Holosun SCS Red Dot Pistol Optic

Holosun has really stepped up and addressed the red-dot critics’ concerns with some completely new technology. The Holosun Solar Charging Sight, or SCS, is specifically designed to fit Glocks and be the ultimate CCW red-dot solution.

Impressions

This red dot is probably the most intuitive and beginner-friendly sight that I’ve come across. First off, it’s small and lightweight, so you almost hardly notice it is there. It’s not intimidating to a new user at all.

But second, and most importantly, it sits very low in the slide. It’s so low, in fact, that the dot totally co-witnesses with standard-height Glock sights.

The optic's profile is small but tackles the biggest complaint about dots by lining up nice and low with the iron sights. (Photo: Don Summers/Guns.com)

The most difficult thing for new red-dot shooters is the ability to find the dot. This is usually because red-dot sights sit higher on the slide, and traditional iron-sight users aren’t used to the new sight picture. The SCS eliminates this problem. If you can index your normal iron sights, you should have no problem with this new Holosun.

Third, the dot basically needs no maintenance. Having an automatic brightness-adjusting dot, shake-awake feature, and no user-serviceable battery, all you need to do is install the sight and zero it. Other than that, you never really have to touch the SCS.

Shooting it is almost an un-remarkable experience. It’s so unobtrusive that you hardly notice it. It’s rugged, reliable, and accurate. Just put the dot where you want the bullet to go and pull the trigger. I found it performed comparably to all the other high-end red dots.

Optic Cut

Holosun SCS Red Dot — The optic is basically custom cut for a Glock. (Photo: Don Summers/Guns.com)

The SCS is specifically designed to work with the Glock-standard full-size MOS optic cut without the use of a plate. The standard MOS cuts include models such as the Glock 19 and Glock 17. It will not work with the Glock 43 or Glock 48.

The dot screws directly into the MOS holes in the slide. Even the serration cuts on the side of the SCS match perfectly with Glock Gen 5 slide serrations. It looks like it’s OEM. This low-mount design combined with the sealed, internal battery allows the Holosun SCS to be one of the lowest-sitting red dots on the market. Any standard-height iron sight will co-witness with this dot. Not needing suppressor-height sights really opens up the iron-sight options. Basically, any iron sights will work.

Another benefit of low-mounted optics is that the point of impact is very close to the bore axis. This minimizes close-range red-dot holdovers that are common with dot-mounted optics. It’s essentially the same holdover you would need for an iron sight.

Auto Adjusting Brightness

Holosun Optic — I actually prefer green, but it is also the only reticle option with this sight. (Photo: Don Summers/Guns.com)

The next major advancement in the SCS sights is the self-adjusting brightness control. Now, this feature is not new. Many dots have this, but they have never worked well. This is because the light sensor has always sampled the light around the shooter. This works fine in either totally dark or bright conditions because the sensor could see the surrounding light condition and adjust the dot accordingly.

The problem with these designs is that they don’t work when shooting in various lighting conditions. For instance, when shooting from a covered shooting bench onto an exposed sun-lit target, the sensor dims the dot because it thinks you are shooting in shade, but then you can’t see the dim dot on the bright background. This is a big problem when shooters are in a dark house and must fire outside into a bright sunny day.

Holosun solved this problem by having two sensors. One detects local light, but the other sensor is directed down range toward the target to determine its lighting conditions. I found it worked very well. I had no problems with the dot illumination in all lighting. Even though there is an override for this function, I never needed to override it.

Battery

The battery configuration of the Holosun SCS is unique. It has an internal battery that is not user serviceable. You never need to change the battery. In complete darkness, the battery will last approximately 20,000 hours, or two years.

But there is also a very efficient solar-charging feature. The charger works with both sunlight and artificial light. Combined with the shake-awake technology, as long as you use the gun on a regular basis, the battery life is basically indefinite.

Of course, as we all know, batteries eventually wear out and stop holding a charge. Because there is a smart capacitor that maximizes the battery life, Holosun estimates the battery should last 10 years with normal use. When it needs to be replaced, Holosun will do it.

To put that in perspective, the most-commonly recommended self-defense iron sight are tritium sights because they glow without batteries. But the half-life of tritium is around 10-12 years, so after that amount of time, they will need to be replaced as well.

Rest of the Design

Rounding out the SCS design are an open-emitter dot surrounded by a titanium body. All my testing combined with the early reports confirm that his model is consistent with Holosun’s reputation for bombproof reliability.

Here are some general specs for the size:

Window Size: 0.58x0.77 inches
Dimensions: 1.93x1.03x0.91 inches
Weight: 1.3 ounces

Basically, the window is the same as the Holosun “K” series or the new EPS Carry. This size works fine for me, but if I had one ask, I would want a version with a slightly larger window.

There is a slight blue tint to the glass, which is the notch filter that helps the dot show up better, but it is very subtle. And there was some slight glass distortion towards the top of the window in my test model. None of this impacted the shootabilty.

Finally, the SCS comes in only a green reticle. Holosun explained that the green emitter was the most efficient and had the longest battery life. I love that because my eyes pick up green better than red. There are the usual three Holosun reticle options: 2-MOA dot, 32-MOA circle, and the combination circle/dot.

Conclusion

Holosun has designed the perfect Glock CCW red-dot sight. At the current price point below five bills, I think this is a no-brainer for all Glock fans. I also think this would be a perfect red dot for someone who has been on the fence about red-dot sights because the learning curve will be the shortest of any red dot out there.

Plus, other pistol users don’t have to be too jealous. Holosun will be coming out with other SCS models that will fit on different guns in the future.