Aimpoint ACRO S-2 shotgun sight

I think it’s fair to say the concept and use of a red dot sight on a shotgun will polarise opinions, but I set off with an open mind to try the latest ACRO S-2 on a hunting trip to Sweden with Aimpoint. The trip combined wild boar hunting on the first day and a pheasant shoot on day two. The Acro weighs 74-grams including the baseplate used to clamp it onto barrel ribs between 6mm and 12mm. The anodised aluminium housing measures 47x34x37mm (LxWxH), with a 15x15mm window through which to see the red dot and target. All lenses are coated and offer 60% light transmission.

Controls
A push-button power switch turns the 9 MOA red dot on, powered by a CR2032 battery with an expected lifespan of 50,000 hours/five years. I suspect most people will never turn it off and there are 10 intensity settings. The sight comes with a T10 Torx tool to position it on your shotgun, and it also alters the click value to zero the sight to your gun. It has a total range of 1m at 100m and each click represents 20mm at that distance. We bore-sighted the S-2 using a de-primed cartridge within the barrel. Alternatively, you can adjust while shooting a pattern plate.

Change of scene
Using the S-2 was a big change from a regular shotgun layout and perhaps the most critical fact to address is that about 90% of the shooters positioned their sight close to the breech of the barrel. However, a few, myself included, preferred the S-2 mounted at the muzzle.
Aimpoint suggests that this sight is a great aid when it comes to weak eye dominance, and like its red dot rifle sights, it’s pretty much imperative to shoot with both eyes open, which allows the brain to adapt to overlaying both images from your eyes together. Using a right-handed shooter as an example, your left eye then maintains a full field of view and intuitive pointing towards the target. The brain can then more clinically use the red dot to make that aim point more ‘visible’ and precise. There is no possible parallax error, and the unit is waterproof to 5m.

Aimpoint reputation
On a simulated clay drive before the pheasant shoot, I was reasonably confident to take on the more dynamic game birds with the S-2. In fairness, the clays were higher, and the pheasants were comparatively low in general, so after the more deliberate visual approach on clays, I found the pheasant shooting was more snap shooting and very instinctive anyway, but I think I got my share of the birds I took on and would never describe myself as a master of either pastime.

Conclusion
Is the S-2 for you? I’m not sure. I did feel it contrasts somewhat with what I have learned about shotgun shooting, but it was certainly an interesting experiment, and I can see where some people with more difficult visual issues might benefit from one.