Pistol optics have really come a long way in recent years…

The sights are getting smaller. They’re getting more clear. They’re getting more robust, AND they’re getting less expensive…

And its companies like Holosun who are really leading the charge when it comes to innovation in these important areas…

Right now, two of the coolest handgun sights being offered by Holosun are…

• The Holosun 508t (Check Price And Reviews On Amazon)
• The Holosun 509t (Check Price And Reviews On Amazon)

So in this Holosun 508t Vs 509t comparison, we’re going to put these two sights up against each other in 6 categories and see who comes out on top. The 6 categories are… 

• Durability And Toughness
• Lens Clarity And Reticle
• Size Comparison
• Battery Life And Brightness Settings
• Extra Accessories Included With The Optic
• Price Comparison

In the end, I’ll tell you if I personally prefer the 508t or the 509t, and you should have all the information you need to determine which sight will work best for you…

Let’s start by taking a closer look at the durability of these two optics…

Durability And Toughness…

Holosun 508t

The Holosun 508t is a very durable little optic. First of all, the sight housing on the 508t is made from titanium…

Titanium is a very rugged material, and it’s also surprisingly lightweight, so that helps make the 508t extremely rugged without having the weight of a brick…

In addition to that, the windage and elevation adjustments on the 508t sit flush with the sight housing. This is actually an important durability feature…

I’ve seen windage and elevation knobs get snapped off before when they stick out, but with this optic, that type of problem can never happen…

And even though those adjustments sit flat along the sight housing, they’re still easy to adjust with the use of a small screwdriver…

The 508t is also waterproof. It’s rated to be waterproof in up to 1 meter of water for 30 minutes, but it can probably handle a lot more depth than that…

That being said, unless you’re a Navy SEAL and plan on taking your optic diving with you, it’s going to hold up without any problems in rainy, snowy, or wet conditions…

Now the 508t is designed from the ground up as a pistol optic. So it is shockproof and can handle the beating an optic takes from being mounted on a pistol slide (which is significant)…

The one possible knock against the 508t is this category doesn’t have anything to do with it’s construction because its built like a tank…

It’s actually an issue that can occur with ANY miniature reflex sight. You see reflex sights are an open design…

There are some benefits you gain from that, which we’ll touch upon later, but the drawback is that the sight’s emitter is exposed…

The emitter is what projects the image of your reticle on to the lens and allows you to see it when you look through the optic…

It’s actually unlikely to happen (and I’ve never seen it happen), but theoretically, a piece of debris or mud could fall in there and block your emitter from projecting the reticle…

If that were the case, you would look through the sight and get no reticle. Again, I’ve never seen that happen, but it’s a possibility with an open style reflex sight…

With all that said, I think the 508t is built to a very high standard, and is a very tough sight.

Holosun 509t

The Holosun 509t is also a very tough little optic. Just like the 508t, it’s sight housing is constructed from titanium. So it’s a very strong optic, and it’s not overly heavy…

In addition to that, the windage and elevation turrets are also recessed into the sight housing. So they can never be bumped or snapped off accidentally…

The 509t is also rated to be waterproof in up to 1 meter of water for 30 minutes, and just as with the 508t, it was designed from the ground up to be a pistol optic…

So it is shockproof, and can easily handle being mounted on a handgun slide. All that being said, the 509t is an enclosed pistol optic…

That means the emitter is enclosed within the sight, and that makes it pretty much impossible for something to get in there and block the projection of your reticle…

So its a different design from a miniature reflex sight like the 508t.

Durability And Toughness Conclusions…

Alright, so in this category, there are a lot of similarities between these two sights, with one major difference…

They’re both built like tanks with a titanium sight housing. They both have windage and elevation adjustments that sit flush with the sight housing…

And they’re both waterproof and shockproof. The difference is that the 508t is an open design and the 509t is a closed design…

And even though it’s not likely that something will fall in your 508t and block the emitter from projecting your reticle, it’s a possibility…

Since that is not possible with the 509t, it’s going to come away with the win in this section…

Winner: Holosun 509t

Lens Clarity And Reticle…

Holosun 508t

The Holosun 508t has a very clear lens. It’s much clearer than some of its competitors that come from other optics manufacturers (like the Trijicon RMR)…

And overall, you can see very clearly through the sight and get a clean sight picture. Also, because of the open style reflex sight design…

…you can see a lot of what’s going on around you while looking through the optic, and everything feels very open. 

That’s a benefit because you don’t get the feeling of looking through a tube when you’re trying to aim, and you can also maintain a lot of situational awareness even while you’re shooting…

Now as for the reticle, on the 508t you get a feature that Holosun calls the Multiple Reticle System. Basically, this means that you get 3 reticles that are programmed into your sight, and the 3 reticles are…

• A 2 MOA dot with a 32 MOA ring around it (the Holosun Circle Dot Reticle)
• A 2 MOA dot
• A 32 MOA ring with no dot in the center

Let’s talk about each of these 3 reticles. The first option is the Circle Dot Reticle which is a 2 MOA (Minute Of Angle) dot with a 32 MOA ring surrounding it…

It’s awesome… The big 32 MOA ring catches your eye very quickly, which helps you shoot faster, but at the same time you still have that little 2 MOA dot…

…which allows you to aim precisely at small targets or targets that are at further distances.

It pretty much gives you extra speed and precision in the same reticle, which is why I like it so much…

Now the second option with the MRS is the 2 MOA dot. This is also a great reticle especially if you prefer a simple sight picture…

The 2 MOA dot is still fairly quick for your eye to pick up, and you still have the ability to aim precisely as well…

If you try out the Circle Dot reticle and think it’s too cluttered for you, this is a great option…

The last option, the 32 MOA ring, is my least favorite, but let me explain to you why some people like to run it…

It also allows you to shoot very quickly at large targets, and at the same time you can see all of your target…

The obvious downside is that you don’t have a fine aiming point, but if you’re just trying to shoot fast at big targets, then that’s not really a problem…

In the end, all 3 reticles have benefits and drawbacks, but as I said, I really like the Circle Dot reticle because it’s kind of the best of both worlds…

The last thing I want to mention in this category is that you can get the 508t with either a red reticle or a green reticle…

The green dot model is called the HE508T-GR, and even though I personally prefer the red option, there are a lot of really great shooters out there who like a green reticle…

So it all comes down to your personal preference, but just be aware that the green dot version is usually a little bit more expensive.

Holosun 509t

The lens on the Holosun 509t is also very clear. It’s equal to the lens clarity on the 508t (they are both Holosuns after all)…

And you’re able to get a clean sight picture when looking through the optic. Now as I mentioned before, the 509t is an enclosed optic…

So it doesn’t feel wide open when you’re looking through it the way the 508t does. It’s still not a bad sight picture, but everything is just a little more closed off because you do have to look through the body of the optic, the same way you do with a tube style red dot sight…

All that being said, you can still get a good sight picture and shoot very well using the 509t, it’s just that your visibility is a little bit more restricted than it is with an open style sight…

Now as for the reticle on the 509t, it also features the Multiple Reticle System. So you get the same 3 reticle options that are found on the 508t…

Like I said earlier, my favorite is the Circle Dot Reticle because it helps you shoot fast with sacrificing any precision for accuracy…

But the other two reticle options certainly have their own benefits as well. Last, the 509t only comes in a red reticle version at the time I’m writing this comparison…

That may change in the future, but for the time being red is going to be your only option.

Lens Clarity And Reticle Conclusions…

Once again, in this section we have a lot of similarities between these two optics, but there are a couple of key differences…

Let’s start with the similarities… Both of these sights have a very clear lens. They also both feature the Multiple Reticle System, which is awesome…

However, the open style of the 508t gives you a little bit better situational awareness when you’re shooting than the enclosed 509t…

…and you can get the 508t with a red reticle or a green reticle whereas you can only get the 509t with a red reticle at the time I’m writing this comparison.

So for those two reasons, the 508t comes out on top in this category.   

Winner: Holosun 508t

Size Comparison…

Holosun 508t

The Holosun 508t is a typical sized mini reflex sight. It has a height that measures in at 1.08 inches…

The width measures in at 1.21 inches, and the length measures in at 1.77 inches…

In addition to that, the weight on the 508t comes in at 2 ounces.

Holosun 509t

For being an enclosed handgun optic, the Holosun 509t is actually pretty compact…

It has a height that measures in at 1.35 inches. The width measures in at 1.21 inches, and the length measures in at 1.61 inches…

On top of that, the weight on the 509t comes in at just over 3 ounces.

Size Comparison Conclusions…

In this section, these two sights are very similar when it comes to their width and length, but the 508t is a little bit lower in terms of height…

I think that’s an important dimension when you’re adding height to your pistol slide with an optic. So I think the 508t comes out ahead there…

In addition to that, the 508t also has a smaller shape to it that the kind of boxy shape on the 509t. So in this category, I’m going to give the win to the 508t.

Winner: Holosun 508t

Battery Life And Brightness Settings…

Holosun 508t

The 508t uses one CR1632 battery which is able to power the sight for a whopping 50,000 hours when the optic is on settings 6…

That’s awesome! I’m a big believer that you should have years worth of battery life on your red dot sight…

The reason why is because I’ve had red dots die on me at the range before. That can get pretty annoying, but in the end, you can just swap it out when you get home…

What’s much more important is that you don’t want your optic dying on you in a life or death situation…

With 50,000 hours worth of battery life, that’s unlikely to happen with the 508t, especially if you swap your battery out once a year, which is what pretty much everyone recommends…

Another cool feature of the 508t is the side-loading battery tray. On many miniature reflex sights (like the Trijicon RMR), the battery is installed on the bottom of the optic…

This is a problem because it means that you have to take your sight off of your gun just to swap out the battery…

And then you have to re-mount the optic and then re-zero it. That’s a huge hassle, and the cool thing about the 508t is that you get to avoid all that…

…because you simply remove the side-loading tray while your optic is still on the gun, and change out your battery.

Another cool feature on the 508t is the included Shake Awake technology. Basically, this means that your optic will automatically turn off after a period of non use…

…and then it will turn on as soon as it senses motion. I really like this feature because it helps save your battery life (which is already very long), but at the same time, it keeps your optic ready to go because it will turn on as soon as you touch your gun.

On top of that, the 508t also features a Solar Panel on top of the sight housing. This is a cool feature for two reasons…

First of all, even if your battery dies, the Solar Panel will be able to power your optic as long as you have some sunlight…

Secondly, it will help you save your battery life even more if you switch to the Solar setting when you go to the range…

Now with the 508t you get 10 daylight brightness settings and 2 night vision settings. The daylight brightness settings are very powerful on the higher end, and you’ll be able to clearly see the reticle even on a sunny day… 

As for the 2 NV settings, most people will never end up using them, but if you ever do acquire NV equipment, and want to start running your gear at night, the 508t will be ready for you.

All in all, the amount of features that are packed into this little sight is extremely impressive.

Holosun 509t

The Holosun 509t also uses 1 CR1632 battery which is able to power the sight for 50,000 hours. In addition to that, you also get a side-loading battery tray…

Again, I love super long battery life like this on my red dot sights because it makes it much more unlikely that your optic will die on you, and the side-loading battery tray is very convenient…

In addition to that, the 509t also features the Shake Awake technology which will help save your battery life but still keep your optic ready to go as soon as you touch your gun…

And it also includes a Solar Panel that will help you save even more battery life, and back up your battery if it goes down…

The 509t also has 10 daylight brightness settings that get very bright on the high end, and 2 NV settings just in case you want to play around at night…

So all in all, it’s also packed with features that are useful to you as the shooter.

Battery Life And Brightness Settings Conclusions…

In this category, the two sights are actually exactly the same…

They both have super long battery life and a side loading battery tray. They both have the Shake Awake feature and a Solar Panel…

And they both have the same brightness settings. So this one is definitely a draw…

Winner: Draw

Extra Accessories Included With The Optic…

Holosun 508t

The 508t comes with a few accessories. First of all, you get a CR1632 battery included with the optic…

I think it’s nice that Holosun includes a battery because that means you won’t have to run off to the store, just to start using your sight…

In addition to that, you get a len cloth which is an item that comes with pretty much every optic. Aside from all that, the most important thing you get with the 508t in my opinion is the Trijicon RMR footprint…

The RMR footprint is the most common footprint for a miniature reflex sight, and because of that, it’ll be very easy for you to mount your sight…

Most handguns that are ‘optics ready’ from the factory will include a plate that will allow you to mount an RMR, and that plate will also fit the 508t…

And if you intend to mount the 508t on a carbine, a shotgun, or a personal defense weapon, there are tons of mounts that fit the RMR (and by default the 508t) that can be found on the aftermarket…

So I really love that Holosun decided to add the RMR footprint to this optic because as I said, it will make it very easy for you to mount your optic.

Holosun 509t

Like the 508t, the Holosun 509t comes with a battery and a lens cloth. However, the mounting system is very different…

Enclosed pistol optics such as the Aimpoint Acro and the 509t are kind of new to the market, and because of that, there isn’t really a standard mounting system for them…

So the mounting system on the 509t is a proprietary rail, and unfortunately, there are not a lot of accessories right now that will match up with that rail…

The good news is that Holosun includes an RMR footprint adaptor along with the 509t, so you will be able to mount your sight…

But that being said, the adaptor does sit the optic a little bit higher on pistol slides, and even though it works well… 

…it’s not as ideal as being able to mount directly on to a slide or mount that is designed for the RMR footprint.

Extra Accessories Conclusions…

In this section, both sights come with a battery and a lens cloth which is nice. However, the 508t comes with the RMR footprint and the 509t has a proprietary rail…

Even though you do get the RMR adapter for the propriety rail on the 509t, I think it’s a better system to have the actual RMR footprint because it makes mounting your optic a breeze…

So in this category, I’m going to give the win to the 508t…

Winner: Holosun 508t

Price Comparison…

Unfortunately I won’t be able to give you exact numbers in this section because, as the market changes, the prices of these sights are known to change as well…

But that being said, in general, you’ll usually find the 508t for around 55 to 60 bucks less than the 509t…

Now depending on who you are, 55 to 60 bucks might not be that much of a difference, or it could be a huge difference…

And if you’re on a very strict budget, I would actually recommend you check out the Holosun 507c…

But out of the two sights we’re comparing here today, the Holosun 508t is definitely going to be the less expensive option for you.

Winner: Holosun 508t

Holosun 508t Vs 509t – Final Thoughts…

So in the end, in the Durability And Toughness category, both sights are built like tanks with titanium sight housings, and they’re both waterproof and shockproof…

However, the 508t is an open style sight, and the 509t is an enclosed design, so the 509t came away as the winner in this category…

In the Lens Clarity And Reticle category, both sights have a very clear lens and the Multiple Reticle System that features the Circle Dot Reticle (again, my favorite because it helps you shoot fast and accurately)…

However, the open style of the 508t gives you more visibility and situational awareness when you’re shooting than the 509t. So in this category, the 508t came away as the winner…

In the Size Comparison, the 508t has a little bit lower height which I think is an important dimension on a handgun optic…

And it’s also not as boxy as the 509t, so it came out on top here…

In the Battery Life And Brightness Settings category, both sights have super long battery life, and they both have the Shake Awake feature and Solar Panel. So I had to call it a draw in this section…

In the Extra Accessories category, both sights come with a battery and a lens cloth, but the 508t comes with the RMR footprint whereas the 509t has a proprietary rail. So in this section, I gave the win to the 508t…

And last in the Price Comparison, the 508t is around 55 to 60 bucks less expensive than the 509t…

So which of these sights do I prefer? I prefer the Holosun 508t…

I prefer the Holosun 508t for a few reasons. First of all, even though I gave the edge in the durability category to the 509t, the 508t is an incredibly robust optic…

It’s gonna hold up without any issues, and aside from dropping your pistol in the mud, I don’t think you’ll have much of a problem with stuff getting in it and blocking the emitter…

In addition to that, you get a more wide open sight picture with the open style design of the 508t, which allows you to see more even while you’re shooting…

I also really love that the 508t uses the RMR footprint because it really makes it easy to get your optic mounted properly…

And last, the 508t is a less expensive optic than the 509t, so it’ll end up saving you some money…

Now if you really want the enclosed design and you don’t mind paying a little extra, then feel free to go with the 509t because it’s still an awesome optic…

Either way, I hope I was able to help you decide which of these two fantastic Holosun sights is right for you!

The use of optics on handguns has exploded in recent years, and I think it’s pretty easy to see why…

Plain and simple, an optic helps you shooter faster and aids you in terms of accuracy, and this is true for both rifles and handguns…

The problem with red dots on handguns used to be, that miniature reflex sights were either way too expensive or just not durable enough… 

So, not a lot of people wanted to pony up 700 bucks just to put a red dot on their handgun or to put a cheaper dot on there that would just end up breaking after a few hundred rounds…

Lucky for us times have changed, and right now, Holosun is making some incredible optics at an affordable price that are designed to be mounted on a handgun…

Right now, two of their most popular models are:

• The Holosun 507c (Check Price On Amazon – Over 1,670 Reviews)
• The Holosun 508t (Check Price On Amazon – Over 232 Reviews)

So in this Holosun 507c Vs 508t comparison, we’re going to examine how these two fantastic sights stack up against each other in the following categories…

• Durability And Toughness
• Lens Clarity And Reticle
• Size Comparison
• Battery Life And Brightness Settings
• Extra Accessories Included With The Optic
• Price Comparison

In the end, I’ll tell you if I personally prefer the 507c or the 508t, and you should have all the information you need to determine, which sight will be right for you…

Let’s get started!

Durability And Toughness…

Holosun 507c

The Holosun 507c is a pretty durable little optic. To begin, it’s sight housing is made from 7075 T6 Aluminum, which is a strong material and helps make the sight very robust…

And it also has an anodized finish, which helps protect the optic from the elements.  In addition to that, the windage and elevation adjustments sit flush along the sight housing…

This is an important design choice in my opinion because they can still be easily adjusted with the use of a small screwdriver, but at the same time, they can never be bumped or snapped off accidentally…

The 507c is also rated to be waterproof in up to 1 meter of water for 30 minutes. It can probably handle much more than that…

But it’ll easily handle any rainy, snowy, or wet conditions you throw at it, and it’s also shockproof, so it can handle the recoil from being mounted on a pistol slide (which is actually pretty tough on an optic)…

All in all, I’m pretty impressed with just how tough of a sight you get with the Holosun 507c…

Holosun 508t

The Holosun 508t is also a very durable optic. For starters, the “t” in its name stands for titanium, and that’s the material used to construct its sight housing…

That titanium helps make it an extremely robust optic, but on top of that, it’s still relatively lightweight, which aside from the overall strength, is one of the chief benefits you get from titanium…

In addition to that, the 508t also has an anodized finish which, again, will help protect the sight from the elements, and its windage and elevation adjustments are also flush with the sight housing, so they can’t get bumped or accidentally snapped off…

On top of that, the 508t is also rated to be waterproof in up to 1 meter of water for 30 minutes, so it will handle rainy or wet conditions without any issues…

And it’s also shockproof, so it’s not going to get beat up when mounted onto a handgun slide…

All in all, the durability of the 508t is also pretty impressive.

Durability And Toughness Conclusions…

So in this category, we have one major difference between these two sights. First of all, they are both built to a very high standard and are very tough optics…

They both have windage and elevation turrets that are flush with the sight housing, and they’re both waterproof and shockproof…

The difference is that the sight housing on 507c is made from 7075 T6 aluminum, and the sight housing on the 508t is constructed from titanium…

7075 T6 aluminum is a very strong material, however, titanium is stronger. So in this category, the Holosun 508t is going to take the win…

Winner: Holosun 508t

Lens Clarity And Reticle…

Holosun 507c

The Holosun 507c has a very clear lens. It’s actually clearer than many of its competitors from other optics manufacturers, even some that cost a lot more money such as the Trijicon RMR…

And that clear lens allows you to get a clear view of your target and a very clean sight picture…

Now in terms of the reticle, the 507c has a feature called the Multiple Reticle System or MRS. Basically, this means that you get 3 different reticles on your 507c that you can choose between. The 3 reticles are…

• A 2 MOA (Minute Of Angle) dot surrounded by a 32 MOA ring (the Holosun Circle Dot reticle)
• A 2 MOA dot
• A 32 MOA ring with no dot in the center of it

The first of the reticle options is a 2 MOA dot that has a 32 MOA ring around it, and it’s also called the Circle Dot reticle…

This is my personal favorite reticle when it comes to red dot sights and there are many reasons why. First of all, the 32 MOA ring gives you a huge reticle, and your eye is able to pick it up very quickly which allows you to shoot extremely fast…

But at the same time, the 2 MOA dot in the center of the reticle gives you a fine aiming point which allows you to aim very precisely at small targets or targets that are far off in the distance…

It’s a reticle that gives you both speed and precision in the same sight picture, and for me, it seems to work really well…

Now the second option included in the MRS is the 2 MOA dot reticle. This is a more simple reticle, but I also really like it…

The 2 MOA dot is big enough that your eye can catch it fairly quickly, but again, you have a very fine aiming point…

It probably won’t allow you to shoot quite as fast as the Circle Dot reticle will, but the 2 MOA dot will still serve you very well if you want a less cluttered sight picture…

Last, you have the 32 MOA ring reticle.This is my least favorite of the 3 options, but let me explain why some people like to use it…

Basically, it gives you the same speed as the Circle Dot reticle, but you can see all of your target because there is no dot in the center…

It’s a little less cluttered, and it can work really well when you’re shooting at large targets up close. The downside is obviously that you don’t have a precise aiming point in your reticle, but again, if you’re focused on speed shooting at large targets, that’s really not an issue…

In the end, all 3 reticle options have their own strengths and weaknesses, but as I mentioned earlier, my favorite is the Circle Dot reticle because I feel that it gives you both speed and precision (the best of both worlds)…

Last, you can actually get the 507c with either a red reticle or a green reticle. The green dot model is called the Holosun HE507C-GR…

I personally prefer the red reticle because I feel like my eye is able to pick it up just a tiny bit quicker than the green…

But there are many experienced shooters out there who really like the green model. So the one you should get is really going to come down to your personal preference…

Although, the green dot version is just a little bit more expensive. 

Holosun 508t

The Holosun 508t also comes with a very clear lens. It’s just as clear as the lens on the 507c, and again, it allows you to get a very clean sight picture…

In addition to that, you also get the Multiple Reticle System on the 508t with the same 3 reticle choices…

Again, I really like the Circle Dot reticle, but the other 2 reticles certainly have their strengths as well…

Last, the 508t also comes in a red reticle version and a green reticle version. The green dot version is called the HE508T-GR…

Again, I like the color red on all my sights and optics, but if you’re a fan of green reticles, I’m glad that Holosun gives you the ability to get the green dot version of this sight…

Lens Clarity And Reticle Conclusions…

In this category, there really isn’t much that separates these two sights. They’re both Holosun optics, so they both have a very clear lens that allows you to get a clean sight picture…

They also both feature the Multiple Reticle System which gives you 3 reticles to choose from on your sight (again, I prefer the Circle Dot Reticle)…

Last, you can get either of these optics in a red dot version or a green dot version. I wish I could call a winner, but in this section we really have to call it a draw…

Winner: Draw

Size Comparison…

Holosun 507c

The Holosun 507c has a height that measures in at 1.54 inches. It’s width comes in at 1.24 inches, and it’s length measures in at 1.78 inches…

In addition to that, it’s pretty lightweight with a weight of only 1.5 ounces. All in all, the 507c is a fairly compact little reflex sight.

Holosun 508t

The Holosun 508t is a similar size to the 507c, but there are a few differences in its measurements…

It has a height that measures in at 1.08 inches. In addition to that, it has a width that measures in at 1.21 inches, and its length comes in at 1.77 inches…

On top of that, the 508t’s weight comes in at 2.0 ounces…

Size Comparison Conclusions…

Like I said, in this category, the dimensions of these two sights are similar. That being said, there are a couple of small differences…

First of all, the height on the 507c is just a little bit taller than the height on the 508t. So with the 508t, you get a slightly lower profile out of your optic…

In addition to that, the 507c weighs around half an ounce less than the 508t. I think the lower profile of a mini reflex sight is a little more important than a few ounces here or there…

So in this category, I’m going to give the slight edge to the Holosun 508t…

Winner: Holosun 508t

Battery Life And Brightness Settings…

Holosun 507c

The 507c uses 1 CR1632 battery which is able to power the sight for up to 50,000 hours when the optic is on setting 6…

That’s an awesome amount of battery life, and I think super long battery life like this is a very important feature on a red dot sight…

The reason why it’s such an important feature is because you don’t want your optic dying on you at the wrong time…

I’ve had red dots die on me at the range before, but it’s much more concerning to think about them dying on you in a life or death emergency…

With 50,000 hours worth of battery life, it’s very unlikely that your optic is going to die on you especially if you just swap out the battery once a year (which is what most people recommend)…

Speaking of replacing the battery, the old 507c had its battery replacement underneath the optic, much like the Trijicon RMR…

This was a pain in the neck because it would require you to take the optic off of your gun just to swap out the battery…

And then, after you had put the optic back on, you would have to re-zero your sight. It was kind of a huge hassle…

The good news is that the new versions of the 507c the (V2 and the X2 versions) have a side loading battery tray…

The tray means that you can keep your optic mounted on the gun, and swap out the battery without any of the hassle of removing your sight and then having to re-mount it and re-zero it…

Now another feature included with the 507c is the Shake Awake technology. Basically, this means that your optic will automatically turn off after a period of non use…

…and it will automatically turn on again as soon as it senses motion. I think this is a great feature because it will help save your battery life, but at the same time, your optic is always ready to go because it will turn on as soon as you touch your gun.

Another cool feature on the 507c is the inclusion of the Solar Panel on top. The Solar Panel is cool for two reasons…

First of all, it backs up your battery because you can actually use your sight without a battery as long as you have sunlight…

And second, it can also help save your battery life, if you program your optic to the solar setting when you go out to the range…

Now with the 507c, you get 10 daylight brightness settings and 2 night vision settings. The daylight brightness settings get very bright and won’t wash out in the sun…

I know because I live in the Nevada desert where it gets extremely sunny during the summer time, and my Holosun’s are super bright even in those conditions…

But you also get the 2 NV settings. Now most people won’t ever use the NV brightness settings, but some people with NV equipment will use them…

And I like that Holosun includes them at no additional cost…

The last feature I want to discuss in this category is the Lock Mode. Basically, this allows you to lock the brightness setting on your optic…

That way, if the brightness buttons get knocked or accidentally pushed, you’re not going to have any surprises…

Again, I think a feature like this is very important because if you ever have to use your firearm in a life or death situation, you definitely want the brightness of your reticle set to the right level…

All in all, the Holosun 507c is packed with features that I think are really useful to the shooter.

Holosun 508t

The 508t also uses one CR1632 battery, and it powers the sight for 50,000 hours on setting 6. Additionally, the 508t has a side-loading battery tray just like the 507c…

Again, I love the super long battery life that you get with these optics, and I also love that it’s not a hassle to simply swap out your battery when the time comes to change it…

Also, just like with the 507c, the 508t comes with Shake Awake technology, which will help save your battery life and keep your optic ready to go as soon as you touch your gun…

On top of that, the 508t also has a Solar Panel which you can use to save even more battery life or as a backup power source for your optic…

And the brightness settings that come on the 508t are also the same as those on the 507c. So you get the 10 daylight brightness settings and 2 NV settings…

Again, the daylight settings get extremely bright, and you won’t have any issues even in extremely bright conditions…

Last, the 508t also features the Lock Mode, so you can set your optic to the perfect brightness level and then lock it in as you carry around your handgun.

Battery Life And Brightness Settings Conclusions…

Alright, so here we have another category in which these sights are very similar… Scratch that, they’re exactly the same…

They both have super long battery life and a side loading battery tray. They both have the Shake Awake feature, Solar Panel, and Lock Mode…

And they both have 10 daylight brightness settings and 2 NV settings. Like I said, they’re exactly the same here. So once again we’re going to have to call it a draw…

Winner: Draw

Extra Accessories Included With The Optic…

Both the 507c and 508t come with the same accessories. First of all, they come with a CR1632 battery, which I think is cool because you won’t have to run to the store just to be able to start using your optic…

On top of that, you also get a lens cloth which is typical when you purchase pretty much any optic. Those things aside, the most important thing you get with the 507c and the 508t is the Trijicon RMR footprint…

The RMR footprint is the most common footprint when it comes to these miniature reflex sights, and that means you’re going to have a lot of options when it comes to mounting your 507c or your 508t…

Most people who pick up one of these sights will be putting on a handgun slide. If your handgun came from the factory setup for optics, it will probably include a plate allowing you to mount the Trijicon RMR, which is what you’ll use for the 507c and the 508t…

In addition to that, if you wanted to pick a slide for your gun that is pre-cut for an optic, you’ll find tons of them that are cut for an RMR which again, will fit both the 507c and the 508t…

On top of that, if you want to mount these optics on a small carbine, a shotgun, or a personal defense weapon, the aftermarket is filled with mounts for the RMR which will also work with these sights…

In the end, I love that Holosun decided to go with the RMR footprint on both of these sights, because that is going to make it easy on you, when you’re ready to mount your optic…

And since these two sights are exactly the same in this category again. We have to, again, call it a a draw…

Winner: Draw

Price Comparison…

Unfortunately, I won’t be able to give you exact numbers in this section because the prices of the sights are known to go up and down a little bit depending on a variety of factors in the market…

But that being said, in general, you’ll usually find that the 507c is around 55 to 60 bucks less expensive than the 508t…

To me, that’s not a huge difference in price, but it can definitely be a factor if you’re on a budget…

So if you’re trying to keep the price as low as possible on your optic, the 507c is definitely going to be the less expensive option for you…

Winner: Holosun 507c

Holosun 507c Vs Vortex Venom – Final Thoughts…

So in the end, in the Durability And Toughness category, both sights are waterproof and shockproof, and overall, they’re both very tough optics…

However, because the 508t is made from titanium rather than the 7075 T6 aluminum used in the 507c, I gave the win to the 508t…

In the Lens Clarity And Reticle category, both sights have a very clear lens that allows you to get a clean sight picture…

And both sights feature the Multiple Reticle System giving you 3 reticle choices, including the Circle Dot reticle. So in this section I called it a draw…

In the Size Comparison, both sights are similar in terms of dimensions, but because the 508t sits just a little bit lower than the 507c, it came out on top just by a hair in this section…

In the Battery Life And Brightness Settings category, both optics have super long battery life, a side loading battery tray, the Shake Awake feature, a Solar Panel, the Lock Mode, and great brightness settings. So we had to call it another draw…

In the Extra Accessories category, both sights come with a battery and a lens cloth, and both feature the RMR footprint which is very common. So once again I called it a draw…

And last, in the Price Comparison, the 507c is around 55 to 60 dollars less expensive than the 508t…

So which of these sights do I prefer? I prefer the Holosun 507c…

I prefer the Holosun 507c for a few reasons. Even though the 508t is a little bit more durable of an optic, the 507c is still extremely rugged…

It’s regarded as one of the toughest miniature reflex sights you can get, even though it’s made of a slightly less impressive material than the 508t…

Aside from that, the Holosun 507c pretty much gives you all of the same features as the 508t including a very clear lens, super long battery life, the Shake Awake feature, the Solar Panel, the Lock Mode, and the Multiple Reticle System…

…which includes the Circle Dot reticle that will aid you whether you’re trying to shoot quickly or aim precisely. And it does all of that at a lower price point…

So you’ll end up saving money by going with the 507c…

Now if you want an optic with insane durability, and you don’t mind paying a little bit more money, then feel free to go with the 508t because it’s still an amazing optic…

Either way, I hope I was able to help you as you try to decide between these two incredible sights from Holosun Optics.

Is there anyone out there who doesn’t like Holosun optics right now?

Probably not, and I think it’s easy to see why because they make really high quality sights that are packed with useful features, and they do it all while keeping the price at a reasonable level…

And right now, two of their most popular sights are…

• The Holosun 510c (Check The Price On Amazon – Over 3,301 Reviews)
• The Holosun 512c (Check The Price On Amazon – Over 259 Reviews)

So in this Holosun 510c Vs 512c article, we’re going to put these two sights up against each other and see how they compare in the following categories…

• Durability And Toughness
• Lens Clarity And Reticle
• Size Comparison
• Battery Life And Brightness Settings
• Extra Accessories Included With The Optic
• Price Comparison

In the end, I’ll tell you if I prefer the open style 510c or the enclosed 512c, and you should have all the information you need to determine which sight will work better for you…

Let’s start by discussing the durability of these two optics…

Durability And Toughness…

Holosun 510c

The Holosun 510c is a pretty tough little red dot sight. It has a sight housing that is constructed from a high-strength aluminum…

…and it also has an anodized finish which will help protect the optic from the elements. On top of that, the lens has a titanium hood over it, which gives extra protection to one of the sight’s most vulnerable areas…

…and since it’s titanium, it really helps make the optic very robust without adding very much extra weight. 

Now the windage and elevation turrets on the 510c are recessed into the sight housing. They can still be easily accessed with the use of a small screwdriver…

But because they sit flush within the body of the sight, they can never be accidentally bumped or snapped off, which I think is an important feature…

The 510c is also a waterproof optic. It’s rated to be waterproof in up to one meter of water for 30 minutes, but truth be told it can probably handle much more than that…

Regardless, it’s a sight that can easily handle rainy, snowy, and wet conditions without giving you any problems at all…

Last, the 510c is also shockproof. It’s designed to be used with an AR 15, and it can easily handle that recoil…

But it can also handle recoil from the much larger AR 10 platform rifles (.308 chambered AR’s), shotguns, and pistol caliber carbines…

The one downside in the category when it comes to the 510c isn’t a problem with its construction…

It’s an issue with all open style reflex sights. You see, because it’s an open design, the emitter which projects your reticle onto the lens is exposed (the open design also has benefits which we’ll discuss later)…

I’ve personally never seen it happen, but theoretically, it’s possible for mud or some other substance or object to get in there and block the emitter, leaving you with no reticle…

Again, I’ve never seen that happen or known anyone that has happened to, but it is possible so it bears mentioning here…

But that being said, the 510c is really built like a tank and is a very durable red dot sight.   

Holosun 512c

The Holosun 512c is also a very durable optic, and because it’s built by the same company as the 510c, it’s similar in a lot of ways…

For starters, the sight housing on the 512c is also made from a high-strength aluminum, and it’s also anodized to help protect the sight from the elements…

In addition to that, the windage and elevation turrets are also recessed into the sight housing, so you’ll never accidentally bump them or snap them off…

And it’s also rated to be waterproof in up to 1 meter of water for 30 minutes. On top of that, the 512c is also shockproof so it can easily handle the recoil from an AR 15, an AR 10 style rifle, a shotgun, or a pistol caliber carbine…

Last, the 512c is an enclosed optic design, so it’s not possible for something to block the emitter from projecting your reticle…

Overall, the 512c is also built to a very high standard and is a very robust optic.

Durability And Toughness Conclusions…

When it comes to durability, both of these optics are made by Holosun, so they’re actually pretty similar…

They both have a high strength aluminum housing. They both have windage and elevation adjustments that can’t be snapped off…

And they’re both waterproof and shockproof. Now the 510c does have the extra titanium hood protecting its lens, but it’s also an open style reflex sight, which means that it’s theoretically possible that something could block the emitter from projecting your reticle…

I don’t think that’s very likely to happen (again, I’ve never seen it happen), but the 512c is an enclosed design in which something like that is pretty much impossible…

So even though I actually think these two are neck and neck in this category, I’m going to give the slight win here to the Holosun 512c…

Winner: Holosun 512c

Lens Clarity And Reticle…

Holosun 510c

The lens on the Holosun 510c is very clear. When you look through the optic, you don’t notice much of a blue tint the way you do with a lot of other red dot sights (like the Trijicon MRO)…

It’s actually very clear, and that allows you to get a very clean sight picture. In addition to that, because the 510c is an open style reflex sight, you’re able to get a very large field of view…

The sight window itself is HUGE, and you can see a lot through it, but the benefit of having that open design also starts to reveal itself…

Everything just seems wide open, and you don’t get any of that tube effect, which is common with scopes and other red dots (especially micro red dot sights)…

So the large sight window and open design are a big benefit to the 510c in this category because you can really see more of your target and what’s around it (and keep your situational awareness)…

Now when it comes to the reticle on the 510c, Holosun includes a feature called the Multiple Reticle System or MRS…

Basically, this feature means that you get 3 different reticles that you can choose from included in your sight. The 3 reticles are…

• A 2 MOA dot with a 65 MOA ring surrounding it (the Holosun Circle Dot Reticle)
• A 2 MOA dot
• A 65 MOA ring with no dot in the center

Let’s start by talking about the 2 MOA (minute of angle) dot with a 65 MOA ring surrounding it, which is also called the Circle Dot Reticle (and is similar to the reticle found on Eotechs)…

I really like it… In fact, it’s my favorite style of reticle on a red dot sight because the large 65 MOA ring really catches your eye quickly, which then allows you to shoot faster…

But at the same time, you still have that little 2 MOA dot in the center which allows you to aim very precisely at small targets or targets that are off in the distance…

It gives you the best of both worlds, and for that reason, it’s my favorite reticle on a red dot. That being said, you also get the 2 MOA dot reticle option…

This is also a great option especially if you like to keep your reticle extremely simple. A 2 MOA dot is big enough for your eye to pick it up relatively quickly, but still small enough to give you that precision I talked about earlier…

Last, you have the 65 MOA ring reticle which is my least favorite option. Some people like the big 65 MOA ring, because they feel like their reticle is too cluttered with the dot in the center…

And the major benefit you get from it is that you can see all of your target in the center of the ring (it’s also very fast when you’re shooting at large targets)…

The obvious drawback is that you really can’t aim too precisely, but if you’re just shooting large targets up close, that’s not really a problem…

So all 3 reticle options have their strengths and weaknesses, but like I mentioned earlier, the Circle Dot reticle is my favorite because it gives you a lot of speed and precision in the same sight picture…

The last thing I want to mention in this category is that you can get the 510c with either a red reticle or a green reticle (the green dot model is the HE510C-GR)…

Personally, I prefer the red model because I feel like it attracts my eye just a tiny bit quicker, but there are many experienced shooters who love the green…

Like many things, your personal preference plays a big part in which one you’ll prefer, but it’s cool that Holosun gives you a couple of color options.

Holosun 512c

Just as with the 510c, the Holosun 512c has a very clear lens which allows you to get a clean sight picture…

And because the lens is large, you also get a big field of view in which you can see a lot of your target…

That being said, because the 512c is an enclosed optic, it just doesn’t feel as open as the 510c. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still a very good field of view (much larger than a micro red dot like the Aimpoint T2)…

But it’s just not quite as wide open as an open style reflex sight…

Now when it comes to the reticle on the 512c, you also get the Multiple Reticle System with the same 3 reticle choices as the 510c…

Again, my favorite is the Circle Dot Reticle because it’s a very fast and precise reticle all in one, but the 2 MOA dot reticle and the 65 MOA ring reticle have their strengths as well…

All in all though, the MRS is an awesome feature that you get with the 512c…

Last, with the 512c you can choose between the red dot reticle version and a gold dot reticle version. Again, I like red for pretty much all of my sights and optics…

…but having a gold reticle is kind of cool and certainly unique in the world of optics.

Lens Clarity And Reticle Conclusions…

Ok, so in this category, we have a few similarities and a few key differences between these two optics. First of all, both of these sights have a very clear lens…

And both of them have the Multiple Reticle System, which is awesome. But the biggest difference between them is the open style of the 510c as opposed to the enclosed design of the 512c…

The 512c got the slight edge in the durability category because of its enclosed design. However, I think the open design of the 510c gives it the edge in this category… 

So the slight winner here is the Holosun 510c…

Winner: Holosun 510c

Size Comparison…

Holosun 510c

Like I mentioned earlier, the Holosun 510c is an open style reflex sight. So it’s much larger than something like a micro red dot such as the Holosun 503c or the Sig Romeo5…

But even though it’s larger, I still think it’s a great size for an optic on an AR-15. It has a height that measures in at 2.31 inches…

The length measures in at 3.30 inches, and the width measures in at 1.80 inches. In addition to all that, the weight on the 510c is around 4.94 ounces.

Holosun 512c

The Holosun 512c is a similar size to the 510c, but there are differences when we break down the numbers…

The height on the 512c measures in at 2.27 inches. The length measures in at 3.35 inches, and the width measures in at 1.66 inches…

Additionally, the weight on the 512c comes in at around 8.1 ounces.

Size Comparison Conclusions…

When we compare the dimensions on these two sights, they’re actually a very similar size, in terms of their height, length, and width…

That being said there is a major difference in the weight of these two optics. The 510c comes in at around 4.94 ounces whereas the 512c comes in at around 8.1…

That’s a difference of a little over 3 ounces which may not seem like much, but the ounces can really add up quickly when you start accessorizing an AR 15…

I think the weight of your optic is definitely something to take note of. So in this category, I’m going to give the win to the Holosun 510c…   

Winner: Holosun 510c

Battery Life And Brightness Settings…

Holosun 510c

The Holosun 510c uses 1 CR2032 battery which is able to power the sight for up to 50,000 hours (when on setting 6)…

These days, I’m always looking to get super long battery life on red dot sights, and with 50,000 hours worth, the 510c definitely fits that criteria…

The reason why this is such an important feature to me is because you don’t want your optic dying on you at the wrong time. I’ve had red dots die on me at the range before, which gets pretty annoying…

But much more importantly, you don’t want your sight to run out of batteries if you ever need to use it in a defensive situation…

With the 50,000 hours you get on the 510c, that won’t be a problem especially if you swap out your battery once a year (which is what most people recommend)…

Another cool feature that you get with the 510c is the Shake Awake technology… 

Basically, this feature means that your sight will automatically turn off after a period of non use, and it will automatically turn on as soon as it senses motion…

This will save your battery life (which is already very long) even more, but at the same time, it’ll keep your optic ready to go because it will turn on as soon as you touch your gun…

On top of that, the 510c is equipped with a Solar Panel. The Solar Panel is kind of a trademark of Holosun optics at this point, and I think it’s awesome…

It actually allows you to run your optic without a battery, which is important for two reasons…

First of all, it’s another feature that saves your optic’s battery life, and second it allows you to run your optic even if the battery dies (as long as you have sunlight to power it)…

So it’s a very useful feature, and I’m happy that they’ve included it…

Now with the 510c you get 10 daylight brightness settings and 2 night vision settings. The daylight brightness settings get extremely bright on the high end, and you won’t have any issues with your reticle washing out in the sun, even on a sunny day…

As for the 2 NV settings, most people won’t ever use them, but some shooters who like to run NV equipment will take advantage of them. And since they don’t cost you any extra in terms of price, I think it’s cool that they are included.

All in all, the 510c is packed with a ton of useful features.

Holosun 512c

The Holosun 512c has the same features as the 510c in this category (they’re both Holosun optics after all)…

It uses 1 CR2032 battery which has a long lifespan of 50,000 hours when the optic is on setting 6… 

Again, I love long battery life like this in my optics because it will help minimize the possibility of your optic dying on you, especially in a life or death situation…

The 512c also has the Shake Awake feature which helps save your battery life but at the same time keeps your optic ready to go as soon as you touch your gun…

And it also has Solar Panels on top which will back up your battery if it dies and can also help save your battery life if you choose to run the optic on that setting…

In addition to that, the 512c has 10 daylight brightness settings and 2 night vision settings. And they all work exactly the same as the settings on the 510c, which means that they get very bright on the higher end.

So in the end, just as with the 510c, the 512c is a sight that’s packed with features that you’ll find useful.

Battery Life And Brightness Settings Conclusions…

There really isn’t much that separates these two sights in this category because, like I said earlier, these are both optics from Holosun…

They both give you great battery life. They both have the Shake Awake feature and a Solar Panel. And they both have 10 daylight brightness settings and 2 night visions settings…

So in this category, it’s clearly a draw.

Winner: Draw

Extra Accessories Included With The Optic…

Holosun 510c

The Holosun 510c comes with some pretty cool accessories. With the sight, you get the usual items like a lens cloth and a battery…

But the really exciting accessory that comes with your sight is the QD (Quick Detach) mount…

This mount sets you up for an absolute co witness with BUIS (Back Up Iron Sights) on an AR variant rifle or any other rifle that requires the use of a high mount…

By including this mount, I think Holosun gives you a lot of extra value when you pick up a 510c because it means that your sight is ready to go right out of the box…

You won’t have to go searching around for a mount that fits your optic, and then end up spending more money just to mount your new sight on your rifle…

That’s pretty cool, and it’s also pretty cool that the mount is a QD mount because that’s usually a pretty high end feature when it comes to optics mounts.

Holosun 512c

The Holosun 512c also comes with some pretty cool accessories. Again, you get the usual battery and lens cloth…

And just as with the 510c, you get an included mount with the 512c as well. The 512c’s included mount is also set up for an absolute cowitness with back up iron sights on an AR 15, AR 10, or any other rifle that requires the use of a high mount…

However, it differs from the 510c mount because it is not a QD mount. That being said, it still means that you’re not going to have to hunt around for a mount that will fit your optic and then end up spending extra money on it…

So I think you are getting some pretty good extra value there.

Extra Accessories Conclusions…

The two sights are similar in this category, but there is one key difference that separates them. First of all, they both come with a battery and a lens cloth…

And they also both come with a mount that sets you up for an absolute co witness on an AR 15, but the main difference is that the 510c has a QD mount and the 512c has a standard mount…

That small difference means the 510c is the slight winner in this category…

Winner: Holosun 510c

Price Comparison…

Unfortunately I won’t be able to give you exact numbers in this section because as the market changes, the prices of these sights change as well…

With that being said, you’ll usually find that the Holosun 510c is around 50 to 60 bucks less expensive than the Holosun 512c…

That’s not a huge difference in my opinion, but if you’re on a budget and trying to keep the price down on your optic…

The Holosun 510c is going to be the less expensive option for you.

Winner: Holosun 510c

Holosun 510c Vs 512c – Final Thoughts…

So in the end, in the Durability And Toughness category, both sights are built to be very robust… 

However, because the 512c is an enclosed design and the 510c is an open style reflex sight, I gave the 512c the slight win here…

In the Lens Clarity And Reticle category, both sights have very clear glass that allows you to get a clean sight picture…

…but the 510c gives you more visibility because it’s an open style reflex sight. So in this category, it came out on top by a little bit.

In the Size Comparison, both of these sights have a similar height, length, and width. However, the 510c is much lighter weight than the 512c. So the 510c came out on top in this category…

In the Battery Life And Brightness Settings category, both sights give you super long battery life, the Shake Awake feature, a Solar Panel, and 12 brightness settings. So in this category it was a clear draw…

In the Extra Accessories category, both sights come with an absolute cowitness mount, but because the 510c’s mount is Quick Detach, it came away as the winner here… 

And last in the Price Comparison, the 510c is usually around 50 to 60 dollars less expensive than the 512c…

So which of these sights do I prefer? I prefer the Holosun 510c…

I prefer the Holosun 510c for a few reasons. First of all, even though the 512c came out on top in the durability category, I still feel that the 510c is a very durable optic…

It’ll end up handling any tough use you put it through as a civilian, and if it ever does stop working for some reason…

…the included mount is a Quick Detach mount that will allow you to remove it immediately and start using your back up iron sights.

In addition to that, I like the huge, open sight window because it allows you to see a lot of your target…

…and helps give you a bit more situational awareness because it’s not as easy to get tunnel vision while looking through it.

On top of that, the 510c is a much lighter weight optic than the 512c, and I’m always working to keep the weight as low as possible on my rifles because it makes them easier to carry around and alot more handy…

And last but not least, the 510c is a less expensive optic than the 512c. So it’ll end up saving you some money.

Now if you don’t mind paying a little more money and you want an enclosed optic that still has a pretty big sight window, then feel free to go with the 512c because it’s still a great red dot…

Either way, I hope I was able to help you make a decision in terms of which of these fantastic Holosun optics will work best for you!

Miniature reflex sights are becoming more popular these days, and it’s easy to see why…

They’re being mounted on pistol slides because they help you shoot faster and more accurately, and they even have a role as a super compact sight on carbines as well…

And because they’re so popular, more and more companies are starting to produce these mini red dots…

Two of the companies that seem to be getting things right when it comes to optics are Holosun and Vortex, and right now, two of their most popular models for this style of sight are…

• The Holosun 507c (Check Price On Amazon – Over 415 Reviews)
• The Vortex Venom (Check Price On Amazon – Over 2,560 Reviews)

So in this Holosun 507c vs Vortex Venom comparison, we’re going to put these two little optics up against each other and see how they stack up in the following 6 categories…

• Durability And Toughness
• Lens Clarity And Reticle
• Size Comparison
• Battery Life And Brightness Settings
• Extra Accessories Included With The Optic
• Price Comparison

In the end, I’ll tell you if I personally prefer the 507c or the Venom, and you should have a clear idea as to which one will work best for you…

Let’s start by taking a look at the durability of these two little red dot sights…

Durability And Toughness…

Holosun 507c

The Holosun 507c is a very durable little optic. For starters, the sight housing is made from 7075 T6 Aluminum, so it’s very robust…

And it also has an anodized finish which will help protect the optic from the elements. In addition to that, the windage and elevation turrets are recessed into the sight housing…

So they can never be bumped or snapped off accidentally. The 507c is also waterproof in up to 1 meter of water. So it can easily handle rainy, snowy, and wet conditions…

And its also shock proof, so it can withstand the beating that an optic takes when its mounted on a pistol slide…

All in all, the Holosun 507c is built like a tank with a thick aluminum sight housing, and it really inspires a lot of confidence in terms of how robust the optic is. 

Vortex Venom

The Vortex Venom is also a pretty tough little optic. It has a sight housing that is constructed out of a high-quality aluminum, and it also has a matte anodized finish that will help protect it from the elements…

The windage and elevation turrets on the Venom are also recessed into the sight housing. So they can never be accidentally snapped off…

And it’s also waterproof. So it can handle rainy conditions without any issues at all. On top of that, the Venom is also shockproof and can handle being mounted on a pistol slide…

And it has a tough, scratch resistant coating on the lens, which Vortex calls ArmorTek. All in all, the Venom is also a pretty durable miniature reflex sight…

Durability And Toughness Conclusions…

Alright, so on paper both of these sights have a lot in common when it comes to their construction. They are both made from high quality aluminum…. 

They are both anodized. They’re both waterproof and shockproof, and they both have windage and elevation turrets that are recessed into the sight housing…

The big difference is in the amount of material used in the sight housing. As I mentioned above, the Holosun 507c has a very thick sight housing, and it really is built like a tank…

It also has a reputation as one of the toughest miniature reflex sights you can get… 

On the other hand, the Vortex Venom has a much thinner aluminum housing and doesn’t have the reputation for durability that the Holosun has. So in this category, the clear winner is the Holosun 507c…

Winner: Holosun 507c

Lens Clarity And Reticle…

Holosun 507c

The Holosun 507c has a very clear lens. It doesn’t have much of a distinct blue tint the way some other optics do (like the Trijicon RMR), and overall, you get a very clean sight picture when looking through the optic…

Now as for the reticle, the 507c has a feature called the MRS or Multiple Reticle System. Basically, this feature means that you get 3 different reticles that you can choose between on your optic (the Holosun 407c just has 1 reticle). The 3 reticles are…

• A 2 MOA dot with a 32 MOA ring surrounding it (The Holosun Circle Dot)
• A 2 MOA dot
• A 32 MOA Ring with no dot in the center

Let’s start by discussing the 2 MOA (minute of angle) dot with a 32 MOA ring surrounding it, which is also called the Holosun Circle Dot Reticle…

I love it… It’s pretty much my favorite reticle on this style of optic because it does everything well…

The big 32 MOA ring is very quick for your eye to pick up which translates to you shooting faster, but at the same time you still have that small 2 MOA dot in the center…

…which gives you precision when you’re aiming at small targets or targets that are off in the distance.   

So I think it’s the best of both worlds, and I really like it. That being said, you also get the 2 MOA dot option, which I also like…

This is a great option if you want to keep things simple because your eye can still pick up the dot pretty quickly, and you still have that small 2 MOA dot aiming point…

Last, you get the 32 MOA ring with no dot in the center option. Personally this is my least favorite option, but a lot of folks out there really like it…

It’s very fast because your eye picks up the 32 MOA ring very quickly, but because there is no dot in the center, you’re able to see your entire target…

In the end, all 3 reticle choices that come with the MRS have their strengths and weaknesses, but as I said my favorite is the Circle Dot reticle.

One last detail I want to mention in this category is that you can get the 507c with a red reticle or with a green reticle (the green dot model is called the HE507C-GR)…

Personally, I prefer the red version because, for me, it catches my eye just a little bit quicker, but that being said, there are a lot of shooters out there who really like the green dot version.

Vortex Venom

The Vortex Venom also has a very clear lens, and just as with the Holosun 507c, it allows you to get a very clean sight picture when looking through the optic…

Now as for the reticle on the Venom, there are actually 2 different versions of the optic that you can choose between…

You can get the model with a 3 MOA red dot reticle or the model with a 6 MOA dot reticle…

Personally, I prefer the 3 MOA dot version of the Venom because I feel like my eye catches the reticle quickly enough, and the smaller dot gives you a liittle bit more precision for small targets and targets at further distances…

But the 6 MOA dot is also a good size reticle for a pistol optic because it’s probably just a little bit easier for your eye to pick up…

The downside is that you lose a little bit of precision with the larger MOA dot, but again for a pistol optic, I don’t think that’s the end of the world…

Many people actually like using 6 MOA dot reticles in handgun competitions. So there really is an element of personal preference when it comes to your reticle size.

Lens Clarity And Reticle Conclusions…

So in this category, we have some major differences between these two sights…

First of all, they both have pretty a pretty clear lens that allows you to acquire a clean sight picture, but they’re very different when it comes to their reticles…

I prefer the MRS system that comes on the Holosun 507c over either of the 2 fixed reticle options that come on the Vortex Venom…

It just gives you more flexibility in terms of the reticle you choose to run, and it’s all built into the same optic…

On top of that, my personal favorite reticle for this style of optic is the Circle Dot Reticle. So I’m going to give the win in this category to the 507c…

Winner: Holosun 507c

Size Comparison…

Holosun 507c

The Holosun 507c is pretty standard in size when it comes to miniature reflex sights (if you’re looking for a smaller sight for a single stack concealed carry gun, you’ll want something smaller like the Holosun 507k model)…

That being said, the 507c has a height that measures in at 1.54 inches, a width that measures in at 1.24 inches, and a length that measures in at 1.78 inches…

In addition to that, the 507c weighs in at only 1.5 ounces. So it’s pretty lightweight.

Vortex Venom

The Vortex Venom is a similar size to the 507c, but it does have different dimensions…

The height on the Venom measures in at 1.02 inches. The width measures in at 1.11 inches, and the length measures in at 1.9 inches…

In addition to that, the Venom weighs in at only 1.1 ounces.

Size Comparison Conclusions…

As I mentioned earlier the Holosun 507c has a more beefy sight housing. So it is a little bit taller and wider than the Vortex Venom…

However, the 507c is a bit shorter than the Venom in terms of length. In addition to that, the Venom is also just a little bit lighter than the 507c when it comes to weight…

The fact that the 507c is shorter overall makes it tempting for me to call it a draw in this category, but in the end, I’m going give the slight win here to the Venom because it’s smaller in every other dimension…

Winner: Vortex Venom

Battery Life And Brightness Settings…

Holosun 507c

The Holosun 507c uses one CR1632 battery which can power the sight for up to 50,000 hours (when the optic is on setting 6)…

That’s several years worth of battery life, which I think is fantastic! I think super long battery life like this is a must have on a red dot optic…

…because I’ve had red dots die on me at the range before (which is pretty annoying), but more importantly, you don’t want your optic dying on you if you ever need to use it in a defensive situation.

With 50,000 hours worth of battery life, thats very unlikely to happen, especially if you swap out your battery once a year, which is what most people usually recommend…

Speaking of swapping out batteries, the 507c has a side loading battery tray. This is actually a very important feature for me because it means you can replace your battery without taking the sight off of your gun…

With other optics you’ll have to remove the entire optic from your gun, replace your battery, re-mount your optic, and then re-zero your optic…

That ends up being a huge hassle just to change out the battery, and luckily with the new versions of the 507c, its just a quick and easy battery change on the side of the optic…

Now on top of that long battery life, the 507c also has something called the Shake Awake feature. Basically, this means that your sight will automatically turn off after a period of non use, and it will automatically turn on as soon as it senses any motion at all…

I love this feature because it saves your battery life even more, but at the same time, your optic is always ready to go because it will turn on as soon as you touch your gun…

Another cool feature that you get with the 507c is the addition of the Solar Panel. This is a really cool feature because you can actually run the sight even without a battery as long as you have some sunlight to power it…

And the reticle will automatically adjust to the brightness conditions that you find yourself in when you’re using the solar power setting too. 

Now as for the brightness settings, you get 10 daylight brightness settings and 2 night vision settings. The daylight brightness settings get very bright…

So you shouldn’t have any problems with your reticle washing out even on a sunny day, and even though most people won’t use the 2 NV settings…

… some people with NV equipment will take advantage of them, and they don’t cost you anything extra. Last, the newer models of the 507c (the HS507C X2) feature a Lock Mode…

The Lock Mode means that you can lock up the brightness settings on your sight, so that even if some of the buttons get accidentally pushed as you carry your gun around…

… the brightness setting that you chose, will stay locked in. So again, you wont have any surprises if you ever need to use your gun in a life or death scenario…

All in all, I love the value that you get with the Holosun. It really is packed with a ton of useful features, and many of those features can’t even be found on more expensive miniature reflex sights.

Vortex Venom

The Vortex Venom uses 1 CR2032 battery which is able to power the sight for 30,000 hours on the lower settings and 150,000 hours on the higher settings…

That’s awesome because once again, you’re getting years worth of battery life out of your optic, which as I mentioned before is a must-have feature for me…

Now the Vortex Venom is set up to have its battery changed from the top of the optic. This is a great feature as well because once again, you do not need to remove your optic from your gun just to swap out the battery…

So again, you get to avoid the hassle of removing your optic, changing out the battery, re-mounting you optic and then re-zeroing the optic…

Another cool feature included with the Venom is the auto-brightness mode which means that your sight uses a sensor to determine the ambient brightness around you, and it will adjust the reticle brightness to the appropriate setting…

I like this feature, but if you’d prefer to adjust your brightness setting manually, you can program your sight to adjust manually as well…

Now with the Venom you get 10 daylight brightness settings. Once again, the settings get very bright, and you won’t have problems with your dot washing out on a sunny day.

There are no NV brightness setting included with the Vortex Venom, but I don’t really think thats a big deal because most people would never end up using them anyway.

Battery Life And Brightness Settings Conclusions…

Alright, so here we have some more major differences between these two sights…

Both of them have super long battery life, but I think the 507c blows away the Venom in terms of other features…

I mean, you get the Shake Awake feature, th Solar Panel, the Lock Mode feature, and NV settings on the 507c…

None of those features are found on the Venom. So the clear winner in this category is the Holosun 507c…

Winner: Holosun 507c

Extra Accessories Included With The Optic…

Holosun 507c

The Holosun 507c comes with some pretty cool accessories. You get the usual items that come with an optic such as a battery, a lens cloth, and a battery tray tool…

But in addition to that, you get a low picatinny rail mount. This is a cool addition, and I’ll explain why in just a moment…

First, I should let you know that the Holosun 507c footprint is the same as the footprint on the Trijicon RMR…

To me this is a really important (and desirable) feature of the 507c because the Trijicon RMR footprint is the most common footprint out there for this style of optic…

Many aftermarket handgun slides are already cut for the RMR, and many handguns that come from the factory set up for an optic will include a plate that will allow you to mount an RMR. So the 507c will work with all of those options, which is very, very cool…

It’s also important because it means that you will have a ton of options when it comes to mounting your optic even if it’s on a carbine or a .22 rifle or any other type of gun, and it’s not gonna end up being a huge hassle just to get your sight set up the way you want it…

Now back to the included mount, I like that they’ve included it because, as I just mentioned, not everyone wants to mount their mini reflex sight on a handgun slide…

Some guys like mounting them on shotguns, pistol caliber carbines, and small personal defense weapons too…

So if that’s the case for you, you won’t have to go searching around for a mount (unless you want to) and end up spending more money, just to get your sight mounted.

Vortex Venom

The Vortex Venom also comes with some pretty cool accessories. Again, you get a battery and a lens cloth…

But just like with the Holosun 507c, you get a low mount, so you’ll be able to mount your optic on a shotgun, a pistol caliber carbine, or a personal defense weapon right out of the box…

Again, I really like that Vortex includes the low mount, and I think it offers you a lot of value. Another cool accessory that you get with the Venom is a protective rain cover, which will come in handy if you want to add a bit more protection for your optic when you’re not using it…

Now I mentioned earlier that the Holosun 507c comes with the same footprint as the Trijicon RMR. Unfortunately (in my opinion) the Vortex Venom has its own footprint…

It’s not the end of the world, because the Venom is a popular optic, so the aftermarket has responded with many Venom compatible options…

And handguns that are cut for optics from the factory usually come with a plate that will allow you to mount the Venom…

But that being said, the Venom footprint is nowhere near as common and the RMR footprint. So aftermarket support for mounting your Venom is much more limited.

Extra Accessories Conclusions…

In this category, we have a few more important differences between these two sights. First of all, they both come with a battery, a lens cloth, and a low mount, which is awesome…

But the venom also comes with a protective rain cover. I think that’s cool, but honestly, I usually just rely on the durability of the optic as protection, so it’s not that important to me…

What is much more important is the ability to easily mount your sight, and the 507c comes with the RMR footprint…

The RMR/507c footprint is way more common than the Venom footprint, and that means that the 507c is going to be much easier to mount…

So because of that, I give the edge in this category to the Holosun 507c…

Winner: Holosun 507c

Price Comparison…

Unfortunately, I won’t be able to give you exact numbers in this category because the prices of these sights are known to change as the market fluctuates…

But with that being said, you’ll usually find that the Holosun 507c is around 50 to 60 bucks more expensive than the Vortex Venom…

That’s not a huge amount of difference in my opinion, but it could be a significant amount of money for you if you’re trying to save some cash…

So if you’re on a budget, just know that the Venom is going to be the less expensive option for you.

Winner: Vortex Venom

Holosun 507c Vs Vortex Venom – Final Thoughts…

So in the end, in the Durability And Toughness category, both optics are made from high quality materials, but the Holosun 507c is one of the toughest miniature reflex sights out there, so it was the clear winner… 

In the Lens Clarity And Reticle category, both optics have a very clear lens that gives you a clean sight picture…

But the Holosun 507c has the MRS with 3 reticle choices, and the Vortex Venom is limited to a fixed reticle. So I gave the win here to the 507c…

In the Size Comparison, I gave the slight win to the Venom because it has a shorter height and width than the 507c, and it’s also just a tiny bit more lightweight…

In the Battery Life And Brightness Settings category, both sights have super long battery life and their batteries can be changed without removing the sight from your gun…

…but the 507c is packed with features such as the Shake Awake feature, the Lock Mode feature, and the Solar Panel. So it was the clear winner once again.

In the Extra Accessories category, both sights come with a low mount for a picatinny rail, but the 507c has the same footprint as the Trijicon RMR which is more common than the Vortex Venom footprint. So again, I gave the win to the 507c…

And last in the Price Comparison, the Venom is around 50 to 60 dollars less expensive than the 507c… 

So which of these sights do I prefer? I prefer the Holosun 507c…

I prefer the Holosun 507c for a few reasons. First of all, the 507c is incredibly durable. It’s simply gonna hold up better than the Vortex Venom when it’s put under tough use…

In addition to that, I love that you get 3 reticle choices with the Multiple Reticle System, and in particular, the Circle Dot Reticle is awesome…

…because it allows you to shoot very fast, but still gives you a lot of precision with the 2 MOA dot in the center.

I also love that you get the Shake Awake feature with the 507c because it helps save your battery, but also keeps your optic ready to go at all times…

And the Solar Panel is cool because it will help you extend your battery life as well and back up your optic if it does run out of batteries…

I also really like the Lock Mode feature too because it prevents your brightness settings from being accidentally changed from where you want them…

And last, I love that the 507c uses the Trijicon RMR footprint because that means it’ll be very easy to mount, and you’ll have a ton of aftermarket support for your optic as well…

Now if you’re happy with a little bit less durable sight because it’s just for fun at the range, and you don’t mind the fixed reticle options…

Then feel free to go with the Vortex Venom because it’s still a pretty good optic…

But I definitely favor the Holosun 507c because it gives you a much more robust sight and a ton of cool and useful features.

I know some people are happy sticking with iron sights, but I think red dots on handguns are awesome…

They just allow you to shoot quickly and more precisely because you’re simply putting a dot on your target instead of lining up sights…

In addition to that, concealed carry guns are getting smaller and smaller, but lucky for us, some of the optics companies out there are stepping up to the plate and creating red dot sights that will fit on these tiny guns…

One of those optics companies is Holosun, and right now their two smallest sights are…

• The Holosun 507k (Check Price On Amazon – Over 1,172 Reviews)
• The Holosun 407k (Check Price On Amazon – Over 436 Reviews)

So in this Holosun 507k Vs 407k comparison, we’re going to see how these two little sights stack up against each other in the following 6 categories…

• Durability And Toughness
• Lens Clarity And Reticle
• Size Comparison
• Battery Life And Brightness Settings
• Extra Accessories Included With The Optic
• Price Comparison

In the end, I’ll tell you if I prefer the 507k or the 407k, and you should have all the information you need to determine which optic will work best for you…

Let’s get started by taking a closer look at the durability of these two sights…

Durability And Toughness…

Holosun 507k

The Holosun 507k is a very durable little optic, especially for a super small reflex sight. First of all, it has a 7075 T6 aluminum sight housing…

That’s a pretty robust material, which at the same time is fairly lightweight. That’s important because you don’t want your optic weighing down your slide (which can cause malfunctions)…

In addition to that, it has an anodized finish to help protect it from the elements. Also, the windage and elevation turrets are recessed into the sighthousing…

They can still be adjusted with a small screwdriver, but this prevents them from ever catching on anything and accidentally being snapped off…

The 507k is also waterproof in up to 1 meter of water (for half an hour). So it’ll be able to withstand rainy, snowy and wet conditions without any issues at all…

So all in all, the 507k’s durability is very impressive, and really, it’s one of the toughest optics of this size that you can get.

Holosun 407k

The Holosun 407k is also a very durable tiny reflex sight. In fact, because it’s so similar to the 507k, you get all the same durability features…

For example, the sight housing on the 407k is also 7075 T6 aluminum. So it’s very tough…

In addition to that, it also has an anodized finish that will help it withstand the elements and the windage and elevation turrets are recessed into the sight housing. So they can never be broken off… 

Last, the 407k is also waterproof in up to 1 meter of water, and will hold up just fine in rainy and wet conditions.

Durability And Toughness Conclusions…

Both of these sights are from Holosun… so they’re both built to the same standards and with the same materials…

Both of them are very tough optics, especially considering how small they are . So in this category, I’m going to have to call it a draw…

Winner: DRAW 

Lens Clarity And Reticle…

Holosun 507k

The lens on the 507k is very clear. It’s much more clear than comparable optics like the Trijicon RMR which has a very distinct blue tint…

…and overall it gives you a very clean sight picture. Now as for the reticle, the 507k features what Holosun calls the M.R.S. or Multiple Reticle System.

Simply put, the M.R.S. is awesome. It basically gives you 3 reticle options that you can choose between on your sight. The 3 options are…

• A 2 MOA dot surrounded by a 32 MOA ring (the Holosun Circle Dot)
• A 2 MOA Dot
• A 32 MOA ring without the 2 MOA dot in the center

Now the 2 MOA (minute of angle) dot surrounded by the 32 MOA ring is also called the Holosun Circle Dot reticle, and it’s definitely my favorite…

The large 32 MOA draws your eye in extremely fast, but you still have that small 2 MOA dot which allows you to be very precise when aiming at small targets or targets off in the distance…

It’s the best of both worlds, and I really like it. Next, the 2 MOA dot reticle is also a good option for those who want a very simple sight picture. It’s pretty easy for your eye to pick up…

…but like I mentioned before, it still gives you a very precise aiming point. 

Last, there is the 32 MOA ring with no dot in the center. Some folks out there really like this reticle especially for fast shooting because it gives you a clear view of your target while still being very fast and easy for your eye to pick up.

In the end, each of the reticles have their strengths and weaknesses, but the fact that the 507k allows you to choose between 3 different reticles really makes it unique and gives you a lot of value.

Holosun 407k

The Holosun 407k also has a very clear lens that allows you to get a clean sight picture. In my opinion, it’s just as clear as the 507k (they are both Holosun optics after all)…

But when we start talking about the reticle, that’s where things start to change. The 407k has a fixed 6 MOA dot reticle…

I think the 6 MOA dot reticle is a good compromise reticle in terms of precision when aiming and speed when picking up the dot…

I would personally prefer it to be just a little bit smaller, perhaps a 4 MOA dot, but there are plenty of people who love it at 6 MOA…

And honestly, since this optic is going to be placed on a single stack concealed carry gun, 6 MOA is a great size because if you ever have to use your weapon in self defense, the shooting distance will probably be very close. 

So all in all, I think the 6 MOA dot is a good reticle, but that’s the only option when it comes to the 407k

Lens Clarity And Reticle Conclusions…

Alright, so we have some pretty big differences in this category. First of all, both the 507k and 407k have great lens clarity…

So they’re the same there. But they have totally different reticle systems. The 507k gives you 3 reticles with the M.R.S. Including the Circle Dot Reticle…

And the 407k has the fixed 6 MOA dot reticle. Even though I think the 6 MOA dot is a good reticle, the Circle Dot Reticle is my favorite because it gives you a ton of precision and allows you to shoot very quickly…

So in this category, I’m going to give the edge to the 507k…

Winner: Holosun 507k

Size Comparison…

The Holosun 507k and the 407k are very small reflex sights. As I mentioned before, they’re both designed to be mounted onto small single stack handguns and that requires them to be even smaller than something like the Holosun 507c or the Trijicon RMR…

All that being said, the 507k and the 407k are the exact same size…

They both have a height that measures in at 0.95 inches, a width that measures in at 0.98 inches, and a length that measures in at 1.60 inches…

On top of that, they both only weigh 1 ounce. So in addition to being super small, they’re also incredibly lightweight…

In the end, since the 507k and the 407k are the exact same size and dimensions, I’m going to have to call it a draw in this category…

Winner: DRAW

Battery Life And Brightness Settings…

Holosun 507k

The Holosun 507k uses 1 CR1632 battery which powers the sight for up to 50,000 hours (on the medium number 6 setting)…

That’s a fantastic amount of battery life, and it means that you can actually leave your optic turned on for years and it will still work for you…

Now just to be safe, you should probably swap out your battery every year, and when it comes time to do that, you simply remove the battery tray (which is located on the side of the optic) and you replace your battery…

That’s it! No taking off your sight and then having to re-mount it and then re-zero it, as is the case with other optics… 

You can actually replace the battery on the 507k without removing it from your gun, and that is a really useful feature that will save you a lot of hassle…

Now in addition to the super long battery life that you get with this sight, Holosun includes something called the Shake Awake feature…

Basically, this feature means that the optic will automatically turn off after a period of non use, and it will automatically turn on again as soon as it senses motion…

This is another awesome feature in my opinion because it will save your battery life even more, and as soon as you grab your gun, your sight will automatically turn on (so it’s always ready to go)…

Now in addition to that, the 507k gives you 10 daylight brightness settings and 2 night vision settings…

The daylight brightness settings get very bright, and you shouldn’t have any problems with your dot washing out even on a sunny day…

Additionally you have those 2 night vision settings, which most people won’t use, but hey, some people with NV equipment might take advantage of them and they don’t cost you any extra money…

Last, the 507k allows you to switch to Lock Mode (with the Holosun 507k x2 model). This means that even if you accidentally press some of your brightness buttons (let’s say while you are concealed carrying), your optic will stay locked onto the settings that you already programmed it too…

I really like the Lock Mode feature, because if you’re putting this optic on a defensive gun, you don’t want any surprises if you ever need to draw in a life or death situation. 

All in all, the battery life and brightness features on the 507k are extremely impressive, even when compared to optics that cost a lot more money.

Holosun 407k

The Holosun 407k has the same battery life and brightness features that you get on the 507k. It also uses one CR1632 battery which powers the sight for up to 50,000 hours (when on setting number 6)…

In addition to that, it also has the side loading battery tray, which allows you to change out your battery (when the time comes) without having to remove your optic from the slide of your gun…

And it has the Shake Awake feature, which will allow your sight to turn off automatically and turn on automatically as soon as the optic senses motion…

The 407k also has 10 daylight brightness settings that get very bright on the high end, and two night vision settings for use with NV equipment…

And it has the same Lock Mode feature that’s found on the 507k as well. 

Battery Life And Brightness Settings Conclusions…

So in this category, the two sights have the exact same features, and to be clear, those features are awesome…

With both sights you get super long battery life, a side loading battery tray, the Shake Awake feature, the Lock Mode feature, and 12 brightness settings…

That’s a lot especially considering the cost of these optics in comparison to some other tiny red dots out there, but we’re comparing these two sights…

So in this category, we have another clear draw…

Winner: DRAW

Extra Accessories Included With The Optic…

Holosun 507k

The Holosun 507k comes with some pretty cool accessories. You get the typical items that come with an optic such as a battery, a lens cloth, and a tool for the battery tray…

But one of the coolest accessories in my opinion that comes with this sight is the rear sight that is built into the sight housing…

You see, you don’t always have a lot of space when mounting one of these tiny optics onto a very small gun, and some guns come with a optics plate that removes the rear sight when you take it off to mount your optic…

I’m a firm believer that you should always have some form of back up iron sights (BUIS) to go along with a battery powered optic. So I really like this feature…

In addition to that, the rear sight is actually pretty minimal, so you can easily ignore it and actually mount your own rear sight if your gun will allow it. 

So all in all, I love the built in rear sight that comes with this optic because it’s useful if you’d like to use it, but also easy to ignore if you don’t want to use it.

Holosun 407k

The accessories that come with the 407k are exactly the same as the accessories that come with the 507k (again, they’re both Holosun optics)…

You get the battery tray, the lens cloth, and the battery tray tool, but more importantly, you still get the rear sight that is built into the sight housing…

Again, it’s an awesome feature that I’m really fond of. 

Extra Accessories Conclusions…

Nothing really separates these two sights when it comes to accessories that you get included with the optic…

They both come with a battery, a battery tray tool, and a lens cloth…

And they both come with the built in rear sight, which I think is awesome and gives you a lot of extra value…

So in this category, we have another draw. 

Winner: DRAW

Price Comparison…

Unfortunately, I won’t be able to give exact numbers in this category because the prices of these sights are changing all the time…

That being said, in general, you’ll usually find that the 407k is around 70 to 80 bucks less expensive than the 507k…

That’s a decent chunk of change, so in this category, the 407k definitely gets the win because it’s clearly less expensive…

Winner: Holosun 407K

Holosun 507K Vs 407K – Final Thoughts…

So in the end, in the Durability And Toughness category I had to call it a draw because both of these sights are built to the same standards and they’re both incredibly tough… 

In the Lens Clarity And Reticle category, I gave the edge to the 507k because it has the Multiple Reticle System with the Circle Dot Reticle (which is my favorite) whereas the 407k only has a 6 MOA dot reticle…

In the Size Comparison, both sights are extremely small and lightweight, so I called it a draw…

In the Battery Life And Brightness Settings category, both sights have 50,000 hours of battery life, the Shake Awake feature, the Lock Mode feature, and 12 brightness settings. So again, I had to call it a draw…

In the Extra Accessories category, both sights come with the same accessories including a built in rear sight which I think gives you a lot of value, so once again, I called it a draw…

And Last in the Price Comparison,  the 407k is around 70 to 80 dollars less expensive than the 507k…

So which of these sights do I prefer? I prefer the Holosun 507k…

I prefer the Holosun 507k for one reason… the Multiple Reticle System. All 3 reticles that you get with the M. R. S. have their own specific advantages…

…but my personal favorite is the Circle Dot Reticle. It just allows you to acquire the reticle extremely quickly, which translates to you shooting faster.

But at the same time you still have the ability to be very precise with the 2 MOA dot in the center of your sight picture…

I love it, and I think it’s a superior reticle to the simple 6 MOA dot on the 407k. 

Now if you don’t mind the 6 MOA dot reticle, and you want to save a little bit of money, then feel free to go with the 407k because it’s still an awesome optic…

Either way, I hope I was able to show you the similarities and differences between these two fantastic Holosun optics. 

I’m starting to think we’re pretty spoiled…

There are just so many optics companies making high-quality red dot sights, and they won’t cost you upwards of a thousand dollars anymore…

Now two of the most popular red dots out there right now are:

• The Trijicon MRO (See Price On Optics Planet – Over 240 Customer Reviews)
• The Holosun 510c (See Price On Amazon – Over 365 Reviews)

And in this Trijicon MRO Vs Holosun 510c comparison, we’re going to see how these two sights stack up against each other in the following categories…

• Durability And Toughness
• Lens Clarity And Reticle
• Battery Life And Brightness Settings
• Extra Accessories Included With The Optic
• Price Comparison

In the end, I’ll tell you which of the two sights I prefer, and you should have all the information you need to determine which optic will work best for you…

Let’s jump into it! 

Durability And Toughness…

Trijicon MRO

Trijicon is known for making extremely durable optics. The Trijicon ACOG has been used in the U.S. Military for a number of years now, and the same quality and attention to detail goes into the MRO…

Now MRO actually stands for Miniature Rifle Optic, and it’s Trijicon’s version of a micro red dot sight. It has a very tough sight housing that’s made from forged 7075-T6 aluminum…

And it’s hard anodized to help protect the optic from the elements. In addition to that, the windage and elevation turrets are recessed into the sight housing. So they can never be spun or snapped off accidentally.

The MRO is also fog proof and waterproof in up to 100 feet (30 meters) of water. So it can easily handle rainy, snowy, and wet conditions without any problems…

And it’s also shockproof, so it can handle the recoil from high-powered rifles, shotguns, and pistol caliber carbines. 

All in all, I’m very impressed with the durability and toughness of the MRO.     

Holosun 510c

The Holosun 510c is also a pretty tough red dot sight. First of all, the sight housing is made from a high strength aluminum, and the lens is protected by a sturdy titanium hood…

In addition to that, just like with the MRO, the windage and elevation turrets are recessed into the sight housing, so they won’t get accidentally spun or snapped off. 

The 510c is also fog proof and waterproof in up to 1 meter of water. So, it will also easily handle rainy, snowy, and wet conditions…

And again, just as with the MRO, the 510c is shockproof so it can handle recoil from shotguns, high-powered rifles, and pistol caliber carbines without any issues at all…

All in all, I think the Holosun 510c is also a very durable sight.  

Durability And Toughness Conclusions…

So both sights are made from high quality materials, and both have windage and elevation turrets that are recessed into the sight housing…

That being said, the MRO can be submerged in up to 30 meters of water, whereas the 510c can only be submerged in 1 meter…

In addition to that, the MRO is a micro red dot sight which just by virtue of its design is a little bit tougher than the open style reflex sight design of the 510c…

So considering all of these factors, I’m going to give the win in this category to the Trijicon MRO.

Winner: Trijicon MRO

Lens Clarity And Reticle…

Trijicon MRO

The Trijicon MRO has pretty good lens clarity. There is a distinct blue tint when looking through the sight, but the sight picture is still very crisp. 

Trijicon says the blue coating makes the lens stronger and helps you have better contrast when looking through the sight, and there is some truth to that…

Honestly, I would prefer the lens to be more clear, but that being said, it’s not too distracting and you still get a very clean sight picture when aiming through the optic.

One of the features I love about the MRO is the enlarged 25mm objective lens. This gives you a large field of view, and allows you to see more of your target and what’s around it down range. 

Seeing more when shooting is always a good thing, and as I said, the large objective lens on this sight really sets it apart from other micro red dot optics. 

Now the reticle on the MRO is a simple 2 MOA (minute of angle) dot. I think the 2 MOA dot reticle is a good choice for a red dot sight…

I like it because it’s an easy reticle for your eye to pick up quickly (which allows you to shoot fast at targets up close), but at the same time it’s small enough to give you a fair amount of precision for small targets in the distance. 

I really like it, and I’m glad that Trijicon decided to go with a 2 MOA dot rather than something larger like a 4 MOA or a 6 MOA dot. 

Last, Trijicon makes a version of the MRO with a red reticle and a version with a green reticle. I personally always prefer red on my sights and optics…

But there are a lot of people who really like green reticles, and I’m glad that Trijicon offers the MRO with reticles in both colors. 

Holosun 510c

The lens clarity on the Holosun 510c is very good. The lens is very clear, and you don’t get any of the greenish or bluish tint which is common on many other red dot sights…

In addition to that, because the 510c is a full-sized reflex sight, it has a HUGE sight window, and you get a very large field of view when aiming through the optic.

All of this allows you to get a very crisp and clean sight picture, and you’re able to see a lot of your target and what’s around it. 

Now Holosun includes a feature on the 510c called the MRS (Multiple Reticle System). Basically, this means that you have 3 reticles to choose from that are programmed into the sight.

• A 2 MOA dot
• A 2 MOA dot surrounded by a 65 MOA ring (the Circle Dot Reticle)
• A 65 MOA ring (with no dot in the center)

Like a mentioned earlier, the 2 MOA dot is a good red dot reticle, especially if you want to keep things very simple, but my favorite reticle (on a red dot sight) is the Circle Dot Reticle…

The 65 MOA ring allows you to shoot extremely fast at large targets up close, but you still have that precise 2 MOA dot in the center for small targets in the distance. 

I really love it because it’s very easy to see and intuitive to use, and it helps you shoot quicker which is what a red dot sight is designed to do. 

Additionally, you also have the 65 MOA ring (with no 2 MOA dot) reticle option. Personally, I don’t really have a need for this reticle because I feel like the circle dot does everything it does and more, but it’s there if you find a use for it. 

Last, just like with the MRO, Holosun offers a version of the 510c with red reticle options (the HS510c) and a version with green reticle options (the HE510c elite)…

…and again, I think it’s good that they give the buyer a choice between the two reticle colors.    

Lens Clarity And Reticle Conclusions…

So in this category we have some major differences between these two sights. First of all, they both have a great field of view, but that’s really where the similarities end…

The lens on the MRO has a slight blue tint, and even though it doesn’t really affect your shooting, I prefer the clear lens on the Holosun 510c. 

In addition to that, the 510c has the same 2 MOA dot as the MRO, but it also has the Circle Dot Reticle, which I think is an important upgrade because it helps you shoot faster…

So for these reasons, the Holosun 510c is the clear winner here. 

Winner: Holosun 510c

Battery Life And Brightness Settings…

Trijicon MRO

The Trijicon MRO is powered by 1 CR2032 battery, and it will keep the sight running for 5 years of continuous life (on daylight brightness setting 3)…

Ultra long battery life like this is a must-have feature for me on a red dot sight because you don’t want your optic dying on you at the wrong time. 

I’ve had red dots die on me at the range before, and it’s really annoying. But more importantly, you never want your optic dying on you if you ever need to use it in an emergency situation. 

So with 5 years worth of battery life, as long as you swap out your battery once a year, you’ll never have to worry about it dying on you.

Now with the MRO you get 8 total brightness settings: 5 daylight settings, 2 night vision settings, and 1 super bright setting.

The daylight brightness settings are very bright, and you shouldn’t have any problem seeing the reticle even on a sunny day (you also have the extra bright setting just in case the conditions are extreme). 

Most people won’t use the 2 night vision settings, but some people with night vision equipment will take advantage of them, and I’m glad that Trijicon includes them at no additional cost. 

Holosun 510c

The Holosun 510c also uses 1 CR2032 battery which is able to power the sight for around 50,000 hours (5 years)…

Like I mentioned before, I love ultra long battery life like this, and I’m happy that it’s included on the 510c…

In addition to that, the 510c includes the Holosun “Shake Awake” feature. This basically means that your optic will automatically turn off after a period of non-use…

…and automatically turn on as soon as the sight senses any motion at all (for example, when you pick up your rifle). 

I love this feature because it helps save your battery life (which is already very long), and at the same time, it keeps your sight ready to go as soon as you pick up your gun. 

Another feature on the 510c is the included solar panel. This is a really cool addition because it means you can run your sight without a battery (as long as you have some sunlight). 

I think it’s a great feature, and it’s just another method that Holosun gives you to extend the battery life on your red dot optic. 

Now the 510c includes 10 daylight brightness settings and 2 night vision settings. Just as with the MRO, the brightness settings get very bright and you shouldn’t have any problems with the reticle washing out even on a sunny day. 

And also just as with the MRO, I like that Holosun includes the 2 night vision settings on the 510c without making you pay extra to get them (the way some optics companies do).   

Battery Life And Brightness Settings Conclusions…

So in this category we have a few similarities and some major differences between these two optics. First of all, they both have great battery life and they both have a wide range of brightness settings…

However, in addition to all that, the Holosun 510c includes the “Shake Awake” feature and the solar panel which both extend the battery life on the sight even more. 

So because of that, I think the clear winner in this category is the Holosun 510c

Winner: Holosun 510c

Extra Accessories Included With The Optic…

Trijicon MRO

You can purchase the Trijicon MRO with a low mount, a lower ⅓ cowitness mount, an absolute cowitness mount, or with no mount…

…and the overall price of the optic will go up if you choose to get one of the factory mounts included with the sight. 

The lower ⅓ cowitness mount and absolute cowitness mount are both perfect for use with an AR-15 or another AR platform rifle…

…and the low mount will pair the sight nicely with a shotgun, an AK, and some pistol caliber carbines. 

Even though I wish Trijicon would include it’s mounts without raising the overall price of the optic, I am happy that the factory mounts included are very high quality.

In addition to that, because the MRO is an incredibly popular mount, there are a ton of aftermarket companies making mounts that are compatible with it…

So if you choose to purchase the MRO without a mount included, you’ll pay less money for the sight and you’ll have a wide variety of options to choose from when it comes to the mount you want to get (Quick Detach mounts, Super lightweight mounts, etc.)…

Holosun 510c

The Holosun 510c comes with some pretty cool accessories. First of all, you get an extra battery tray, a battery, and a lens cloth…

But the really exciting accessory is the included QD (Quick Detach) mount. Now, this mount is included with every 510c, and it doesn’t affect how much you’ll pay for the optic. 

It’s very high-quality, and it sets the sight up for an absolute cowitness with backup iron sights on an AR-15 (or any AR platform rifle or pistol)…

I really like this mount, but it does kind of limit you to using the 510c on an AR platform rifle…

If you’re running an AK or a shotgun (or any firearm that favors a low mount), it will mount the sight rather high, which will be less than ideal…

That being said, most people will get this optic for an AR-15, and if that’s the case for you, the included mount will work perfectly. 

Extra Accessories Conclusions…

So the Trijicon MRO really doesn’t have any included accessories (at no extra cost). If you want to get the sight at the lowest price possible, you’ll have to get it without a mount…

…but if you are willing to spend a little bit of extra mount you can get it with a low mount or with a couple of different high mounts. 

On the other hand the Holosun 510c comes with an included high mount at no extra cost. So for this category, I’m going to give the win to the Holosun 510c.  

Winner: Holosun 510c

Price Comparison…

Unfortunately I won’t be able to give exact numbers in this category because the prices of these sights are changing all the time…

That being said, in general, you’ll usually find that the Holosun 510c is around 100 to 130 bucks less expensive than the Trijicon MRO…

So the clear winner in this category is the Holosun 510c. 

Winner: Holosun 510c

Trijicon MRO Vs Holosun 510c – Final Thoughts…

So to sum it all up, in the Durability And Toughness category, I gave the win to the Trijicon MRO because it’s more waterproof and has a more durable design…

In the Lens Clarity And Reticle category, the Holosun 510c took the lead because it has a much more clear lens than the MRO, and it has the Multiple Reticle System with the Circle Dot Reticle…

In the Battery Life And Brightness Settings category, I also gave the win to the 510c because it has great battery life, the “shake awake” feature, and a solar panel…

In the Extra Accessories category, the 510c was again the winner because it comes with an absolute cowitness mount at no extra cost….

And last in the Price Comparison, once again, the 510c was the clear winner because it is much less expensive than the Trijicon MRO…

So which of these sights do I prefer? I prefer the Holosun 510c (If you’re getting it for an AR-15).

I prefer the Holosun 510c for a few reasons. First of all, it has a crystal clear lens and a huge field of view which is something that will help you shoot more effectively…

It also has the Circle Dot Reticle, which is my favorite reticle for a red dot sight because it allows you to shoot very fast, and at the same time, it doesn’t give up any precision for shooting at targets in the distance. 

In addition to that, it comes with a high quality QD mount, so you won’t have to spend extra money just to be able to mount it on your AR-15…

And last, it’s around 100 bucks less expensive than the MRO, so it will save you money. 

Now if you want an insanely tough optic or if you are mounting your optic on a firearm that favors a low mount like an AK or a shotgun, then feel free to go with the MRO because it’s still an amazing sight…

Either way, I hope I was able to show you the major similarities and differences between these two awesome red dot optics!  

The red dot market has really come a long way in recent years…

Gone are the days when you’d have to spend nearly a thousand bucks just to get a reliable optic, and that’s a great thing for us consumers…

Now two of the most popular red dot sights on the market right now are:

• The Trijicon MRO (See Price On Optics Planet – Over 240 Customer Reviews)
• The Sig Romeo 5 (See Price On Amazon – Over 1,1775 Customer Reviews)

And in this Trijicon MRO Vs Sig Romeo 5 comparison, we’re going to examine how these two sights stack up against each other in the following categories…

• Durability And Toughness
• Lens Clarity And Reticle
• Battery Life And Brightness Settings
• Size Comparison
• Extra Accessories Included With The Optic
• Price Comparison

In the end, I’ll tell you which of these two great sights I prefer, and you should have all the information you need to decide which optic will work best for you…

Lets jump into the comparison! 

Durability And Toughness…

Trijicon MRO

The Trijicon MRO is a very durable optic. Trijicon (the company) is actually known for making extremely tough optics… 

In fact, the Trijicon ACOG has been used in the U.S. Military for quite some time now, and the same quality and attention to detail goes into the MRO…

Now MRO stands for Miniature Rifle Optic, and it’s basically Trijicon’s version of a micro red dot sight…

The sight housing on the MRO is made from forged 7075-T6 Aluminum, and it has a hard anodized finish to help protect the optic from the elements…

In addition to that, the windage and elevation turrets are recessed into the sight housing, which means they can never be spun or snapped off accidentally…

The MRO is also fogproof and waterproof in up to 100 feet (30 meters) of water. So it will easily be able to handle rainy, snowy, or wet conditions. 

And it can handle recoil from high-powered rifles, shotguns, and pistol caliber carbines without any issues as well.

All in all, I’m very impressed with the durability and reliability of the Trijicon MRO. 

Sig Romeo 5

The Sig Romeo 5 is also a very durable optic. To start off with, the sight housing is made from Aircraft-Grade Aluminum, and it also has an anodized finish to help protect the optic from the elements…

The windage and elevation turrets do protrude slightly on the Romeo 5, but they sit pretty low and are protected fairly well by the sight housing (I think it’s unlikely they’ll ever get accidentally snapped off)…

In addition to that, the Romeo 5 is fog proof and waterproof in up to 1 meter of water. So it can easily handle rainy, snowy, or wet conditions…

And it’s also shockproof, so it won’t have any problems with recoil on shotguns, high-powered rifles or pistol caliber carbines…

I’ve seen some Romeo 5’s take some major abuse (including being frozen into a block of ice), and they still keep working. So their durability is also pretty impressive.  

Durability And Toughness Conclusions…

I think both of these sights are very durable and reliable. That being said, I like that the windage and elevation turrets are completely recessed into the sight housing on the MRO…

I also like that it’s rated to be submerged in up to 100 feet of water, which means you can literally take it SCUBA diving with you if you wanted to…

It’s a tough one… But even though I’m very pleased with the durability of the Sig Romeo 5, the Trijicon MRO is just a little bit tougher. So the MRO gets the slight win in this category. 

Winner: Trijicon MRO

Lens Clarity And Reticle…

Trijicon MRO

The lens clarity on the Trijicon MRO is pretty good. You do get a distinctive blue tint when looking through the sight, which is less than ideal…

Trijicon says the blueish coating increases lens durability and gives you greater contrast when looking through the optic… 

There is a little bit of truth to that, but I would, personally, prefer it to be more clear. That being said, it’s easy to ignore, and you still get a crisp and clear sight picture when looking through the sight. 

On a brighter note, the MRO has a large 25mm objective lens. This is a unique feature on a micro red dot sight, and I love it because it gives you a HUGE field of view…

You’re able to see more of your target AND what’s around it, and that’s always a beneficial thing when you’re shooting a rifle. 

Now the reticle on the MRO is a simple 2 MOA (minute of angle) dot. I think a 2 MOA dot is a great reticle for a red dot sight…

I like it because your eye can quickly and easily pick up the dot when you need to make fast shots at targets up close…

But at the same time, the dot is small enough to give you a fair amount of precision when shooting at small targets in the distance. 

Overall, I’m glad that Trijicon chose to go with a 2 MOA dot rather than something larger like a 4 or 6 MOA dot because they’re simply not as precise. 

Sig Romeo 5

The lens clarity on the Sig Romeo 5 is very good. The lens is extremely clear, and you don’t see any of the greenish or bluish tint that you sometimes find on other red dot sights…

The 20mm objective lens is smaller than the MRO’s objective lens, so it doesn’t have quite as large of a field of view…

…but you can still see a lot through the sight (and you get a very clear sight picture), so it doesn’t really have a negative impact on your shooting. 

The reticle on the Romeo 5 is also a simple 2 MOA dot. Like I mentioned earlier, I really like the 2 MOA dot reticle on a red dot sight because it’s simple, fast, and precise. 

Lens Clarity And Reticle Conclusions…

So in this category, we have a few important differences between these sights. First of all, the MRO has a blue tint when looking through the optic, whereas the Romeo 5 is very clear (which I prefer).

But on the other hand, the 25mm objective lens is a unique feature on the MRO and gives you an extended field of view over the 20mm objective lens of the Romeo 5 (which is what most micro red dot sights have)…

They both have positive and negative features that kind of balance out in this category, and since they both have the same 2 MOA dot reticle, I think the right thing to do here is call it a draw. 

Winner: DRAW

Battery Life and Brightness Settings…

Trijicon MRO

The Trijicon MRO uses 1 CR2032 battery which is able to power the sight for 5 continuous years (on daylight brightness setting 3)…

This is fantastic battery life, and long battery life like this is exactly what I’m looking for on a red dot optic. 

I’ve had red dot batteries die on me in the middle of trips to the range before, and it gets pretty annoying…

But more importantly, you don’t want your red dot to stop working if you even need to use it in an emergency situation…

And when you have ultra long battery life like this, as long as you swap out your battery once a year, you’ll really never have to worry about it.

Now in terms of brightness settings, with the MRO you get 5 daylight settings, 2 night vision settings, and 1 extra bright setting…

The daylight brightness settings get very bright, and you’ll probably never have to use the extra bright setting even on a sunny day…

Also, even though most people will never use the 2 night vision settings, some people with NV equipment will take advantage of them, and I like that Trijicon includes them at no additional cost.   

Sig Romeo 5

The Sig Romeo 5 also uses 1 CR2032 battery which powers the sight for 50,000 hours (5 years)…

Again, I love ultra long battery life like this on red dot sights because you don’t want your optic’s battery dying on you at the wrong time…

In addition to that long battery life, Sig includes some they call the MOTAC (Motion Activated Illumination) system…

Basically, this means that your Romeo 5 will automatically turn off after 120 seconds of non use, and automatically turn on as soon as the sight senses any motion at all (like when you pick up your gun)…

This saves your battery life (which is already very long), and at the same time it keeps your sight ready to go as soon as you grab your gun.

I think it’s a really cool feature, and I’m glad that Sig includes it on this budget-minded red dot. 

Now with the Romeo 5 you get 8 daylight brightness settings and 2 night vision settings. Again, the daylight brightness settings get very bright and you shouldn’t have any problems with your reticle washing out even on a sunny day…

And just as with the MRO, I like that Sig includes the NV brightness settings without charging you extra money to get them (like some other optics companies do).  

Battery Life and Brightness Settings Conclusions…

So in this category both sights have great battery life, which is super important to me. In this day and age, I won’t even consider a red dot unless it has thousands of hours of battery life…

But in addition to that, they both have great brightness settings and included night vision settings. 

The one thing that really sets them apart is the MOTAC system included on the Romeo 5. The sight automatically turns off and automatically turns on when it senses motion…

This saves you battery life and keeps your sight ready to go at the same time. So because of the MOTAC system, the Sig Romeo 5 gets the slight win in this category.

Winner: Sig Romeo 5

Size Comparison…

Trijicon MRO

Like I mentioned earlier, the MRO is Trijicon’s version of a micro red dot sight. It only weighs 4.1 ounces, which is pretty lightweight…

And that’s an important feature for me because I’m always trying to keep the weight down on my rifles…

In addition to that, the MRO has a 25mm objective lens. This is a great thing for your field of view, but it does make the sight a little less compact than many of its competitors…

And last, the MRO is 2.6 inches long and 2 inches high… So again, it’s a pretty compact red dot sight. 

Sig Romeo 5

The Sig Romeo 5 is more of a traditional micro red dot sight than the Trijicon MRO. It weighs 5.1 ounces, which is a little heavier than the MRO but not by much…

The objective lens on the Romeo5 is only 20mm, which is more in line with other micro red dot sights, and it’s 1.52 inches high and 2.47 inches long…

All in all, I think the Romeo 5 is also a very compact sight.   

Size Comparison Conclusions…

Both of these optics are micro red dot sights, but they do have a few differences in this category… 

The Trijicon MRO is slightly more lightweight, which is impressive because it is slightly larger than the Romeo 5 in it’s dimensions…

That being said, The MRO is only around an ounce lighter, and the Romeo 5 is shorter in terms of length and height… 

So overall, the Romeo 5 is a slightly more compact sight, and I’m going to give it the win in this category.   

Winner: Sig Romeo 5

Extra Accessories Included With The Optic…

Trijicon MRO

The Trijicon MRO can be purchased with a low mount, a lower ⅓ co witness mount, an absolute cowitness mount, or with no mount…

The overall price of the sight will go up if you choose to get an included mount, which is a little bit of a disappointment for me…

But if you choose to get the MRO with one of the factory mounts (rather than with no mount), the good news is that they are high quality…

In addition to that, because the MRO is such a popular sight, there are a ton of aftermarket companies that make QD (Quick Detach) mounts, lightweight mounts, and any other type of mount you can think of.

So finding the right mount for you shouldn’t be much of a problem, but it will cost you extra money.   

Sig Romeo 5

The Sig Romeo 5 comes with some pretty cool accessories. First of all, you get a bikini lens cover, which will give your sight a little bit of extra protection…

But you also get 2 mounts included in the box, a high mount and a low mount. The high mount is perfect for use on an AR-15, and sets you up for an absolute co witness with back up iron sights…

And the low mount makes the Romeo 5 a great option for an AK, a shotgun, or any other firearm that favors a low mounted optic…

All in all, I love that the Romeo 5 comes with a low AND a high mount because it means you won’t have to spend extra money and you can start using your sight as soon as you get it.  

Extra Accessories Conclusions…

The Trijicon MRO doesn’t really come with any accessories, unless you pay more money to get an included factory mount…

On the other hand, the Romeo 5 comes with a lens cover that gives you optic a little bit of extra protection…

And with a low and high mount, which allows you to start using your optic without spending extra money (no matter what type of firearm you have). 

So for me, the clear winner in this category is the Sig Romeo 5.  

Winner: Sig Romeo 5

Price Comparison…

Unfortunately I won’t be able to give exact numbers in this category because the prices of these sights are changing all the time…

That being said, in general, you’ll find the Sig Romeo 5 for around 300 bucks less than the Trijicon MRO…

That’s a pretty significant chunk of change, so the clear winner in this category is the Sig Romeo5. 

Winner: Sig Romeo 5

Trijicon MRO Vs Sig Romeo 5 – Final Thoughts…

So to sum it all up, in the Durability And Toughness category, I gave the win to the Trijicon MRO because it is slightly more durable than the Sig Romeo 5…

In the Lens Clarity And Reticle Category, I called it a draw because both sights have some positives and negatives, and they both have the same reticle…

In the Battery Life And Brightness category, the Romeo 5 took the lead because of the auto off/auto on (MOTAC) feature…

In the Size Comparison, I also gave the win to the Romeo 5 because it is slightly more compact sight…

In the Extra Accessories category, once again the Romeo 5 came out on top because it comes with a low mount, a high mount, and a bikini cover…

And last, in the Price Comparison, the Romeo 5 was, again, the winner being around 300 bucks less expensive than the MRO…

So which of these sights do I prefer? I prefer the Sig Romeo 5…

I prefer the Sig Romeo 5 because it comes with a low AND a high mount, so you can start using it without spending any extra money…

It also has great battery life and the MOTAC system, which will save your battery life while at the same time keeping your sight ready to go…

In addition to that, the Romeo 5 is a very durable optic, and it has a crystal clear lens… And last, it’s around 300 bucks less expensive than the MRO, but it still maintains a very high quality level.

Now if you want a little bit more durability and you don’t mind spending more money to get it, then feel free to go with the Trijicon MRO because it’s still a great sight…

Either way, I hope I was able to show you the major similarities and differences between these two awesome red dot sights!

Holosun is one of my favorite optics companies…

I really like the cool features they put on their sights, and I love that they focus on keeping their optics affordable…

Right now, two of their most popular options are…

• The Holosun 510c (See Price On Amazon – Over 350 Reviews)
• The Holosun 507c (See Price On Amazon – Over 920 Reviews)

And in this Holosun 510c Vs 507c comparison, we’re going to see how these two sights stack up against each other in the following categories…

• Durability And Toughness
• Lens Clarity And Reticle
• Size Comparison
• Battery Life And Brightness Settings
• Extra Accessories Included With The Optic
• Price Comparison

In the end, I’ll tell you which of these two sights I prefer, and you should have all the information you need to determine which one will work best for you…

Let’s get into the comparison!

Durability And Toughness…

Holosun 510c 

The Holosun 510c is a pretty durable red dot sight. To start off with, the sight housing is made from a high strength aluminum…

…and it has an anodized surface coating that helps protect the optic from the elements. There is also a tough titanium hood that goes over the lens of the sight and gives it extra protection.

In addition to that, the windage and elevation turrets are recessed into the sight housing and can be adjusted using a screwdriver or the rim of a cartridge… 

I really like this feature because it means your adjustment turrets can never be spun or snapped off accidentally… 

Also, the 510c is fog proof and waterproof in up to one meter of water. So you won’t have any problems using it in rainy, snowy, or wet conditions…

And it’s also shockproof, so it can easily handle the recoil from high-powered rifles, shotguns, and pistol caliber carbines. 

All in all, I think the Holosun 510c is a very robust and reliable optic.  

Holosun 507c 

The Holosun 507c is also a very durable optic. First of all, the sight housing is made from 7075 T6 Aluminum, and it also has an anodized surface coating that helps protect it from the elements…

Additionally, just like with the 510c, the windage and elevation turrets on the 507c are recessed into the sight housing, so they’re protected from accidentally getting bumped or snapped off.

Also just as with the 510c, the 507c is waterproof and fogproof, so you can use it without any issues in rainy, snowy, or wet conditions. 

And it’s also shockproof so it can easily handle the recoil from shotguns, high-powered rifles, pistol caliber carbines, or from being mounted on pistol slides (which is the most common use for miniature reflex sights like the 507c).

All is all, I think the Holosun 507c is also a very tough and reliable optic. 

Durability And Toughness Conclusions…

So in this category we have some major similarities between these two reflex sights from Holosun, but we also have a few differences…

They both have a tough aluminum sight housing, and they both have recessed windage and elevation turrets…

They’re also both waterproof, shockproof, and fog proof. On the other hand, a major difference is the titanium hood that protects the lens on the 510c, and in addition to that, the 510c is a much larger sight…

So for those reasons I’m going to give the win in this category to the Holosun 510c.

Winner: Holosun 510c 

Lens Clarity And Reticle…

Holosun 510c 

The lens clarity on the Holosun 510c is very good. The lens is very clear and you don’t really get any of the blueish or greenish tint that you’ll find on some other red dot sights…

Also, since it is a full sized open-style reflex sight, the sight window is HUGE. It’s much bigger than a lot of other red dot sights, which is good because it gives you a much larger field of view… 

This allows you to see more of your target AND what’s around it, and it just gives you a really clean sight picture through the optic. 

Now included in the 510c is the MRS (Multiple Reticle System). This basically means that you can switch between 3 reticles…

• A 2 MOA dot
• A 2 MOA dot with a 65 MOA ring around it (Circle Dot Reticle)
• A 65 MOA ring (with no dot in the center)

The 2 MOA (minute of angle) dot is great if you want a really simple reticle. I’ve always found 2 MOA dots on red dot sights to be pretty easy for your eye to pick up (so you can shoot faster)…

But they’re also fairly small which allows you to aim with a fair amount of precision at small targets in the distance.

However, the Circle Dot Reticle is my favorite reticle for a red dot optic. That large 65 MOA ring is super easy for your eye to pick up when you need to shoot fast at targets up close…

But you still have that same 2 MOA dot for precision when you need it. I’m a huge fan of it, and like I said, it’s my favorite reticle on this style of optic.

Last, you have a 65 MOA ring with no dot. This option really doesn’t appeal much to me because I don’t think it does anything better than the Circle Dot Reticle, but it’s there if you find a use for it.

Last, Holosun offers the 510c with either red reticle options or green reticle options. I’ve always preferred red on my sights and optics…

…but there are a lot of people who really like the green reticles, and I like that Holosun offers both versions.      

Holosun 507c 

The Holosun 507c has pretty good lens clarity. There is a slightly blue tint when looking through the optic…

But it’s not really distracting, and it’s much clearer than other miniature reflex sights on the market like the Trijicon RMR. 

Honestly, I would prefer it to be a little more clear, but the slight tint is pretty easy to ignore, and I’ve never found it to affect my shooting (you still get a very clean sight picture when looking through the sight).

Now, like the 510c, the 507c has the Multiple Reticle System, but because it’s a much smaller sight, it’s a little more scaled down. The 3 reticles included are…

• A 2 MOA dot
• A 2 MOA dot with a 32 MOA ring around it (Circle Dot Reticle)
• A 32 MOA ring (with no dot in the center)

Again, I think the 2 MOA dot is a great option, especially if you want to keep things really simple. But as I mentioned already, the Circle Dot is my favorite reticle option…

I also want to point out that having a circle dot reticle on a miniature reflex sight is extremely unique and it really sets this sight apart from its competitors (from other optics companies).

Last, Holosun also offers the 507c with red reticle options or with green reticles options. Like I said before I prefer red, but it’s nice that Holosun offers both for those who like green reticles.    

Lens Clarity And Reticle Conclusions…

So in this category we have a few significant differences between these sights. First of all, I love the reticles on both of these optics and they’re very similar (the circle dot is scaled down for the smaller 507c)

That being said, the 510c has a much clearer lens than the 507c in terms of blue tint. I don’t think it’s a huge factor, but I always prefer a clearer lens when I can get it. 

In addition to that, the sight window on the 510c is much larger than the sight window on the 507c…

That’s obvious because the 510c is a much larger optic than the 507c, but it really becomes a big factor in this category.

So with all of this in mind, I think the Holosun 510c is the clear winner in this category.  

Winner: Holosun 510c

Size Comparison…

Holosun 510c

The Holosun 510c is a full-sized open-style reflex sight. It weighs around 8.3 ounces, which is pretty good in terms of weight for this style of sight…

In addition to that, it sits 2.31 inches high, and it is 3.3 inches long. Again, I think it’s a fairly compact sight in general. 

Holosun 507c

The Holosun 507c is a miniature open-style reflex sight. It only weighs 1.5 ounces, which is super lightweight for a red dot sight…

In addition to that, it only sits 1.54 inches high, and it is 1.78 inches long. All in all, it’s an extremely compact optic.

Size Comparison Conclusions…

So the 510c weighs 8.3 ounces, which isn’t bad for a full-sized reflex sight, but it’s much heavier than the 1.5 ounces of the 507c…

In addition to that the 507c is shorter than the 510c and sits much lower. It’s clearly a much more compact optic. So in this category the win goes to the Holosun 507c.    

Winner: Holosun 507c

Battery Life And Brightness Settings…

Holosun 510c

The Holosun 510c uses 1 CR2032 battery which is able to power the sight for around 50,000 hours (5 years)…

For me, super long battery life like this is a must-have on all red dot sights I use. I’ve had batteries die on me at the range before, which is really annoying…

But more important than that is you don’t want your optic dying on you if you ever need to use it in an emergency. 

So with this optic, as long as you swap out the battery once a year, you’ll never have to worry about the battery dying on you…

In addition to the long battery life, Holosun includes the Shake Awake feature, which basically means your sight will automatically turn off after a period of non-use and automatically turn on as soon as the sight senses motion (like when you pick up your rifle).

This will help save your battery life (which is already very long), and at the same time it keeps your sight ready to go as soon as you grab your gun.

Another feature included by Holosun is the solar panel. This is a cool feature because it means you can run your sight without a battery as long as you have some sunlight to power it…

I really like the solar panel because it works really well, and helps save your battery life even more.

Now with the 510c you get 10 daylight brightness settings and 2 night vision settings. The 10 daylight settings get very bright and you shouldn’t have any problems with them washing out even on a sunny day…

Most people won’t use the night vision settings, but some people with NV equipment will take advantage of them, and I like that Holosun includes them at no additional cost. 

Holosun 507c 

Depending on the version of the Holosun 507c that you get (I prefer the V2), the sight will either use 1 CR2032 battery or 1 CR1632…

Both batteries will power the sight for 50,000 hours (5 years) which, again, is very long battery life, and something I’m always looking for on my optics. 

The 507c also has the Shake Awake feature some it will automatically turn off after not being used and automatically turn on as soon as the sight senses motion…

And it has a solar panel that will power the sight without using up the battery just like the 510c does.

In addition to that, the 507c also has 10 daylight brightness settings and 2 night vision settings. Again, the daylight settings get very bright and I like that the night vision settings are included at no additional charge.  

Battery Life And Brightness Settings Conclusions…

There are a lot of similarities between these 2 Holosun optics in this category. Both sights have 5 years worth of battery life which is awesome…

They also both have the Shake Awake feature and a solar panel, to help conserve your battery life.

Last, they both have 10 daylight brightness settings and 2 night vision settings. There’s really nothing that separates these two sights here, so in this category, I’m going to have to call it a draw.  

Winner: DRAW

Extra Accessories Included With The Optic…

Holosun 510c 

The Holosun 510c comes with some pretty cool accessories. You get a tool to replace your battery and an extra battery tray just in case the original one gets damaged…

But the real exciting thing included is the QD (Quick Detach) mount that’s attached to the sight’s housing…

I really like it because it means you won’t have to spend extra money on a mount just to start using your optic…

But you are a bit limited by it because it really is intended to be used on an AR-15 or other AR platform firearms. 

You see, with an AR, the included mount will set the 510c up for an absolute co witness with back up iron sights…

That sets the sight rather high, which will be less than ideal if you want to mount it on something like a shotgun or an AK (platforms in which a low mount is more ideal)…

That being said, most people are looking to put an optic on their AR-15, So if that’s the case for you, the included mount will work perfectly. 

Holosun 507c

Just like the 510c comes with a mount, the Holosun 507c also comes with a mount. However, there are two big differences between them.

First of all, the included mount with the 507c is a low mount rather than a high mount. This makes it more useful on firearms like shotguns and AKs…

But it means you’ll need to purchase a high mount if you want to use your 507c on an AR platform rifle or pistol. 

Now secondly, the low mount on the 507c is removable, which is important if you intend to use the optic on a pistol slide (my preferred use for it). 

The Holosun 507c footprint is exactly the same as the Trijicon RMR, and that’s important because the RMR footprint is probably the most popular footprint out there for a mini reflex sight. 

So really, it should be relatively easy to find a mounting solution no matter what type of firearm you want to mount your 507c on.   

Extra Accessories Conclusions…

It’s tough for me to compare these two optics in this category because they both come with a mount, but the mounts are very different. 

The 510c’s mount is attached to the sight housing. It’s also a QD mount which is very cool, and it’s a high mount, so you’re pretty much limited to using it on an AR -15 (or other AR platforms)…

On the other hand, the 507c’s mount is a low mount, and it’s detachable, so you can easily purchase a high mount if you want to mount it on an AR…

Basically, both sights offer you a mount, and they both have some limitations. So in this category, I’m going to call it a draw.   

Winner: DRAW

Price Comparison…

Unfortunately I won’t be able to give exact numbers in this category because the prices of these sights are changing all the time…

That being said, they are usually very close in price, and sometimes you’ll actually find that they are priced exactly the same… So in this category, I’m going to have to call it a draw. 

Winner: DRAW

Holosun 510c Vs 507c – Conclusions…

So to sum it all up, in the Durability And Toughness category, I gave the win to the Holosun 510c because it has the titanium hood and it’s a much larger sight…

In the Lens Clarity And Reticle category, I also gave the win to the Holosun 510c because it’s lens has less blue tint than the 507c and the sight window is much larger…

In the Size Comparison, the Holosun 507c was the clear winner because it’s a much more compact sight…

In the Battery Life And Brightness category, I had to call it a draw because these 2 sights both have amazing battery life, the shake awake feature, solar panels, and the same brightness settings…

In the Extra Accessories category, I also called it a draw because both sights come with a mount even though the mounts are very different…

And last, in the Price Comparison, I had to call it a draw again because these two sights are very similarly priced. 

So which of these sights do I prefer? I prefer the Holoson 510c (depending on the use)…

I prefer the Holosun 510c if you plan to put the sight on an AR-15 or another AR platform firearm… 

First of all, the sight window is HUGE on the 510c which gives you a great sight picture, and the lens is super clear…

It’s also very durable, and it comes with an included Quick Detach mount so you won’t have to spend extra money to start using your optic…

Last, I love the Circle Dot Reticle because it allows you to shoot very fast at targets up close and still be very precise at targets in the distance.

Now if you want a super compact optic, if you’re mounting the optic on a pistol slide (my preferred use for this style of optic), or if your gun requires a low mounted optic (like an AK or a shotgun)…

Then feel free to go with the 507c because it’s still a really great sight…

Either way, I hope I was able to show you the major similarities and differences between these two awesome sights from Holosun!

It’s no secret that I’m a Holosun fan boy…

I just love that they pack their sights with cool (and useful) features and that they focus on keeping their optics affordable…

Now two of their most popular models right now are:

• The Holosun 403 (See Price On Amazon – Over 150 Reviews)
• The Holosun 503 (See Price On Amazon – Over 45 Reviews)

And in this Holosun 403 Vs 503 comparison, we’re going to examine how these two sights are similar and then point out the major differences between them…

In the end, I’ll tell you which of the two I prefer (I own both), and you should have all the information you need to determine which of them will work best for you…

Let’s get started!

Holosun 403 Vs 503 – What Are The Similarities?

Durability And Toughness…

Both the Holosun 403 and 503 are built to be pretty tough sights. To start off with, the sight housing on both of these Holosun models is made from 6061 T6 Aluminum…

And they both have an anodized finish, which helps protect the sight from the elements. Now some versions of 403 and 503 have part of the sight housing extended up and around the windage and elevation turrets…

And other versions don’t have this extension around the turrets. Personally, I prefer the versions that have the extra protection around the turrets because it’s just a little bit more protection against them being snapped off accidentally…

In addition to that, both the Holosun 403 and 503 are fogproof and waterproof in up to 1 meter of water, so they can easily handle rainy, snowy, or wet conditions…

Both models are also shockproof and can easily handle the recoil from high-powered rifles, shotguns, and pistol caliber carbines. 

All in all, both of the Holosun models are extremely reliable and tough. 

Lens Clarity…

Both the Holosun 403 and 503 have very good lens clarity. In fact, the lens clarity on these holosun micro red dots is better than the clarity you get from a lot of other micro red dot sights (even some that are priced much higher)…

I don’t notice any annoying bluish or greenish tint when looking through either the 403 or the 503, and the reticle is extremely clear and crisp. 

All in all, the sight picture you get from both of these Holosun models is very clean and their lenses are crystal clear.  

Battery Life And Brightness…

The battery life on both the Holosun 403 and 503 is very good. First of all, the battery these sights use with either be a CR2032 or a CR1632 depending on which particular version you get…

Both of those batteries are relatively common now, and you won’t have too difficult of a time picking up some extra batteries with either one…

Also, regardless of the battery used, you’ll get 50,000 hours (5 years) of battery life with both of these Holosun models…

Super long battery life like this is a must-have for any red dot sight I use because you don’t want your sight dying on you at the wrong time…

I’ve had sights die on me at the range before, which is really annoying, but more importantly, you don’t want your optic dying on you if you ever need to use it in an emergency…

Now to help save your battery life, Holosun includes the “shake awake” feature on both of these models. That basically means that your sight will automatically turn off after a period of non-use…

…and automatically turn on as soon as the optic senses any motion at all (for example when you pick up your rifle).

I love this feature because like I said before it helps save your battery life (which is already very long), and I like that Holosun includes it on both the 403 and the 503 models. 

In addition to that, if you go with one of the “c” versions such as the 403c and the 503cu, Holosun includes a solar panel on top…

This is very cool because it means your sight will run even if your battery dies on you, as long as you have some sunlight to power everything up.

Now both the 403 and 503 come with 10 daylight brightness settings and 2 night vision settings. The daylight settings get very bright, and you shouldn’t have any problems with your reticle washing out on you, even on a sunny day…

Most people won’t use the 2 night vision settings, but some people with NV equipment will take advantage of them, and I like that Holosun includes them on both of these models.   

Extra Accessories Included With The Sight…

Both the Holosun 403 and 503 come with the same accessories… They both come with a battery, which is nice because it means you can start using your sight immediately, and they both come with a lens cloth…

In addition to that, they both come with a rubber bikini lens cover, which gives you a little bit more ruggedness and two mounts, a low mount and a high mount. 

The high mount is perfect for use on an AR-15 and it sets you up for an absolute cowitness with back up iron sights…

…and the low mount is great for use on something like an AK, a shotgun, and some pistol caliber carbines. 

I love that both of these Holosun models come with a low AND a high mount because it means you don’t have to spend extra money to use your optic, and you can use your sight on pretty much any firearms platform you want to.  

What Are The Differences Between The Holosun 403 and 503?

Reticle Options…

Holosun 403

The major difference between the Holosun 403 and the 503 is the reticle. With the 403 you get a 2 MOA (minute of angle) dot reticle…

I think a 2 MOA dot is a good reticle for a red dot sight. I like it because the dot is fairly easy for your eye to pick up quickly when you need to shoot fast…

…but it’s also small enough to give you some precision, when aiming at small targets in the distance. It’s a good balance, and I much prefer it over something like a 4 or 6 MOA dot reticle. 

Holosun also offers the HS403 with a red, green, or gold reticle depending on the version you choose. I personally like to use red on my sights and optics, but there are a lot of people out there who really like the green reticle.     

Holosun 503

The Holosun 503 comes with 2 reticles that you can switch between, a 2 MOA dot and the Holosun Circle Dot Reticle (2 MOA dot surrounded by a 65 MOA ring)…

The 2 MOA dot is exactly the same as the reticle you get with the Holosun 403, and again, I think it’s a good reticle for a red dot sight… but I really love the Circle Dot Reticle.

The reason why I like it so much is because the 65 MOA ring just draws in your eye extremely quickly and allows you to shoot very fast at large targets up close…

But at the same time, you still have that 2 MOA dot in the center to give precision for small targets in the distance. Like I said, I really like it and it’s my favorite style of reticle on a red dot optic.

Now, just as with the 403, the Holosun 503 is available with a red, green, or gold reticle depending on the version you get. 

Again, I like the color red for my reticles, but I’m glad that Holosun offers the other color options as well.   

Price Differences…

Unfortunately, I won’t be able to give exact numbers here because the prices of the sights are changing all the time. The prices are also different depending on the version you choose to go with…

All that being said, the most affordable option is usually going to be the Holosun 403b (no solar panel) which you can find for around 100 to 120 bucks less than the most expensive option, the Holosun 503cu (solar panel and protected windage and elevation turrets). 

The Holosun 403c (solar panel) is usually around 50 to 60 bucks less expensive than the Holosun 503cu.

Holosun 403 Vs 503 – Final Thoughts…

So to sum it all up, both of these sights are very durable and tough. They both have excellent lens clarity. They both have ultra long battery life and the shake awake feature. 

They both have versions with solar panels or without them. And they both come with the same accessories including a low and a high mount. 

The two models are different because of the reticle they use. Again, the Holosun 403 just has a 2 MOA dot reticle, and the Holosun 503 has the 2 MOA dot reticle and the Circle Dot Reticle…

And because of the extra reticle the 503 is priced a little bit higher than the 403.

So which of these sights do I prefer? I prefer the Holosun 503, specifically the HS503cu…

I prefer the Holosun 503 because I love the Circle Dot Reticle. Like I mentioned before, it’s my favorite reticle on a red dot sight…

I really like that the 65 MOA ring allows you to shoot very quickly, but you still have that small 2 MOA dot to aim with when you need precision.

Simply put, it’s fast and precise, and it just works really well for me.

Now if you want to save a few bucks and are happy with a 2 MOA dot (still a great reticle!), I recommend you go with the more affordable option, the Holosun 403c because it’s still a great sight…

Either way I hope I was able to show you the similarities and major differences between these two awesome red dots from Holosun!