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Kahles K624i Tactical

Kahles K624i Tactical

Digital illumination to left with central parallax adjustment wheel and superb 260-click elevation adjustment, set here at 134-clicks above zero stop

I have always liked Kahles scopes and own a few, but their popularity in the UK has always been overshadowed by Zeiss, S&B and Swarovski and I can never work out why. I had the pleasure to visit the new Kahles factory with Monsieur Moore last year and apart from a few WW2 gaff`s we were both amazed at the new facility and attention to detail from the raw solid steel or aluminium bar to the end product all carried out in house. Top of the range and what really attracted me was the new K624i tactical built on a 34mm tube, illuminated, specialised reticule, unique parallax adjustment and of course superb optics - right up my alley.

SPEC
Primarily developed for the long range tactical market, but ideally suited for the likes of us
long range varmint fanatics. The spec is impressive and pleasingly not that large so it fits easily to your rifle. Length is 405mm and weight 950g, with a one-piece body tube that adds to strength and integrity, but more impressive was the 34mm diameter.

There is 3.25” of mounting space to the front of the turrets and 2.75” to the rear, so plenty of room for manoeuvre. The 34mm tube is primarily to allow you to get to maximum elevation which is always handy for seriously long ranges where most other scopes run out of adjustment. The K624i offers 1cm per click (0.1 Milrad) with a maximum elevation of 2.5m at 100 metres. That’s impressive and even if you do not need it all it means it keeps the internal erector tube more central within the body housing to aid in optimal optics performance.

The manual explains how to achieve maximum elevation adjustment and also about the zero stop facility, which allows you to return to the same initial zero regardless of any adjustment you make. Better still is the turret elevation adjustment has a double turn facility so you can always instantly see where you are on the adjustment scale. There are two sets of numbers one above the other, and after one rotation (130 clicks) you then start to read the upper settings.

To stop any confusion after the first full turn a red indicator button pops up out of the turret to indicate you are now reading the top elevation figures. The adjustment is fine and precise with audible and tactile clicks! You get 10-clicks per numerical division with 13 for one full turn that’s 2.5m at 100m max or 25 Mil, in fact a max of 260 clicks in total. Windage has the same value with a total adjustment of 1.1m at 100m (11 Mil)

PARALLAX SUPREME!

Best of all and what initially sets the Kahles out from others, is its unique parallax adjustment; 50m to infinity is pretty standard but the siting of the adjustment ring is not. It sits below the elevation turret and rotates in the horizontal plane. It’s a brilliant idea and perfectly placed as it is very easy to see and adjust from the firing position! On the left of the saddle is the rheostat drum, powered by a CR 2032 battery for digital illumination of the reticule (central cross hair only) and infinitely adjustable to cover all lighting conditions.

Optically the Kahles is superb as always, with AMV multi-layer coatings allowing 90%+ light transmission through that large 56mm objective lens. These coatings are optimised for the 520 nanometer spectral range making it bright and crisp even in the lowest lighting conditions. Images are crisp and clear, perfectly defining crows at extreme range. The eye piece is pretty standard by comparison with fast focus ocular with dioptre adjustment from +2 to -3.5 dpt and the magnification ring is smooth to operate and adjusts the mag from x6-24 with a field of view of 6.8 to 1.75m accordingly at 100m.

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You have a choice of two reticules, Mil 3 and Mil 4 both being glass-etched in the first focal plane (FFP) although a more complex Mil 6 is now available. They have similar form with 30/30 cross hairs with additional ‘hollow’ Mil-Dots and extra stadia to the central portion and lower vertical post with a ranging section on the 6 o`clock vertical from 200 to 1000m. This Mil 4 reticule has a finer reticule with see-through main cross hair sections so as not to obscure too much of the target. My only quibble is there is no sunshade as standard!

FIELD USE

I mounted the Kahles to my RPA switch barrel chambered in the .22 Satan Wildcat round for a spot of long range varminting and steel plate clanging. Because of the 34mm tube diameter I needed some specialised scope mounts and chose a set of Sako Optilok rings and bases with a Weaver /Picatinny base attachment. Follow the clear instructions in the manual to set the zero stop elevation system to maximum adjustment range from the 34mm tube for maximum travel. I always have to think with European scopes with metric adjustments, ¼ or 1/8” always come more easily to me.

The FFP reticule is very fine on 6x Mag and slowly increases in size until 24x Mag is reached. But even at 24x Mag it covers very little at 1000 yards. The image is crisp and clear right out to the periphery the illumination is clear and even, with no bleeding at all.

My .22 Satan uses a Hornady 80-grain A–MAX over 40-grains of H4831SC with a Federal 210 primer and will shoot a consistent 0.35” @ 100 yard at 3190fps. I entered the information into Quick Target ballistic program for a trajectory drop and scope adjustment in cm/per click for elevation and windage. You can work in Mil`s aka military style but I like the click in and aim dead on approach, although I often just wing it for windage in changing conditions.

POP OUT

I set up my BR-Pivot shooting bench and started into crow, rabbit and fox silhouettes out to 1000 yards to warm up! The .22 Satan based on the 6x47 Swiss Match and 6.5X47L case has proved an excellent round. It can still give ½ MOA at 500 yards though and with a 100 yard zero to connect with a crow steel target it took +21.3 clicks or +7.33 MOA from the Kahles to get me spot on with only 9 inches correction for a 5mph-8mph wind at 500 yards.

1000 yards is always tricky but Quick Target was telling me +74.9 clicks or 25.74 MOA , now I was on the second turret reading as the red indicator popped out to show me – that’s a great feature. It’s important because if you are dialling in or out all the time it can get a bit confusing where you are on the scale, but not with this Kahles.

Again once dialled in I was spot on for elevation with only the wind causing be to miss the fox silhouette. Even on 24x the aiming mark was clearly defined and visible and the superb clarity of the Kahles was really appreciated. After a real practice I switched to some vermin and achieved some really long shots, all humanely taken with the aid of the precise Kahles adjustment and excellent optics.

CONCLUSION

At the Kahles factory opening I had the chance to speak to many military snipers who rely on their scopes to work and they all said the same thing; under the worst conditions, be that lighting or climatic, the Kahles was their first choice - enough said. From a personal point of view I loved the K624i. As a long range Varminter it is the best I have tested. As a hunting scope again no faults with superb optics at low light for really clear crisp images and illumination system. I bought the test scope as I am totally convinced, I will be now on half haggis rations for a while.

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