SIG Sauer has a number of versions of their ROMEO4 red dot, but the ROMEO4T is built to military specs, comes with everything you see here, and offers you four reticle options. Which is why it was adopted by certain high-speed units.
September 30, 2021
By James Tarr, Handguns Editor
Over the past ten years or so, SIG Sauer has expanded into just about every firearms-related market segment. One line of their products that doesn’t get much attention is their electro-optics. I think there’s two good reasons for this—their initial efforts at optics kinda sucked (that’s a technical gunwriter term) and they don’t seem to market them well. Their current optics, however, do not disappoint.
As perhaps the best example of this, I give you the SIG ROMEO4T. Now, I will be the first to admit SIG has caused problems for themselves because there are currently four versions of the ROMEO4, and there used to be more. Not all ROMEO4s are created equal, but SIG does a poor job explaining those differences and why, even though the 4T costs nearly twice as much as the 4DR, it’s worth it.
Short answer—the ROMEO4T is built so tough, with such great features, that SFOD-D (otherwise known as Delta Force) recently adopted it. This was not announced, but I know people who know people. The SpecOps community is like a small town, everybody knows everybody’s business, which leads me to this tidbit….You know that SAS trooper who went all Die Hard on the terrorists inside the hotel in Nairobi a year ago? Not only is his official nickname Obi-Wan Nairobi, but the optic spotted on his carbine was a SIG ROMEO4T. Don’t think that wasn’t noticed. This sight is also being used by several federal law enforcement agencies.
Okay, so why are Premium Ninja MultiCam Deathstalker types running the ROMEO4T? Let’s look at the specs.
Advertisement
First, this is a non-magnified LED-illuminated red dot, and in size and shape could be compared to the Aimpoint Micro. The housing is 7075 aluminum. The battery compartment is on the right, and the rubberized brightness control buttons are on the left side of the body. The 4T has an IPX-8 waterproof rating, which means it can withstand 30 minutes of submersion at 66 feet (20 meters).
The SAS trooper seen here who went all Die Hard on the terrorists inside the hotel in Nairobi a year ago? Not only is his official nickname Obi-Wan Nairobi, but the optic spotted on his L119A2 carbine was a SIG ROMEO4T. It is powered by one CR2032 battery (provided), but also has a solar panel atop it. The two combined can provide up to 50,000 hours of continuous use at a medium setting. Combined with SIG’s MOTAC (motion-activated illumination control that shuts it down or powers it up depending on movement) the battery life can be extended to 100,000 hours. There are 10 daytime and two night vision brightness settings.
As it comes from the factory the 4T is on a flattop AR mount that puts it at co-witness height. It wears see-through flip-up lens covers front and rear. Also supplied with the sight—a spare flip-up lens cover, a honeycomb kill flash for the front lens, low- and medium-height M1913 mounts, a rubber bikini lens cover, an adjustment tool, and a nice box with slots for all of the above bits and pieces.
Advertisement
I haven’t even gotten to what I think is the best part—this optic gives you the option of two different center reticles, with four different reticle options apiece, however SIG does a horrible job explaining them. Let me try. First, you have to choose between a Circle-Dot or a CirclePlex. If you choose the dot, you get a 1 MOA center dot for your four reticle options. With the Plex, you get a small crosshair. Now, for your four different reticles:
There’s the 1 MOA dot (or plex), a circle dot/plex, a dot/plex with holdovers, and a circle dot/plex with holdovers. The circle dot reticle should be familiar to anyone who has used an EOTech HWS. The outer ring has hashmarks at 3, 6, 9, and 12 o’clock, and has a diameter roughly the height of a bad guy 100 yards away, so it can be used for rough range estimation. The “holdovers” are simply three additional dots below the center one for holdovers on distance shooting. Hold down both brightness adjustment buttons to cycle through the reticle options.
The SOR43031 model, which is what I tested (circle dot, in black), is their most popular model. As it came from the factory (flattop co-witness mount and flip-up covers attached) and battery installed, it weighed 6.9 ounces, which is an ounce less than the factory published specs. Black models of the ROMEO4T are $719.99, and the FDE model is $749.99.
If you have any thoughts or comments on this article, we’d love to hear them. Email us at FirearmsNews@Outdoorsg.com .
About the Author: James Tarr is a longtime contributor to Firearms News and other firearms publications. He is also the author of several books, including CARNIVORE , which was featured on The O’Reilly Factor . His current novel, Splashback , is available now through Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
