Micro red dot sights have really become popular in recent years…

For most people (me included) they perform just as well as larger red dot sights, but they cut down the weight and amount of bulk that you end up adding on your rifle…

The optics company that started the micro red dot craze was Aimpoint, and right now, two of their most popular micro red dot options are…

• The Aimpoint T2 (Check Price On Amazon – Over 84 Reviews)
• The Aimpoint Comp M5 (Check Price On Amazon – Over 29 Reviews)

So in this Aimpoint T2 Vs Comp M5 comparison, we’re going to put these two little sights up against each other, and see how they do in the following 6 categories…

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

In the end, I’ll tell you if I prefer the classic Aimpoint T2 or the flashy and new Comp M5…

And you should have all the information you need to determine which sight will work best for you…

Let’s get started!

Durability And Toughness…

Aimpoint T2

The Aimpoint T2 Micro is an extremely durable little red dot sight. First of all, Aimpoints in general are known for their durability and reliability…

And the T2 Micro has been out for quite a few years now which means it’s been in the hands of many different shooters, and it still maintains a high reputation for toughness…

Now the sight housing on the Aimpoint T2 is constructed from high strength aluminum which is a very rugged material…

In addition to that, it also has a hard anodized non-reflective finish which will help protect the optic from the elements and keep it low profile at the same time…

The sight housing on the T2 is also built up a little bit  so that it covers and protects the windage and elevation turrets…

I really like this feature because it prevents them from getting bumped or snapped off accidentally, which is something that can happen with other red dot sights…

The Aimpoint T2 is also a waterproof optic. It’s rated to be waterproof in up to 25 meters (80 feet) of water, which means you could actually take it SCUBA diving with you if you wanted too…

Now most of us are not Navy SEALs, so we’ll never go swimming with our optic. However, the T2 can handle rainy, snowy, or wet conditions without having any issues at all…

And it’s also shockproof, which means it can easily handle the recoil from being mounted on high-powered rifles, shotguns, and pistol caliber carbines…

All in all, I think that the ruggedness and reliability that you get with the Aimpoint T2 are extremely impressive…  

Aimpoint Comp M5

The Aimpoint Comp M5 is a little bit of a newer sight than the Micro T2, but even though it hasn’t been around quite as long, it too has developed a fantastic reputation for durability and toughness…

The Comp M5 also has a sight housing that’s constructed from high strength aluminum, so it’s also made from a very rugged material…

And it also has a hard anodized finish which will help protect it from damage by the elements…

On top of that, the Comp M5 is also designed with a portion of the sight housing that is raised up to offer protection for the windage and elevation turrets…

Again, I really like this design feature because it helps prevent the adjustments from getting bumped or from accidentally getting snapped off…

The Comp M5 is also a waterproof optic. It’s rated to be submersible is up to 45 meters (150 feet) of water, which is an insane amount of waterproofing…

So just like the Aimpoint T2, it can easily handle any rainy or snowing conditions that you might find yourself shooting or carrying your rifle in…

Last, the Comp M5 is also a shockproof optic. So it can easily handle the recoil from high-powered rifles, shotguns, and pistol caliber carbines or submachine guns…

All in all, the Aimpoint Comp M5 is also an extremely impressive optic in terms of reliability.

Durability And Toughness Conclusions…

Ok, so this is actually a pretty tough category in which to compare these two sights because these are both Aimpoints…

If you don’t already know, Aimpoints are pretty much known for how durable and reliable they are, and both the Micro T2 and the Comp M5 live up to that legendary reputation…

They both have a sight housing that’s made from high quality aluminum. They both have windage and elevation turrets that are protected by the sight housing…

And they’re both waterproof and shockproof. The differences are that the Comp M5 is a little bit of a larger optic than the Micro T2, and it’s also rated to be submersible in a deeper amount of water…

So even though the Micro T2 blows away a lot of other red dot sights when it comes to how waterproof it is…

I’m going to give the slight edge in this category to the Comp M5 because it is just a bit more waterproof than the T2…

Winner: Aimpoint Comp M5

Reticle And Lens Clarity…

Aimpoint T2

The lens clarity on the Aimpoint T2 is very good. You don’t really notice much of that annoying greenish/blue tint that you get with some other red dot sights…

And overall, you get a very clear view and sight picture when looking through the sight…

Now the reticle on the Aimpoint T2 is a simple 2 MOA (minute of angle) dot. I’m a big fan of a 2 MOA dot on this style optic, and there are a few reasons why…

First of all, the 2 MOA dot is large enough (and bright enough) that it allows your eye to pick it up very quickly, which allows you to shoot very fast…

But at the same time, you have that precise little dot, which gives you a fine aiming point for small targets or targets that are at further distances…

Simply put, it’s a reticle that helps you shoot fast and accurately, and because of that, I’m a big fan of it…

I have used red dot sights with larger MOA dot reticles in the past (4 MOA or 6 MOA), and I found it hard to aim precisely, particularly at small targets at extended ranges…

So overall, I’m very happy that Aimpoint has stuck with their 2 MOA dot system throughout the years because even if you do feel the need for a larger dot…

One of the things you can do is simply bump up the brightness level on your sight until the dot starts to bloom out.

But as I said, the 2 MOA dot is very easy to see. So I doubt you’ll have any problem picking up the reticle on this optic.

Aimpoint Comp M5

The lens clarity on the Aimpoint Comp M5 is also very good. Just like with the T2 Micro, you don’t really get any of that annoying blue tint…

And the sight window is very clear, which allows you to get a clean sight picture…

On top of that, the reticle on the Comp M5 is also a simple 2 MOA red dot…

Again, I’m a huge fan of a simple 2 MOA dot reticle because I think it’s just as easy as a 4 MOA or 6 MOA dot for your eye to pick up…

But at the same time it offers you more precision for accurate shots on small targets or targets that are off in the distance…

So again, I think the 2 MOA dot reticle was a great choice by Aimpoint, and for most shooters it will allow you to shoot quickly and accurately.

Reticle And Lens Clarity Conclusions…

These two sights are very similar in this category, which is no surprise because, again, they’re both Aimpoints…

So they both have extremely clear glass, and they both have a 2 MOA dot reticle…

There’s not really anything that separates the two sights here, so in this section, I’m going to call it a draw.

Winner: Draw

Size Comparison…

Aimpoint T2

The Aimpoint T2 is a true micro red dot sight. It’s very compact (much more compact than a traditional-sized red dot such as the Aimpoint PRO)…

And its general size has been copied by a number of other red dot sight manufacturers out there…

With that in mind, the T2 Micro has a height that measures in at 1.4 inches. It has a width that measures in at 1.6 inches, and it has a length that measures in at 2.7 inches…

In addition to that, the T2 Micro has a weight that comes in at just 3.0 ounces.

Aimpoint Comp M5

The Aimpoint Comp M5 is also a pretty compact sight. But that being said, it is a little bit larger than the T2 Micro…

The Comp M5 has a height that measures in at 1.6 inches. It has a width that also measures in at 1.6 inches, and it has a length that measures in at 3.3 inches…

On top of that, the Comp M5 has a weight that comes in at 5.2 ounces.

Size Comparison Conclusions…

So as I said, both of these sights are pretty compact, but by looking at them side-by-side, it’s pretty clear that the Aimpoint T2 is smaller…

Both sights have a width of only 1.6 inches. So they’re both pretty narrow…

But the Aimpoint T2 is shorter than the Comp M5  in terms of height and in terms over overall length…

On top of that, the T2 Micro is more lightweight than the Comp M5 as well…

So in this section, the Aimpoint T2 Micro is going to come away as the winner.

Winner: Aimpoint T2

Battery Life And Brightness Settings…

Aimpoint T2

The Aimpoint T2 Micro uses one CR2032 battery which powers the sight for 50,000 hours (over 5 years)…

For me, it’s pretty much a requirement these days that any red dot sight I put on my guns has years worth of battery life, and the reason why is simple…

You don’t want your optic’s battery dying on you at the wrong time. I’ve actually had red dot sights die on me at the range before, and it can get pretty annoying…

But at the end of the day, you can just go home and replace the battery, and it’s not really a big deal…

However it would be a disaster for your battery to stop working if you ever need to use your optic in an emergency self-defense situation…

In addition to that, it’s a good idea to keep your optic on at all times…

So that if you do ever need to grab your rifle in self-defense, you won’t end up having to fiddle around with buttons just to turn your sight on…

So in the end, the 5 years worth of battery life that you get with the T2 Micro allows you to keep your optic ready to go at all times, and it’s very unlikely that your optic’s battery will end up dying on you…

Especially if you follow the standard advice of replacing your battery at least once a year (some people like to do it on their birthday)…

Now the T2 Micro comes with a total of 8 daylight brightness settings, 4 night vision settings, and 1 extra bright setting…

The daylight brightness settings are very powerful on the high end, and it’s very easy to see your reticle even on an extremely sunny day…

On top of that, if the conditions are really extreme in terms of brightness, you have that extra bright setting that you can alway bump the sight up to…

Now the 4 night vision settings will have to be used with night vision equipment…

And I like that they’re included on the T2 because if you have or plan on getting some NV equipment, then you’ll easily be able to run your sight at night, which is not always the case with Aimpoint sights (for example the Aimpoint H2)…

Aimpoint Comp M5

The Aimpoint Comp M5 uses 1 AAA battery which is able to power the sight for 50,000 hours (over 5 years)…

Again, I love super long battery life like this on all of my battery powered optics because you can keep them turned on all the time…

So your sight will always be ready to go, and it’s very unlikely that you’re optic’s battery will die on you (as long as you change out the battery periodically, like once a year)…

Now the Comp M5 comes with 5 daylight brightness settings, 4 night vision settings, and 1 extra bright setting…

Just as with the T2 Micro, the daylight brightness settings get very bright on the high end…

And you have that extra brightness setting which allows you to bump up the power if the lighting conditions are really extreme…

And again, the 4 NV settings can be used along with NV equipment, which will allow you to run your sight in the dark.

Battery Life And Brightness Settings Conclusions…

In this category, these two sights have a lot of similarities, but there are a few key differences…

First of all, they both give you 50,000 hours worth of battery life, which is awesome because you can keep them running 24/7 and they’ll be ready to go if you ever need to use them…

In addition to that, they both have powerful daylight brightness settings, the extra bright settings, and 4 night vision settings…

That being said, the T2 Micro has a few more daylight brightness settings than the Comp M5 which isn’t that big a deal, but it might allow you to fine tune your brightness level just a tiny bit more…

On top of that, it uses a CR2032 battery rather than a AAA battery which is used in the Comp M5…

I personally prefer the use of the CR2032 battery on the T2 Micro because it’s more light weight and less bulky than the AAA battery used on the Comp M5…

So in this category, I’m going to give the win to the Micro T2, but just by a hair…

Winner: Aimpoint T2

Extra Goodies Included With The Optic…

Aimpoint T2

The Aimpoint T2 comes with some pretty cool accessories. You actually get a protective flip up lens cover for both the front and rear lens of the optic…

The front lens cover is fully blacked out whereas the rear lens cover is actually clear, and this set up confuses a lot of people, but it actually has a pretty cool purpose…

You see, even with both of your lens covers closed, if you look through the optic with both eyes open (which is key) the dot will still superimpose over the target you’re aiming at…

It’s just a matter of how your brain works, and this allows you to use your optic very quickly in an emergency situation while still keeping both lenses fully protected…

And it’s all because of that clear rear lens cover. Now aside from that, you can get the T2 Micro with either no mount, a high mount, or a low mount…

The high mount option is for use on an AR platform rifle or any other rifle/carbine system that requires that you mount the optic high…

And the low mount will work great with many pistol caliber carbines, shotguns, the AK platform, and any other firearm that requires the use of a low mount…

Both included mounts will increase the overall cost of the sight. So unfortunately the mounts are not included free of charge…

That being said, getting the sight with no mount is the least expensive option, but you will have to purchase a mount for the optic on the aftermarket…

The good news is that there are tons of mounts out there which are being made for Aimpoint Micro sights because they are extremely popular optics…

So in the end, you won’t have any problems finding a quality mount that will allow you to put the T2 on your gun.

Aimpoint Comp M5

The Aimpoint Comp M5 also comes with a front and rear lens cover, and it’s the same set up as with the T2 Micro, with the front cover being blacked out and the rear cover being clear…

Again, I really like that Aimpoint includes both of these covers because they increase the overall durability of your sighting system…

And at the same time, you can still use your optic very quickly in an emergency (because that rear lens cover is clear)…

Aside from that, the Comp M5 uses the same Aimpoint Micro footprint that’s found on the T2. So there are tons of aftermarket mounts that will fit it perfectly…

And you can also purchase it in a package with either a low or a high amount which, again, will increase the overall price of the sight.

Extra Accessories Conclusions…

In this category, both sights (again) have a lot of similarities… 

They both come with the same protective lens covers which I actually think are pretty cool, and they both have the same Aimpoint Micro footprint…

…which is extremely popular and will make it fairly easy to find a mount for your sight. Aside from that, you can purchase either optic with a factory low or high mount for a higher price.

There’s not really anything that separates these two in this section, so I think I’m gonna have to call it a draw here…

Winner: Draw

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, in general, you’ll usually find that the Aimpoint T2 is around 5 to 10 bucks less expensive than the Comp M5…

In my opinion, 5 to 10 bucks isn’t a huge difference, especially because both of these sights are premium sights that carry a premium price tag…

But if you are interested in saving a few bucks, then the Aimpoint T2 is probably going to be the less expensive option for you.

Winner: Aimpoint T2

Aimpoint T2 Vs Comp M5 – Final Thoughts…

So in the end, in the Durability And Toughness category, both of these sights are extremely tough and reliable…

But because the Comp M5 is a bit more waterproof and a larger sight than the Micro T2, it came away as the winner here…

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

And they both have a 2 MOA dot reticle, which helps you shoot fast and accurately. So in this section I called it a draw…

In the Size Comparison, both sights measure in at the same width…

However, the Aimpoint T2 is smaller in all other dimensions, and it’s a little bit more lightweight than the Comp M5. So it came away as the winner in this category…

In the Battery Life And Brightness Settings category, both sights give you 50,000 hours of battery life, which is awesome…

And they both have very powerful brightness settings and 4 night vision settings… 

However, since the T2 Micro has more brightness settings and uses the less bulky CR2032 battery. It came away as the winner here…

In the Extra Accessories category, both sights come with front and rear flip-up lens covers, and you can get both with an included mount for an increased price. So I called it a draw in this section…

And Last in the Price Comparison, the Aimpoint T2 is usually around 5 to 10 dollars less expensive than the Comp M5…

So which of these sights do I prefer? I prefer the Aimpoint T2 Micro…

I prefer the Aimpoint T2 for a few reasons. First of all, even though I gave the win in the durability and toughness category to the Comp M5, the T2 Micro is still one of the most durable red dot sights you can get…

It’s tough enough that you can use it in very rough conditions, and it’ll still keep working for you. So it’s definitely a sight that you can rely on regardless of whether you’re in the military, law enforcement, or as a civilian shooter…

I also prefer the T2 because it’s more compact in terms of its dimensions than the Comp M5, and it’s more lightweight…

On top of that, it uses a CR2032 battery rather than the AAA battery used Comp M5, and that’s another feature that helps keep the weight and bulk of the optic down…

Last, the Aimpoint T2 is slightly less expensive than the Comp M5. So it’ll end up saving you some money.

Now if you like the increased size and durability of the Comp M5, and you don’t mind paying just a little bit more money, then feel free to go with it because it’s still an amazing optic…

Either way, I hope I was able to show you the major similarities and differences between these two awesome optics from Aimpoint.

More and more people are discovering what an advantage it is to have an optic on their pistol…

Yes, there are some people out there who are still resisting it, but the truth is, that an optic on your pistol helps you shoot faster and more accurately…

It’s actually been fairly common to put optics on larger handguns for a few years, but now, a lot of people are mounting optics on their concealed carry guns…

And since these guns are usually slim, single stack handguns, your typical optics like the Trijicon RMR and the Holosun 507c are simply too big…

So more and more manufacturers are starting to produce tiny optics designed for these single stack concealed carry guns, and right now, two of the most talked-about options are…

• The Holosun 507k (Check Price On Amazon – Over 1,172 Reviews)
• The Sig Romeo Zero (Check Price On Amazon – Over 360 Reviews)

So in this Holosun 507k Vs Romeo Zero comparison, we’re going to see how these two little optics stack up to 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 Romeo Zero, and you should have all the information you need to determine which optic will work best for you…

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

Durability And Toughness…

Holosun 507k

The Holosun 507k is a very durable little optic. To start off with, it has a sight housing that’s constructed from 7075 T6 aluminum, which is a very rugged material…

In addition to that, it has an anodized finish which will help protect the sight from the elements…

On top of that, the windage and elevation turrets are designed in a smart way. Both of them are recessed into the site housing…

And that prevents them from ever getting bumped accidentally or even snapped off, which is something that can happen on red dot sights…

The Holosun 507k is also waterproof. It’s rated to be waterproof in up to 1 meter of water for 30 minutes…

I think it can handle a lot more water than that, but regardless, it can easily handle rainy, snowy, or wet conditions without giving you any problems at all…

Last, the 507k was designed from the start to be a pistol optic, and because of that, it’s also shockproof…

It can easily handle the abuse of being mounted on a handgun slide, which is definitely an important feature for any optic intended for use on a concealed carry handgun…

All in all, the durability and toughness that you get with the 507k is extremely impressive.

Romeo Zero

The Sig Romeo Zero has a sight housing that’s constructed from polymer…

Now Sig calls it a “weapons grade ultralight polymer” housing, and for what it is, I think it’s fairly durable, but it’s certainly not as tough as aluminum…

In addition to that, the windage and elevation turrets on the Romeo Zero are recessed into the sight housing just like with the 507K…

Again, I think that’s an important design feature because it will prevent your adjustments from getting bumped or snapped off accidentally…

And it also keeps the sides of the optic smooth, so they won’t get caught on clothing when you’re concealed carrying the sight on your gun…

Now the lens on the Romeo Zero is also made out of a polymer which is supposed to be more durable than a traditional glass lens, and I’ll take Sig at their word on that…

On top of that, the Romeo Zero is rated to be waterproof in up to 1 meter of water for 30 minutes just like the 507k…

And it’s also shockproof because it was designed from the start to be mounted on the slide of a handgun.

Durability And Toughness Conclusions…

In this category, there are some pretty significant differences between these two sights…

First of all, they’re both rated to be waterproof in up to 1 meter of water for 30 minutes, and they’re both shockproof…

In addition to that, they both have windage and elevation adjustments that are recessed into the sight housing…

However when it comes to the material of the sight housing, the advantage has to go to the Holosun 507k…

No matter how you slice it, the 7075 T6 aluminum on the 507K is a much more rugged material than the polymer used on the Romeo Zero…

So in this category, the clear winner is going to be in the Holosun 507k.

Winner: Holosun 507k

Lens Clarity And Reticle…

Holosun 507k

The Holosun 507k has a very clear lens. You don’t really get much of a blue tint when looking through the sight the way you do with some other red dots out there (like the Trijicon RMR)…

And overall, you can see clearly through the optic and get a very clean sight picture…

Now as for the reticle, with the 507k you get a feature that Holosun calls the Multiple Reticle System or MRS…

Basically, this means that you get 3 different reticle options within your sight (the Holosun 407k has a fixed reticle)…

The 3 reticle 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

All 3 reticles have strengths and weaknesses. So let’s go through and discuss each one in a little more detail…

The first option is the 2 MOA (minute of angle) dot surrounded by the 32 MOA ring which is also called the Circle Dot reticle…

This is an awesome reticle. It’s pretty much my favorite reticle on this style of optic and there are a couple of reasons why…

First of all, the large 32 MOA ring is very quick and easy for your eye to pick up, which allows you to shoot faster…

But at the same time, you still have the little 2 MOA dot in the center for aiming at small targets or targets that are off in the distance…

It helps you shoot faster without sacrificing any of the precision you would need for high accuracy shooting, and because of that, I really like it…

The second reticle option is a 2 MOA dot. This is also a great reticle in my opinion especially if you think the circle dot reticle is too cluttered, which is the case with some people…

The 2 MOA dot is still large enough that it allows your eye to pick it up fairly quickly, but you still have the small dot for shots that require precision…

The last option is the 32 MOA ring with no dot in the center. I’m actually not a huge fan of this reticle, but that being said, let me explain why some shooters like to run it…

The 32 MOA ring is large, so you can shoot very quickly with this reticle, especially at large targets that are at close distances…

And not having the dot in the center of the ring allows you to see your entire target. The obvious downside, however, is that you have no fine aiming point for precise shots…

So if you’re just worried about shooting large targets up close, it’s a reticle that can work really well, but it will probably not offer you the precision to shoot with a high degree of accuracy at small targets or targets that are in the distance…

In the end, all 3 reticles have benefits and drawbacks, but one of the best things about the 507k is that you can try all of them out and then settle on the one that works best for you.

Romeo Zero

The Sig Romeo Zero also has a very clear lens. Again, you don’t notice too much of the blue tint that you get with some red dot sights…

And overall, you can see clearly through the optic and get a clean sight picture…

Now when it comes to the reticle on the Romeo Zero, you have two options. You can either get the version with a fixed 3 MOA dot or the version with a fixed 6 MOA dot…

Out of these two options, I prefer the 3 MOA dot because I feel it’s big enough for your eye to pick up the dot fairly quickly, but the small dot size gives you more precision…

But even though I tend to prefer a smaller MOA dot size, there are tons of really great shooters out there who like to run a 6 MOA dot…

So in the end, it really is a matter of personal preference, but like I said, I prefer the smaller dot because it offers you more precision…

And remember you can always crank up the brightness level to make the dot bigger if you need too.

Lens Clarity And Reticle Conclusions…

So in this category we have some big differences between these two sights. First of all, they both have a very clear lens that allows you to get a clean sight picture…

But after that, they are completely different. The Holosun 507k features the Multiple Reticle System which gives you 3 reticle options in the same sight…

Like I mentioned earlier, I prefer the Circle Dot Reticle because it helps you shoot faster without sacrificing any accuracy…

But the other 2 reticle options certainly have their place as well. On the other hand, the Romeo Zero will have either a fixed 3 MOA dot reticle or a fixed 6 MOA dot reticle depending on the verison that you get…

I think the Multiple Reticle System is superior to the fixed options that you get with the Romeo Zero. So in this section, I’m going to give the win to the Holosun 507k.

Winner: Holosun 507k

Size Comparison…

Holosun 507k

Like I mentioned earlier, both of these optics are designed to be mounted on small, single stack handguns that are intended to be used for concealed carry…

So it’s needless to say that they’re both going to be fairly compact. In fact, the Holosun 507k is a smaller version of the Holosun 507c…

Now the height of Holosun 507k measures in at 0.95 inches. The width measures in at 0.98 inches, and the length measures in at 1.60 inches…

In addition to that, the 507k has a weight that comes in just 1 ounce…

Romeo Zero

Like I mentioned already, the Romeo Zero is also a very compact optic…

It has a height that measures in at 0.93 inches. It’s width measures in at 0.93 inches, and its length measures in at 1.6 inches…

In addition to that, the Romeo Zero has a weight that comes in at only 0.4 ounces…

Size Comparison Conclusions…

Both of these sights are extremely compact, and their dimensions are very similar…

That being said, the biggest difference in this section is in terms of their respective weight…

The Holosun 507K weighs in at 1 ounce, whereas the Romeo zero is only 0.4 ounces…

I always prefer my optics to be as lightweight as possible. So in this section, I’m going to give the slight win to the Romeo Zero…

Winner: Romeo Zero

Battery Life And Brightness Settings…

Holosun 507k

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

That’s awesome battery life, which is something I’m always looking for on a red dot sight…

The reason why long battery life is so important is because you don’t want your optic’s battery dying on you at the wrong time…

I’ve had red dot sights die on me at the range before, and even though that can be really annoying, it’s not the end of the world because you can just swap out your battery when you get home…

But what you really want to avoid is your optic’s battery dying on you in an emergency self defense situation…

With 50,000 hours worth of battery, it’s not likely that that will happen with the 507k, especially if you follow the standard advice of swapping out your battery at least once a year (some people say to do it on your birthday)…

Now when it comes to swapping out the battery on your sight, Holosun makes it really quick and easy with the 507k…

You see, there are some sights out there in which the battery is changed from the bottom of the optic…

That’s actually a huge problem because it means you’ll have to take the sight off of your gun every time you want to change out the battery…

…and then you’ll have to re-mount the optic and re-zero it after putting it back on.

That’s all a huge pain in the neck for a simple battery change, and it’s something you get to avoid with the 507k because it has a sideloading battery tray…

So you can keep the optic on your gun, and simply swap out the battery in a couple of minutes, which is awesome…

Another really cool feature that you get with the 507k is Holosun’s Shake Awake technology… 

This basically means that your sight will automatically turn off after a period of non-use and automatically turn on as soon as the sight senses motion…

So it will help save your battery life, which is already very long, and at the same time your optic will be ready to go as soon as you touch your gun…

Now with the 507k you get 10 daylight brightness settings and 2 night vision settings. The daylight brightness settings are very powerful on the high end and get very bright…

So you won’t have any issues with your reticle washing out on you, even if it’s a really sunny day outside…

In addition to that, I like that Holosun includes the 2 NV settings with the 507k at no additional cost to you… 

…because if you do end up running your gun at night with NV equipment, your optic will be ready to go.

The last feature I’ll discuss in this section is something that Holosun calls the Lock Mode. It’s found on the Holosun 507k X2 version of the sight…

And basically, it allows you to lock in the brightness setting of your choice. This is a cool feature because even if the brightness buttons on your sight get accidentally bumped…

The optic will stay locked in at whatever brightness setting you selected. So if you ever do need to draw your gun in a life or death situation…

…your optic will be at the perfect brightness level for the conditions you’re in (not way too bright or way too low and barely visible).

All in all, the Holosun 507k is a sight that is packed with features that are useful to you as the shooter (even features you won’t find on much more expensive sights).

Romeo Zero 

The Sig Romeo Zero also uses 1 CR1632 battery which is able to power the sight for around 20,000 hours…

That’s not quite as long as the 507k’s battery life. However, once you get past a year’s worth of battery life…

…I think you have a sufficient amount of time because you should be swapping out the battery once a year anyway.

Now when it comes time to swap out the battery on the Romeo Zero, unfortunately, the battery is stored in the bottom of the optic…

That means you’ll have to take the optic off of the gun to change the battery…

…and then you’ll have to re-mount the optic and then take your gun to the range and re-zero your optic.

Like I said earlier, that’s a huge hassle, and it really makes changing out the battery a lot longer process than it should be…

Now on a more positive note, the Romeo Zero features the MOTAC system which stands for “Motion Activated Illumination”, and it’s basically the same thing as the Holosun Shake Awake feature…

So your optic will automatically turn off after a period of non use which will save you battery life, and it will automatically turn on as soon as you touch your gun…

Now with the Romeo Zero you get a total of 8 daylight brightness settings… 

Like the settings on the 507k, they get very bright on the high end, and you won’t have any problems with your reticle washing out on a sunny day…

There are no night vision settings on the Romeo Zero, but I don’t think that’s too much of a problem because most people don’t have NV equipment and would never end up using them anyway.

Battery Life And Brightness Settings Conclusions…

Once again, we have a category in which these two sights have a lot of significant differences… 

To start off with, they both have pretty long battery life and an auto on/auto off feature (the Shake Awake and the MOTAC system)…

But that being said, the battery life on the Holosun 507k is significantly longer than the battery life on the Romeo Zero, and when it comes time to change the battery…

With the 507k you can simply change it without removing the sight from your gun… 

Whereas with the Romeo Zero, you will have to remove the optic to change the battery, and then you’ll have to re-mount it and re-zero it, which is a huge hassle…

Aside from that, the 507k includes 2 NV settings just in case you end up wanting to run your sight in the dark…

And it has the Lock Mode, which you can use to lock in the perfect brightness level…

So in the end, I think this is another category in which the Holosun 507k comes out as the clear winner…

Winner: Holosun 507k

Extra Accessories Included With The Optic…

Holosun 507k

The Holosun 507k comes with one CR1632 battery. I think it’s nice that Holosun includes a battery with the optic…

…because it means that you won’t have to run off to the store just to start using your sight (once you receive it).

It’s ready to go right out of the box, and I think that’s the way it should be with all optics… 

In addition to that, you also get a lens cloth which is pretty much an accessory that comes with every optic you purchase…

The best included feature on the 507k is the rear sight that is built into the sight housing… 

I think this is an awesome addition, and there are a couple of reasons why…

First of all, these tiny optics are designed to go on very small and slim guns that are intended for concealed carry…

And because of that, there’s not always a lot of space on the slide of the gun…

Some guns that come from the factory ready for an optic will actually not even have a rear sight when you mount the red dot on the slide…

I’m a firm believer that battery powered optics should always be backed up by iron sights…

So the fact that Holosun includes a rear sight on the actual optic itself means that all you need is a front sight to back up the 507k…

Now the footprint on the 507K is a proprietary footprint…

That’s not a problem for me because these tiny pistol optics are kind of a new invention, and there really is no standard footprint yet…

So even though the 507k has a proprietary footprint, it can still be easily mounted with an adapter plate…

…or you can have a competent gunsmith cut out your slide specifically for the optic, which is what I actually recommend.

Romeo Zero

Just like the 507k, the Romeo Zero comes with a battery, so it will be ready to go as soon as you receive your optic…

In addition to that, it also has a rear sight integrated into the sight housing which again, I think it’s a very good thing for this style of optic…

The downside is that the rear sight (like the rest of the sight housing) is made out of polymer, and that can be a problem if the optic is being put under hard use…

Now the footprint on the Romeo Zero is actually the same footprint as the Shield RMSC…

I think that’s a good thing because the Shield RMSC footprint is probably the most common footprint out there for these tiny reflex sights…

But as I said before, there really is no standard at this time, so I don’t think it’s a huge advantage over the proprietary footprint featured on the 507k…

That being said, it should be fairly easy to mount the Romeo Zero either directly onto a slide or with the use of an adapter plate.

Extra Accessories Conclusions…

In this category, these two sights are actually pretty similar… 

They both come with a battery, and they both feature a rear sight built-in to the sight housing which, again, I think is a very important feature…

In addition to that, 507k has a proprietary mounting footprint, whereas the Romeo Zero uses the Shield RMSC footprint…

I don’t think either footprint gives you a significant advantage over the other when it comes to mounting the optic. So again, I think it’s pretty even here…

With all that being said, I think that these two optics are so similar in this category that I’m going to call it a draw.

Winner: Draw

Price Comparison…

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

But that being said,  in general, you’ll usually be able to find the Romeo Zero for around 100 to 110 bucks less expensive than the Holosun 507k…

That’s actually a pretty substantial chunk of change, and it could be a factor if you’re trying to keep the price of your optic as low as possible…

So if you are on a tight budget, keep in mind that the Romeo Zero is going to be the less expensive option for you.

Winner:  Romeo Zero

Holosun 507K Vs Romeo Zero – Final Thoughts…

So to sum it all up, in the Durability And Toughness category, both the Holosun 507k and the Sig Romeo Zero are waterproof and shockproof…

However, the sight housing on the 507k is constructed for 7075 T6 aluminum…

…whereas the sight housing on the Romeo Zero is made from polymer, which is much less rugged. So the 507k was the clear winner in this section.

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

However, the 507k features the Multiple Reticle System which gives you 3 options in the same optic (including my favorite the Circle Dot Reticle)…

And the Romeo Zero only has a fixed 3 MOA or fixed 6 MOA reticle. So I gave the win the 507k in this section…

In the Size Comparison, both optics are extremely compact and have very similar dimensions…

…but because the Romeo Zero is just a little bit more lightweight than the 507k, it came away as the slight winner here.

In the Battery Life And Brightness Settings category, both sights have an auto on/ auto off feature which is cool… 

However, the 507k has a lot longer battery life, the side loading battery tray, NV settings, and the Lock Mode feature. So once again, it came out as the winner…

In the Extra Accessories category, both sights come with a battery and a built-in rear sight. So I called it a draw in this section…

And last in the Price Comparison, the Romeo Zero is usually around 100 to 110 dollars less expensive than the Holosun 507k…

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

I prefer the Holosun 507k for a few reasons. First of all, the 507k is a much more durable optic than the Romeo Zero…

It has a high quality aluminum sight housing, as opposed to the polymer housing found on the Romeo Zero, and it’s simply a much tougher red dot sight…

That’s an extremely important feature if you’re mounting the optic on a gun that could be used for self defense, which is the case for a concealed carry gun…

In addition to that, I prefer the Multiple Reticle System on the 507k over the fixed dot options on the Romeo Zero…

Like I said earlier, I really like the Circle Dot Reticle because it helps you shoot faster without sacrificing accuracy… 

…but with the 507k,  you’ll be able to play around with all 3 reticles before you settle in on which one is right for you…

The battery life on the 507k is also much longer than the battery life in the Romeo Zero. So its very unlikely that your sight’s battery will end up dying on you…

And the battery change is quick and easy on the 507k because it has the side loading battery tray…

Last, I also really like the Lock Mode feature that you get on the 507k because you can set your brightness to the perfect level and then lock it in…

So even if the buttons on your sight get bumped around a little bit, the optic will still be ready to go if you even need to use it…

Now if you just intend to use the sight as a range optic (so durability isn’t a huge factor), and you want to save a few bucks, then feel free to go with the Romeo Zero…

Either way, I hope I was able to show you the major similarities and differences between these two tiny little reflex sights.

Pistol mounted optics are here to stay, and that’s a good thing…

Having an optic mounted on your handgun helps you shoot more accurately, and it helps you shoot faster too…

And one of the best things about the current optics market, is that there are a number of manufacturers making sights specifically designed for pistols and they’re keeping the prices affordable…

One of those manufacturers is Holosun, and right now, 2 of their most popular pistol optics are…

• The Holosun 507k (Check Price On Amazon – Over 1,172 Reviews)
• The Holosun 507c (Check Price On Amazon – Over 1,670 Reviews)

So in this Holosun 507k Vs 507c comparison, we’re going to examine the main similarities and differences between these two great sights 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, you’ll understand all the features that come with both of the fantastic little optics, and you’ll know exactly which one is right for you…

Let’s start the comparison!

Durability And Toughness…

How Are The Holosun 507k And Holosun 507c Similar In This Category?

Both the Holosun 507k and the Holosun 507c are very tough little red dot sights, and they have a lot in common when it comes to how they’re built… 

To start off with, they both have a sight housing that is constructed from 7075 T6 aluminum, which is a very rugged material…

In addition to that, they both have an anodized finish which will help protect them from the elements…

Another very important feature that is shared by both sights is the fact that their windage and elevation turrets are recessed into the sight housings…

The reason why this is important is because it prevents your adjustments from being bumped or snapped off accidentally which is some thing I’ve seen happen with other red dot sights…

And at the same time, they can still be easily adjusted with the use of a small screwdriver…

Another similarity between these two sights is that they are both waterproof in up to 1 meter of water for 30 minutes…

I think they can both probably handle a lot more water than that, but regardless, both sights are going to hold up in rainy, snowing, and wet conditions…

Last, both the 507k and the 507c were designed as pistol optics from the start. So they’re both shockproof and can easily handle the beating an optic takes while being mounted on a handgun slide…

How Are They Different?

Even though the 507k and 507c have many similarities in this category, there are a couple of small differences…

First of all, the 507c is a larger optic than the 507k. So it has a little bit thicker sight housing on it, which is obviously a benefit when it comes to durability…

But that being said, the 507k has the square top design, which Holosun has found to be just a little bit tougher than the rounded top design featured on the 507c in their drop testing…

Now the Holosun 508t is a larger pistol optic like the 507c that features the square top design. So that’s another optic you can consider if you have a larger handgun and want the square top design…

However, the 507c is built like a tank even with the rounded top. So in the end, I’m not concerned about durability at all with either the Holosun 507k or the 507c.

Lens Clarity And Reticle…

How Are The Holosun 507k And Holosun 507c Similar In This Category?

Both the 507k and the 507c have a very clear lens. When looking through either of these optics, there isn’t much of the distinct blue tint staring back at you the way it does on some other red dot sights…

And overall, both sights allow you to get a clear view of your target and a very clean sight picture…

In addition to that, both the 507k and the 507c feature Holosun’s Multiple Reticle System (or MRS). Basically, the Multiple Reticle System means that you get 3 reticle options to choose from in your sight (the Holosun 407k and 407c both have a fixed dot reticle)… 

The 3 options on both the 507k and the 507c are…

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

The first option is the 2 MOA (minute of angle) dot with a 32 MOA ring around it, which is also called the Circle Dot Reticle…

This is an awesome reticle, and it’s actually my favorite type of reticle on this style of sight…

The 32 MOA ring is very quick and easy for your eye to pick up which allows you to shoot very fast, but at the same time…

…you still have that little 2 MOA dot in the center which allows you to aim with precision at small targets or targets at further distances.

It’s a great reticle because it helps you shoot fast without sacrificing accuracy in the same sight picture, and like I said, I really like it…

That being said, I also really like the second option which is just a 2 MOA dot. This is a great option for those who prefer a simpler sight picture…

The 2 MOA is still fairly easy for your eye to pick, so you can shoot quickly, but again, that small dot still allows you to be precise when aiming…

The last option is the 32 MOA ring with no dot in the center. To be honest, this is my least favorite option, but let me explain why some shooters like it…

The 32 MOA ring allows you to shoot very quickly, especially at large targets up close, but at the same time, there is nothing blocking you from seeing all of the target you’re aiming at…

It gives you a little less cluttered sight picture than the Circle Dot Reticle, and you still have that blazing speed…

The obvious downside is that you have no way of making shots that require a high degree of accuracy, but if you’re just shooting at large targets up close, that’s not really a problem…

In the end, all 3 reticle options have their own strengths and weaknesses, but like I said, the Circle Dot Reticle is my favorite because it helps you shoot faster without sacrificing accuracy in the same sight picture.

How Are They Different?

Even though the 507k and th 507c are very similar in this category, there are a couple of differences that we should talk about…

First of all, the 507c comes in a red dot version and a green dot version which is called the HE507C-GR X2…

Personally, I prefer the red option because my eye picks it up just a little bit faster, but there are a ton of amazing shooters out there who really like the green option…

I think it really just comes down to a matter of personal preference, and that’s an option if you’re getting the 507c…

As for the 507k, at this time, it only comes in a red dot version. Again, that’s not a problem for me because I prefer a red reticle, but it is a difference between these two sights (at least until Holosun comes out with a green dot version of the 507k which they might do in the future)…

The only other difference is the size of the sight window. We’ll get into the dimensions of these two sights in the next section…

But, the 507k is a smaller sight than the 507c, and because of that, the sight window on the 507c is bigger and that gives you a larger field of view…

It’s not a huge difference because both sights have the open style design to them, and they’re both very shootable, but a bigger sight window helps you see just a little bit more when you’re shooting.

Size Comparison…

Holosun 507k

The Holosun 507k is a very small red dot sight. It’s designed to be used on a very slim pistol like a single stack handgun, which is a style of gun that is usually used for concealed carry…

So keeping all of that in mind, the height on the 507k measures in at 0.95 inches. The width measures in at 0.98 inches, and the length measures in at 1.60 inches…

In addition to that, the weight on the 507k comes in at just 1 ounce. 

Holosun 507c

The Holosun 507c is a more standard sized pistol optic which is designed to fit on most double stack handguns, and because of that, it’s larger than the 507k…

The height on the 507c measures in at 1.54 inches. The width measures in at 1.24 inches, and the length measures in at 1.78 inches…

In addition to that, the 507c is a little bit heavier than the 507k with a weight of 1.5 ounces.

Battery Life And Brightness Settings…

How Are The Holosun 507k And Holosun 507c Similar In This Category?

In this category, the 507k and the 507c have quite a few similarities. First of all, they both use 1 CR1632 battery which is able to give them 50,000 hours of battery life (on setting 6)…

I love long battery life like this on my optics because it makes it much less likely that your battery will die on you at a bad time…

I’ve had red dot sights run out of batteries on me on range trips before. When that happens it’s pretty much just an annoyance…

However, what you really want to avoid is your optic’s battery dying on you in an emergency self defense situation…

And since both the 507k and the 507c give you 50,000 hours of battery life, it’s not likely that you’ll have that problem, especially if you follow the standard advice of swapping out your optic’s battery once a year…

Now when it comes to swapping out your battery, both the 507k and the 507c make it a simple and easy process…

Some pistol optics like the Trijicon RMR and the Shield RMSC require that you take the sight off of your gun to change out the battery…

This ends up being a pain in the neck because after a simple battery change, you’ll end up having to re-mount your sight and then take it to the range to re-zero it (or at the very least to check the zero on it)…

That’s a huge hassle, and it’s one that both the 507k and the 507c avoid by having a side loading battery tray…

I love this feature on both of these sights because in a matter of minutes, you can change out your battery, and you won’t have to take the optic off of your gun to do it…

Now another cool feature that you’ll find on both the 507k and the 507c is Holosun’s Shake Awake technology…

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

This is a great feature because it ends up saving your battery life (which is already super 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…

Now when it comes to brightness settings, the 507k and the 507c are exactly the same. They both have 10 daylight brightness settings and 2 night vision settings…

The daylight brightness settings are very powerful on the high end, and you won’t have any problems with the reticle washing out on you even on a sunny day…

And I like that Holosun includes the 2 NV settings because they really don’t add anything onto the price of either optic…

But if you have some night vision equipment and want to run your handgun at night, your 507k or 507c will be ready to go…

The last feature in this section that you’ll find on both the 507k and the 507c is the Lock Mode. This is a feature that allows you to lock in whatever particular brightness setting you choose…

And it’s a valuable feature because it means that even if your brightness buttons get accidentally bumped, the optic will stay set to whichever brightness level you locked it on…

I really like that Holosun includes this feature on both optics because, again, you don’t want any surprises if you end up having to draw your pistol in a life or death situation.

How Are They Different?

The only difference between these two optics in this category is that the 507c features a solar panel and the 507k does not…

I really like the solar panel that you get on the 507c because it can be used as a backup power source if you do end up running out of batteries (as long as you have some sunlight)…

And in addition to that, it can be used to save your battery life even more if you simply switch to the solar setting when you’re shooting at the range.

Extra Accessories Included With The Optic…

How Are The Holosun 507k And Holosun 507c Similar In This Category?

Both the 507k and the 507c come with a CR1632 battery which I think is nice because it means you won’t have to run off to the store just to be able to start using your sight when you get it…

In addition to that, both sights come with a lens cloth which is a pretty common accessory that you get with almost any optic you pick up.

How Are They Different?

One of the biggest differences between these two sights in this category is that the 507k has a rear sight built into its sight housing…

This is a pretty cool addition because space is limited on smaller guns and some of them actually don’t have a rear sight when you mount an optic onto them…

I’m a big believer that battery powered optics should always be backed up by iron sights. So I really like the 507k’s built in rear sight which is not something found on the 507c…

These two sights also have different footprints, which isn’t surprising because they’re different sizes. The 507c uses the Trijicon RMR footprint which is awesome because the RMR footprint is the most common footprint out there when it comes to pistol optics…

And that means mounting your 507c is going to be really easy. In addition to that, there are tons of aftermarket products such as slides and mounts that you can use with the 507c…

Now because the 507k is a smaller optic, it has a proprietary footprint, which isn’t a problem because these tiny reflex sights are a relatively new invention so there isn’t really a standard or even a most common footprint for them yet…

That said, it’s still relatively easy to mount the 507k by having your handgun’s slide milled specifically for it or by getting an adapter plate if your gun came from the factory with an optic cut already.

Price Comparison…

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

But that being said, in general, the Holosun 507k is usually around 15 to 20 bucks less expensive than the Holosun 507c…

To me, it makes sense that the 507k is a little bit less expensive because it is a smaller optic, and it’s from the same company…

In addition to that, I want to mention that both of these Holosun sights are much less expensive than their counterparts from Trijicon, which are probably their two biggest competitors…

The Trijicon RMR is comparable to the Holosun 507c, and the Trijicon RMRCC is comparable to the Holosun 507k…

And like I said, the two Holosun sights come in at a much lower price point than the two sights offered by Trijicon.

Holosun 507K Vs 507c – Final Thoughts…

So in the end, in the Durability And Toughness category, both the 507k and the 507c have sight housings that are made from 7075 T6 Aluminum, and they’re both waterproof and shockproof, so they’re both very tough little optics…

In the Lens Clarity And Reticle category, both the 507k and the 507c have a very clear lens that allows you to get a clean sight picture…

And both sights feature the Multiple Reticle System which allows you to switch between 3 difference reticles…

In the Size Comparison, the 507k is smaller and lighter than the 507c because it’s designed to fit on small single stack handguns for concealed carry…

Whereas the 507c is more of a standard sized pistol optic that will fit on almost any double stacked handgun…

In the Battery Life And Brightness Settings category, both the 507k and the 507c have super long battery life, a side loading battery tray, the Shake Away feature, the Lock Mode feature, and the same 12 brightness settings…

The only difference here is that the 507c has a solar panel and the 507k does not…

In the Extra Accessories category, both sights come with a battery and a lens cloth. However, the 507k comes with a built in rear sight and a proprietary footprint…

…whereas the 507c uses the very common Trijicon RMR footprint.

And last in the Price Comparison, the Holosun 507k is usually around 15 to 20 dollars less expensive than the 507c…

So which of these sights should you pick up? That depends on the size of your gun…

If you have a double stack gun…

If you have a double stack gun, the right option for you is the Holosun 507c…

It’s the slightly larger optic of the two and it’s specifically designed for standard double stack handguns such as the Glock 17, the Glock 19, the Smith And Wesson M&P9, the CZ P-10 series, the Sig P320 series, and many many more…

If you have a single stack gun…

If you have a single stack gun, the right option for you is the Holosun 507k…

It’s designed for slim single stack concealed carry handguns such as the Glock 43x, the Glock 48, the Smith And Wesson M&P9 Shield, the Sig P365, the Springfield Hellcat, and many many more…

Well, I hope I was able to show you the important similarities and differences between these two great sights from Holosun optics…

Take care, and have fun at the range!

It’s a cool time to be a concealed carry permit holder…

I say that because you just have so many great options out there in terms of small, concealable guns right now…

And even cooler than that is the fact that it’s becoming easier to mount optics on those guns…

Right now, two of the most talked about optics for small (single stack) concealed carry guns are…

• The Holosun 507k (Check Price On Amazon – Over 1,172 Reviews)
• The Shield RMSC (Check Price And Reviews On Optics Planet)

So in this Holosun 507k Vs Shield RMSC comparison, we’re going to put these two sights up against each other in the following six 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 RMSC, and you should have all the information you need to determine which optic will work best for you…

Let’s begin!

Durability And Toughness…

Holosun 507k

The Holosun 507k is a very tough little red dot sight. To start off with, the site housing is made from 7075 T6 aluminum which is a very robust material…

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…

They can still be easily adjusted with use of a small screwdriver, but the benefit is that they can never be accidentally bumped or snapped off…

And overall it keeps the sight housing very sleek on its sides which will help prevent the optic from getting snagged on clothing…

The 507K is also a waterproof optic. It’s rated to be waterproof in up to 1 meter of water for 30 minutes, but the truth is that it can probably handle much more than that…

Regardless, the sight will easily be able to handle rainy, snowy, or wet conditions without having any issues at all…

Last, the 507K was designed to be a pistol optic, so it’s shockproof and can easily handle the abuse an optic takes while being mounted on a handgun slide…

All in all, I’m very impressed with just how rugged the Holosun 507K is for such a small optic.

Shield RMSC

The Shield RMSC was one of the first tiny reflex sights that was brought to the market, and RMSC actually stands for “Reflex MINI Sight Compact”…

I think it’s a fairly tough little sight. It has a sight housing made from high-quality aluminum, and it also has an anodized finish to protect it from the elements…

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

On top of that the RMSC is waterproof, so it can easily handle being used in the rain or snow, and just like with the Holosun 507K…

… it was designed from the start as a pistol optic, so it’s shockproof and can handle being mounted on the slide of a handgun.

Durability And Toughness Conclusions…

In this category, these two sights have a few things in common, but there is one major difference. First of all, they’re both waterproof, so you can use them in the rain without having any problems…

And they’re also both shockproof, so they can handle being mounted on a handgun slide. They also both have a sight housing that is made from high quality aluminum…

That being said, the sight housing on the 507k is A LOT beefier than the sight housing on the RMSC. It’s clearly built to be tough, and there are numerous torture tests of the 507k that you can watch online…

So because it’s built up a reputation as being one of the toughest little reflex sights that you can get, I’m going to give the win in this category to the Holosun 507k.

Winner: Holosun 507k

Lens Clarity And Reticle…

Holosun 507k

The lens clarity on the Holosun 507K is very good. You get a clear view when looking through the optic, and there’s not really any of the blue tint that you find on many other red dot sights (like the Trijicon RMR)…

Now as for the reticle on the 507k, Holosun includes a feature called the Multiple Reticle System or MRS. Basically this means that you get three included reticles with your sight (the Holosun 407k has a fixed reticle).The 3 reticles are…

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

Let’s discuss each of these reticles further. The first option is the 2 MOA (minute of angle) dot with a 32 MOA ring surrounding it…

This is also called a Circle Dot Reticle, and it’s similar to the reticle you’ll find on some larger Holosuns like the 510c and even some other red dot sights such as the Eotechs…

I’m a huge fan of the Circle Dot Reticle because the large 32 MOA ring is very quick and easy for your eye to pick up, which allows you to shoot faster…

But at the same time, you still have that little 2 MOA dot in the center which gives you a precise aiming point for small targets and targets at further distances…

It’s a great reticle because it gives you speed and precision in the same sight picture, so because of that, I really like it…

Now the second option is the 2 MOA dot. This is also a very good reticle in my opinion, especially if you prefer a more simple sight picture…

The 2 MOA dot is still fairly quick for your eye to pick up, so you can shoot pretty fast, but you still have that small 2 MOA dot which gives you a precise aiming point…

Now the last option is the 32 MOA ring with no dot in the center. This is my least favorite option, but there are many shooters out there who like it…

The reason why some like this reticle is because it does help you shoot quicker because the 32 MOA ring is large and catches your eye very quickly…

But at the same time, you can see your entire target with no center dot getting in the way. This can work well when you’re just interested in shooting large targets up close…

But the obvious downside is that you don’t have a precise aiming point for small targets, which is why I’m not too big a fan of it…

In the end, all 3 reticle options have strengths and weaknesses, but like I said, I think the Circle Dot is the best because it balances both speed and precision at the same time.

Shield RMSC

The Shield RMSC also has a very clear lens. Like the 507k, it doesn’t really have any of that annoying blue tint that some red dots have…

And overall, you’re able to see clearly through the optic and establish a very clean sight picture…

Now when it comes to the reticle on the RMSC, you have 2 options to choose from when you pick up the sight…

You can get a version of the RMSC with a fixed 4 MOA dot or a version with a fixed 8 MOA dot…

I prefer smaller MOA dots on my red dot sights because, as I mentioned earlier, they’re still pretty fast for your eye to pick up, and they offer you more precision…

So out of the 2 options given to you by Shield, I prefer the 4 MOA dot, and I think the 8 MOA is a bit too big for how I like to shoot…

By that being said, there are many great shooters who like a 6 MOA dot or an 8 MOA dot. So it really comes down to a matter of personal preference if you’re trying to determine which is the right reticle size for you.

Lens Clarity And Reticle Conclusions…

Alright, so in this category we have some important differences between these two sights. First of all, they both have a very clear lens, and they both allow you to get a very clean sight picture…

But that’s really where the similarities end because the Holosun features the Multiple Reticle System which gives you 3 reticle choices in one sight…

And the Shield RMSC is either a fixed 4 MOA dot or fixed 8 MOA dot depending on the version that you get. Again, with the MRS you get the Circle Dot Reticle, the 2 MOA dot, and the 32 MOA ring…

And like I said, the Circle Dot Reticle is my favorite because it helps you shoot faster without sacrificing precision, the way something like an 8 MOA dot does…

I think the MRS system is much better than both a 4 MOA dot and an 8 MOA dot. So in this section, I’m going to give the win to the Holosun 507k.

Winner: Holosun 507k

Size Comparison…

Holosun 507k

The Holosun 507k is a very tiny miniature reflex sight. Like I mentioned earlier, it’s designed to be mounted on a single stack concealed carry handgun, and because of that, it is very small (the Holosun 507c is for a more standard double stack handgun)…

Now the height on the 507k measures in at 0.95 inches. The width measures in at 0.98 inches, and the length measures in at 1.60 inches…

In addition to that, the weight on the 507k comes in at just 1 ounce.

Shield RMSC

Just like the Holosun 507k, the Shield RMSC is a very tiny miniature reflex sight, but it does have some small differences in its dimensions…

The height on the Shield RMSC measures in at 0.9 inches. The width also measures in at 0.9 inches, and the height measures in at 1.7 inches…

In addition to that, the weight on the Shield RMSC comes in at just 0.57 ounces.

Size Comparison Conclusions…

So, there really isn’t much that separates these two sights in this category because they’re very similar when it comes to their dimensions…

That said, the Shield RMSC is just a little bit more lightweight than the Holosun 507k. I typically prefer my optics to be as light as possible…

So I’m going to give the win in this category to the Shield RMSC, but only by a hair.

Winner: Shield RMSC

Battery Life And Brightness Settings…

Holosun 507k

The Holosun 507k uses one CR1632 battery which is able to power the sight for 50,000 hours when on setting 6…

I love long battery life on red dot sights, and the reason why is very simple… You don’t want your optic dying on you at the wrong time…

I’ve had red dot sights run out of batteries on me at the range before, which is actually really annoying, but much more importantly…

…you don’t want you optic running out of batteries if you’re ever in a life or death situation. 

And since these optics are designed for use on single stack concealed carry handguns, it’s an optic you could be relying on for just that type of situation…

But since you have years worth of battery life with the 507k, it’s very unlikely that your optic will die on you, especially if you follow the usual advice of swapping out your battery once a year…

Since we’re on the topic of changing out your optic’s battery, let’s discuss why the 507k will save you a lot of headaches…

You see, with some optics, you have to change out the battery on the bottom of the sight. That means you have to remove the optic from your gun just to change out the battery…

And then once you’ve changed the battery, you’ll have to re-mount the optic, and then you’ll have to take your gun to the range and re-zero your optic…

Again, it ends up being a huge hassle just to swap out your battery, but with the 507k you get to avoid all of that because it has a side-loading battery tray…

So you’re able to keep it mounted on your gun, and you can simply swap out the battery in seconds, which is an awesome feature…

Another cool feature that you get with the 507k is the Shake Awake technology. Basically this means that your optic will automatically turn off after a period of non use…

But it will automatically turn on as soon as it senses motion. This is a great feature because it helps save your battery life (which is already super long), but at the same time, it keeps your optic ready to go as soon as you touch your gun…

Now with the 507k, you get a total of 10 daylight brightness settings and 2 night vision settings. The daylight brightness settings are very powerful, and you won’t have any issues with your reticle washing out on you (even on a sunny day)…

Most people will never use the 2 NV settings. However, I like that they’re included because they don’t cost you any extra money, and you’re sight will be ready to go if you ever do pick up some NV equipment for night time shooting…

The last feature included with your 507k is the Lock Mode. Basically, this feature allows you to lock the optic on to your preferred brightness level…

Even if your brightness buttons get bumped accidentally, with the Lock Mode on, your brightness level will stay exactly where you want it to…

This is a great feature because, again, you don’t want any surprises (for example, a super bright dot or a barely visible dot) if you ever need to draw your gun in an emergency situation.

Shield RMSC

The Shield RMSC uses 1 CR2032 battery which is able to power the sight for 2 to 3 years. Again, I love super long battery life like this on my optics…

…because it makes it much less likely that your optic will end up dying on you in an emergency situation. 

That being said, when it does come time to change the battery on the RMSC, you’re going to have to remove the optic from your gun because the battery is located in the bottom of the optic…

Again, that’s a huge pain in the neck because you’re going to have to re-mount the sight and then take your gun to the range and re-zero the optic…

In addition to that, there are no manual brightness adjustments included with the RMSC. All the adjustments are automatic, which in my opinion is a negative feature..

Under normal lighting conditions, the auto adjustment of the brightness settings isn’t really a problem. However, when you have unusual situations such as the shooter being in a shaded house and aiming into the bright sun or if you’re trying to use the dot at night with the use of a flashlight, the auto adjustment can cause problems…

I would have much preferred if the RMSC had the auto adjustment feature but also included a manual way to adjust your brightness settings…

Unfortunately that’s not the case right now, but perhaps Shield will add a way to manually adjust your brightness at some point in the future.

Battery Life And Brightness Settings Conclusions…

Ok so in this category, both sights have years worth of battery life which I think is awesome because it makes it much less likely that your battery will go out on you at a bad time…

However after that, things start to change in favor of the Holosun 507k. To begin, the 507k has a side loading battery tray, so you can switch out the battery quickly and easily without taking the sight off of your gun…

On the other hand, the Shield RMSC requires that you take the sight off of your gun to change out the battery from the bottom, which is a hassle because you’ll end up having to re-mount and then re-zero your optic…

In addition to that, the 507k has manual brightness settings which gives you more control over the optic than the auto adjusting brightness feature on the RMSC…

And on top of that, the 507k has the Shake Awake technology which will help save your battery life and the Lock Mode feature which will lock in your brightness setting to whatever level you choose…

So for all of those reasons, I think the 507k is the clear winner in this section.

Winner: Holosun 507k

Extra Accessories Included With The Optic…

Holosun 507k

The 507k comes with a CR1632 battery which I think is kind of nice because it means you won’t have to run to the store just to start using your sight…

And in addition to that, it comes with a lens cloth which is something that pretty much comes with any optic you pick up…

But the coolest extra feature that comes with the 507k is the rear sight that is built into the sight housing…

I’m a firm believer that you should always back up a battery powered optic with iron sights, and since there’s already a rear sight built into the 507k’s sight housing, all you really need to worry about is having a front sight…

Now the footprint on the 507k is a proprietary footprint which I think is ok for this style of sight. The reason why is because these super tiny reflex sights are a pretty new concept…

So there is no standard mounting system or even a most common mounting system, the way there is for larger pistol optics (for example, the Trijicon RMR footprint is the most common for larger pistol sights)…

So since that’s the case, there are a number of mounting plates that you can get to mount your 507k on optics ready pistols…

Or you can do what I recommend, and just have your slide cut specifically for the 507k.

Shield RMSC

Like the 507k, the RMSC comes with a battery which, again, I like because it makes your sight ready to go right out of the box…

But more importantly, it also has a rear sight built into the sight housing. Again, I really like that Shield includes this because it means that all you’ll really need to back up your optic is a front sight…

Now the footprint that comes on the RMSC is also proprietary. It is a little bit more common than the footprint that comes on the Holosun 507k…

But like I said, these tiny sights are a new concept, and there are many solutions for mounting the RMSC on your concealed carry gun.

Extra Accessories Conclusions…

In this section, both of these sights come with a battery, which I think is nice because it makes both sights ready to go right out of the box…

In addition to that, they both have a proprietary footprint. There’s not really much that separates these two sights in this category…

So, I’m going to call it a draw.

Winner: Draw

Price Comparison…

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

That being said, in general, you’ll usually find that the Holosun 507k is around 130 to 140 bucks less expensive than the Shield RMSC…

That’s a pretty decent chunk of change actually, and certainly I factor you should consider…

So if you’re on a budget and looking to keep the price down on your sight, the Holosun 507k is definitely going to be the less expensive option for you.

Winner: Holosun 507k

Holosun 507K Vs Shield RMSC – Final Thoughts…

So to sun it all up, in the Durability And Toughness category, both sights are waterproof and shockproof, and they both have a sight housing made from high quality aluminum…

However, the sight housing on the 507k is a lot thicker than the sight housing on the RMSC, so the 507k came away as the winner…

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

However, the 507k has the Multiple Reticle System which gives you 3 reticles in one sight including the Circle Dot Reticle…

And the RMSC is limited to either a fixed 4 MOA dot to a fixed 8 MOA dot. So the 507k came away as the winner here…

In the Size Comparison, both of these sights are very small and their dimensions are very similar, but because the RMSC was just a little bit more lightweight, I gave it the slight win in this category…

In the Battery Life And Brightness Settings category, both sights have super long battery life which is good, but the 507k has a side loading battery tray, manual brightness adjustments, the Shake Awake feature, and the Lock Mode feature. So it came away as the winner here…

In the Extra Accessories category, both sights come with a battery and both have a proprietary footprint. So in this section, I called it a draw.

And Last in the Price Comparison, the Holosun 507k is around 130 to 140 dollars less expensive than the Shield RMSC…

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

I prefer the 507k for a few reasons. First of all, the 507k is a lot tougher than the RMSC…

…and since this sight is probably going to be mounted on a concealed carry gun, you definitely want your optic to be extremely durable and reliable, so it doesn’t fail on you at the wrong time.

In addition to that, the 507k gives you 3 reticles in one sight. Like I said earlier, I really like the Circle Dot Reticle because it helps you shoot faster without sacrificing accuracy…

But the other 2 reticle options have their place as well, and you can try out all 3 before settling on which one is right for you…

On top of that, the 507k has the side loading battery tray which allows you to swap out the battery quickly and easily…

And it has manual brightness settings, so you can get the brightness setting exactly how you want it and then lock it in with the Lock Mode feature…

Last, it has the Shake Awake feature which will help save your battery life, and at the same time, keep your optic ready to go as soon as you touch your gun…

Oh, and it’s a lot less expensive than the RMSC. So going with the 507k will save you money.

Now if you like the features offered by the RMSC and don’t mind paying more money. Then Hey! Feel free to try it out…

But in my opinion, the Holosun 507k is a much better optic, and I hope I was able to show why I feel that way.

Anyway, good luck! And stay safe at the range!

Adding a red dot on your pistol makes it a lot more fun to shoot… There… I said it. 

It helps you shoot more accurately because you don’t have to use brain power aligning your sights, and it’s also quicker for your eye to pick up the bright red dot…

The thing is, a pistol optic needs to be tough otherwise it’s not going to last long while being mounted on your gun…

And right now, two of the toughest pistol optics on the market are…

• The Holosun 508t (Check Price And Reviews On Amazon)
• The Trijicon RMR (Check Price On Optics Planet – Over 110 Reviews)

So in this Holosun 508t Vs RMR article, we’re going to compare these two sights in the following six 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 new kid on the scene (the 508t) or the old reliable (the RMR)…

And you should have all the information you need to determine which is the right optic for you…

Let’s start the comparison…

Durability And Toughness…

Holosun 508t

The Holosun 508t is a very tough little optic. For starters, the ‘t’ in its name actually stands for titanium which is the material used to construct its sight housing…

Titanium is a very strong material which adds to the toughness of this sight, but it’s also relatively lightweight. So at the same time, it doesn’t make your sight overly heavy…

In addition to that, the windage and elevation adjustments are recessed into the sight housing. For me, this is an important design feature because it prevents your adjustments from getting bumped or snapped off accidentally…

On top of that, the 508t is also waterproof. It’s rated to be waterproof in up to 1 meter of water for 30 minutes…

It can probably handle a lot more water than that, but even with that rating you’ll be able to use your sight in rainy, snowy, or wet conditions without having any issues at all…

Last, the 508t is designed to be used on a handgun slide, so it is shockproof. Slide mounted optics actually take a pretty intense beating because they move back and forth with the slide as you fire your gun…

But the 508t is built tough enough that it can easily handle riding on your handgun slide. So all in all, the 508t is a very robust optic, and it’s built like a tank… 

Trijicon RMR

The Trijicon RMR is also a very tough little red dot sight. RMR actually stands for Ruggedized Miniature Reflex Sight, and for years, it was the standard when it came to pistol optics…

Now originally, the RMR was not designed to ride on a handgun slide. So the Type 1 sights had some electrical failures in which you would lose your reticle completely or you’d find that it flickered on and off intermittently…

But all those problems have been solved with the RMR Type 2 which is a very robust optic. It’s sight housing is made from forged aluminum…

So it’s very tough, and fairly lightweight at the same time, and just like with the 508t, the windage and elevation turrets are recessed into the sight housing which prevents them from being bumped or snapped off accidentally…

In addition to that, the RMR is rated to be waterproof in up to 20 meters of water, so it can easily handle rainy, snowy, or wet conditions…

And as I mentioned earlier, the Type 2 version of the RMR is definitely tough enough to be mounted on the slide of a handgun…

All in all, the RMR is also very impressive when it comes to durability. 

Durability And Toughness Conclusions…

Ok, so in this category, we have 2 extremely well-built optics. First of all, they’re both waterproof and shockproof. So they can handle being used in the rain and being mounted on the slide of a handgun…

However, the 508t has a sight housing that is made from titanium whereas the sight housing on the RMR is made from forged aluminum…

Titanium is a stronger material than forged aluminum, so that is an advantage for the 508t. However, the waterproof rating on the RMR is a lot higher than the rating on the 508t, so it takes the advantage there…

Hmmm… this is a tough category, but really, what it comes down to is this… Both of these sights are built like tanks. 

So because of that, I think the right thing to do in this section is to call it a draw…

Winner: Draw

Lens Clarity And Reticle…

Holosun 508t

The Holosun 508t has a very clear lens. There isn’t much of the slightly blue tint that you get with other red dot sights…

And overall, you’re able to get a very clean sight picture when looking through the optic…

Now as for the reticle, with the 508t you get a feature that Holosun calls the Multiple Reticle System or MRS…

Basically, the MRS means that you get 3 different reticle options that are programmed into your sight. The 3 options 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

The first option is called the Circle Dot Reticle, and like I said, it includes a 2 MOA (minute of angle) dot that is surrounded by a 32 MOA ring…

And here’s the deal, it’s awesome… It’s actually my favorite type of reticle on a red dot sight, and there are a couple reasons why…

First of all, the big 32 MOA ring attracts your eye very quickly, and that allows you to shoot faster…

But at the same time, you have that little 2 MOA dot in the center which gives you precision when you’re aiming at small targets or targets at further distances…

It’s a great reticle because it helps you shoot faster without sacrificing precision in the same sight picture, and like I said, I really like it…

Now the second option is the 2 MOA dot reticle. I’m also a big fan of this option especially if you prefer a more simple sight picture…

The 2 MOA dot is still easy for you eye to pick up fairly quickly, and you still have the small dot allowing you to shoot with precision and accuracy…

The last option is the 32 MOA ring with no dot in the center. I’m personally not really a fan of this option, but let me explain why some shooters like to run it…

Because you have the big 32 MOA ring, it’s a reticle that does allow you to shoot quickly at large targets…

At the same time, there is nothing within the ring blocking your target or parts of your target, So you’re able to see more…

The downside is that you don’t have a precise point within your reticle to use for aiming, but if you just want to shoot quickly at big targets, it’s a reticle that can work really well…

In the end, all 3 reticle options have strengths and weaknesses, but as I mentioned before, my favorite option is the Circle Dot Reticle because it’s an extremely fast and accurate reticle built into one…

The last thing I want to discuss in this section is that you can get the 508t with either a red reticle or a green reticle. The green reticle version is HE508T-GR…

I’m personally a fan of red when it comes to my sights and optics because I feel like it catches my eye just a little bit quicker…

But there are a ton of experienced shooters out there who really like a green reticle. Either way, I think its cool that Holosun gives you the option of getting either color for you sight.

Trijicon RMR

The lens clarity on the Trijicon RMR is ok. You can see clearly through the sight, but there is a distinctive blue tint…

Trijicon says this blue tint is on purpose because it gives you greater contrast when looking through the optic…

There is a little bit of truth to that, but I still prefer a more clear lens if I can get it. That being said, the blue tint on the RMR isn’t too distracting, and you can still get a clean sight picture…

Now the reticle on the RMR will depend on which version of the sight you choose to go with. One version of the sight comes with a 3.25 MOA dot reticle and the other version comes with a 6.5 MOA dot reticle…

Personally, I prefer the 3.25 MOA dot version because your eye can still pick up the dot relatively quickly and you still have a pretty precise aiming point…

The 6.5 MOA dot version might end up being just a tad quicker for your eye to pick up, but the larger dot will also make it a little more difficult to make a precise shot…

Both versions work pretty well though, so either way, I think you get a pretty good reticle with this optic…

Last, the reticle color on both the 3.5 MOA version and the 6.5 MOA version of the RMR is red. There is a version of the RMR that comes with a 9 MOA green reticle called the Dual-Illuminated RMR…

However, I personally think 9 MOA is too big for a red dot reticle. So I’m not really a fan of that version…

Lens Clarity And Reticle Conclusions…

In this section we have some pretty major differences between these two sights. First of all, the lens on the 508t is much clearer than the lens on the RMR because of the RMR’s distinctive blue tint…

In addition to that, the 508t comes with the Multiple Reticle System which gives you the Circle Dot Reticle (again, my favorite because it helps you shoot fast and accurately) and the other 2 reticles in the same sight…

On the other hand, the RMR is limited to a version with a fixed 3.25 MOA dot reticle or a fixed 6.5 MOA dot reticle…

For me, it’s not even close in this category. The fact that the 508t has a clearer lens and the Multiple Reticle System makes it the clear winner here… 

Winner: Holosun 508t

Size Comparison…

Holosun 508t

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

The width on the 508t measures in at 1.21 inches, and length measures in at 1.77 inches…

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

Trijicon RMR

The Trijicon RMR is a similar size to the Holosun 508t, but there are a few small differences in its dimensions…

The height on the RMR measures in at 1.0 inches. The width measures in at 1.2 inches, and the length measures in at 1.8 inches…

On top of that, the weight on the RMR comes in at just 1.2 ounces.

Size Comparison Conclusions…

So like I mentioned earlier, these two sights have very similar dimensions. So they’re pretty much the same size…

However, the RMR is around 8 ounces lighter than the 508t. Lighter is always better when it comes to optics in my opinion…

So in this category, the RMR is going to come away as the winner, but just by a hair.

Winner: Trijicon RMR

Battery Life And Brightness Settings…

Holosun 508t

The Holosun 508t uses 1 CR1632 battery which is able to power the sight for 50,000 hours when on setting 6…

I love super long battery life like this on red dot sights, and the reason why is simple… You don’t want your optic dying on you at the wrong time…

I’ve had red dot sights go out on me at the range before, and that can get pretty annoying. But the thing you really want to avoid is your optic dying on you in an emergency self defense situation…

With 50,000 hours worth of battery life, it’s unlikely that you’ll have that problem with the 508t especially if you swap out your battery once a year, which seems to be what everyone recommends…

Speaking of changing out your battery, it’s actually really simple to do on the 508t (which is not the case for all mini reflex sights)…

It actually has a side-loading battery tray and that means that you can swap out your sight’s battery without removing it from your gun…

That’s awesome because with some miniature reflex sights you have to change out the battery from the bottom of the optic…

So when it comes time to change your battery, you have to take the optic off of your gun, change out the battery, then re-mount your optic, and then re-zero your optic…

It all ends up being a huge hassle just to simply swap out your battery, and the 508t really shines because you get to avoid all of that headache…

Another cool feature that you get with the 508t is the Shake Awake technology. Basically, this means that your optic will automatically turn off after a period of non use and automatically turn on again as soon as it senses motion… 

I really love this feature because it helps to save your battery life (which is already super long), and at the same time, your optic is ready to go as soon as you touch your gun…

On top of that, the 508t includes a Solar Panel on its top. This is a really cool feature for 2 reasons…

First of all, you can use the Solar Panel as a backup power source if your battery does end up dying on you. All you’ll need to power the optic is some sunlight…

Secondly, you can use it to save your battery life even more by switching to the Solar Power setting whenever you take your sight to the range…

Now with the 508t, you get a total of 10 daylight brightness settings and 2 night vision settings. The daylight brightness settings get very bright on the higher end, and you won’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, if you ever do acquire some NV equipment and want to start running your sight in the dark…

Your 508t will be ready to go. All in all, the features that Holosun includes on the 508t are impressive and very useful to you as the shooter.

Trijicon RMR

The Trijicon RMR uses 1 CR2032 battery which is able to power the sight 4 years when the optic is on setting 4…

Once again, I love super long battery life like this on my optics because it makes it much more unlikely that your sight will end up dying on you…

That being said, the Trijicon RMR is one of those optic designs that requires you to change the battery from the bottom of the sight…

That’s unfortunate because as I mentioned earlier, you’ll have to take your sight off of your gun just to change out the battery…

…And after that, you’ll have to re-mount the optic and then go to the range and re-zero it. That is a huge hassle, and it’s definitely a knock against the RMR in my opinion.

Now with the RMR you get a total of 5 daylight brightness settings, 1 extra bright setting, and 2 night vision settings…

The daylight brightness settings get very bright making it easy to see your reticle even on a sunny day, and if the conditions get really extreme you can bump the sight up to the extra bright setting…

In addition to that, your RMR is ready to go at night with the use of NV equipment if that’s a feature that you’re looking for.

Battery Life And Brightness Settings Conclusions…

Ok, so in this category, we have quite a few differences between these two sights. First of all, they both have very good brightness settings, and they both have NV settings…

In addition to that, they both give you years worth of battery life, which is awesome. But after that, things start to change in favor of the 508t…

For example,with the 508t you can change out the battery without having to remove the optic from your gun, and unfortunately, with the RMR you will have to remove the optic to change out the battery…

In addition to that, the 508t includes Shake Awake technology, which will help save your battery life and keep your optic ready to go as soon as you touch your gun…

And it has the Solar Panel which you can use to back up your battery and to extend your battery life even more. So for these reasons, the 508t is the clear winner in this section.

Winner: Holosun 508t

Extra Accessories Included With The Optic…

Holosun 508t

The Holosun 508t comes with a battery, which is nice because it means you won’t have to run off to the store just to start using your optic…

And it also comes with a lens cloth which is pretty typical when you purchase any optic. More importantly than that, the 508t comes with the RMR footprint…

The RMR footprint is the most common footprint for a miniature reflex sight, and because of that, the aftermarket is filled with useful accessories and mounting options for it…

In addition to that, most pistols that come from the factory ‘optics ready’ include a plate that you can use to mount the RMR, which is what you’ll use for the 508t…

In the end, mounting your 508t is going to be very easy because Holosun chose to go with the Trijicon RMR footprint in this sight.

Trijicon RMR

The RMR also comes with a battery, which like I mentioned earlier is nice because you can start using your optic right away…

And in addition to that, the RMR, of course, has the RMR footprint, which like I just mentioned is the most common footprint for this style of optic…

So mounting your optic will be really easy if you go with the RMR, and you’ll have a ton of aftermarket support including all kinds of mounts and even many pre-cut handgun slides.

Extra Accessories Conclusions…

In this section, there’s not really much that separates these two sights. They both come with a battery…

And they both come with the RMR footprint, which again, is awesome because that means it’ll be easy to mount either of these sights, and you won’t have any headaches just trying to get the optic on your gun…

So in this category, I’m gonna call it a draw.

Winner: Draw

Price Comparison…

Unfortunately, I won’t be able to give you exact numbers in this category because the prices on these sights are constantly changing due to a variety of factors in the market…

But that being said, you’ll usually find that the Holosun 508t is around 170 to 180 bucks less expensive than the Trijicon RMR…

That’s a pretty decent chunk of change, and honestly if you’re really on a budget, I recommend you check out the Holosun 507c…

But between the 508t and the RMR, the 508t is definitely going to be the less expensive option…

Winner: Holosun 508t

Holosun 508t Vs RMR – Final Thoughts…

So in the end, in the Durability And Toughness category, both sights are waterproof and shockproof, and they’re both built to be incredibly tough. So I called it a draw…

In the Lens Clarity And Reticle category, the 508t has a much clearer lens than the RMR and it also gives you 3 reticle options with the Multiple Reticle System as opposed to the fixed reticle options on the RMR. So the 508t came away with the win in this section…

In the Size Comparison, both sights are very similar in terms of their dimensions, but the RMR is just a little bit lighter. So I gave it the slight win in this category…

In the Battery Life And Brightness Settings category, both sights have super long battery life and strong brightness settings…

However, the 508t has the Shake Awake feature, the Solar Panel, and a side loading battery tray. So it was the clear winner in this section…

In the Extra Accessories category, both sights come with a battery, and both of them come with the RMR footprint, which makes mounting your optic really easy. So I called it a draw…

And last in the Price Comparison, the Holosun 508t is around 170 to 180 dollars less expensive than the Trijicon RMR…

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

I prefer the 508t for a few reasons. First of all, the 508t is an incredibly rugged optic. It’s just as robust as the RMR in my opinion, and it’s gonna hold up even under very tough use…

In addition to that, it has a much clearer lens than the RMR, and it has the Multiple Reticle System which gives you 3 reticles in one sight…

Like I said earlier, I especially love the Circle Dot Reticle because it helps you shoot fast and accurately, but the other two options are there too. So you can try out all 3 and find out which one is right for you…

On top of that, the 508t has a sideloading battery tray. That means you won’t have to remove your optic just to change out the battery and then go through the hassle of re-mounting and re-zeroing the optic (the way you do with the RMR)…

And it has the Shake Awake feature and the Solar Panel which will help save your battery life and back up your battery if it does end up dying on you…

Last, the 508t is much less expensive than the RMR, so it’ll end up saving you money.

Now if you really want the Trijicon name, which is legendary for durability and reliability and you don’t mind paying more money, then feel free to go with the RMR because it’s still an awesome sight…

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

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.