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Leapers UTG 6-24X56 scope with illuminated reticle and AO

by Tom Gaylord, a.k.a. B.B. Pelletier

Today, I want to tell you about the scope I mounted on the .25-caliber Benjamin Marauder. It’s a Leapers UTG Accushot 6-24X56 scope that comes with a 30mm tube, adjustable objective with sidewheel focus, and an illuminated reticle with 36 different colors and shades. Packed inside the box are a set of UTG 2-piece high rings that have Weaver bases. These bases present a problem for mounting to most airguns because 11mm dovetail grooves are far more common these days than Weaver dovetails on airguns, but Leapers does make an optional UTG Weaver-to-11mm adapter that fits inside the jaws of the scope mount base and makes it fit an 11mm scope mount. This adapter costs only $10, so it really isn’t a big deal; but you must have a set to fit this scope to your 11mm scope rails if you have them. Luckily, I have a set, so mounting the scope to the Marauder was no problem.

Leapers UTG 6-24X56 scope on Marauder
The UTG scope fits the Marauder well, and the power is suited to long-distance shooting. Lower rings were used to bring the height of the exit pupil down to eye level. These rings are also adjustable, and the scope is slanted downward to correct a barrel droop problem.

Too high
The one problem I did have was the scope is too high when mounted with high rings. I had to hold my head too high on the stock for a natural fit. The Marauder already has a receiver that’s above the barrel, so the scope doesn’t need as much extra clearance at the objective lens.

I discovered this problem while shooting those groups at 25 yards that were shown in Part 3 of the .25 Marauder report. I was able to hold my head high enough to shoot well; but it wasn’t comfortable, and I knew that for 50-yard testing the scope had to come down some.

Also I had to put a lot of elevation adjustment into the scope knobs to bring the groups up to the target. When I swapped rings, I intended to put a shim under the rear ring to offset a drooping situation. Fortunately, though, I found a vintage set of 30mm B-Square adjustable rings that could be adjusted in the rear to fix the droop. For most people who will use a fixed ring set, I think one shim would work fine.

Locking adjustment knobs
In the bad old days, our scope knobs did not lock. If someone were to give your adjustments a twist, you were thrown off target easily. I saw this happen deliberately on more than one occasion in a field target match.

This scope has a simple solution for locking the adjustment knobs that I’m growing very fond of. A knurled ring at the base of each knob is screwed down to lock the adjustments or up to loosen them. It’s quick and it works. There are other ways to lock scope knobs, including those that need Allen wrenches, but this UTG way needs no tools and is very quick, yet positive.

Leapers UTG 6-24X56 scope adjustment knobs
Adjustment knobs are clearly marked. The locking ring at the base of each knob is simply loosened to make adjustments, then tightened to lock it down. An Allen screw in the center of the knob allows the scale to be slipped to zero and locked down once the scope has been adjusted.

A single Allen screw in the center of each adjustment knob loosens to slip the adjustment index scale around to zero once you have the scope where you want it. That’s perfect for hunters who want to have several zeros on the same scope because they can always return to the starting point. For example, if you zero your scope’s elevation knob to impact the point of aim at 20 yards (as I do), then that becomes the zero point. The pellet may be back on zero at 32 yards, and all distances in between 20 and 32 yards are less than two pellet diameters above the intersection of the crosshairs.

But what if you want to take a shot out at 45-60 yards and not lose this zero? By knowing the trajectory of your pellet, maybe you know that if the pellet is set to impact on the point of aim at 55 yards it will be one inch low at 40 yards, a half-inch low at 50 yards and 3/4-inches low at 60 yards. And you know that 16 clicks of elevation will raise the impact point from 20 yards to 55 yards, so all you have to do is click up from the zero point by 16 clicks to set the new point of impact. When you’re finished shooting at that distance, you know that returning to the zero on the scale puts your gun back on at 20 yards.

This explanation has been just an example of how this process works. You have to find out for your particular rifle, power setting and pellet where the actual adjustments must be made.

Optics
This scope has superior glass. All the lenses are high-quality optical glass and, because the scope tube is 30mm in diameter, the lenses inside the scope are all larger than similar lenses inside a one-inch tube. Larger lenses mean more light can pass through, so your image appears brighter. Blog reader GunFun1 asked me to address low-light optics a couple days ago. A scope like this one is always going to be brighter than a scope of similar power but with a one-inch tube.

The mil-dot reticle is comprised of 2 parts. The outer lines are thicker and draw your eye into the thinner central lines. The thin central lines are separate from the outer ones. It looks like a duplex reticle because of the thick outer lines, but it is the inner lines that do all the work. They’re not wires and are not even drawn on the lens. They are etched into the glass. What that means is that when the illumination comes on at even its brightest level, there’s no flare of light on the inside of the scope tube. Those who have used illuminated reticles in the field will appreciate that, and those who haven’t won’t understand why it’s important.

If you hate illuminated reticles and never turn them on or even put a battery into your scope, you lose nothing with the UTG design. The reticle appears black all the time and needs no battery to be seen. And the battery compartment and electronic switches that operate the lights are miniaturized, so they add very little bulk to the scope’s profile. But if you need them, they’re there.

When I hunted in Germany in the 1970s, I once had to skip a perfect shot because I couldn’t see the reticle. The silhouette of the deer was centered in my field of view, but I wasn’t going to take a shot if I didn’t know exactly where the bullet would go. That’s a situation where an illuminated reticle would have been useful.

How clear are the UTG optics? Well, I have a test. There’s a house behind me whose roof is about 27 yards away. I look at the that roof’s shingles on a scope’s maximum magnification to see if the asphalt granules are sharp and defined. And I compare all scopes against the Hawke 4.5-14X42mm Tactical Sidewinder. I’ve rated some scopes down in the past based on this test, including some lower-end scope made by Leapers. This scope, however, shows an image that’s just as sharp as the Hawke and slightly larger. No Leupold scope that I own is sharper than this. I can clearly see common houseflies walking on the shingles.

The last thing I will say about the UTG optics is that they’re extremely adjustable. My shooting buddy, Otho, has been getting rid of his fine vintage scopes for several years because he can no longer adjust them enough to see the reticle lines. This includes Leupold scopes that many shooters regard as the best optics on the market. But all Leapers and UTG scopes have enough eyepiece adjustability for Otho to sharply focus the crosshairs both with and without his glasses. Because of that, he’s now able to shoot many rifles that he’d set aside for several years.

Adjustments
I haven’t thoroughly tested the accuracy or reliability of the adjustments, but so far they seem to be right on. Since I had to remount the scope to lower it, I’ll be sighting-in again, and perhaps that will afford the chance to check the adjustments once more. I can say that, up to this point, the adjustments have always moved the reticle without needing to fire the gun or bump the scope. There’s no reticle stiction to speak of.

The price
This is not an inexpensive scope. Yet, compared to the Hawke or Leupold scopes with similar features, the UTG scope is budget-priced. At $230, you get a lot of performance — enough to start competing in field target, for example.

And don’t overlook the fact that the scope does come with some nice 2-piece rings. If they suit you, they do shave some money off the total price of scoping your airgun.

I would recommend this scope to anyone who wants a good long-range sight. It’s ideal for the Marauder on which it’s mounted.

author avatar
Tom Gaylord (B.B. Pelletier)
Tom Gaylord, also known as B.B. Pelletier, provides expert insights to airgunners all over the world on behalf of Pyramyd AIR. He has earned the title The Godfather of Airguns™ for his contributions to the industry, spending many years with AirForce Airguns and starting magazines dedicated to the sport such as Airgun Illustrated.

80 thoughts on “Leapers UTG 6-24X56 scope with illuminated reticle and AO”

  1. I have a UGT 4-16×40 adjustable parallax scope but its not a side wheel (like I prefer) and it has all the bells and whistles (the multi-color recticle).

    But it only has the 1″ tubes and 40 mm front lens. And it is a good scope. But I still prefer my Hawke scopes.

    But the scope your testing has the 30 mm tube and the big 56 mm front lens.
    I bet that scope is real good in low light conditions. And thanks BB for throwing that in the blog about the low light shooting.

    And I just recently started messing with the different color recticles on different objects and I like it.
    But for me I think there is to many choices of colors. But when you find the right color for the object; and you have time before making your shot to find the right color. The illuminated recticle is cool.

  2. Oh and the scope looks bad on top of the Marauder. And I don’t mean (Bad) as in not good.

    I mean (Bad) as in it looks real good. I don’t know about how some people feel. But when you get the right accessories on something it just makes it look better to me.

    You know kind of like art when you get that last brush stroke right or photography when you get the perfect shot. Or when somebody writes about something and they finally get it finished and it turns out better than they thought.

    Hmm, write about something, get it finished, turn out better than they thought.
    Ok BB I wont bother you anymore about your book you have been writing. I promise. Maybe.

  3. G’day BB
    I thought I read somewhere that the only difference betweem a 1″ scope and 30mm scope was the latter is more rigid and light transmission is about the same with similar optics.
    Cheers Bob

    • Bob,

      I have always read the opposite. But from experience I can say that a really good scope with a one-inch tube can be just as bright as an average scope with a 30mm tube. But to do that they need the absolute best-quality optical glass lenses. and very few coatings.

      B.B.

  4. Some people take things way too seriously. That is why I never have competed in field target and have no desire to do such. When it started out I am sure it was a real hoot, but then these guys start showing up with gazillion dollar rigs, portable weather stations and S & M restraints. They practice many hours EVERY day.

    For what? Bragging rights. There is no money involved, unless there are sponsorships. That always screws things up. A friend of mine used to shoot 3D archery and he had sponsors. He would get free bows, arrows and accessories all the time. It was probably a real fun thing to do once upon a time, but once the money showed up, that was it.

    And then when they are still not good enough, they resort to such tactics. Did those people go to the hospital to have their air rifles extracted?

    • Same with Olympic shooting in my mind.
      I watch the pistol shooters at local matches I’ve attended. They show up dressed in sweats and wearing sneakers. They’re carrying a range bag with their pistol, cleaning supplies, pellets and maybe a pair of those fancy shooting glasses.
      Then the rifle people show up. Dragging a big Pelican rifle case along with a large duffle. Takes them 1/2 an hour to get suited up…and then they can hardly move, the jackets and pants are so stiff.
      Seems like the pistol matches are a ‘shooters’ competition, whereas the rifle is a ‘shooter with gear’ competition.

      • The sad part is they’ll never admit it. But then again what if you’re getting beaten by someone who has all that gear, if you want to be competitive you have no choice but to suit up.

        J-F

        • That’s my point. I have a pistol and a rifle, but I will not likely compete because there is always those who must win by whatever means, including breaking the rules and sabotage.

          I’ll just stay in my yard and compete with myself or with my son-in-law when he comes over.

        • J-F,
          I think that most if not all Olympic or ISSF (International Shooting Sports Federation) style competitors would admit that the equipment help their score but as you say you would be a fool to try to compete with out said equipment.
          There is a sporter class in the USA that limits the use of expensive rifles and equipment for those who don’t want or can’t afford to compete in the precision class.

      • CBD,

        I have to agree with you that pistol shooting seems like a “pure” competition. Olympic rifle is like any other sport from the novice or casual shooter all that gear seems to make the shooter but I see all the time a new comer get into the sport and buy all the latest and greatest equipment and don’t go straight to the top. They shoot for a year or so trying to buy their way onto the podium and give up and move on to their next conquest. You see the same thing in auto racing as well because the equipment is a big part of the sport. The equipment cost seems to get the attention of the novice or casual competitor but once you get to a certain level that cost of equipment is so small compared to the total cost of competing. Any one can buy all the stuff to contend at a top level for about $10,000 bucks and that stuff will last for many years if took care of but the training cost (ammunition, range time, travel, and coaching) and competition costs (travel, lodging,meals, match fees, and reporting fees) can easily cost over 10K a year (I was over 8K last year in air fair and hotels).

        Just a note on the jackets and pants that draw much attention. Keep in mind that a serious competitor will spend 500 to a 1000 hours a year holding a 12 or 13 lb. free rifle with out the support from a jacket and some core strengthening serious back problem can develop. With a 3lb. pistol the risk of back problem is less likely.

  5. B.B.

    You can call me a grouch, but I don’t understand this modern fashion for peaks at scope front. A common cylindrical sunshade is better by any means and with it your scope doesn’t look like a traffic light.

    And about lights – all that disco, who needs 36 colors? Anyone, confess?

    Of course, it’s “supacool” and it costs cents, with dollars in return, but do they really think any minimally serious shooter would eat this? From Apel to Zeiss no big vendor makes such stuff. I shoot all my life with black reticle, turning to dim red only once or twice in deep – very deep – twilight. In short – it gives us nothing instead sucking out our hard-earned cash from our pockets.

    I’m afraid that Leapers is going extensive way. Instead of perfecting adjustments mechanism and providing better glass for optics, they turn a good scope into a sort of a “gold and LED” China-made boombox. It’s like PBA “golden” pellets and 1400 fps “barnside piercers”.

    Pressure venting mode off 🙂

    duskwight

    • duskwight

      I understand exactly where you are coming from. I have a couple of these 36 color scopes. Obviously, I did not buy because of the multiple colors, they just come with UTG scopes that have certain features. The multitude of colors are overkill right? And nobody uses illuminated reticles right? Right. Except that once in a long while some people might use the illumination. Once in a blue moon I actually do. Strangely, I found that a blue color is the easiest on my eyes. I don’t need illumination by any stretch. But if I had my choice I would choose blue over red or green. Other shooters might prefer something else. So all we have here is an overabundance of choice. Not such a bad thing, yes? LED technology is everywhere, and very cheap to produce. I doubt it adds much expense to any scope produced in any volume.

      That being said, I also like having the choice of purchasing a good scope that has no illumination, like the Leapers Golden Image of which I have at least half a dozen. And several of my scopes with illuminated reticles don’t have the battery inserted.

    • Maybe the reason for the peaked visor look is to work like a baseball cap in shading the sun but without the extra weight of a full cylindrical extension. With that full circumference of protection, the scope extension doesn’t accomplish anything more except to prevent reflections–useful only for snipers trying to stay hidden. You’re not sniping, are you?

      One innovation that I think would work well would be to curve the bottom part of the objective lens upwards to create a groove so that your scope doesn’t need to sit to high off the barrel. Don’t care of the looks of this, but it does serve a purpose.

      Matt61

  6. My question must have been overlooked yesterday, I asked:

    Someone on the GTA reports that Pyramyd AIR bought out Airgun Depot in Utah. Any truth to this? Thanks.

    And, just to keep this on-topic, I probably own 2 dozen scopes, and a majority of them are Leapers/UTG. To me, the optics are just as good as the one Leupold and few Hawkes that I own. I’ve never used the illumination, but see where it could come in handy.

    Good sale going on today at PA, 13% AND Free Shipping, 9/13/13 only.

  7. My Marauder wears my biggest and most expensive scope. It is the Leapers/UTG 30mm tube, 8-32×56 sidewheel adjustable objective. It is quite an excellent scope. I am lucky I bought it before the price increase of almost $90 dollars. It is big and heavy and long (especially with the 3.5 inch sunshade mounted) but looks dang good on top of the M-Rod.

    The optics are bright, the reticle is extremely thin yet easily visible, and the magnification is amazing. Looking out the window of my media room across my back yard there is a house, several houses down that I cannot see with my unaided eyes. Looking through the scope on maximum magnification I can easily see the house, I can see the natural gas meter on the side of the house, and I can see the tiny Carolina Wrens perching on the gas pipe coming out of the gas meter. Obviously, I have never taken a shot because it is a neighbor’s yard, it is a natural gas meter, and not least of all because Carolina Wrens are about the cutest little birds in existence.

    If you have one of these sidewheel scopes you owe it to yourself to buy the extended sidewheel. Precise adjustments are much easier to make. You will not be disappointed.

    On the subject of low light shooting, this really is the scope to have. Sometimes I don’t want to quit plinking after it gets dark. So I position aluminum cans out on my range and a candle behind me. They are lit up just enough so that they can barely be seen. With iron sights you see nothing, but with this scope… The crystal clear optics combined with the huge 56mm bell, and the 30mm tube combine to provide the clearest, brightest image possible. It takes a lot of concentration, but that is part of the fun. Also it allows me the opportunity to use the illuminated reticle which I otherwise never use. Most of the time I try to go without using the illumination for the challenge of it, but sometimes it is just too dark to go with a black reticle. Unlike most scopes, the illumination on this scope can be adjusted so low that your pupil stays dilated, enabling you to still see the dimly lit target. Give it a try!

    • You are the man with these light devices. The scope does sound very enticing from your description.

      I had a question for you about the NG3/5 laser devices which I recall that you had purchased. I know that you can narrow the beam to where it can be seen 5 miles away. That’s cool although I can’t think of a reason for doing that since the light would be too far to see at that distance in the dark. But the light can be broadened for a wider field of illumination at close range. So, the question is, how does the illumination at close range–flashlight distances, compare with a standard tactical flashlight. Do you get good resolution with that green light?

      Matt61

  8. Those people who deliberately turned others scope adjustment turrets should be banned from all competitions and shooting ranges for life. Unfortunately they are rarely caught. Vengeance is the Lord’s I suppose.

    From the picture above it appears that the objective lens is too close to the barrel to allow the lens cap to fit. I have had this problem before and found it irritating.

    Also, I have never had a scope with a 56mm objective lens. I would love to see how clear the sight picture is. This looks like perhaps the perfect scope to find out with. Price is not bad at all.

    I have never seen a 11mm to Weaver adaptor with such a low profile. These would allow me to use quite a few perfectly good sets of scope rings that are still sitting around in their boxes. This is a great find. Definitely have to get me some of those.

    G & G

    • G&G

      BB had to swap the rings, because they were too high. So the rings you are seeing in the photo are not the Weaver rings with the adapter attached. The rings pictured are B-square adjustable rings. I have a pair of these and cannot recommend them. The adjustment screws on mine are too thin and stripped out during all the turning necessary to get them adjusted right. They used to be quality-made rings, but they aren’t anymore.

      • SL
        When I emailed the B-Square owners (fsfa@baesystems.com) that the Torx heads of brand new bolts on my new B-Square Sport Utility 1″ Rings #20052 stripped too easily, even under normal use, they very kindly and promptly sent me Allen headed replacements at no charge. Worth a try.

    • G&G,

      As Slinging Lead said, I did exchange the rings for that photo. The high rings were just too high.

      As for the folks who mess with scopes at FT matches — they are very well-known among the competitors, so nobody let’s them near their rigs. But to get their reputation they had to do it a couple times at first, and they did.

      They are never among the winners because they don’t shoot that well.

      B.B.

  9. I have a question regarding scopes.
    This is an “expensive” scope at 230$ but when I’m reading gun mags I see the guys puting 1500/2000$ scopes on their AR, but even worst is those scope have so low magnification!!!
    Why do AR guys seem happy to shoot at 100 yards with a 1X to 6X scope and we shoot at 10/25/50 yards but we want 24X?
    Don’t get me wrong, I love the high magnification scopes for my airguns, to me it’s the “aim small, miss small” theory and I don’t own any firearms. I’m just trying to understand why they all go crazy with their 6x scopes, I saw last month I think, the writer said the 8X scope was too much???

    We shoot closer but want more magnification than the guys shooting farther who seem to WANT lower magnification? It just doesn’t make sense to me.

    J-F

    • A couple of things. I have a 20x Hawke on my Savage because I want to hit a quarter at 100m.
      The AR scope is meant to hit a chest sized object at that distance (well, maybe out to 400yds).
      Also, in a battle situation the 20x scope has way to narrow a field of view…you’d be spending way to much time trying to find the ‘bad guy’ (of course this doesn’t apply to long range precision sniping)
      Also, having a good friend that served two tours in Afghanistan…as nice as this Leapers (or my Hawke is), I don’t think it would take the beating his NightForce did. A $2500 scope that looked like it had been to hades and back. It had one fair sized dent in the tube that I’m pretty sure would have done in a lesser scope.

      • So close quarter combat and ruggedness but is it really worth 2000$ ?
        If you’re a backyard commando you don’t really need that kind of stuff, I’d rather buy three 300$ scopes than one 2000$ one and still save quite a bit of money!
        I’m not sure about the close quarter combat thing, these AR come with all the bells and whistles and have so many rails you could turn your rifle in a christmas tree, just put some holographic or even iron sights at an angle and you can have your cake and eat it too.
        It seems something is defying logic here? I’m suspecting a bit of showing off in this thing.

        J-F

        • Look at it this way J-F. You’ve got 8 or 10 Taliban bearing down on you and an AR without a working optic because you wanted to save $1000.
          I’ll bet you’d be willing to make a deal with the devil to have that NightForce on your gun in that situation.
          As to the backyard warrior…those people are in every facet of life, aren’t they.
          I cringe every time I see my neighbors Hommer H2. I know for a fact that the speedbumps at the local Safeway are as ‘offroad’ as that thing every goes.
          But, in the end, it’s his money.

          • Of course if you’re serving you NEED that high-end scope and it not only makes sense but is an obligation, your life and the ones of your fellow soldiers depends on that piece of equipment.

            I think your Hummer analogy fits perfectly, it’s a lot of showing off, “look at my big equipment” like the guys getting a gold Desert Eagle or some sports car owner who’s definition of sport is LOOKING sporty.

            J-F

            • Reminds me of one of my Favorite movie lines from “All Saint’s Day”…..the sequel to Boondock Saints.The “new guy” is with them at the arms dealer and they are choosing weapons.He selects a gold plated pair of suppressed .45s that look like they were made for Liberace’ and brandishing them,he asks a very funny question.

    • GF1,

      You should have seen me at the Roanoke airgun expo a number of years ago. I had my Career 707 set out on the table as a display, and some jerk picked it up and just started spinning both adjustment knobs. Edith could not believe he did it.

      When I asked him why he did it — what was he trying to see? He said, “I don’t know. I just do that with every gun I pick up.”

      B.B.

      • All I can say is…WOW!!
        Isn’t it amazing how people just don’t realize that when you show them something (or it’s just lying there) that it isn’t an invitation to screw with it.
        I’ve noticed the same thing with digital cameras.
        I don’t let anyone look at my cameras anymore…period!!! In the past I’ve had people want to look at my camera/s and invariable they start changing everything in the menu.
        Why…I don’t know.

        • That is why the cardinal rule “Never loan out your chainsaw!!!” It will invariably come back all screwed up….just because you own a flat head screwdriver does NOT mean you are an engine tuner.Locking adjustments are very nice on a scope…..and I wish all my scopes had them!

          • The guy who borrowed my uncle chainsaw almost lost his hand because he was holding the chainsaw by the guard (despite being shown how to use it several times) so when the chains kicked the guy lost his grip and the chainsaw chewed his hand. He kept his hand but his pinky doesn’t flex anymore because it’s made of small rods.

            My uncle now goes to cut peoples trees instead of letting people use his chainsaw.

            J-F

            • Ha…..that sounds all too familiar.I have a friend (big surprise there!) who is a former Navy SEAL.At 6’2″ and 325lbs he is real hard to argue with……but that doesn’t stop me.I repaired chainsaw for him that was all messed up (again) that he uses commercially.It was necessary to disable the blade brake because they had removed the cover multiple times with it “tripped” then tried to reassemble it.This was a situation where he needed it in the morning for a job so it had to be removed to make the saw work.The last thing I did was warn him about the lack of THAT safety feature.I said “If you get any bleeding OR discomfort…….LET OFF THE GAS! Long story short I spent the next afternoon in the E.R. while they treated him for a horizontal cut to his lower shin.That boy DON’T listen! p.s.this was last week…..he’s healing OK.

      • There’s a situation where you need locking turrets. You should put out a gun so equipped next time and then enjoy the guy’s expression when he tries to turn the knobs.

        My young niece was bawling her head off once, and when her mother asked her why, she calmed down and said, “I don’t know.” Hard to know how to respond.

        Matt61

  10. Thanks for this scope review, B.B. I have 9 Hawke 4×12/16 scopes of various models on my rifles. The clear image, light weight, and decent price are the three main features of why I chose Hawke. I want my one good scope purchase to be the 4.5x14x42 Hawke Tactical Sidewinder that B.B. owns. I have had a view through this scope, and the optical clarity blew me away. This Leapers UTG 6x24x56 scope looks like quite a bargain to my eyes. Although I have no need for such extreme magnification at this juncture of my airgun carrier. My wife and I like to use one of my Hawke scopes for checking out an Osprey nest about 200meters from our back door. The 12x magnification gives me a much better view of the birds then my 7×35 binoculars do.
    I think I will buy a couple of the weaver-11mm adaptors. I like the way they slip in the base of the scope ring. There seems to be only a few mm of hight added to the weaver ring, if that. Thanks for the great blogs.
    Ciao Titus

  11. I like Leapers scopes! I have several and they haven’t let me down yet. I can live with the overkill of illuminated reticals because I don’t usually don’t even install the batteries.

    /Dave

  12. Slinging Lead
    You were talking above about the low light shooting.
    I do pretty much the same thing you do with the cans also. Only thing different is I shoot out of a breezeway attaching the garage to the house. And I try to keep it dark in there to keep my eye’s adjusted. So its usually darker in there than outside.

    Sometimes you can verily see the cross hairs but you can see the can. I try to use the circle of the scope I’m looking through and center it equally around the can when I cant see the cross hairs.

    And yep it is fun and good practice also. I think it helps improve your sighting skills.

      • Matt

        You don’t spend that much time behind the scope, a couple of minutes at most, for each shot. Between shots you are reloading, chatting with fellow shooters, perhaps sipping a beverage. You have breaks in between. So in my experience eye fatigue is minimal at most. Nothing like driving at night or reading in dim light.

        Regarding the ND3/5 laser designators, the point of the 5 mile visibility is not so that you can see something 5 miles away, but so that you could be seen, or at least your signal could be seen. Reader Frank B used it to discourage potential looters from considering his property in the aftermath of a tornado.

        At close range, you do lose a lot of contrast compared to a tactical flashlight due to everything being green. However the light is so intense that it penetrates much further than even the best LED flashlights. It is pretty impressive.

        I don’t actually have either one of these lasers. I was able to borrow an ND5 from a very nice guy.

  13. That is a cool scope. And I’m a great fan of that locking mechanism. I am not crazy about the mechanism that requires Allen wrenches as I held forth on at one time, but this new idea is great. In fact, I feel sort of like B.B.’s man at Roanoke who just loves to twirl those dials…

    Watch and weep. Derrick has blogged the first-class treatment that he gave to my Daisy 747.

    http://anotherairgunblog.blogspot.com/2013/09/daisy-747-rebuild.html

    My only criticism of Derrick is his stubborn refusal to accept the kind of compensation his work deserves. On another note, I consider his work a vindication of my not trying to reseal the gun myself. Ain’t no way I was going to come anywhere close to his job. That applies especially to the part where he did everything, reassembled the gun and still heard a slight hissing noise of air discharging.

    Not sure if anyone saw the online news story about the baby elephant in China that was rejected by its mother by birth and even stamped on by the mother in an attempt to kill it. Those shots of the baby elephant with red eyes crying up a storm for hours are heart-wrenching. And they also go to prove the power of the family in China. The zookeepers chased off the mother and have even bonded with the baby and got it settled down. So, in China, if you’re part of the family, it doesn’t matter even if you are an elephant.

    Thinking about the pressure venting blog and its egregious media representations, I’m moved to report what may be the single worst piece of acting by Chuck Norris. The sad part is that he had abandoned his usual wooden demeanor and, with all the signs of an acting coach, made a real run at trying to act. In Walker Texas Ranger, his romantic interest and colleague, the district attorney, “Alex,” gets kidnapped by an evil genius. Over the phone, he gives his demands to Walker making the girlfriend’s welfare the price of cooperation. So Walker says, “Harm Alex and…I’ll tear youR HEART OUT!” It was so mechanical that you didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

    It couldn’t compare to the acting job of the evil genius. He was pretty smooth. Walking around the captive Alex he says, “I’ve met many district attorneys in my time, but I don’t recall meeting any quite like you.” Continuing he says, “I don’t see any ring on your finger,” which charms Alex out of her stoic silence to smile and say, “I’m not married.” But when she says that Chuck Norris will be coming after her, the evil genius lets his mask slip. His eyes bulge. His face works, and he screams, “The world will end, and everybody will die before I get scared of men in cowboy hats!!” Hilarious. Ultimately Chuck Norris punched his way to victory over the guy even after being tortured by scorpion stings, but in the acting match up, it was not contest.

    Matt61

  14. Matt61
    No eye strain at all that I know of when looking through the scope in the dark. You actually get a pretty clear picture of your object. The cross hairs are just a little hard to see. Like I said I really don’t use the cross hair to aim. I look at the field of view circle and center it on my object.

    I guess its kind of like looking through a telescope at night. And I bet the quality of the optics help in some way in low light conditions as far as (not) straining to see is concerned.

    I use my spotting scope all the time at night time with my daughters to look at owls and the stars and moon. As long as there is some kind of light for the scope to grab the light source available you can see pretty good at night.

    If somebody was in a dark cave with no light source then it could be a problem to see through the scope I guess. Only thing that I could think of that would be close to a cave would be a basement that didn’t have windows and no light source. And then test and see. I have never tryed that before so I don’t know if it would work that way in the basement or in a cave for that fact.

    Not a argument just never thought about eye strain before. I wear glasses and I have got head aches from straining to look for burrs in parts at work. But now that I think of it. Never had that happen looking through a scope as long as I can focus the object.

  15. I have a question about the Hawke scopes.

    How come when you look through them in sunlight the cross hairs have a brown color to them and in the shade they look black? And does that mean they have a different procedure to mark their cross hairs than other scope manufacturers?

    I know the etched glass procedure is also different than what most scopes have.

    I haven’t noticed this in other brand scopes but just the Hawke scopes about the brown color in sun light.

  16. Hi Tom
    I recently purchased two more air rifles. Both appear to have been used very little…. 1971 winchester 435 and a 1987 rws 52. Actually, the 435 appears to have never been used… Not a flaw anywhere. I have added the diopter that I was unable to slide onto the winchester 427 (that I purchased from you) because of the entry angle to the scope rail caused by the end cap. This is not an issue for me on the 435 because the outer diameter of its cap is the same diameter as the chamber and therefor flush. Anyway, the droop on this rifle forces me to adjust the diopter’s elevation to its extreme. Do you recommend barrel bending or a droop-compensating mount. If a mount then which one? Thanks

    • Eric,

      These early Diana rifle were never made for scopes. They will work, but that is only accidental. I would stick with the diopter rear sight and leave it on the high setting. There are riser blocks for 11 mm scope rails, but they might take you up too high.

      I don’t think I would bend this barrel unless you plan on just shooting it this way forever. Then a slight bend would be okay. It probably wouldn’t show.

      B.B.

  17. What’s the difference between a scope with a 56mm objective and a 1 inch tube and the same objective with a 30mm tube? Doesn’t the objective limit the amount of light? So your larger tube size should not improve things.

    Matt61

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