MTC Genesis

Keeping overheads to a minimum they pass on the savings to their customers. I bought one of their first models, a Viper 4-16 X 50 and it’s been fitted to loads of air rifles and rimfires and is still in regular use. These Chinese-manufactured scopes instantly impressed me; as they did some of my friends and they bought them too. The build quality and overall design is very good and it’s no surprise that they’ve sold very well over the years. MTC’s customer care is excellent too, so there are a lot of happy shooters out there. I’ve kept up with new additions to their range and the Mamba, Taipan and Connect have all been impressive. They’ve done it again with the recent introduction of the Genesis 5-20 X 50 so here’s what I think…

Box Fresh

Once again the packaging is first class! The box includes the scope (obviously!) screw-on 3” sunshade and the welcome addition of a set of genuine Butler Creek, flip-up lens caps. The Genesis has a 30mm tube with the saddle showing the usual windage and elevation turrets and side-wheel parallax adjuster. The target-style adjusters are protected by screw on caps and each click moves the point of impact ¼” at 100 yards. Beneath the saddle is a small circular housing that has the coil erector spring inside; this is in place of the more usual flat spring inside the scope and is a more robust way of ensuring the internal image moving system stays where it’s put! The side-wheel, which focuses down to 10 yards on full power, was a little stiff initially, but soon freed up with use, with targets snapping into focus nicely.

The magnification adjuster rotates smoothly from 5 round to 20 and there’s a raised ridge incorporated into it to allow for a sure grip even when wet. Mounted at 45° on the eyebell is an 11-position rheostat for illuminating the AMD reticule, MTC thoughtfully includes a spare battery. Getting the crosshair in focus is a simple affair thanks to the fast-focus eyepiece.

The Advanced Mil Dot (AMD) reticule is, as its name suggests, a simplified Mil-Dot pattern and only has the dots on the 6 o’clock stadia. These comprise of small circles with ½-Mil hash marks inbetween. Aim points extend 2/3 of the way down the stadia, so you’re spoilt for choice. The reticule is true at x10 magnification, so can be used as a conventional Mil-Dot if required, more likely for holdover but if you are ambitious working out the range too…

Overall design and build is stylish and the matt black anodising faultless. The tube is nitrogen-purged to prevent fogging and both water and shockproof. The Genesis is no lightweight though, as all those fully coated lenses and anodised alloy add up, the kitchen scales show 769gramms (1 lb 11oz). In truth it’s not overly heavy, but it’s worth taking into account when putting a rifle/scope combination together. Overall length is 14”, 17 with the sunshade fitted. This new offering is made in Korea (a first for the company) to MTC’s specification and is a notch above their previous optics. I’m not criticising past models, far from it, as I’ve already stated my liking for the brand, but this one is superior in every way to its predecessors.

Mount Up

I mounted the Genesis on a BSA Scorpion SE pre-charged pneumatic air rifle using Sportsmatch mounts. I soon had a 30 yard zero and loosened the grub screws on the turrets and set them to 0. This makes resetting the zero a doddle, which was important as I had a good play with the turrets, dialling up and down and left and right. You get 36-clicks per rotation (9”) which is not amazing and nine full turns are available, which adds up to a top to bottom of an acceptable 81”, so there’s more than enough movement available. No matter how much I turned the turrets, the zero returned to where it was originally set, helped I’m sure by the coil erector spring. Changing magnification didn’t alter it either, so full marks all round. I used the BSA/MTC combo on a couple of trips to the farm, where I hoped to take care of feral pigeons, magpies etc, but there wasn’t anything about unfortunately, so had to make do with a solitary squirrel up in the woodland. I ended up spending quite a while shooting acorns off a log just for the hell of it. The image clarity was very good even at first light and the minimal depth of field was a bonus, as I could really get the targets in perfect focus using the side-wheel.

Versatile Performer

Several trips to outdoor and indoor ranges showed the scope to be an impressive all-round performer and the AMD reticule had plenty of aim points out to 55 yards. I’ll be fitting it to my custom Anschutz .22 rimfire and using it when tackling a few rabbits up the golf course. After that it’s off to Bisley with it mounted on my Steyr .308 target rifle, where all those aim points will come in handy at range; watch out for a future review, where I’ll let you know how I get on. Many shooters equate MTC Optics with airguns, but those who do are doing the company a disservice, as all their optics can be used on any firearm, no matter what the power source.

PRICE: £349