We review our share of pistol red dot sights around here. The thing is, the state of the art has advanced to such a degree that they’re all pretty good. There are differences in size, reticle options, whether or not they’re enclosed, yadda, yadda, yadda, but on the whole, the increasing number of pistol owners who choose to equip their handguns with an optic have a lot of great choices.
So while it’s increasingly difficult to go wrong, there are a select few that truly stand out from the rest. Holosun’s new SCS-CARRY enclosed reflex sight is clearly one of the best optics available.
Unlike other solar-equipped Holosun sights (like their EPS-Carry) where solar provides backup power to a traditional battery, solar is the sole source of power in the SCS-Carry. Both are made of T6 aluminum and incredibly light, weighing right about 1 ounce.
The SCS-Carry footprint is what Holosun calls their K Mount. That’s what the rest of the world has come to know as RMSc, one of the the most popular subcompact mounting footprints.
The SCS-Carry has three reticle options…a 2 MOA dot, a 32 MOA “donut of death” or both at the same time. They’re easily selectable using the single multi-function button on the left side. The SCS-Carry’s brightness isn’t manually adjustable. It auto-adjusts based on ambient lighting conditions. While I tend not to like that feature in most reflex sights, the SCS-Carry does an amazingly good job of it in most situations.
The SCS-Carry does, however, give you the ability to temporarily increase or decrease the reticle’s brightness for 30 minutes with a push of the button if you want a little more or less brightness.
The SCS-Carry doesn’t have a “shake awake” feature either and, given its charging system, it doesn’t really need one. It charges faster than it uses power in virtually any light. And given it’s 20,000 hours (2+ years) of battery life on a full charge, it’s literally always ready to go.
The sight comes only in green, which makes it relatively unusual in that regard. Most makers offer green as an option in addition to red. Green, however, is by far the better choice.
The human eye is six times more sensitive to green light than it is to red and the SCS-Carry’s reticle really pops. I let about a half dozen people either look through or shoot with it in the months I’ve had it and literally every one of them has remarked how clear and visible the reticle is compared to others they’ve tried.
The fact that the SCS-Carry an enclosed emitter is a very good thing. Unlike other enclosed emitters reflex sites I’ve tried, this one doesn’t look like a mail box sitting on top your your handgun. It’s small and sleek, while still giving you a wonderfully clear and useful aiming point.
Given all of its features — enclosed reticle, small discreet size, green multi reticles, solar charging — the SCS-Carry is, without question, one of my favorite reflex sights and one of the best pistol optics on the market.
Specifications: Holosun SCS-CARRY-GR enclosed reflex sight
Window Size: .58 x .77 in.
Dimensions: 1.6 x .98 x .95 in.
Weight: 1.05 oz.
Battery: Solar charged, 20,000 hours rated
Housing: 7075 T6 anodized aluminum
Adjustment Per Click: 1.5 MOA
Travel Range: ±30 MOA windage and elevation
Waterproof Raging: IPX8
MSRP: $470 (about $400 retail)
I like Holosun and am considering adding a 507 to a new cut slide, but I’m not seeing the benefit of an ugly solar top for a CCW gat.