TFB Review: Meprolight MPO-DF Open Emitter Pistol Sight

The Meprolight Mepro MPO-DF is an affordable open-emitter pistol sight with an RMR footprint. It provides a good value proposition and includes many features and extras not included with other optics at this MSRP. Meprolight was nice enough to send one out for a review. I’ve been using the optic for the past week and will give you a full and unbiased write-up of my findings.

Specs & Features

Specs: MPO-DF

3.5 MOA Red DotRMR footprint15,000 plus hour battery life

Features: MPO-DF

Automatic Brightness AdjustmentShake AwakeBattery, hardware, tools, and cleaning cloth includedSoft rubber cover includedPicatinny adapter includedIPX7 WaterproofMEPROGUARD WarrantyFog proofToolless battery replacement

First Impressions

When the optic first arrived and I unboxed it, I was pleasantly surprised to see a Picatinny adapter included with the optic. The Picatinny adapter is decent and useable. I ended up using it for a separate review that you might see on the blog in the near future, but long story short it works.

The rubber optic cover is a great inclusion. It will work if you’re using the optic on the Picatinny mount, or if your pistol uses a plate system that keeps the optic high.

Installation

I installed this optic on a Glock 19. The Glock 19 has been custom-milled by Maple Leaf Firearms for a Holosun 407. This kind of optic cut differs from the Glock MOS optic cut. I sent Maple Leaf my Holosun 407 and slide, and they milled the slide to be an exact match for the 407 and milled it as deep as possible. The Glock MOS system is meant to take a wide array of optics through the use of plates, where this Glock is custom cut for the 407. The MPO-DF installed on my slide without issues and came with the correct length of screws to not hit the extractor plunger, which was great. If you have a firearm with an optic plate system that accepts Trijicon RMR plates, I’m confident this optic should fit the plate.

Battery

The installation of the battery surprised me a little bit. You can swap the battery without having to uninstall the optic, which really should be industry standard by now and didn’t surprise me. What did surprise me, is the battery tray is not held in by a screw. You can swap the battery without having to have a tiny screwdriver. It is a friction fit that clicks in and has an O-ring to retain its waterproof properties. I was a little bit nervous that the battery tray would go flying out at the range because I’ve seen that happen with an optic with an improperly installed screw-in battery tray, but it didn’t. The battery tray is pretty snug and takes a really good grip to remove.

If you’re curious, the battery tray on my review model took 4 lbs to remove when installed correctly, and 7 lbs to remove when I jammed it in upside down because I didn’t read the manual like an idiot. After popping the battery tray in and out a few times for the review, the tray still holds securely and I’m not too worried about it flying out at the range.

Brightness Control

The optic has one button for brightness control. It additionally has automatic brightness control if you want to use it, and the sensor is located near the emitter. The dot itself seems to be crisp enough for me and looks just like other ones from more expensive optics. The dot doesn’t get to an eye-searing brightness that I’ve seen on other optics, but it is bright enough to use in full summer sun. It could be brighter, but it’s useable. The automatic brightness control does work well enough, but I’d prefer to just leave it on full brightness all the time.

Glass

The glass on the optic is in my opinion pretty good. In fact, I think the low MSRP and the quality of the glass are the two highest selling points for this optic. If you have a target focus with the MPO-DF, the target looks pretty much how it usually does. It doesn’t have the fun house mirror effect or fisheye effect towards the edge of the optic housing. I like the color tint of the optic as well. It’s very easy for your brain to blend the optic window with your other eyeball for a sight picture. The window of the optic itself is a little bit on the short side compared to other optics.

I also noticed the optic has a shallow frame, and the backside of the glass is more accessible. It’s a little bit easier to clean the backside of the window glass, and the glass that covers the emitter than other optics I have.

Performance test

I installed the optic on my Glock and dry-fired with the Mantis Laser Academy before heading to the range. I will have a review on the Mantis soon, but basically, the Mantis Laser Academy is like a bore sight, except it’s only activated when you pull the trigger, and your phone captures the shot locations. There are many more benefits to the Mantis system that I’ll touch on in the review, but for this purpose just think of it as a bore sight with a track record.

I took the Glock to the range and shot a box of ammo with the optic installed. I then smacked the sight with my hand a few times, bumped it on a wood table pretty hard, and tapped it on a granite countertop in a few different directions, and rechecked it with the Mantis at home. The optic held zero and seemed to work just fine. The Mantis was able to allow me to check the zero of the optic, without having to worry about any ammo inconsistencies etc.

I wish I could have performed a long and vigorous torture test of the optic, but unfortunately, time was short. I did make sure to look through the optic in several different lighting conditions, like in a pitch-black garage and looking into a setting sun. The optic performed well.

Quality

I think it’s important to mention that Meprolight is a company that has been around for a long while. Based on their website, they have their quality standards in order. It looks like they are proud to meet ISO9001, Military and NATO standards. They also supply optics to the IDF, although I don’t know if this is one of the models the IDF uses. This optic is made in China, although some of their other pistol optics are made in the Philippines.

The optic feels solid in the hand. The windage and elevation adjustments feel good and have firm clicks. The brightness button has a good feeling click. The body of the optic looks to be manufactured well. The glass looks solid. The optic housing looks to be all metal except for the battery tray. It feels pretty nice.

My thoughts and opinions

I think it’s a pretty good optic for the price. In my case, I like to shoot pistols and have a ton of pistols. Once I started shooting red dot sight-equipped pistols, I didn’t want to go back to shooting iron sights. This presented a problem because I wanted to equip every pistol in my collection with a red dot, which can get expensive quickly. The options are to shell out the money for red dots or shoot a pistol less often because it has iron sights. I think the MPO-DF is a pretty good option for me in this case. It gives the option for a bare-bones red dot sight to equip on pistols that I may not carry or shoot as often as others. It also comes with the Picatinny mount, so I can move it on and off of carbines.

It would have been great if the optic would have been just a touch brighter, but it’s useable for me even in full sun as-is. It also would have been nice if there were two buttons for the brightness control, but I imagine Meprolight was creating this red dot sight to meet a price point. Meprolight does have other pistol optics in their lineup that are a little brighter and have a brightness up button, as well as a brightness down button if that’s important to you. I think Meprolight created this model as a cost-effective option, and based on its MSRP versus other optics on the market at this time, I think it delivers value in spades and is successful at that. I also like the track record and quality commitment the company has.

Conclusion

The Meprolight MPO-DF is a fine open emitter pistol sight for those on a budget, or who may not want to spend more on a red dot sight. It comes from a company with a long track record and a dedication to quality standards. It has good glass and a good reticle. It will do the job at the price point.