Holosun HS512C Multi-Reticle Circle Dot Enclosed Reflex Sight w/Solar Failsafe and Shake Awake, Designed for Rifle and Carbine, 2 MOA Dot

Great optic for a third of what Eotech charges, and you get a clear reticle unlike the Eotech's blurry reticle. It also has shake-awake, something Eotech doesn't have, and for a home defense gun, I think that's an advantage. Though it doesn't quite give you that wide open feel of the Holosun 510C which I also own and love, it's worth the slight compromise to have a fully sealed optic if you think you might ever need to shoot in bad weather. Remember, open optics can become completely unusable in heavy rain. I've put about 1,000 rounds through my AK with this installed and the rifle has been banged around a good bit as well, but the zero is still perfect. Unless you are planning on being in combat, this is all you need. And by the way, I've seen several videos from Ukraine with guys using this optic, so it must hold up pretty well under harsh conditions.

This is possibly my favorite red dot scope for use on a pistol caliber carbine. I have purchased many different rifle sized enclosed red dots, and the difference this one has is that it's slightly rounded and has a slimmer side profile, so it maintains the same width as my PSA AR-V, Benelli M4, even AR-15s without sacrificing field of view. Most of the rifle sized red dots I've used have a more wide and square outline which can snag and add a bit of top balance issues. I've also found it to be very reliable, even with repeated 12 ga recoil and thousands of rounds of 9mm. Extremely satisfied.

Beautifully made, premium materials, huge window, clear reticle with easy brightness/adjustment options. Love the external battery tray and back up solar. Perfect optic for my needs.

Great red dot.

I've heard good things about this red dot. Had to try it out. I haven't put on my gun yet, but it looks really nice and works as it should.I was surprised when I ordered this optic that the company that ships it upgraded my shipping to priority overnight. I ordered my optic in the morning, and got it the next morning. I was impressed.

This is so well made, does not feel cheap or fragile and the solar feature works as advertised. Mounted on my AR rifle and looks and performed flawlessly. The sight quality is crisp and clear and it's so easy to install.

I've used many, many red dot sights over the years, including high-end sights made by Eotech, Aimpoint, Trijicon, and Meprolight, as well as other mid-range sights made by Holosun, Sightmark, Sig Sauer, and other companies. The Holosun is made in China, but with its price tag almost as high as the top brands made in America, Sweden, and Israel, it deserves to be compared against the top-name American Swedish, and Israeli brands (Eotech, Aimpoint, Trijicon, and Meprolight). It is almost as good as the Eotech.Verdict: 3.5 stars. It's almost as good at the Eotech XPS2-0, but has a few flaws, a couple of them major flaws.I was hovering between 3 and 4 stars, but I do like the sight, so I'll round my 3.5 stars up to 4 stars. Just remember to keep the box with the Holosun tools, as you'll need the special tools every range trip to adjust the windage and elevation knobs, because your Holosun HS515C tool won't fit you Holosun HS512C, and the screwdrivers and tools in your range bag won't fit either!POSITIVES:1) The circle-dot reticle is wonderful! It's about as good as the standard Eotech reticle (Eotech XPS2-0 reticle, XPS3-0 reticle, or EXPS3-0 reticle). The circle-dot reticle is very fast, and very accurate.2) Battery life, if the specifications are correct, is fantastic. With the circle-dot reticle, it's 20,000 hours, which is two years if left turned on. This is much longer than the Eotech holographic sights, which have about a 1,000 hour battery life due to their laser technology that requires more energy.3) Shake-awake is a great feature, so you can leave the sight turned on all the time if you want (even if you don't believe the 20,000 hour battery life).4) Perfect size and weight, not too big, not too heavy! About one ounce lighter than an Eotech XPS2 or XPS3, which is good. Also, it's slightly narrower and less tall than an Eotech XPS2 or XPS3, which makes it good for narrow guns such as the Savage Model 42, lever-action rifles, or even a full-sized revolver.I should point out that this is the first Holosun sight I've encountered where the company did not lie about its size and weight. With every other Holosun sight I've bought or researched, Holosun cheated by removing the mounting base, then measuring it and weighing it, then putting the mount back on, which sometimes means that when you receive the sight, it weighs twice as much as advertised and is 50% bigger. However, the Holosun HS512C has an integrated mounting base, so it is impossible for the company to remove it before weighing and5) Battery door doesn't require any tools to open.Okay, Holosun, you've figured out how do make a battery door that doesn't require tools to open -- can you also figure out how to make a QD mount that doesn't require tools, and windage and elevation knobs that don't require a special Holosun HS512C tool that's incompatible with previous Holosun tools?6) Compatibility with night vision devices, by way of very low brightness NVD settings. Very few people will ever use this feature, but it's there if you need it. Only the higher-end Eotech sights (such as the XPS3 and EXPS3) have this feature: the Eotech XPS2 and EXPS2 don't have it.NEGATIVES:1) Unlike Sightmark's less expensive solar red dot sights (Sightmark Element Mini Solar and Sightmark Volta), the Holosun HS512C does not work without a battery installed, even when under bright light. This leads me to think that the solar panels on the Holosun HS512C are mostly a gimmick and a means to automatically adjust the brightness of the reticle. By contrast, my Sightmark Element Mini Solar, which costs about half as much as the Holosun HS512C, has a superior solar panel that powers the Sightmark sight even with no battery, and even with the sight turned off, so the SIghtmark can be used without ever needing to turn it on, except in low light.2) The mount requires a hex tool. I prefer sights that either have a quick-detach (QD) mount, or a mount that can be installed and removed with ordinary tools such as a common screwdriver, coin, or adjustable wrench. For the high price of the Holosun, it ought to have a QD mount.Holosun, you've figured out how do make a battery door that doesn't require tools to open -- can you also figure out how to make a QD mount that doesn't require special tools?3) A HUGE NEGATIVE: Zeroing it is impossible without a special Holosun HS512C tool (which does not fit on a keychain). My Holosun HS515C tool didn't fit this new sight, neither did any of my screwdrivers! When I took this to the gun range to sight it in, I neglected to bring the box it came in, which contained a special tool for adjusting the windage and elevation adjustment knobs, but had no hole in it for mounting on my keychain. I thought, "No matter, I always come prepared with every tool that I need, including coins, hex tools, several screwdrivers, a Holosun HS515C tool on my keychain." That's right, I had on my keychain a Holosun HS515C sight adjustment tool from my previous Holosun sight, but guess what? The Holosun HS515C tool (which fits on a keychain) won't fit the Holosun HS512C, too big!But I had plenty of other tools, too, dozens of other tools in my range bag and on my keychain, so you'd think one of them would fit, right?Nope. None of them worked.First I tried what has worked on every other red dot sight: coins. But even a dime was too big for the adjustment screw on the Holosun.Then I tried the three screwdrivers on my keychain, but none of them would fit -- the standard ones (despite being small) were too big, and of course the Philips-head one wouldn't fit.Okay, no reason to panic yet -- I got out my range bag and took out my small case of jeweler's screwdrivers. Guess what? Although my other screwdrivers were too big, the jeweler's screwdriver was just a bit too small!Now I was starting to panic, because if I couldn't adjust the sights, my trip to the gun range to sight in my gun with the new Holosun sight would be a total waste of time.In desperation, I tried using the rim of some .22 rimfire brass, and finally, I was in luck. The .22 rimfire brass was almost the right size to adjust the windage and elevation screws on the Holosun. Which gets me to my next negative point:Holosun, you've figured out how do make a battery door that doesn't require tools to open -- can you also figure out how to make windage and elevation knobs that don't require a special Holosun HS512C tool that's incompatible with previous Holosun tools?4) Also when zeroing it, the windage and elevation knob clicks are so quiet as to be almost inaudible even without earplugs or shooting earmuffs! I was the only person at the gun range, so I was able to take off my shooting earmuffs, but I still couldn't hear the clicks. I had to go to the control panel and turn off the heater and ventilation fans, too, before I could finally hear the clicks. Then I had to repeat this after every three shots -- take three shots, look through the spotting scope, then walk to the control panel and turn off the heating and ventilation fans, walk back to the gun, adjust the windage and elevation knobs a few clicks (using the rim of .22 rimfire brass because none of my screwdrivers or tools would work), then walk back to the control panel, turn on the heating and ventilation fans, walk back to the rifle, take three more shots, and so forth.5) Compared to its closest competitors, the Eotech XPS2 and Eotech XPS3, the Holosun HS512C has a shiny, reflective front lens that will give away the hunter's or shooter's position to whatever animal he's hunting. The Eotech holographic sights are true laser holographic sights, so they do not need a reflective coating on the front lens, which makes them much more covert.6) Compared to its closest competitors, the Eotech XPS2 and Eotech XPS3, the Holosun HS512C is probably less sturdy. The Eotech sights are covered with an aluminum shield that will absorb the force if you drop your gun on the sight. I would not want to drop my rifle with a Holosun sight on it, as it would probably break.

Pushing the safety latch forward on the battery door quick release for the first time required channel locks since it felt welded shut. Put a couple small pieces of cardboard on the front casing for protection and then lightly use the jaws to squeeze safety latch forward, about an 1/8” or less and it will audibly click and free the binding. Once done, it will operate normally. Other than that, it’s an awesome red dot.