The winds of change have been blowing fast, at least where electronic optical sights are concerned. While technology might not be moving fast enough for some, we need to be honest and appreciate that we are lightyears ahead of where we were. For instance, the Trijicon Type 1 Ruggedized Mini Reflex -- RMR -- was released in 2009. In 2015, there were maybe four or five companies making compact red dot sights. Today you’d run out of fingers and toes trying to count them all up.
EOTECH released their original EFLX mini red dot sight in 2022. It was rugged, had clear glass, and a long battery life, but it had an open emitter. The funny thing about that subject is just five years ago everyone -- minus Special Ops folks -- was perfectly fine with open emitter optics. Then, as soon as the first closed emitter sight was released, the OE models almost instantly seemed like antiques and everyone wanted a closed emitter version.
EOTECH EFLX CE
At SHOT 2026, EOTECH caused a minor stir by displaying their brand new EFLX CE. Their first closed emitter pistol optic was promised for Q2 and we all waited impatiently for Q2 to arrive. Well, it arrived and EOTECH has been shipping the new CE optics for a few weeks now and I finally got my grubby hands on one.
Some folks might be thinking that the new CE model is just a new version of the original with a closed emitter instead of an open one. Those people would be wrong. The folks in Michigan put a bunch of new features into the EFLX CE, features the end user has been begging for.
In no particular order, the new CE is indeed a “shake awake” or a “sleep mode” optic. Even though the original EFLX had a battery life of 25,000 hours on the mid setting, other optics had shake awake and that was what everyone wanted. The CE also has a 25,000 hour run time, but the run time rating is now only when you are holding or moving the optic. When your gun is resting, so is the battery.
For those who get lost in numbers, 25,000 hours is almost three years of run time. If you can't budget a new CR2032 battery every two years, you might not want to put an optic on your gun. The sleep mode from the factory is set for 10 minutes, but you can change it to 1 hour, 12 hours, or disable it altogether.
Like the original EFLX, the battery cap is external so you don’t need to remove the optic to change your battery. On the CE, the battery cap is located on the right side of the housing.
The new CE fits on the Leupold Delta Point Pro and Shield RMSc footprint. The and part of that description is important as many users may know that the Delta Point Pro and the RMSc are similar, but not the same. The difference might be a couple thousandths of an inch. If you had an original EFLX and tried to mount it to an RMSc cut slide you may have encountered an issue. That issue no longer exists.
Also, the reticle is new as well. The CE isn't just a red dot. You can choose between a single 3 MOA dot, a 42 MOA circle, or the circle/dot combo which resembles the reticle found on EOTECH's HWS rifle optics.
There are six standard brightness settings, one ultra-bright and two night-vision settings. The adjustment buttons are on the top of the optic and they're easy to manipulate. Only a red reticle version is available now, but if I were to look into my crystal ball, I would imagine that a green model will be coming sometime later as well. That's just a prediction, but it would make sense as many shooters have red color blindness, but can perceive the green color spectrum and EOTECH is making some of their other optic with green reticles.
Sight adjustments are 1 MOA and the adjustment knobs/screws thankfully use a flathead not a microscopic Allen wrench like many others. EOTECH includes a tool that allows one side to adjust windage and elevation and the other side to remove the battery cap. Do yourself a favor and put that tool in your range bag.
For the geeks out there, the CE weighs only 1.46 ounces (41.4 grams). The body is made of 7075 aluminum. Also, the forward portion of the body is serrated, not smooth. That's a nice feature for an optic that's going on a duty/fighting pistol. Additionally, there is a shallow rear iron sight molded into the optic body.
Range Time
I won’t lie to you, I was like a kid waiting for Christmas to arrive when I knew the CE had shipped. I can’t recall when I was so excited to test out a new optic, at least not in the last decade or so. I had a Canik pistol waiting for the optic. All the new METE series pistols from Canik are optic-ready and the slide cut is for the RMSc footprint.
It was easy enough to roughly zero the optic at the workbench before hitting the range. Once there, I used Black Hills 115g JHP +P duty ammo as fodder for zeroing. Black Hills ammunition has a superior reputation for quality control. If I had an issue, it surely wouldn't be ammo related.
For handguns designed for self-defense, I have long since settled on a 7 yard zero. As for the reticle setting, I decided to use the dot only setting for my zeroing process. Sitting at the bench with my arms resting on my range bag, my first round was about two inches high and two inches left of the black dot on the target. Within four shots I was dead-on at seven yards. A very deliberate, slowfired group of five rounds produced a tight cluster that measured 0.39 inches center to center. I think we can say that the pistol, optic, and ammo combination were all good. With the bench work complete, it was time to get up and engage in more practical application.
Donut of Death
With zero confirmed, I switched the reticle to the circle only. The current vernacular for using just the circle option in a pistol mounted optic is donut of death. You can also use “halo of had to” or the “circle of trust” if you like.
The science behind using the donut or circle-only is quite detailed and thorough and deserving of a dedicated review. My friends Nicholas Orr and Louis Caras just collaborated on a new book entitled “A Pipe Hitters Guide to Red Dots and Optics on Handguns.” In that text, the testing and evaluation, as well as the science of human vision that supports the circle-only reticle is laid out in detail. For now, suffice it to say that using the circle-only works with the natural tendencies of human vision and the center fixation bias that's built into your eyes.
Using the donut I was able to make regular, reliable hits on an 8-inch steel plate from 20 yards without any issue. For reference, the reticle circle just about perfectly bordered the round plate at that distance. From ten yards, I was able to clang the same steel plate single-handed right and single-handed left.
Engaging both a cardboard silhouette as well as the OG green plastic army silhouette, I spent some time moving and shooting, conducting multiple target drills and generally enjoying myself on the range. While the initial testing wasn't exhaustive, I created a couple hundred once-fired pieces of brass for the range gremlins to gather.
Red dots on pistols aren't the end-all be-all, but they have improved dramatically over the last decade or so. The engineers at EOTECH put a lot of thought into their new CE version. If you are looking for a rugged, closed emitter pistol optic from an American company, the new EFLX CE (about $450 retail) is worth your serious consideration.
– Paul Markel, Shooting News Weekly