Review: Vortex Venom Enclosed Red Dots

September 25th, 2025

8 minute read

In today’s article, Richard Johnson offers a hands-on review of the new Vortex Venom Enclosed red dot sight. Offered in both 3 MOA and 6 MOA versions, the new Venom Enclosed optics offer an increased degree of durability. The optics were loaned to the author by Springfield Armory to conduct this review.

Following up from last week’s introduction of the new Defender Enclosed red dot sights, Vortex Optics just released its new Venom Enclosed line of sights. The new Venom uses a closed-emitter for improved performance and durability.

Detailed photo of a Springfield Armory Echelon duty pistol slide equipped with the 6 MOA Vortex Venom Enclosed red dot sight. The optic is securely mounted using the DeltaPoint Pro footprint, requiring no adaptor plate. The close-up highlights the compact, rugged housing made of 6061 aluminum, with the side-loading CR2032 battery compartment clearly visible. The optic sits low on the slide, enabling partial co-witness with the factory iron sights. The sealed design protects the emitter from dust, sweat, and debris, ensuring reliability in duty or defensive applications. The glass window appears large for its class, providing a wide sight picture for quick dot acquisition. This image demonstrates the clean integration between the Venom Enclosed and the Echelon slide, showing how the optic complements the pistol’s design. — Close-up view of the Venom Enclosed on the Echelon pistol slide shows its compact, sealed housing. The optic’s design balances durability with minimal added weight.

As with the Defender Enclosed optics, I gave the new Venom Enclosed a workout using a pair of Springfield Armory pistols: the Echelon 4.5F and the Kuna. How did they perform? Pretty darn well. Are they worth the money? Most definitely.

The New Venom Enclosed

At its core, the Vortex Venom Enclosed is a closed-emitter red dot sight available with either a 3 MOA or 6 MOA reticle. Reticles are simple red dots. It can be used as a pistol or rifle optic.

Vortex Optics uses the popular DeltaPoint Pro footprint for the Venom Enclosed line. The Echelon’s Variable Interface System for optics mounting works natively with this footprint meaning no adaptor plate is needed. The optic weighs about 1.75 ounces with the battery installed and runs on a single CR2032 lithium battery. Batteries load on the side of the housing. This means you swap batteries without needing to remove the optic from the slide.

Close-up photo of the top housing of the Vortex Venom Enclosed red dot sight showing the two brightness adjustment buttons. The buttons are recessed into the optic’s aluminum housing, labeled for increasing and decreasing brightness. These controls allow the user to cycle through 12 total brightness levels, including two that are compatible with night vision devices. The positioning on top of the sight ensures they are easy to reach without blocking the view through the optic. The image emphasizes the design’s balance of accessibility and durability for both defensive and range applications. This detail shot helps readers understand the practical controls built into the Venom Enclosed, as described in the review. — Brightness adjustments are made using up and down buttons built into the top of the Venom Enclosed. Controls are tactile and designed for fast, reliable use.

You get 12 brightness levels with the Vortex Venom Enclosed, including two that are rated to work with night-vision devices. The adjustment buttons (one up and one down) are located on the top of the optic’s housing.

The housing is made of 6061 aluminum that offers a good balance of ruggedness and reasonably light weight. As you would expect, the unit is sealed against airborne particles and junk including rain, dust, unburnt powder and random range crud.

The Vortex Venom Enclosed is mounted here on the Kuna’s Picatinny rail for testing and evaluation. This closed-emitter red dot stays low and compact while providing a fast sight picture.

Unsurprisingly, the enclosed emitter is the “big new” feature with the Venom Enclosed. With carry guns and duty rigs, open emitters can collect sweat, lint, water, and other detritus in exactly the wrong places. A closed system endeavors to keep the emitter protected and the dot clear and ready.

There’s an auto-shutoff at 10 minutes, and if you leave that feature on, motion-activation wakes the dot when you pick up the gun. Vortex estimates that at brightness setting level 6, you should get about 20,000 hours out of a single battery. MSRP is in the bargain zone for a closed-emitter with a sub-$200 price tag.

What’s Included in the Box?

I’m impressed with what Vortex includes with its Enclosed sights. These optics are very budget friendly, but they come with everything you need to get these sights into action.

Photo showing the full contents included with the Vortex Venom Enclosed red dot sight package. The image displays the optic itself, a protective rubber cover, microfiber lens cloth, CR2032 battery, multiple sets of mounting screws in individual bags, and a compact multi-use tool designed for installation and adjustment. These accessories allow for immediate mounting on compatible pistols or rifles without requiring additional purchases. The rubber cover helps shield the optic during storage or transport. The included lens cloth makes routine cleaning simple and safe for the glass. The properly sized tool fits the turrets, battery cap, and mounting screws, making installation straightforward. This complete package emphasizes the value offered by the Venom Enclosed at its sub-$200 price point. — The Vortex Venom Enclosed red dot sight includes a protective cover, battery, mounting hardware and tools. Everything comes ready to install right out of the box. Image: Vortex Optics

The Venom Enclosed ships with a rubber cover that protects the entire unit when mounted on a gun, a micro-fiber lens cloth, the correctly sized battery, and a slew of screw sets in individual baggies. The included combo tool fits the battery cap and turrets in addition to the mounting screws. Frankly, it is a solid little tool that slips easily into a pocket when heading out to the range.

3 MOA or 6 MOA: Which Do You Want to Use?

While you can match either optic with virtually any gun, I see it more as “two models with two use-cases.”

Photo of two Springfield Armory pistols placed side-by-side, each fitted with a Vortex Venom Enclosed red dot sight — the left pistol has the 3 MOA model and the right sports the 6 MOA. The image clearly shows the difference in dot size when viewed through the optic windows, with the 3 MOA offering a smaller aiming point and the 6 MOA providing a larger, faster-to-acquire reticle. Both optics feature the closed-emitter housing that protects the dot from dust, sweat, and range debris. The mounts use the DeltaPoint Pro-compatible footprint and sit low on the slides, allowing partial co-witness with factory iron sights. Side-loading CR2032 battery trays are visible on both units, illustrating battery changes without removing the optic. This visual supports the Vortex Venom Enclosed red dot sight review by showing practical hardware differences for carry, duty, and precision applications. — Two Springfield Armory handguns sit side-by-side — the Kuna with a 3 MOA and the Echelon with a 6 MOA Vortex Venom Enclosed red dot sights.

In my mind, the 6 MOA dot is the obvious choice for a carry or duty handgun. It’s fast at the distances where most defensive pistol work happens. Larger dots are faster to pick up due to the physiological changes that impact your vision during stress. Without going off on a tangent, a big, bright aiming point is easier to see in a fight than small, dim ones.

If you’re primarily shooting indoors, in transitional light, or your eyes, like mine, aren’t thrilled with tiny points of light, the 6 MOA is more forgiving. Even though it is larger, I still find it offers more than enough precision for 25-yard shooting.

On the other hand, I think the 3 MOA model is the better selection if you’re primarily engaging targets at longer distances on a pistol or running it on a pistol-caliber carbine. You’ll get slightly finer aiming reference on partials or when precision matters, and the trade-off in speed is minimal if your presentation is consistent. If I were adding the Venom to my 10mm XD-M Elite for hunting, I would definitely opt for the 3 MOA reticle.

Mounting the Vortex Venom Enclosed on Springfield Pistols

On the Echelon, adding a red dot sight is a simple business. I matched the included screw set to the Echelon’s slide, applied non-permanent threadlocker, and torqued to spec (12 in-lbs with threadlocker or 15 in-lbs dry). As I was testing the Venom Enclosed on my personal Echelon 4.5F that was already equipped with a Leupold DeltaPoint Pro, I didn’t have to make any adjustments to the VIS pins. It just dropped on.

Close-up image of a Springfield Armory Kuna pistol with a Vortex Venom Enclosed 3 MOA red dot sight mounted on a low Picatinny adapter and the iron sights deployed for co-witness. The 3 MOA reticle appears as a small, precise red dot visible in the optic window, while the flip-up iron sights are raised behind the sight allowing a backup aiming method. The enclosed-emitter housing is visible and shows the sealed, dust-resistant construction that prevents grit and debris from obscuring the dot. The side-loading CR2032 battery tray and top brightness buttons can be seen, indicating easy maintenance without removing the optic. This image supports the Vortex Venom Enclosed red dot sight review by illustrating how the closed-emitter design and DeltaPoint Pro-compatible footprint integrate with a railed pistol. The composition emphasizes reliability, co-witness capability, and readiness for defensive or duty scenarios. — The 3 MOA Vortex Venom Enclosed is mounted on a Springfield Armory Kuna with iron sights up for co-witness. The small dot gives a precise aiming point, while the irons provide a reliable back-up.

For the Kuna, I used a Picatinny rail adaptor to affix the 3 MOA optic to the top rail. This was as straightforward as you might imagine. A touch of threadlocker ensured everything stayed in place during recoil.

Impressions from the Shooting Range

I was shooting on an indoor range with sub-optimal lighting. Normally, this is a calm environment, but on this occasion, I was buffeted by an unusually concussive muzzle blast from the neighboring lane with an unfortunate amount of airborne grit and flying brass slung into my booth. It was a short-barreled something or other making impressive fireballs and rattling my fillings. As it turns out, this unwelcome happenstance proved to be an unexpected environmental test for the Venom Enclosed optics.

Photo of the author firing a Springfield Armory Echelon pistol equipped with the Vortex Venom Enclosed red dot sight at an indoor shooting range. The shooter is pictured extending the handgun toward the target under dim lighting conditions. The optic’s red dot remains visible in the window, helping the shooter acquire the sight picture quickly. The enclosed design of the optic prevents interference from airborne grit, dust, and ejected brass flying into the lane. The metal housing is visible but does not obstruct the shooter’s field of view. This image illustrates how the Venom Enclosed performs in practical, real-world shooting environments. The test emphasizes reliability, ease of use, and durability during recoil and extended sessions. — The Vortex Venom Enclosed red dot was tested on a Springfield Armory Echelon pistol at an indoor range. The optic provided a clear sight picture even under less-than-ideal lighting.

With both Enclosed optics, the dot was easy to acquire when pushing the pistol out toward the target. I had no issues finding the reticle in the window, even with a less-than-perfect presentation. The metal housing did not interfere with my sight picture, nor did I find it distracting at all. It is more noticeable than the standard Venom, but only if you are consciously looking for it.

Tracking through recoil was fine and follow-up shots were quick. The windows on these red dots are large for the class, and the glass lens is aspherical, which, in my understanding, prevents a distorted sight picture and keeps colors accurate.

With the red dot, I did see a slight amount of blooming at normal brightness levels. Manageable, but definitely there.

Photo of a Springfield Echelon 45F pistol with a 6 MOA Vortex Venom Enclosed red dot sight mounted on the slide, pictured at an indoor shooting lane. The shooter’s hands are extended in a firing grip and the handgun is pointed downrange toward target paper under fluorescent range lighting. The enclosed emitter red dot appears as a bright red aiming point in the optic window, sized for quick acquisition at close distances. Spent brass and small range debris are visible on the shooting bench, and the environment appears slightly dim and dusty. The image highlights features mentioned in the Vortex Venom Enclosed red dot sight review such as the large sight window, sealed housing, and aggressive 6 MOA dot suited for defensive work. This description helps visually impaired readers understand the setup, equipment, and shooting conditions. — The 6 MOA Vortex Venom Enclosed red dot is mounted on a Springfield Echelon 4.5F and tested at an indoor range. The larger dot makes quick target acquisition easy in close-range drills.

If I cranked brightness too high, blooming was obvious and, if I’m honest, a bit overwhelming. I’ve found that’s the case on almost every pistol dot I’ve tested. Just turn the brightness down a step or two to remove the bloom.

Co-witnessing is something many people ask about. Since the Echelon allows for the direct mount of optics, red dots like the Venom Enclosed sit lower. The factory sights are visible along the lower edge of the optic’s window. They are not a true “lower third” co-witness, but I found the iron sights are useable should the red dot ever go out.

Close-up photo of a Springfield Kuna 9mm pistol fitted with a Vortex Optics Venom Enclosed 3 MOA red dot sight during a review. The optic is mounted on a low Picatinny adapter and the small 3 MOA reticle appears in the center of the sealed emitter window, providing a precise aiming point for longer-distance pistol work. The enclosed housing and 6061 aluminum construction are visible, showing protection against dust, sweat, and ejecta in a range environment. Side-loading CR2032 battery access and the top-mounted brightness buttons are shown, indicating easy maintenance and 12 brightness settings including NV-compatible levels. The DeltaPoint Pro-compatible footprint and mounting screws are evident, demonstrating straightforward installation on modern slide cuts and railed pistols. This image supports the Vortex Venom Enclosed red dot sight review by highlighting practical features for defensive and duty use. — A Vortex Optics Venom Enclosed 3 MOA is mounted on a Springfield Kuna 9mm for hands-on testing. The small dot gives a precise aiming point while the rail-mounted set-up keeps the optic low.

On the Kuna, co-witnessing is a straightforward proposition. With the low height Picatinny adaptor, the Kuna’s flip-up sights align perfectly with the red dot in the center of the window.

My Final Thoughts on the Vortex Venom Enclosed

The Venom Enclosed is a simple and rugged red dot sight for use on a working pistol. Not only is it a low-cost option, it is also a good quality one. In my testing, both sample sights ran without drama. The dots stayed visible throughout all the shooting.

Right-side close-up of a Springfield Echelon pistol fitted with a Vortex Venom Enclosed red dot sight, clearly showing the side-loading battery compartment with the CR2032 partially exposed. The image highlights how the Venom Enclosed uses a DeltaPoint Pro-compatible footprint to mount flush on the slide without an adapter. The sealed 6061 aluminum housing and enclosed-emitter window are visible, emphasizing protection from dust and range grit. The side battery tray allows the user to replace the battery without removing the optic or disturbing the zero. Top brightness buttons are faintly visible from this angle, indicating the unit’s 12 brightness settings and NV-compatible levels. This picture supports the Vortex Venom Enclosed red dot sight review’s points about practicality and ease of maintenance for duty or carry pistols. The composition helps visually impaired readers understand placement, access, and durable construction. — Right-side view of the Vortex Venom Enclosed mounted on a Springfield Echelon. The CR2032 battery can be swapped without removing the optic from the slide.

For self-defense and policework where conditions aren’t controlled and your gear gets knocked around, this optic seems to check the right boxes at the right price. I’d run either the 3 or 6 MOA on my Echelon and not look back. It’s just a practical closed emitter you can actually afford.

At just $199.99, the suggested retail price is aggressive for a closed-emitter sight. This is squarely in the “I can put one on each pistol without fainting” category. When you consider what you’re getting — sealed emitter, DPP footprint, motion-wake, NV-low settings, side battery, positive MOA clicks, and included hardware — it’s a strong value play against legacy open-emitters and some pricier closed units.

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Springfield Armory® recommends you seek qualified and competent training from a certified instructor prior to handling any firearm and be sure to read your owner’s manual. These articles and videos are considered to be suggestions and not recommendations from Springfield Armory. The views and opinions expressed on this website are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of Springfield Armory.

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Richard Johnson

Having made many odd choices in his youth, Richard was left with two career choices: aerospace engineer or cop. After failing his second year of chemistry, Richard pursued a law enforcement career where understanding covalent bonds was not a requirement for success. Along the way, Richard discovered a passion for writing. Consequently, he hung up his uniform and now publishes GunsHolstersAndGear.com where he reviews firearms and other shooting gear to feed his frequently annoyed family.