The Holosun 503C is a mid-priced red dot sight for your rifle that is potentially one of the best values you can currently purchase. This red dot is readily available on multiple store fronts, and you will find it in the neighborhood of $200. There are multiple reasons you need to seriously consider this optic for your rifle, and a few reasons you might want to keep shopping.
Price
The Holosun 503C is right in the sweet spot for value in quality red dot sights. You will find more expensive options from trusted names such as Aimpoint, Trijicon, or EOTech. Less expensive options will be found from Sig or SightMark. You can find way cheaper sights too if you want to stay under $100, but I promise that you will not be happy with your choice at that price point. If you want a sight that will last your for years of use, and perform at a high level, you will are going to be very pleased with the Holosun 503C.
Features
The Holosun 503C is jam packed with features. Its reticle is extremely reminiscent of the popular EOTech’s popular design. The “doughnut of death” gives the shooter a ton of value with a crisp 2 MOA dot or a 65 MOA circle. The dot gives great accuracy for well aimed shots. The circle gives the shooter a large reticle to use for rapid fire or close quarters. The circle will also assist in leading moving targets at range. You can even turn off the circle if you want to just use the dot.
Battery life on the Holosun 503C is world class with an advertised 40,000 hours between battery changes. There is also a solar power source built into the sight which will potentially extend the life of the optic indefinitely; this means that as long as the sun is out, you will always have an active reticle.
Out of the box, the optic comes installed an a lower 1/3rd co-witness mount. This mount will be perfect for most shooters using an AR platform rifle. If you choose to shoot something else, the Holosun 503C comes with a full co-witness mount as well. This means that out of the box, the Holosun has the hardware to mount effectively on nearly any rifle.
Durability
Holosun advertises that the 503C will work in a wide range of extreme conditions. A quick search on YouTube will show plenty of users beating the snot out of their 503C. From what I’ve seen and experienced myself I think the optic is more than sufficiently durable. I may not recommend it for military use, but for competition, home defense, or fun at the range it will perform flawlessly.
I want to note that some reviews online complain about the front lens being installed crooked. This is not a flaw in the product, it is suppose to be crooked. That crooked lens is actually necessary for the projected reticle to appear correctly inside the optic. Don’t complain or return it because of this please.
How I Use Mine
I have my Holosun 503C mounted on my AR pistol that I use for home defense. The impressive battery life, the durability, and the feature rich reticle are the reasons I chose the 503C for my home defense rifle. I also love using this optic at the range. I have found that it is very easy to quickly aquire targets, and it also gives me the ability to be very precise when shooting longer ranges or grouping.
When I Might Not Recommend It
The military or LEO members among us might not want to trust Holosun just yet. While I trust the 503C for home defense, Holosun does not have the proven record of durability under extreme abuse that other brands have. Professionals might want to consider Aimpoint or EOTech if they are in the market for a red dot sight. The future might change my opinion.
Wrapping Up
The Holosun 503C is a feature rich red dot sight for your rifle, and there is a ton of value in it. I recommend it fully to the amateur or pro-sumers out there for just about any purpose you might want a red dot for. Excellent battery life, a useful and easy to use reticle, and rugged durability all make this optic very high value. Click below if you are interested in learning more, or click here for more content.
Don’t fool yourselves- Aimpoint FAIL. Eotech most definitely FAIL( if in doubt? Go to Aimpoint) in fact the toughest I’ve personally seen is the Trijicon ACOG followed by Elcan ; but then again those sights cost MORE than many of the rifles they go on ,and the avg joe shooter is buying >$1100 highly functional AR-15s ( Colts, S&Ws, Armalites, Spikes, BCMs, Bushmasters, etc)
The “ go to war” obsession overlooks that when gear is busted by our military it gets swapped out, and the average gun owner and enthusiast isn’t facing a 250 lb VBIED or a RPG on the way to a range or hunting/ plinking trip!
Ditto the needs of Law Enforcement where unfortunately due to the business they are, cops and deputies and state troopers bang and bash and have to grab and go their gear far more than the weekend 3 gunner will ever do! Doubt it? Merely peek in a local patrol car and LOOK at the remington pump shotgun in the rack- it may have been purchased from last years budget, but it looks like it’s been dragged on gravel for almost 20 yrs!
The holosun and it’s derivative brands ( Sig Romeos, PAs) are a great value and take the day to day bumps and even accidental drops on field excursions to bring down wild hog or blast water jugs; for the home protection? Most guns are safe queens so with a cheapo cr2032 for power these red dots can literally last for years.
Sorry it took me so long to check in on this. Duty called. Awesome comment, and thanks for stopping by.
I dugg some of you post as I thought they were very useful handy Guinevere Sig Ab
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