We’ve all seen reviews on optics after a few thousand rounds and they look awesome. But what happens to it after 10,000 rounds? Aaron Cowan over at SageDynamics took a longer look at the Holosun 509T optic and put it through its paces to see how it would hold up.
So, first, let’s do a quick background. The Holosun 509T is the Titanium enclosed reticle option with a staggering hour battery life. It has a 2MOA dot and a 32MOA circle in the sight. The optic comes with its proprietary mounting plate straight out of the box as well as a special tool for adjusting to get to zero.
For the testing Aaron had the following steps:
1. Drop testing from shoulder height onto a hard surface
2. Test in extreme heat
3. Test in extreme cold
4. Single handed manipulation
Aaron originally did a 2,000 round review of the Holosun 509T and liked it but wondered if it would last long term in duty use. The main component of the test was the drop test. He said this was important for the review in that it simulated the possible wear and tear or stress on
the firearm during duty use. He went on to say that he’s still using the original optic that he received and didn’t need to get a replacement and that it still functioned properly. Long story short, it passed the test with flying colors.
He went on to talk about the battery of the optic. It takes a 1632 battery and has side access for replacement, so you don’t have to take the whole thing off the pistol to change the battery out. Not only does it have a ridiculous battery life (up to 50,000 hour life), but it has a solar panel or a combination of solar and battery. He used it strictly on battery and has yet to replace the battery.
So how did he go about the testing? Well, the drop test was done after every 500 rounds. Yes, that’s 20 separate drops over the course of the testing. The only real damage was the delamination of the optic, but that’s purely aesthetics and no loss of zero. The single manipulation was to help simulate how many law enforcement folks are trained and show any loss of function for the optic. None occurred and it performed adequately.
During his testing, he only had two major complaints or recommendations. Firstly, the button for adjustment for the optic requires a special tool so you don’t want to lose it. He tried using coins, like you can use on other optics on the market, to no avail. The second complaint he had
was that during the 20 drop tests he did, the back ledge of the optic got beat up and he would like to see Holosun actually enlarge it to help protect the rear lens better.
In closing, he said that this is the best-enclosed reticle for a duty gun. It’s well-made, durable, and accurate. Not only that, but it’s compatible with several holsters currently available and easily concealable.
