As a waterfowl hunter and sporting clay enthusiast, I sometimes struggle with lead and follow-­through. While I understand the concepts, more than 20 years of police firearms training prioritized the importance of focusing on the front sight over a target. That experience does not transfer well to wildfowl hunting or clay shooting. When I aim at flying targets, they have escaped my sight picture before the shot pattern arrives. Fortunately, Aimpoint offers a solution: The ACRO S-­2 reflex sight.

Being the First

Technician and inventor Arne Ekstrand developed the first reflex sight in 1974, a concept that resulted from looking through a toilet paper roll. The Aimpoint Electronic was the company’s first commercial product, appearing in 1975.

There is no denying the impact that Aimpoint has had with pistol and rifle shooters, and they have become smaller, longer lasting, and more reliable. The culmination of this technology is found in the ACRO series, which first appeared in Guns & Ammo’s November 2018 issue. 

Red-dot-ready pistols and rifles are now common. Though Aimpoint introduced the Micro S-1 shotgun sight in 2017, it wasn’t until the 2024 launch of the ACRO S-2 that such a red dot made a bigger splash than a perfectly hit duck plummeting into a pond. Some traditionalists scoff at the notion of mounting a reflex sight to the rib of a sporting gun, but now they can. I can hear it now: “You don’t aim a shotgun, you point it while looking down the barrel toward the target.” While true, I have discovered that a reflex sight can be a tremendous help, even while shooting at birds or clays.

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A Red Dot on a Shotgun?

After measuring the rib of my Browning A5, I selected the appropriate mounting plate and positioned it about 4 inches forward of the forend. Then, I tightened it to the mount using the supplied Aimpoint wrench, which is also used to open and secure the battery compartment and to adjust the sight for windage and elevation. The 9 minute-of-angle (MOA) red dot appeared centered vertically; I only had to move it right to zero.

The red dot looked too intense, even for sunny conditions, so I turned down the brightness level using the down-arrow button on the left side of the aluminum housing. There are 10 intensity settings, and you can get more than 5 years of power out of one battery. 

The 15x15mm aperture provides a clear, parallax-­free view. Mounting the ACRO S-­2 forward of the handguard makes it easier to see the target while maintaining awareness of the surrounding area. (Keep both eyes open.)

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As the clays flew laterally, I knocked them down with relative ease. The red dot showed me where the muzzle of my shotgun was in relation to the target, which improved lead, tracking and follow-through. While keeping the target and dot within the optic window, my hit ratio improved. Expert shotgunners may not need such information, but moderately experienced wingshooters like me will find that the ACRO S-­2 is a gamechanger. (I even went six for six on my local Sporting Clay’s rabbit target stage, which is a rarity.)

The ACRO S-­2 weighs just 2.6 ounces — including the mount. The extra weight on a shotgun rib is negligible. 

The housing didn’t obstruct my vision the way it did initially for Alfredo Rico, my friend and a Guns & Ammo contributor. Rico is left-­eye dominant, but shoots right-­handed. At first, he struggled to see around the housing of the ACRO S-­2 because he was squinting his left eye nearly closed to force his right eye to take over. When he opened both eyes and shot, he started busting clays. This was evidence that the ACRO S-­2 can even benefit cross-­eye dominant shooters.

The Aimpoint ACRO S-­2 has performed well for Guns & Ammo’s staff at the range and in the duck blinds. It fit most vent ribs measuring between 6 and 12 millimeters using ultra-low interchangeable base plates. The height of the optical axis measured .6 inches. Using the ACRO S-2 made me a better sporting clay shooter. If you’re looking to improve your hit percentage, this may be the fix. Visit aimpoint.us to learn more.

Aimpoint ACRO S-2

• Type: Illuminated reflex, closed emitter
• Magnification: 1X
• Reticle: Red dot, 9 MOA, 10 daylight intensity settings
• Dimensions: 1.9 in. x 1.3 in. x 1.5 in.
• Weight: 2.6 oz.
• Battery: One (1) CR2032; 50,000 hrs. on setting 6
• MSRP: $755
• Manufacturer: Aimpoint, 703-991-5528, aimpoint.us