I'm thinking about setting up my lightweight AR or 6920/M4gery as a dot only rifle and I saw this model on sale in an email blast. I'm intrigued, a little puzzled and a search only turned up 1 mention of the HE512 here so I'm really in the dark here.
Why the gold reticle? Is it supposed to help if you're colorblind?
Does the square body offer any advantage over a tube type optic?
Is it compatible with a magnifier?
Thanks!
Nothing so needs reforming as other people's habits - Mark Twain
Tact is the knack of making a point without making an enemy / Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge?
I only have relatively limited experience with the couple HS512C's (red) I've had. Still currently have one, I think, but never really use it anymore. Not for any negative reason, I'm just more partial to the EXPS and some other stuff.
For the price, I think they have a lot of nice features. The window is huge, and with the circle dot reticle, very much gives the feel of something like an EOTech XPS.
It is a little smaller in certain dimensions from the XPS (mostly width and height I believe; think EOTech without the hood), however I think the window is bigger. The sight picture certainly looks less cluttered than the EOTech.
Battery life is great, although I've never really bothered to test what effect the solar feature has on that. Either way, battery life is long enough it's not even a concern.
Also, the way the battery compartment is removed, with the spring-loaded retainer for the lever, is kind of nice. No tools needed for that.
The only major downside I can think of is the fact the mount is integral to it. With that, you're kind of stuck with what you get. If you're fine with an absolute co-witness (1.41") and not overly particular about mounts, this might be a non-issue.
To achieve something like a lower 1/3 co-witness, you'd need to use a riser, and I don't know that anyone on the market makes one that short. I'd guess using any riser would push it up to ~1.8" or higher overall dot height.
If mount height is a concern and you still want a big window, I'd probably look to their AEMS (it's 1.63", lower 1/3) as it has a detachable mount with numerous aftermarket options.
As far as magnifiers, anything that supports an absolute co-witness should work. Apparently Holosun's HM3X does. Also, Primary Arms SLx 3x magnifiers have mounts available for a 1.41" height.
Only one I have at the moment is an EOTech G43. Apparently removing the riser and using their short screws will support an absolute co-witness.
If you need, I can try doing that if you want some pics or feedback on it? Might take me a day or two though. I do have an EXPS3 I could give some side to side feedback on, though my pic quality is always terrible.
Thanks @Sig_Fiend, that helps!
I suspect the AEMS is why these are on sale for something like $280. My EOTech experience is limited but I don't remember being unhappy with the window size so an even bigger window should be really nice.
I'm honestly unsure if I like absolute or 1/3 cowitness. I've never done enough rifle optic shooting to know. Same for a magnifier. I think I tried one for basically one range trip which isn't even close to being able to form an opinion but I've convinced myself that I need magnification for anything past 25 yards.
Nothing so needs reforming as other people's habits - Mark Twain
Tact is the knack of making a point without making an enemy / Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge?
Originally Posted by awp_101
I use 512s on my PCCs.Thanks @Sig_Fiend, that helps!
I suspect the AEMS is why these are on sale for something like $280. My EOTech experience is limited but I don't remember being unhappy with the window size so an even bigger window should be really nice.
I'm honestly unsure if I like absolute or 1/3 cowitness. I've never done enough rifle optic shooting to know. Same for a magnifier. I think I tried one for basically one range trip which isn't even close to being able to form an opinion but I've convinced myself that I need magnification for anything past 25 yards.
I have a gold dot 512 on my dry gun because cheap.
I would not recommend one for outdoors. There are a lot of things in nature that color and the contrast on a number of surfaces like sand berms and dried grasses is not great.
I like absolute cowitness because I want less height over bore correction at 5-15 yards, not because I use irons.
Thanks, I hadn't thought about that. It made me look around the general neighborhood and there's lots of lighter colors I hadn't noticed in this context. That makes the choice to produce a gold reticle even more puzzling to me.
Nothing so needs reforming as other people's habits - Mark Twain
Tact is the knack of making a point without making an enemy / Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge?
Well to be fair, green reticles can have the same criticism depending on the backdrop.
But I guess it’s also no difference than blacked out irons in low light conditions on black targets…
Just putting it out there for your consideration.
Holosun had some good ideas on this dot. If they had made the mount adaptable to lower 1/3rd, it would be a cool optic and the QD battery tray is a decent idea.
Now for a controversial opinion I hold that I'm sure many don't share:
For an AR type rifle, there are no problems with a T1 form factor red dot that need to be solved. If you use the optic correctly with target focus and both eyes open, none of the things that are being tried are doing anything worthwhile and are just increasing weight.
Larger objective than ocular like the MRO? Not needed. As long as you find the right spot on the rail you won't get a tube effect using the optic correctly.
Larger square window? Not needed on a rifle. If you mount a T1 type optic in the right spot, you'll never find an awkward enough position to not find the dot.
We have this problem solved and a Romeo 5 can be had for $120.
Depends on what you’re doing with the rifle.
This is rifle El Pres (3x2, reload, 3x2)
On walking transitions, I like a big window.
YMMV
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