EOTech 512.A65/1 Tactical HOLOgraphic Weapon Sight

by EOTech

Product Features

• Holographic sight designed for close-in combat speed and versatility
• Uses laser light to illuminate holographic red reticle projected on target plane
• Improves target acquisition, boosts accuracy, and increases control
• Rugged aluminum hood assembly; knobbed, tool-free mounting bolt
• Requires 2 AA batteries; supports 1-inch Picatinny or Weaver rails

Product Description

Amazon.com

EOTech's most popular holographic weapons sight, the Model 512 is perfect for people who want the best in close-quarters-combat speed and versatility but don't need night vision. The Model 512 sports a revolutionary sighting system based on advanced holographic technology. The design works by using laser light to illuminate a holographic pattern embedded in the heads-up display window. When the shooter looks through the window, he or she will see a virtual red image of a reticle pattern projected onto the target plane. Overall, the holographic sight improves target acquisition, boosts accuracy, and increases control over the shooting environment.

The Model 512 is built to last, with a rugged aluminum hood assembly and knobbed, tool-free mounting bolt. Other features include a 65 MOA circle reticle with a 1 MOA aiming dot; support for two 1.5-volt AA batteries (lithium or alkaline); unlimited eye relief; and 20 brightness settings. The Model 512 is compatible with 1-inch Picatinny or Weaver rails.

Specifications

• Optics: Transmission holography, parallax-free
• Magnification: 1x
• Eye relief: Unlimited
• Waterproof: Submersible to 10 feet
• Sealing: Fogproof internal optics
• Adjustment (per click): 0.5 MOA (1/2 inch @ 100 yards)
• Adjustment range: +/- 40 MOA travel
• Mount: 1-inch Picatinny or Weaver rail
• Return to zero: Repeatable to 1 MOA after remounting
• Display window optical surfaces: Anti-glare coating
• Window dimensions: 1.2 by 0.85 inches
• Front window material: 1/8-inch solid glass
• Rear window material: Shatter-resistant laminate (3/16 inches thick)
• Field of view: 30 yards @ 100 yards at 4 inches eye relief
• Brightness adjustment range: 110,000:1 (brightest to lowest)
• Night vision compatibility: No
• Power source: Two 1.5-volt AA batteries (supports lithium, alkaline, or rechargeables)
• Battery life: 1,000 continuous hours (lithium) at nominal setting; 600 continuous hours (alkaline)
• Brightness settings: 20 with scrolling feature
• Auto battery check indicator: Flashing reticle upon startup
• Auto shutdown: At 8 hours; programmable to 4 hours
• Dimensions: 5.4 by 2.25 by 2 inches (W x H x D)
• Weight: 10.9 ounces

Product Description

New EOTech 512.A65 Holographic Weapon Sight Riflescope

The Model 512 is the most popular model HWS.

This tactical optic is perfect for agencies that want the best in CQB speed and versatility, without the need for night vision compatibility.
AA Battery model (supports Lithium and Alkaline)
Reticle: 65 MOA circle with 1 MOA aiming dot Includes rugged aluminum hood assembly and knobbed, tool-less mounting bolt Interfaces to 1" Picatinny (MIL-STD-1913) or Weaver Rail.

Product Details

• Item Weight: 1 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B000KKFVRC
• Item model number: 512.A65/1
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (34 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #953 in Sports & Outdoors (See Top 100 in Sports & Outdoors)
  • #10 in Sports & Outdoors > Hunting & Fishing > Hunting > Hunting Optics > Gun Scopes

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great sight for the money, July 7, 2010

By 

C. Racciato (Fallbrook, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: EOTech 512.A65/1 Tactical HOLOgraphic Weapon Sight (Sports)

I have used an EOTech 512 for several months now. I am not in the military or law enforcement. I am not an "operator" or whatever the current catchphrase is among the mall-ninja crowd. I am just a casual shooter. That being said, I do expect good performance out of the equipment that I buy. This model did not disappoint. I have found that it is simple to use, and accurate. It holds it's zero through long shooting sessions and banging around out in the boonies. I have yet to replace the batteries in mine, but I also don't leave it on when I am not using it. It has held up to the recoil of 7.62x39 and 6.8 SPC with no problems. I know, they aren't noted for their heavy recoil, but that is all I have used it on. The sight gives me faster target acquisition than an Aimpoint M3. But as others have noted, the battery life is nowhere near that of the Aimpoints. 600-1100 hours versus 5 years. In all truthfullness, that isn't as big of an issue for me. AA batteries are cheap and easy to find. Rechargable ones can be had with the charger for less than a pair of the batteries that the standard Aimpoints use. The only real problems I have had with the 512 are the length and the location of the controls. Because it uses regular AA batteries, it is longer than other EOTech sights. This makes it a bit more difficult to mount on something with limited rail space, especially if you want to mount a night vision device or magnifier on the rail with it. I was unable to mount this and a magnifier on a standard AR 15 flat top receiver. The control buttons are located on the rear of the scope. That is just fine if you are not planning on mounting anything behind it. But if you wanted to use a magnifier or anything else, it becomes difficult to reach the controls.

Despite the shortcomings I and the others have noted, I still really like these sights. I like the 512 enough that I purchased the next model up in the series, the 552. If you are looking for a very reliable, easy to use "red dot" style sight, I would highly recommend these. The large ring and small 1 MOA dot make it much easier aim at smaller targets than the standard 4 MOA dots found on other sights. I give it a 4 out of 5 stars.

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Innovative reticle, uses common batteries, inconsistent quality, June 1, 2010

By 

Charlie (MI, USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: EOTech 512.A65/1 Tactical HOLOgraphic Weapon Sight (Sports)

The 512 model (Rev F) is supposed to contain new parts that solve the short battery life issue, however my experience shows that the 512 still has problems with battery longevity. Using alkalines for storage, they will be completely dead within a year even if you don't use the sight. Meanwhile, my wall clocks and remote controls run the same alkalines for 3-5 years without needing a replacement. There is a significant amount of standby current draw with the 512, translation: it saps a LOT of juice even when it is shut off.

The 512 uses a pair of AA batteries, so you can run Lithium, NiMH rechargeable, or alkaline although you will get better life out of the Lithium or NiMH. There are lots of reports about EOTechs with corroding battery terminals, terminal springs that fail, and in my experience I found lots of debris behind the lens. EOTech's customer service is excellent and they replaced the sight without any problems. Some people have a fetish with batteries and will replace them every 3-6 months like a smoke detector.

The EOTech mount utilizes one thumbscrew and a bar that clamps onto your Picatinny or Weaver rail. This thumbscrew has a tendency to come loose, so make sure you crank it down with a coin or screw driver.

The reticle is a 65 MOA circle with a 1 MOA center dot. When magnified, the center dot remains a true dot although the entire reticle is pixilated. It's only fuzzy if your vision isn't corrected to 20/20 when looking through it.

The innovative holographic design makes it easy to use for both-eyes-open shooting, although there is a huge debate between EOTech and Aimpoint users

The reticle is fast to use but can get busy on certain targets. A simple dot would suffice, although some would argue the 65 MOA circle speeds up acquisition.

Bottom line is that EOTech needs to figure out how to extend the battery life to compete better with Aimpoint. The reticle is unique and works well, but the rest of the sight needs some improvement.

Pros: Fast and easy to use reticle, accepts AA batteries, simplified mounting system, has a protective hood for the optics

Cons: Short battery life, under 1000 hours, not as durable or rugged as an Aimpoint Comp M2/3/4 based on waterproof depth rating and the amount of abuse it can take.

Overall: 4/5 stars, I like the reticle and the sight, but I also like the Aimpoint's battery life (10,000 hr for M2, 50,000 hr for M3)

63 of 71 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The best and worst, July 8, 2009

By 

J. W. Mullins (West, by God, Virginia) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: EOTech 512.A65/1 Tactical HOLOgraphic Weapon Sight (Sports)

The HWS is a sweet design, the fact you can use it with a cracked or broken screen is very nice. And while I have yet to see one with a bullet hole through the glass I have used one with mud on it and it worked fine. The open design makes pick up feel very quick. I can make hits with the EOTech faster than with an Aimpoint at close range when using a timer.

All of that said there are some substantial downsides to EOTech's design. The first being battery life, the AA models say they run up 1100 hours with lithium batteries, which is closer to around 800 in my experience. The others have even more reduced run times. All models also have an auto shut off of either 4 or 8 hours. This is easy to circumvent by occasionally hitting the up or down arrow, but something that is a none issue with a modern Aimpoint. Because of the nature of the battery box recoil on certain weapons will sometimes cause the batteries to loose contact and the sight will shut down. My major problem with the EOTech is that they do break, and when they do getting through to L3s customer service is all but impossible. I've seen more broken EOTechs on one deployment that the total number of broken Aimpoints I've ever seen total.

All in all I do like the sight and have several, but for real world operations the modern Aimpoint sights like the M3, M4 or T1 are hard to beat.