I’m a big fan of range finding binoculars, so I was excited to get my hands on some Zeiss 10×45 victory range finding binoculars. These binoculars wear all the typical features of Zeiss excellent binoculars, with the added bonus of having a range finder built in. Only a few ounces heavier than comparable Zeiss 10×42 victory fl binoculars, these binoculars are performers. Boasting a range of 1300 yards, these range finding binoculars can get measurements on targets far out. Because they binoculars have a tight beam divergence, 1.6 x 0.5 millirads to be exact, they can also range smaller targets and targets behind brush more accurately. They also feature Zeiss Lotutec coating which makes them easier to clean and repels moisture. In low light these binoculars performed very well, and we ranged small, about 3×6 inches, out at 500 yards. For range finding binoculars, they are also very compact and the rubber armor was very comfortable to hold even when my hands were wet. The buttons are easy to press and the setting is simply, something I like in a range finder. I like this range finding binocular as much as the Leica geovid hd 10×42 I reviewed, in fact either would make a great hunting companion to anyone looking for a range finding binocular. The Zeiss victory Rf 10×42 range finding binoculars get a big thumbs up. If you’re looking for a great pair of range finding binoculars, check them out. That’s the word from sportoptics.com
Zeiss victory range finding binoculars
February 5th, 2010Small reddot optics
February 5th, 2010With the number of people shooting today and the many different styles there is an optic for every one, for every situation. Because of this fact, there are a lot of new options for optics on the market today to fit every situation. The other day I was shooting my Ruger mark 3 and it got me thinking about a red dot optic for my pistol, which is my topic for today. For a pistol, you want a smaller less obtrusive optic. I’m thinking of optics for quick shooting, so magnification isn’t required, that won’t weigh me down and allow me to get off more accurate shots. Small red dot optics are also popular to mount on or around a larger variable power optic, good for close quarters situations that would be less that desirable with a high power optic. 3 gun and tactical shooters use this type of set up, along with our troops over seas. Another good use is if you’re shooting a pistol discipline that allows an optic, you can have faster follow up shots, stay more accurate, and shoot from more angles and awkward shooting positions. Many manufactures make sites, but these are the ones I like. My ruger is stainless, so I really like the Aimpoint micro R-1 is a neat little optic, you can adjust the brightness of the dot and it has great battery life. Aimpoint makes products for the armed forces so you know your buying quality and a site that can last a long time. This site would work well on a rifle for 3 gun matches and dedicated hunting or shooting handgun. Check out all the Aimpoint micro scopes for a great compact optic. Another compact optic would be the Burris fastfire sights. These are the smallest sites I’m going to talk about today, so they could fit any situation that would require a very small red dot reflex site. A friend of mine has a Burris fastfire II on a glock 34 and it’s a blast, (no pun intended) to shoot. The last optic is a little large, but with a little imagination I think you could make it work the Eotech xps sight. This would probably be the quickest sight as far as target acquisition and the sight also feature a quick detach knob so you can transition the sight from one firearm to another. Any of these sights would work well in a situation where a smaller sight would be needed. That’s the word from sportoptics.com.
Leupold CDS system
January 28th, 2010Hunters and shooters are dialing in and shooting at longer ranges these days. Many manufactures are addressing this with new Ballistic systems. Zeiss has the rapid z system, shown here in this zeiss conquest 3-9×50,backed up by a ballistic calculator, Nightforce has the zero stop feature and it’s own Nightforce ballistic calculator, Swarovski has the Swarovski ballistic turret system and then we come to the topic of today’s blog, the Leupold CDS dial system. The CDS or custom dial system comes on specific models in the Leupold vx-3 and Leupold vx3-l line and is a neat new way to stay on target and shoot farther. When you receive your scope, all you do is contact Leupold with your shipping information and ballistic data and they send you a CDS free. The dial will perfectly match the load and caliber you’re using allowing you to dial in faster, adjust precisely, and you can even get one revolution stops. You can also order multiple dials to suit your different loads. Paired with Leupolds extended twilight lens system, you can really reach out and touch a target even in low light conditions. If you’re looking for a scope with specific dials to match your load and rifle, take a look at Leupolds CDS system. I know reloaders are going to love this system because it can match your hand loads. That’s the word from sportoptics.com.
Burris Eliminator Laser Scope
January 27th, 2010
If you’ve read my previous blogs, you’ll know I’m a fan of having multiple functions in one device. Having less to carry and simplifying tasks are something that I consider important. Keeping this in mind, you can see why I’m very excited about the new Burris 4-12×42 Eliminator Laser scope. This interesting scope was introduced at the SHOT show this year and I can’t wait to get my hands on one. This scope ranges, helps you adjust hold over, and calculates your trajectory. Burris is a great company, so I’m willing to bet this scope will live up to my expectations and then some. You get a nice optic, with a range finder built in, that is illuminated. You will truly become the grim reaper that is depicted on the scope for deer even at long range. The only other scope I can think of with this much technology built in is the Zeiss Hensoldt 6-24×72 SAM. This scope comes complete with a remote that can attach to your rifle for easy activation of the scope. It runs on a cr2 battery and can operate from 14 degrees to 122 degrees f. The scope also uses a new proprietary mounting system that keeps the scope low. This scope gives you 50MOA adjustment, with .25 click values. Weight with battery is 26 oz. This scope also will be great in low light, sporting a 60mm objective and illumination. The only thing this scope won’t do is clean the deer for you. If you’re looking for a neat new scope, give the Burris 4-12×42 Eliminator laser scope a try. That’s the word from sportoptics.com
Nightforce 2.5-10×32ZS
January 14th, 2010The AR platform is becoming very popular. Despite attempts by the powers that be, the AR rifle platform is found in ever area of hunting, competition shooting, and home defense. The in a few years guys are going to be calling AR platform rifles there old faithful deer rifle. Off my soapbox and to the point, people need optics for these rifles. Now I must admit, an Eotech 516.A565 looks great on an ar15 platform, and the performance of the Aimpoint compM4 is impressive with its rugged design and long battery life. These are great optics, but what if you want a scope with more than 3x magnification? You want something rugged, but built more like a scope than an electric optic. If you in the market for this you need to take a look at the Nightforce NXS 2.5-10×32 with zero stop and Npr2 Reticle. This compact scope is a great close to medium range scope that comes standard with illumination and a 30mm tube. This scope preformed well in low light conditions, everything was clear and the illumination adjustable so you don’t ruin your night vision. This scope is also just as robust as its larger brothers. If you find you’re self in a situation where you’ve run out of ammo, or your rifle becomes inoperable, you can use the scope to beat your targets and still use in on the next rifle. This scope is also compact enough to work well on an ar platform. If you’re a fan of good optics and looking for something to top your ar platform, give the Nightforce 2.5-10×32 scopes a try, but let me warn you, you won’t want anything after that. That’s the word from riflescope.tv.com.
Eotech XPS2
January 7th, 2010Rifle scope review blog post 9
I’ve been playing with a scope from Eotech for about a week now and I have to say the possibilities are endless for this new little site. It’s the Eotech XPS2-0, and it’s a neat little optic. The XPS2 is smaller than other Eotech scopes, making it a better fit if you have less space, like on a handgun, short barrel rifle, or an aug style rifle. I talked to a gentleman on Tuesday about the very problem of mounting an Eotech site on a microtech 556. He went with this site because it fit the rail and can use either the large bolt for hand tightening or a smaller allen headed screw if the larger screw would be obtrusive. This was true for the gentleman with the microtech 556, he was left handed and the larger scope and the large bolt hindered efficient operation. This is a neat little scope that has all the features of the larger Eotech sites without the weight and size. The only draw back to this little site is that it runs on one CR123 battery, which cuts its battery life to 600 hours, which is still a lot but not compared to the battery life of the larger sites. The site comes in three configurations; the Eotech xps2-0 with a 65 moa ring and 1moa dot, Eotech xps2-1 with a single moa dot, and the Eotech xps2-2 with a 65 moa ring and two 1moa dots. This would be a good site for any firearm that you need fast target acquisition and a small rugged site. That’s the word from sportoptics.com
Swarovski’s BT system
January 7th, 2010Rifle scope review blog 8
Swarovski Ballistic turret system
Every manufacture has one or multiple answers for easy various distance shooting. Every manufacture offers mildot reticles, but that isn’t easy for some folks. For Nikon, it’s the BDC reticle. Leupold has the Boone and Crockett reticle. Zeiss has the Rapid Z system. Swarovski has the BR reticle, but they also have something new that is very interesting. This innovation is called the Ballistic turret system, and it allows for easier distance shooting. This system allows the shooter to set up to five zeros, without using a very busy reticle. Picture this, you zero your rifle at 100 yards, you go to the ballistic calculator at http://www.bt.swarovskioptik.com/ and put in your bullet information; the manufacture, the bullet type, the model of scope, the altitude your hunting at, the site your scope sits above your bore, and your zero range. The calculator then tells you how to set the knobs on your elevation turret and you’re ready to make distances shots at the turn of a knob. You can use more classic reticles and not worry about anything but the shot itself. It’s an easy system for anyone to use. You can easily switch ammunition, your hunting area, and zero once and have you scope set for various ranges. This is useful if you hunt in different areas or if you run out of the ammunition you use. This system makes everything easy for the shooter; from zeroing to actually shooting the target, it’s as easy as turning a knob. The Ballistic turret system is available on the Swarovski Z5, Swarovski Z6, and Swarovski Z6I rifle scopes. Be careful if you try this system, nothing else really compares and you will probably have to get one. That’s the word from sportoptics.com
How to choose a rifle scope
January 4th, 2010How to choose a rifle scope
With so many scopes out there, how do I choose the right one? As a hard working guy who loves to hunt, I want the most bang for my buck that I can get in a rifle scope. I’ve decided to write this guide for selecting a scope. I’m going to go through the basics that apply to scopes in general, such as how scopes work, and application.
What a rifle scope does is magnifies the target and places your eye on the same optic plane as the target. Scopes magnify the target by bending light rays through a series of lenses in the scope. Lower powered scopes are typically shorter and have smaller lenses than high powered scopes. All scopes have a reticle. There are many different Reticles but they are usually a post, dot, x, a t shape or some other marking with a point either etched in the lenses or inset with wire in the center of the scope. A scope eliminates the problems you have with open sites; you just focus on your target, put the center reference point on the target and squeeze the trigger. Rifle scopes also let you see your target more clearly through magnification, allowing for better shot placement.
Here is the structure of a rifle scope
- 1) The eye Piece - This assembly holds the Ocular lens and is attached to the bell
- 2) Ocular lens - the lens that is close to your eye
- 3) Eye relief - distance you eye has to be from the ocular lens when you can see completely through the rifle scope. You need to be far enough back from the ocular lens that when your rifle recoils, you do not get “scope eye”.
- 4) Eye bell - the housing the eye peace and tube gets attached to
- 5) Power adjustment ring - allows you to adjust the magnification on your scope by turning this ring. When you turn the ring, the distance between lens inside the scope change, and the light in refracted changing magnification.
- 6) Windage Adjustment - shifts the point of the scope on the horizontal plane (the left and right) these are measures in MOA, which is 1.047 inches at 100 yards
- 7) Elevation adjustment - shifts the point of aim on ther vertical plane (up and down) same MOA as windage, just up and down
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Tube - a rifle scope is a tube in a tube. The inner tube holds the lenses to refract light while the outer tube protects the inner tube and is a base for the eye peace and objective. Tube diameter is important; most we scopes have a 1 inch tube, while European scopes have 30mm tubes. - 9) Objective Bell - housing and lens on the front end of the scope
- 10) Objective lens - This lens on the front of the scope collects the light that goes through your scope. A rule of thumb is the higher that magnification the larger the objective. Also, a larger objective lets in more light for better shooting in low light.
Field of view - what you see in the scope when you look through it
Almost all rifle scopes provide some level of magnification. Some are fixed and it is generally denoted in this format “4x”, meaning the scope enlarges your target by 4 times what you see with the naked eye. A variable power will have a name like “2-7×32mm”. This means the scope can magnify 2-7 times and every power in between and has a 32mm objective. Having a variable power scope is the way to go, but they are more expensive than fixed power scopes, and cheaper variable power scopes have to be sighted in more often. A variable power scope is also going to be larger and heavier because of all the internal components.
What scope is right for me? That’s what I’m here to try and help you answer. It depends on what firearm you’re using and what you’re doing with it. You want to balance low range magnification and higher range magnification. Some guide lines are for small game like squirrels a 4x scope, for varmints you want more magnification like 4-14x like this Zeiss conquest 4.5-14×44 or high magnification depending on range. For big game, dangerous game, and hunting in thick cover 1.5-4x or 2-7x are some good ranges to look at, a good example is this Swarovski Z6 1-6×24 . For general purpose it’s hard to beat a 3-9 power scope like this Nikon buckmaster. For big game in open country try 2.5-10x 3-9x, or 4-12x. For long shots, bench rest shooting look for larger magnification like 5-22x or higher magnification, this Nightforce scope is a good example. For competition target shooting you really have to know the type of shooting your doing. Fixed vs moving targets, pistol or rifle, large or small caliber it really depends. The best thing to do in this situation is go to the matches and ask the guys what they use. Tactical close applications you want low magnification and fast target acquisition.
Reticles are the part of the scope you use to aim. There are many different reticles to match a variety of situations. The standard reticle is the crosshair; a popular reticle is the duplex, which every manufacture has a duplex style reticle, and here is an example from Leupold. Reticles can be illuminated; you can get a mildot reticle, or a ballistic compensating reticle for longer range or precise shots, the german number 4 reticle is great for low light situations. Reticle choices is more taste than anything else, but for low light thick reticle post are easier to pick up, and for longer range shooting look for a finer reticle. Look at them all and match what you like to your application.
Parallax error applies to variable power scopes. Parallax is determined by the distance to the objective, the exit pupil size and relation of the eye to the tube of the scope. The reticle is on one of the lens inside your scope. Most scopes are set to have the reticle aligned with the target at 100 yards. When you adjust the magnification, a small error called parallax is introduced. Higher powered scopes are more affected by parallax and for most hunting parallax aren’t worth worrying about because the error is so small, for target and long range shooters the solution is parallax adjustment.
Objective size is also important. Your objective must be large enough to accommodate a good field of view and give you good low light performance if that’s what you need, allow you to mount your scope to your rifle reasonably; most people like to mount the scope as low as possible. For hunting whitetail deer and other animals in low light, a large objective is ideal. For hunting in bright conditions, it isn’t as paramount to have a large objective, unless you have a scope with a large magnification range.
Resolution is the measure of how much light comes into the objective lens and exits the ocular lens. The better the scope the more light gets let through, resulting in sharper images and better picture in low light.
Most modern optics have Lens coatings to protect them or to improve performance. Make sure you buy a scope with coated lens. You also want to be sure to protect your lens when storing your scope. That will make them last longer.
You get what you pay for with a scope. There is a reason for the price difference and it isn’t just in the name, and what you pay determines the scopes performance. You can’t expect a 200$ scope to perform like a 600$ scope, but there is a diminishing return, you may not get 4 times better performance out of a 1200$ scope vs a 300$ scope, but a little difference can go a long way depending on what you are doing. Five more minutes of scope time can mean getting that buck of a lifetime or nothing.
So to put all this in a short and sweet package, let’s walk through the steps.
Step 1: Choose a price range
Choose Step 2: Find a Reticle you like that works for what you’re doing, be it illuminated or not.
Step 3: Decide if you want parallax adjustment
Step 4: Choose an Objective size, making sure you have good field of view and enough objective to collect light.
Step 5: a magnification range for your type of application, be it hunting or target shooting.
Step 6: Hunt
I hope this information helps you find a great scope. Knowing what you’re looking for and range of your targets will help you choose a scope and what magnification you need. As for quality, decide on the quality you need then buy better, you will never regret it. Thats the word from sportoptics.com
Zeiss Diavari Victory T* LT 3-12×56 with Lotutec
December 16th, 2009Riflescopes.tv blog post 5 zeiss victory Diavari
I’ve been checking out a Zeiss Diavari Victory T* LT 3-12×56 with Lotutec and I love what I’ve seen so far. The scope I’ve been using has a rapid z 800 Reticle, but there are many other Reticle options such as the German number 4, Mildot, and the number 8 Reticle both illuminated and non illuminated just to name a few options. I compared the scope I had to a couple of the Zeiss conquest scopes and even though the conquest had great light transmission and clear glass, they didn’t stack up to the Zeiss Victory Diavari. This is largely due to the 30mm tube and T* coating on the Victory Diavari lens, it’s an anti reflective coating that Zeiss coats the prisms and lens of the optic with to improve light transmission and clarity. Another great coating that comes standard on this optics is the Lotutec, which helps repel water, dirt and other debris that could damage your lens, helping to increase longevity and durability. Zeiss Victory binoculars and Zeiss Diascope Spotting scopes also have these handy coatings. I tested the scope in a variety of conditions, from almost pitch black darkness and bright conditions and it performed very well in both circumstances. The 30mm tube really helps out in low light conditions, and the exit pupil ranges from 14.7mm to 4.7mm. The 56mm objective lens gives a wide field of view even with the magnification turned up. I really like this scope and know it would be a great edition to any rifle and a great tool on any hunt. Check out the Zeiss Victory Diavari scopes if you’re in the market for a new scope. That’s the word from sportoptics.com.
leupold vx-3 rifle scopes, which one?
December 14th, 2009Which Leupold vx-3 for your whitetail rifle?
I just sat down today and started to think about Leupold vx-3 rifle scopes. Which scope would be good for one of my friend’s rifle? I’m sitting here thinking to myself so I decided to talk about it here. With so many great features, my friend was on target when he asked me to help him choose a Leupold scope. One feature all Leupold scopes sport is the xtended Twilight lens system. This system uses different lenses and lens coatings to allow you to see better in lower light conditions by making light spectrums normally hard for human eyes to see more visible. Paired with a scope like this 30mm Leupold vx-3 3.5-10×50 this scope is excellent for lower light conditions. Another neat system for hunters to take advantage of is the CDS or custom dial system, like this Leupold vx-3.5-10×40 cds, which allows the hunter to have an elevation adjustment specific to the caliber of firearm they are using. This is a great feature especially for hunters who need to make longer shots over fields or long food plots. The last cool feature is the Leupold vx-3 line is the Leupold vx-3L system which allows for a larger objected lens to be mounted lower on the firearm by incorporating an indention in the bottom of the bell on the objective lens, found here on this Leupold vx-3l 4.5-14×56. This solved the problem of having your scope mounted low with a large objective lens. If you’re looking for a nice leupold scope to mount on your whitetail rifle, check out the leupold vx-3 or the leupold vx-3L rifle scopes. My friend choose the last scope i have listed the vx-3l 4.5-14×56. You won’t be disappointed to say the very least. That’s the word from sportoptics.com.