Before I get flamed for buying cheap junk keep in mind that I purchased this to test out how I would do with magnified optics on my AR15 before spending the big $$$ on something like an ACOG and only then, after being out a ton of money, realizing it didn't fit my needs. With that in mind I am happy to say that this scope has surpassed my expectations. I purchased the 4x32 model with the Sniper Reticule as I felt it gave me the best compromise.
-Mounting of the scope was fast and easy, I just took my time to be sure not to over tighten anything and strip out screws. After the quick release is set, I took everything off and used Blue Locktite on all of the mounting screws so that it will hold under fire, got everything good and snug onto the rifle, then pulled back the lever to hold it in place. I mounted mine as far back on the rail as I could with out interfering with the charging handle. While I felt that Eye relief was pretty good, keep in mind that I do not have a BUIS installed, if you do this may be an issue as you will need to take eye relief into account.
-At the range the scope was easy to zero and then held zero well. I tested this by turning both the elevation and windage turrets all the way then back to zero, I did not have any noticeable drift at 100 yards. Zero was also held after 100+ rounds of 5.56 ammo. I have not tried removing/reinstalling the scope via the quick release lever and checking for zero.
-The glass was good but not as clear as my Nikon scopes. There is a focus adjustment, but I could never get the scope perfectly "clear" for me. Still, for what it is designed to do and for the money I paid, I am NOT disappointed. Just realize, this is not an $800+ ACOG and have the right expectations.
-The blue reticule is easy to see even in bright daylight. There are multiple brightness settings on the rheostat and I did not experience washout even on the brightest setting during daylight shooting. However, for daytime shooting, none of them are actually needed as the standard black cross hairs are crisp and easy to see. I did test the scope in low light settings and found the illuminated reticule to be very useful, the blue light helped immensely with target acquisition while not being overpowering to my eyes.
-The laser seems good for the money, but it is not as powerful as the Crimson Trace one I have on my 1911 (Of course the CT costs more than this entire scope setup). It was easy to adjust and held it's zero as well. I zeroed my laser in at 25 yards in low light as this seems to be about the maximum effective range for this type of aiming and it gave me a true aim point at this distance with only a slight deviation for closer in work. As expected, the laser was useless in bright sunlight, but that is not what it was designed for. Also, keep in mind as you work with the laser that it is offset to the left and is higher than the bore, so the more that you deviate in range from your zero yardage, the more it will be off target. The closer you are the more your shot will be right of the laser, the further out you are the more the shot will be to the left of the laser. This all can be avoided by not zeroing the laser to the "hole", but by zeroing the laser to the offset. This involves measuring the the vertical and horizontal distance from the bore of the rifle to the laser and then setting that offset from the bullet impact "hole" on the target as the zero. Then when firing you will have to understand that the your bullet impact will always be slightly lower and to the right of the laser and compensate for that with your aim. This holds true for any laser sight that is not inline with the bore of the weapon, but depending on the range of your target, it may be completely irrelevant.
-The only problem I have had with the scope is with setting the rheostat to the "B" setting for Both the laser and the reticule illumination. While trying this setting I found that the reticule would "flash" on but quickly go dark and only the laser would stay lit. On a hunch I changed out the stock CR2032 battery to a higher quality and newer one and it solved the problem immediately. Now it works as advertised with both the laser and reticule lit properly.
Overall I am very pleased with this scope and would recommend it to anyone who is looking for an inexpensive plinker alternative to an ACOG or who simply wants to try one on before committing $800+ for a magnified combat optic.
-Mounting of the scope was fast and easy, I just took my time to be sure not to over tighten anything and strip out screws. After the quick release is set, I took everything off and used Blue Locktite on all of the mounting screws so that it will hold under fire, got everything good and snug onto the rifle, then pulled back the lever to hold it in place. I mounted mine as far back on the rail as I could with out interfering with the charging handle. While I felt that Eye relief was pretty good, keep in mind that I do not have a BUIS installed, if you do this may be an issue as you will need to take eye relief into account.
-At the range the scope was easy to zero and then held zero well. I tested this by turning both the elevation and windage turrets all the way then back to zero, I did not have any noticeable drift at 100 yards. Zero was also held after 100+ rounds of 5.56 ammo. I have not tried removing/reinstalling the scope via the quick release lever and checking for zero.
-The glass was good but not as clear as my Nikon scopes. There is a focus adjustment, but I could never get the scope perfectly "clear" for me. Still, for what it is designed to do and for the money I paid, I am NOT disappointed. Just realize, this is not an $800+ ACOG and have the right expectations.
-The blue reticule is easy to see even in bright daylight. There are multiple brightness settings on the rheostat and I did not experience washout even on the brightest setting during daylight shooting. However, for daytime shooting, none of them are actually needed as the standard black cross hairs are crisp and easy to see. I did test the scope in low light settings and found the illuminated reticule to be very useful, the blue light helped immensely with target acquisition while not being overpowering to my eyes.
-The laser seems good for the money, but it is not as powerful as the Crimson Trace one I have on my 1911 (Of course the CT costs more than this entire scope setup). It was easy to adjust and held it's zero as well. I zeroed my laser in at 25 yards in low light as this seems to be about the maximum effective range for this type of aiming and it gave me a true aim point at this distance with only a slight deviation for closer in work. As expected, the laser was useless in bright sunlight, but that is not what it was designed for. Also, keep in mind as you work with the laser that it is offset to the left and is higher than the bore, so the more that you deviate in range from your zero yardage, the more it will be off target. The closer you are the more your shot will be right of the laser, the further out you are the more the shot will be to the left of the laser. This all can be avoided by not zeroing the laser to the "hole", but by zeroing the laser to the offset. This involves measuring the the vertical and horizontal distance from the bore of the rifle to the laser and then setting that offset from the bullet impact "hole" on the target as the zero. Then when firing you will have to understand that the your bullet impact will always be slightly lower and to the right of the laser and compensate for that with your aim. This holds true for any laser sight that is not inline with the bore of the weapon, but depending on the range of your target, it may be completely irrelevant.
-The only problem I have had with the scope is with setting the rheostat to the "B" setting for Both the laser and the reticule illumination. While trying this setting I found that the reticule would "flash" on but quickly go dark and only the laser would stay lit. On a hunch I changed out the stock CR2032 battery to a higher quality and newer one and it solved the problem immediately. Now it works as advertised with both the laser and reticule lit properly.
Overall I am very pleased with this scope and would recommend it to anyone who is looking for an inexpensive plinker alternative to an ACOG or who simply wants to try one on before committing $800+ for a magnified combat optic.
