Holosun HS503R

The “R” on the new Holosun HS503R red-dot sight stands for rotary. It has a rotary adjustment for the brightness of the reticle and it also allows you to change the reticle from a dot to a circle dot. Let’s take a closer look.

HS503R SERIES

The Holosun HS503R is part of a new series of optics that uses a rotary adjustment instead of the old push-button adjustment for brightness. Rob Pincus prefers the rotary adjustment because it lets him move very quickly and easily from one setting to another.

Holosun does have two settings that are compatible with night vision, which means you can go to or from night vision much faster with the rotary dial. When Rob turns the dial past the “12” setting to the circle dot, it changes whether it was a circle or a circle dot. If it was a circle, it’s now a circle dot and vice versa.

DOT OR CIRCLE DOT?

Rob prefers to use the dot most of the time, but there may be circumstances under which you want to use the circle dot — it’s bigger for indexing at close range, and the 65 MOA circle represents about 5 ½ feet at 100 yards, so you can use it to try to determine distance if you have something you roughly know the height of, such as a car, barrel, trash can, mailbox, or the average height of a person. That’s a good gauge to let you try to figure out the range if you’re using the 65 MOA circle. This has applications for home defense.

The dot is a 2 MOA dot and it is adjustable. Take the tops off the turrets and you’ll see the built-in line that gives you the symbol and tells you which direction to adjust, a common feature today on red-dot sights.

MOUNTING OPTIONS

The HS503R in this video is on a fixed mount, but all Holosun optics come with two mounts: a flat mount suitable for an AK or a shotgun, and a raised mount for the typical AR. Holosun also has a quick-release mount available. Other popular mounts that will work with the HS503 line can be purchased from other companies.

SUMMING UP

For many defensive-minded shooters, a red-dot sight on a rifle is an essential component of their self-defense accessories. Rob was impressed with earlier Holosun models and encourages you to consider them when purchasing your next optic.

And now, he really likes the new configuration with the rotary dial that the HS503R has. It’s an evolved version of the Holosun red-dot sight. Rob has this one out on the 2019 PDN Training Tour to see how it performs.