Holosun 507C Review: By A Scout Platoon Sergeant

The Holosun 507C has been successfully competing against commanding brands. So if you're looking for an open reflex optical sight, this underdog will surly increase your accuracy and provide faster target acquisition.

FYI, prices and ratings are accurate as of time of writing.

Holosun 507C Open Reflex Sight

Highlight: When the battery fails, the solar “panel” on the top of the sight will recharge and operate the red dot.

Helpful review: I think there is no need to lay out the cash for something like the RMR when this little Holosoun will do the job and save many pennies for ammo. The Holosun 507C has a load of Torx (the star drive heads) that will fit just about anything relieved for the optic on the slide.

I love this little RDS. It's very compact and leaves the "footprint" of the gun small. I carry a Glock 36, in 45 ACP, for those that don't speak the Glock Numbering system. I had to use a Glock Rear Sight Mount; it's an RDS mount that uses the stock dovetail when the gun is not cut for an optic. My adapter is made by Stike Industries and screws into the top of my Glock. The screws don't cut into the metal of the slide; they create a very snug pressure with the dovetail notch fit. I had to remove the original Glock backplate and install the one with the adapter; it was easy money. This new backplate is part of the mounting, and now the Holosun 507C is rock solid.

I am here to tell everyone I love this Holosun 507C! I can have one of three reticles with just the touch of a button. I can go from Dot to Dot-and-Circle or just the circle, depending on my eyeballs, the available light, and what I shoot. One of the best features is the Auto Brightness function. In sunlight, it turns itself up; in the dimmer settings, it adjusts downward - like magic. I talked about the Shake Awake feature, which is very handy and makes using the red dot foolproof. It will turn off at ten minutes as it comes from the factory. I can set it to shut off at an hour or twelve hours or stay on until the battery goes dead. Once I set it, that's it until I reset the option.

The battery access is on the right side of the optic and is easily accessible anytime. The instructions claim a battery life of 10,000 hours with the fullest reticle of the dot-and-circle and 50,000 hours with just the dot (makes sense; it uses less LED power for the dot over the other ones). As much as I like to write the most helpful reviews possible, I am not going to turn on the light and check it to see if the 10,000-hour claim is correct.

As a guy who grew up on iron sights and was a true believer that iron sights were the only option, age and old eyeballs are helping me overcome this bias. After getting used to its phase, the red dot is easy to pick up and makes a great sight picture, even at a distance.

MY NEIGHBOR'S REVIEW:

Once upon a short time ago, an RDS was cost-prohibitive. In other words, everyday people did not have them on a handgun. When I bought the Holosun 507C, I figured, what the heck? It's cheap enough to see if it's worth the money. I think it is made with high-quality materials, parts, and labor, so I am happy with that. After all of that, I do have a couple things that concern me. The first concern is the drain ports from the glass on the sight. If the gun is carried as a side arm, and I am in the rain, the glass will hold water until it is drawn, and the rain can run out of the optic. I think the design should have taken that into consideration. My second concern is the auto-light reaction sensor being mounted on the top (it's the same as the solar charger). Outside, or going from inside to outside, it is excellent and reacts quickly. With that said, if I use my pistol-mounted flashlight in a dark area, the lighting sensor will not adjust to the focused bright light, and the dim dot will be washed out. What I did to fix this issue and train for this issue is to use my finger to hold the plus button for three seconds. The settings switch to manual, and adjust the reticle to fit the situation. No need to worry about constantly resetting and fooling around with the optic. The Holosun 507C will revert back to the setting I had initially.

A FEW WORDS FROM A FRIEND:

To cut to the chase, you can pay a large stack of dollars for the Trijicon RMR; if you have that large stack of dollars, good for you. For the rest of us, the Holosun 507C is going to do the same job for much less. Get yourself a red dot for half the price, and it weighs half as much; who does not appreciate that? The multiple reticles are fantastic for making the tool fit the shooter and not the other way around. Talking about reticles, remember the shake awake feature, the 50,000-hour battery life for the simple dot, and it has twelve brightness settings. Let's talk about the battery access. The battery is accessed by a slide tray on the right-hand side of the optic and is easy to get to. The RMR must be removed to access the optic's bottom. The zeroing after a new battery is installed is a fun range time, but the optic is worthless until that happens. The Holosun 507C is quick and easy to replace the battery.

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