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Gear

Pride and Fowler Scopes.

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Pride and Fowler Scopes.

PFI has sent us a couple rifle scopes.   Looking through the PFI RR800-1 – right next to the Zeiss 3.5-10 Conquest… Brighter? The Zeiss is a little bit brighter.  I’ll give it that, but not by much.

This is the Zeiss.  1 inch tube, second focal plain etched reticle.  It’s a good scope and it works very well.  Clear? The PFI unit is just as clear. Crisp sharp contrast… this is great glass.  It uses a 30MM tube which allows for a naturally sharp image because you are not bending the light as much to force it through the smaller tube.  

I tried to take the photos as carefully as possible to make the images look as close to each other as I could.  You will notice that on the same power settings, the PFI does bring the target in closer.  If you zero the Zeiss at one power setting, and then change the power setting, the ballistic marks are going to mean different things.  This is the problem with ballistic reticles in scopes that use a second focal plain reticle.  You have to either use them at the max setting or at a factory specified… usually 10 power if it isn’t at max.   The First Focal Plain reticle, or “FFP” is a big advantage for the PFI over the Zeiss.


Notice the reticle zooms as the scope zooms. 

This allows the reticle to maintain proper relation to the target and allows the ballistic plex to be used regardless of power setting.  HUGE advantage in the field, I can’t stress this enough.  You could be overwatching a field of fire and you need to look at something that is close up, or you need a wider field of view… so you back the power down.  Or you need to zoom in to something to get a closer look, so you crank the power up… Well, the PFI scope is accurate whereever you have it.

Now I also noticed something… as I mentioned before… see the 3.5-10 Zeiss is no advantage over the PFI’s 3-9. Because when I set them both to 4 power, I had to bring the Zeiss almost up to 5 power to get it to magnify at the same level as the PFI. So really they are about the same level regardless of what the dial is indicating. 

The Zeiss had a better eye relief by about a half inch – but this is not a problem considering these are mostly going on .308s and the like… not .300 Win Mags. Recoil isn’t going to cause the scope to kiss you… because there just isn’t enough of it.  PFI is working on a Magnum scope for magnum velocities and trajectories… but it isn’t out yet.  Soon.

Now the biggest difference… The PFI is $595. The Zeiss is $725. That $130 difference… I really don’t see 130 dollars worth of difference to get the Zeiss here. Especially since the Zeiss’s reticle can only be used properly at full magnification.  Being completely objective – The PFI wins. And I’m saying that even though I’m a huge- HUGE Zeiss fan. This is not what I was expecting. 

Now, you guys know I had to buy a whole new rifle because I liked this PFI scope so much.    I picked a Remington 700 XCR Compact Tactical rifle in .308.   Not only did I buy that rifle just for this scope, but I took this combination to LRI, for some advanced training.  You can read about that here.  To sum it up, the PFI system is a true winner, and I’m completely sold on it.

Now that I am a dealer, it is my pleasure to offer these outstanding scopes to you guys.

 

Optics

Scopes Fail

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I’ve seen scope failures from every scope maker.  Zeiss, Swarovski, Leupold, Trijicon, Huskama, Nikon… Everyone.
A Rifle Scope is a precision instrument mounted on something that recoils and gets knocked around.  Every scope, no matter what, will eventually fail.
That’s just a fact.  Death and Taxes. 
So just because someone on the internet bitches and moans about their brand x scope failing, doesn’t mean you should turn up your nose at a brand x scope.  These things happen.  What you don’t know though, is if the scope was abused, improperly mounted, or an inappropriate selection for the rifle. 
Recoil, Temperature, Age, Impact… all of these things will destroy a scope. It’s just a matter of time. No one makes the perfect scope.
The mark of a good scope maker is how they back up their scopes.  Also, the shope you got it from, how helpful are they when you bring it in.  
At where I work, we do everything.  Customer doesn’t have to worry about it. 
Nikon, Bushnell, Swarovski, Trijicon, Burris, Vortex… These guys are the best in dealing with repairs, and repair or replace without question.  So if you are Leary on optics, these guys are the best bets.

Optics

Weaver

4 Comments

All the new scopes and Binos I’ve been seeing from Weaver has really been impressing me.  Their quality for the prices they are offered at Retail… Very impressive.  ATK has done very well to make Weaver a serious optics brand again.

Kudos!

I can say that Weaver has a couple good scopes and a Bino that I would love to own… hell I’d even be willing to spend my own money on them.

Optics

Illuminated Reticle Scopes?

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I was asked about options for Illuminated scopes.
There are a lot of them out there… Burris, Leupold, Vortex. And they are all just fine. The Vortex Crossfire Illuminated with a MilDot, can be had for only 200 bucks. But it’s not my favorite by any means.

The one I really like is the Trijicon Accupoint. No batteries, no switches, and very clear “Zeiss-Like” glass, which is critical. You need a illuminated reticle when it’s dark out… and when it’s dark out, you need to transmit as much light as possible. The Accupoint does that. And that’s why it’s my recommendation.

 

Optics

Counter Sniper Scopes

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I am going to be making a video of a rifle that is wearing a Counter Sniper scope.  Long story on this gun… that I’ll get into later… but I just want to talk about this scope.  I’ve had some questions about it in the past and another one recently.  So this is forcing me to get into this now.

This is flat out the worst scope I’ve ever seen.   The glass is murky.  The eye relief is extremely poor.  The eye box – how much you can move your eye around and still have a decent view – is tiny.  The Focus and the Parallax Focus are… well… you just can’t get the bloody thing to focus properly.  Put this all together and you have an optic that is just about completely useless.  I am not kidding, not exaggerating here, when I say that we have scopes for 39.99 that are much much better.  I am dead serious.  The owner would be better off with a cardboard tube from a Paper Towel Roll.

The Reticle is… oh man… how do you even explain it?  It’s like someone who has never fired a rifle before and just watched Anime about shooting designed “the most awesome shooting system ever!”   The reality is that it’s even more useless than the glass it’s in.  And some guys think a Horus reticle is busy.  Good hell… this is something else.  Oh, and it can turn blue.  That’s fantastic.  I thought BSA had the market on blue reticles.

I’m still trying to figure out what Bertrillium-Zantitium is… I’ve looked it up and the only places that mention it are Counter-Sniper’s own web site, and forums linking to that site asking WTF Bertrillium-Zantitium is.  I have no answers for you, I only suspect that it’s complete bullshit.  Much like everything else about these scopes.  Total bullshit.

Do not buy a Counter Sniper brand scope.  There are much better ways to blow your money.  If you don’t know what to buy for your Tactical Dollars – Buy a Pride and Fowler.  If you cant afford that, buy a Nikon.  If you can’t afford that, sell the rifle and get an 870 and practice kicking in doors.

Uncategorized, Weapons

Lesson Learned…

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The Barrett M82A1’s rail has a built in 20MOA can’t built in.   This was known.

The Nikon M223 Mount has a 20MOA cant built in.  This was NOT known.  (It’s not on the packaging anywhere, but it is on the website)

As it turns out, 40MOA of incline doesn’t work.  Unless you want to be 5 feet high at 500 yards with the scope adjusted to it’s full range of movement… yeah… that’s not good.

Weapons

OGRE’S TOP SCOPE PICKS:

2 Comments

Some time ago on the old MadOgre.com site, I made this list.  Time to update it a little, and repost it.  Prices may be a little off.

If I was to do just a Top Ten, it would be full of optics that never dipped below a grand. So what I’ve done is to take a look at each price tier and pick a scope or two at that level. I’ll start out on the low end of the price scale and we’ll work our way up. Now the interesting thing about some of these scopes is that they can sometimes beat scopes at a higher price level. So you might want to take this list with you next time you hit the gun counter so you can check them out head to head with other scopes. When you are looking at a couple different scopes you need to compare the brightness, clarity, eye relief, magnification levels (are they actually magnifying as they are saying they are), and their history for strength. Another thing to consider is the reputation of the company for taking care of the customer after the purchase. There is no chart or number that allows you to rate a scope. Like say Candle Power or Lumens. End since everyone’s eyes are different, optics are subjective. So here we go: Continue reading OGRE’S TOP SCOPE PICKS: →

Weapons

Variable Power

2 Comments

I was looking at my rifles… and I noticed something that got me thinking.  All my rifles tend have scopes that are variable powered, but they are always left on the same power setting.   I never adjust the magnification power.  All the midrange scopes are all on the highest setting, the high powered scopes are all the midrange setting.   And I never move them… never change them.  That’s just how I shoot them. Continue reading Variable Power →

Crusader, Uncategorized, Weapons

Speaking of Nikon…

4 Comments

Nikon has a great scope for a .223 rifle, such as your AR-15.  They call it the “M-223”.  It’s slick and easy to use.   It’s actually one of my favorite optics for any longer barreled AR build (Think Crusader Templar) or Varminter configuration.

What does Nikon have for AR-10/SR-25/Broadsword?  Nothing so much… Right now for a Broadsword I’m thinking a PFI RR800.

What Nikon needs to do is a .308 specific scope, much like the M-223… but with an illuminated reticle.