The Freedom RDS from Leupold & Stevens, Inc., has been named “Best New Optic” by the National Association of Sporting Goods Wholesalers (NASGW) and Professional Outdoor Media Association (POMA). Leupold was presented with the award at the annual NASGW meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 22 in Orlando.

Each year, companies are asked to submit products for the Caliber Awards. Finalists are selected, and then voted upon by a panel of industry experts from POMA and NASGW to select a winner for each category.

“Consumers have been demanding value-priced red dot that possesses the rugged reliability and relentless performance they need in the field,” said Bruce Pettet, President and Chief Executive Officer of Leupold & Stevens, Inc. “The Freedom RDS delivers on that and more, all in a package that we’re proud to say is designed, machined, and assembled in our factory in Beaverton, Oregon.”

To qualify for the Caliber Awards, a manufacturer must be a NASGW member in good standing, and the product must have been publicly released between the end of the previous year’s NASGW Expo and the beginning of the current year’s Expo.

A tubular red dot sight built for recreational shooters and hunters alike, the Freedom RDS is available in two distinct models: One features capped precision ¼-MOA click adjustments, the other a precision exposed BDC elevation turret that ships with measurements out to 500 yards for standard 55-grain .223 Rem. ammunition. The RDS is designed to install easily with an included mount that sits at the optimal sight height for use on AR-style rifles. Both models of the Freedom RDS feature a 1 MOA dot reticle that’s supported by Leupold’s battery-saving Motion Sensor Technology (MST), which puts the sight into a battery-saving standby mode after five minutes of inactivity. Both RDS models are designed, machined, and assembled in the United States and backed by Leupold’s legendary Full Lifetime Guarantee.