Every pistol red dot sold today works on essentially the same plan. An LED emitter sits on a carrier plate, and screws and springs nudge that plate to adjust windage and elevation. The SIG Sauer XRAY5 drops that plan entirely and is pitched as the world's first solid-state advanced red dot. SIG Sauer calls it "Precision built, precision kept," and sums up the thinking in one line: "Zeroed In Seconds Not Magazines." Let’s take a look at something completely new!
The core of the XRAY5 is a fixed 15x15 matrix of 225 individually illuminated dots, permanently bonded in place. Because the matrix never moves, there is no carrier plate, no adjustment screws and no springs to wear out or shake loose. Windage and elevation are changed by lighting a different dot in the matrix, so zeroing becomes a digital operation with no tools and no counting clicks. Each dot measures 3.5 MOA.
On the optical side, the XRAY5 is a reflex sight with an unusual layout. The collimating lens sits in the roof of the housing, outside the shooter's field of view. The reticle reflects off that roof aspheric lens, then off the flat glass at the front of the optic, then back to the eye. The shooter always looks through flat glass with no curved lens in the way. SIG Sauer's patented Zero Distortion Optical system, abbreviated ZDO, is the name for this arrangement, and it is meant to give a lens-free line of sight to downrange targets.
SIG Sauer also positions the XRAY5 against holographic and waveguide optics. Holographic designs project a 3D reticle onto flat glass, which takes a lot of energy and is said to give only about 10% of the battery runtime of an LED emitter. They can also show strobing or streaking when the optic moves quickly. The XRAY5 instead offers the 10,000+ hour runtime of a modern LED emitter, with no flicker, strobing or streaking.
The XRAY5 is fully enclosed. All four footprint versions have a sealed rear window and an Argon gas-purged optical system that is fog-proof and waterproof to IPX8, which keeps dust, water, mud, snow and sand off the emitter. The durability results quoted for the XRAY5 are:
I honestly never expected a pistol optic to get an App, yet here we are. Essential functions live on the optic itself. Two control buttons handle power on and off, reticle brightness, windage and elevation adjustments and Lockout Mode, so the app is optional.
The XRAY5 App, available for iOS and Android, adds the rest of the feature list: digital zeroing, multiple zero profiles, LightFight, a Round Counter, MOTAC, auto-off settings and a battery life indicator. Bluetooth can be switched off from the app or from the optic to save battery or avoid pairing.
Multiple zero profiles replace the single zero of a traditional red dot. LightFight pairs the optic over Bluetooth with a compatible SIG Sauer FOXTROT LF weapon light. When the light comes on, the reticle immediately jumps to a much higher brightness, which fixes the washed-out dot that a strong light on the target can cause. This is not an auto-brightness feature. It only activates with the light, so the reticle is not constantly chasing changing lighting conditions, and two modes are available in the app settings.
The XRAY5 comes in four mounting footprints:
Six models are listed, and SIG Sauer has not published a ship date. For prices, just scroll down.
SIG Sauer XRAY5 key features:
SIG Sauer XRAY5 models and prices:
TFBTV also has you covered with a quick review:
For SIG Sauer’s own product page: https://www.sigsauer.com/electro-optics/red-dot-sights/xray5.html
I am thinking that with an even larger matrix, it would be possible to create your own specialty reticles for shotgun patterns (round, per choke), UAVs, bullet drops, etc.
Would you trade a mechanical red dot for a solid-state one with no moving parts?
If this post has you ready to hit the range, head over to gunranges.com - a free directory to help you find shooting ranges near you, wherever you are in the United States.