, you can find Biblical references imprinted on the side of their optics. Trijicon makes no secret of its ethos.
Trijicon MRO SD: Optic Details
Everything about the MRO SD is designed for precision fire under harsh combat conditions. The hard anodized forged 7075-T6 chassis is tougher than the host weapon, while ambidextrous brightness controls and easy-to-use sub-flush adjusters make zeroing easy and intuitive. An intentionally large viewing space means faster target acquisition and reduced visual clutter from “tube effect.”
The performance of an optical sight starts with glass quality, and that used by Trijicon is as good as mankind can make it. Multi-coated lenses designed by the best in the industry offer unparalleled clarity and superb light-gathering ability, especially under conditions of limited visibility. Superlative design and premium components ensure zero dot distortion in practical use.
The Next Best Thing to Being There
17. The 3x magnifier pops out of the way when not needed.
A red dot sight like the MRO SD is perfect for CQB (Close Quarters Battle) engagements at bad breath ranges. However, out to a football field or so, precision tends to fall off. That’s why Trijicon designed their pivoting 3x magnifier as a specific complement to the MRO.
The 3x magnifier comes with a throw lever quick release mount for easy, fast, toolless mounting and dismounting. The unit can be safely submerged to 33 feet and can be optimized for your individual visual circumstances. The hard-use mount allows the magnifier to be instantly pivoted into the field of view or out of the way as the tactical situation dictates. The magnifier offers a 60 MOA adjustment range to perfectly align it with the MRO, and it weighs a paltry 6.5 ounces.
The same rugged intentionality that defines the MRO suffuses the associated magnifier. Both devices can be easily adjusted with a thin coin or cartridge rim. They are also sufficiently compact as to take up minimal rail space and not hang on stuff unduly.
The Good Host: The Trijicon MRO SD and a Darn-Close HK416
Glass this awesome needed an exceptional host. The HK416 is the assault rifle to the stars. Despite being developed in the 1990’s and first issued in 2005, the HK416 remains the weapon of choice for the world’s most respected Tier 1 operators even today.
It is the standard-issue service rifle for the militaries of France, Germany, Luxembourg, Norway, and the U.S. Marine Corps. As a result of this exceptional pedigree and some unfortunate German export laws, finding an original for American civilian shooters can be astronomically expensive. Brownells has the solution.
The Brownells BRN-4 is a drop-in upper assembly that will fit on any standard AR15 lower. It is a part-for-part reproduction of the HK416 at a fraction of the cost. I have run both side-by-side and found the quality and performance indistinguishable between the two guns.
With a SilencerCo Omega 36M suppressor, some Bravo Company furniture, and a registered short-barreled rifle lower, you get into a Delta Force-grade close combat weapon on a working man’s budget. This is the perfect host for the Trijicon MRO and magnifier.
Tactical Synergy
The end result runs like the Energizer Bunny on Adderall. With the magnifier pivoted out of the way, nothing is faster at intimate ranges. Shooting with both eyes open and following the dot, the gun takes corners like a Bugatti.
The SilencerCo Omega 36M can lets you preserve your capacity to communicate. This is the most reliable tactical rig on Planet Earth. Feed it decent ammo, and it will never fail you.
Slap the magnifier in place, and you are good out to a couple of football fields. Back in the late Cretaceous period when I wore the uniform, we typically ran our M16A1’s with iron sights out to 300 meters and beyond. What I would not have given for this magnificent rig back then. Like that first revolutionary Trijicon ACOG, this gun sight wildly enhances the performance of any proper marksman.
Ruminations
There are certainly cheaper options. However, this isn’t a wastepaper basket or box of disposable sandwich bags. For a mechanical contrivance upon which you might conceivably entrust your life, Trijicon is as good as it gets. Governments with essentially unlimited budgets seek out the finest optical sights in the world. They have cumulatively bought well over a million Trijicon tactical optics. That’s pretty high praise.
The learning curve is shallow, so the sight is easy to learn. It will also run between 2.5 and 3 years on a single easily-sourced battery. The Trijicon MRO SD with its associated magnifier indeed makes good shooters great.
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