Holosun Paralow HS503C Red Dot Sight Review

Holosun Paralow HS503C Red Dot Sight Review

We are now very lucky as shooters with the proliferation of really good and really affordable red dot sights. The technology and quality is on the rise while prices are falling into a reasonable price range. At one time a quality red dot that would take the abuse of tactical training once cost the same price as the rifle itself. Today we have brands like Holosun which are offering quite a few technical innovations.

I can actually hear the sound of people’s eyes rolling with a non-American name like Holosun, but the company is actually an American company based in California. Holosun was founded by one of the largest international OEM optic manufacturers which does mean overseas manufacturing but also means a price we can all afford. In reality Holosun’s overseas manufacturing is not doing anything different than most optics companies are these days. Holosun’s tag line is “Military Grade Quality without the Military Price.” I tested the Holosun HS503C Red Dot which I was impressed with. Holosun is not an $800 Aimpoint however it is an amazingly durable optic for $285.

INSANE RUNTIMES

The first feature of the Holosun HS503C is the 20,000 hours of run-time on the circle dot reticle and over 50,000 hours on the single dot when solar and battery power are used. Keeping in mind the runtimes of other circle-dot reticles is significantly less than 20,000 hours even when powered with huge AA or CR123 batteries, but remember the Holosun HS503C runs on just solar or CR2032 wafer battery. Holosun does have a couple red dot only models which are rated for 50K hours, so those numbers are expected to be the low and of run times.

The reticle automatically switches between solar and battery power depending on the light available. If you do have a dead battery, the red dot will still work in where ambient light is available. If you are of the prepper mindset, the Holosun HS503C optic will still be running after all the batteries on earth on dead… but only in the light.

In full sunlight the HS503C reticle is bright and useable and in most cases the reticle transitions well between light and dark environments. The only significant issues that required me to switch to manual mode were looking out into a bright environment from inside a dark room and at night.  The HS503C flips over to a pretty dim battery powered circle dot reticle. For most situations this is fine, but at night I would likely just hold down the “+” button for 3-seconds and go into manual (battery only) mode. This is an issue every auto adjusting optic is challenged with. Manual mode is what we are used to anyway - right?

To further conserve battery life, the Holosun HS503C even shuts off automatically after there is no movement for a period of time.  After a few months of use, I do not see any signs that the battery will need to be replaced this year… or next.

UNIQUE RETICLE

The Holosun HS503C reticle features a unique 2 MOA Dot; 65 MOA Circle which gives the appearance of a Eotech style reticle. The unique part is that you can swap between the dot or dot plus circle reticles in manual mode. In auto sunlight mode only the circle dot reticle can be selected.

 

If you are a control freak and want to just run off battery and set all your own brightness settings manually, the Holosun HS503C allows running in full manual mode. In manual mode users can select between a 2MOA dot or the combo 2MOA and 65 MOA circle reticle among different brightness settings depending on needs.  I found the circle-dot to be extremely fast shooting but the dot itself cuts down the clutter and improves run-time.

QUALITY

The quality is extremely high quality which has survived a beat down on my AR15 pistol, Sig MPX 9mm pistol, and even my C308 Century Arms .308 rifle. I didn’t beat on it with a rock or anything, but I certainly was not careful and it did get more than a few bumps, knocks, and drops.

There is a lot packed into a small space on this optic. There are the electronic button controls, windage and elevation adjustments, solar panel, and the battery still has to go somewhere and I am not in love with the screw-in battery tray idea. The battery compartment works just fine and is waterproof, however I do not like that it needs a micro phillips head screwdriver to change batteries. With the run times at an insanely long time and solar backup power, changing batteries is not something that will be done a lot, however when it does come time, you will have to find a tiny little screwdriver to make the swap. Holosun even provides a screwdriver and spare battery tray and extra screws in case you lose something. For the Holosun HS503C, I would recommend stashing that screwdriver and spare battery tray and spare battery into a grip storage compartment.

FINAL THOUGHTS

The Holosun HS503C is a well built red dot with a reasonable discounted $285 price available from OpticsPlanet.com. The optic is extremely clear flexible red dot which even includes an extra battery tray, mounts for low and lower ⅓ co-witness mounting. The optic is rated to survives all the typical stresses including being shock and dust proof plus waterproof up to one meter.

The Holosun HS503C is a very nice quality optic for the price and the unique features and solar power make it a handy optic even when the batteries run dead. I can say from experience that some of these red dots run so long that you sometimes forget to replace batteries until you need them for training. The solar backup is appreciated. The final home for this great optic was a Devil Dog Arms AR15 pistol which gets a lot of use both as a training gun and home defense gun. If I did not have confidence at this point in the Holosun, I certainly would not have put it on this pistol. Excellent affordable feature packed optic.

SPECS

Holosun HS503C: PARALOW HS503C Circle Dot Sight, Black, 133X54X72mm
Reticle 2 MOA Dot; 65 MOA Circle:
Light source: LED
Magnification: 1X
Battery: CR2032
Battery Life: 20,000 hours for circle dot at mid brightness setting 50,000 hours for single dot at mid brightness setting
Brightness Setting: 9 DL & 2 NV compatible
Storage Temperature: -40C to 70C
Working Temperature: -10C to 50C
Color: Black
Dimensions: 133x54x72mm
Weight: 120g
Features of Holosun Paralow HS503C Circle Dot Sight, Solar/Battery Power:
Parallax free with unlimited eye relief
Clean sight picture with push button controls and streamlined housing design
Fully multi-coated lenses
Solar and battery power supplies
Switch between circle dot and red dot reticles
Battery tray
Low mount and 1/3 Co-witness mount included
AR riser included. Adaptable to Picatinny and Weaver rails.
CNC machining with T6061-T6 aluminum housing with PEO/MAO finish
Waterproof to 1m

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