Holosun 507C MRDS: Does It Beat the Trijicon RMR?

The Holosun 507C is an RMR red-dot sight with a very similar footprint to the popular Trijicon RMR. And it has features that set it apart from the Trijicon.

WHAT IS THE HOLOSUN 507C?

It wouldn’t be controversial to say the Trijicon RMR is arguably the most popular pistol-mounted red-dot sight in the world. As such, there are a boatload of pistols out there specifically milled for Trijicon’s proprietary RMR footprint, so it should come as no surprise that options from other manufacturers sporting this footprint would eventually come to the market. Currently, the Holosun 507C is the leader of the RMR-footprint pack, right behind Trijicon.

WHAT GOT OUR ATTENTION

This is no simple airsoft clone of an RMR. The 507C has extra features that aren’t available on the Trijicon. The 507C has a solar panel on top. This isn’t just for use in case the CR2032 battery fails; it’s also used to read light levels when the optic is on auto-adjust mode — though the battery life is 100,000 hours on setting #6, so it probably won’t fail anytime soon.

The 507C also has a shake-awake function with on-board memory so it remembers its last brightness setting. What really makes the 507C stand out are its multiple reticle options:
– 2 MOA dot
– 32 MOA circle
– 2 MOA dot inside 32 MOA circle

HOW DOES THE 507C WORK?

The Holosun 507C produces all the reticles using the same LED emitter, so there’s no loss of zero when switching between them. This is different than older designs that ran multiple reticles, but would shift zero. Holosun started out as a laser diode and LED emitter company before delving into their own optics, so they custom-designed the emitter specifically for the 507C, optimizing it for excellent battery life.

HOW WELL DOES THE HOLOSUN WORK?

Though any company can throw some electronics into a housing, what sets the 507C apart is that testing has shown it to be very durable — we have staff members using them on home defense guns. Several independent tests and reviews have come to the same conclusion, making Holosun pop out of the if it’s Chinese, it’s crap mold.

WHAT WE LIKED

The 32 MOA circle, strongly reminiscent of an EOTech reticle, is advantageous for people who have trouble picking up a red-dot. The reticle itself is very crisp, likely due to Holosun’s custom emitter.

While the Holosun 507C shown on this page is a standard model, other options are available including a green reticle version and a lighter titanium-bodied version.

The best part? The price. The 507C should be in the $300 street price range.

WHAT WE DON’T LIKE ABOUT THE HOLOSUN 507C

Straight out of the box, the tiny buttons (relative to the Trijicon RMR) take more concentration to use. Also, the auto-adjust option was a step too dim with the included battery from the factory. We fixed that issue by replacing the stock battery with a Japanese CR2032.

Since the X2 version of the 507C, and pretty standard across all Holosun’s offerings, is the ability to replace the battery without removing the optic from the mount. This is a huge step above the Trijicon RMR.

Holosun 507C Specs

• Weight: 2.65 ounces
• Battery: CR2032
• Battery Life: 100,000 hours on setting #6
• Brightness settings: 10 daylight and 2 night vision
• Footprint: Trijicon RMR
• MSRP: $353

More on Red Dot Sights:

• The Holosun 507c made the cut for our Red Dot Sights buyers guide, check it out.
• The Past, Present, and Future of the Reflex Sight, read more.

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