MTC Genesis Ultra Lite

MTC Optics are now a well established brand in the UK, and part of their success has been their go-ahead attitude. Gary and Sammie Cooper, two shooters with a wealth of experience, in both Hunter Field Target and field craft, are behind the company. One thing’s for sure - they certainly can’t be accused of resting on their laurels. With a mixture of quirky advertising and some genuinely innovative product design, the airgun enthusiast in particular, has been well catered for.

Scope designs have come thick and fast, with perhaps the MTC Viper being the model that really define the brand. Yet later additions, such as the Genesis, have had a big impact too, high image quality, at an affordable price.

LET THERE BE LITE

On test here is the very latest version, the Genesis Ultra Lite3-9x40, which manages to significantly trim the overall weight, whilst still offering a host of features to assist the serious enthusiast. Variable magnification, adjustable parallax, a lockable zero, and flip-up lens caps, is a pretty good start. Throw in the MTC AMD reticule, and the spec list begins to intrigue.

It was MTC that popularised large, chunky, ‘tactical’ turrets, with their super successful Viper range. Yet despite the visual muscular appeal, these painfully trendy super high turrets serve no purpose in the real world. FT scopes need a large external adjuster, to enable the shooter to dial in the range on each shot, but for most airgunners no such requirement exists. Admittedly, I’m thinking airgun use, but finding a hard case with deep enough padding to accommodate over-sized turrets is not always easy either, and reason enough to avoid them in my book, so I’m pleased to see a return to sanity with many current models.

This Genesis UL sports low profile, screw cap turrets, and click values of 1/4”at 100 yards, which are reassuringly positive and finger-friendly; featuring as they do, a central raised twist bar. Pleasingly the Ultra-Lite comes with the best flip-up lens caps in the world – Butler Creeks, and in a world of cheap knock offs MTC are to be congratulated! A one inch body tube also helps keep weight down.

PARALLAX

The magnification range of x3 - 9 is just about ideal for HFT, (where x8-9 is probably optimum), and probably the most popular general spec for field use too. These scopes come with parallax set at the factory to 100 yards, but the design specifically allows for the shooter to adjust parallax to their own desired range; to effectively accommodate airgun, rimfire, and centrefire. This is achieved by first removing the front lens cap on the objective lens. The front section of the ring is then gently unscrewed and removed along with the decorative silver band, and put to one side.

Next the front carriage assembly is gently twisted via the tiny grooves at each side until a target set at the desired range, comes into perfect focus. This could be carefully done with the appropriate tool, but with none included, I found my short finger nails a good improvisation (note: on some scopes a piece cut off an old plastic ‘credit card’ will do the job too). On test, the carriage moved smoothly, and with a perfect amount of resistance, as to suggest that the final setting wouldn’t shift on its own too easily. MTC suggest a tiny application of Loctite on the thread at this stage, but personally, I wouldn’t feel happy going down that route. With the parallax set, the front ring and silver band are screwed back, in place, and up tight. I should add that the instructions relating to adjusting the parallax were a bit vague, with some misleading diagrams confusing me at first!

Further innovation comes with what MTC term ‘Sur-Lock’. This is the addition of a turret locking device, which supposedly adds additional peace of mind, by restricting the movement of the turrets and lenses once the zero has been set - in theory preventing the zero from shifting. On test, I zeroed the scope then twisted the locking stud up tight. The turret felt harder to twist but would still turn under pressure. However, in practise, with those low profile screw caps in place, zero shift shouldn’t be an issue in any case.

AMD OVERVIEW

With the parallax and zero set, it was time to familiarize myself with the AMD (Advanced Mil Dot) reticule. It offers full and half Mil-Dot aiming points. Image quality from this scope was impressive, with good edge to edge clarity and definition, and a bright, sharp picture. The ultra precise reticule brings a host of reference points which means confidence where it matters!

A super fine, floating, equidistant central cross and outer windage markers are all part of the glass-etched design, and with a multitude of further points set down the lower vertical stadia, trajectory can be tracked accordingly. With the magnification set to x7 and a test target card viewed at 25yds, the floating central cross brackets a 25mm kill zone. Whilst a 40mm standard kill sits within the top of the cross to the tip of the post underneath it. All a rough guide, but an example of how precise and proportional this dedicated reticule is.

VALUE

At £149 including flip-up caps and sunshade, I reckon this new, Korean-made Genesis Ultra Lite represents excellent value for money. All the usual guarantees are here: water/shock and fog-proof, nitrogen-filled, and of course fully multi-coated lenses. Yet overall, there’s just a precise feel about the design and a level of refinement that belies that astonishing asking price. A super crisp, bright image and positive adjustment, ultimately tops any list of requirements where glassware is concerned; but this model really is so much more. In short, an extremely impressive addition to the MTC stable, with a no-nonsense specification for serious performance.

FOR - Hard to beat for the money
AGAINST - Be careful if you change the parallax
VERDICT - Well worth a look