Shilba Optics overview

The Shilba optical brand has its origins in a small factory near Osaka, Japan. In 1975, Argentinian technicians from the company travelled to Japan to find a company to manufacture a good-quality and affordable optical scope. The device was aimed at hare hunters, who used simple .22 LR semi-automatic carbines to hunt this species, which was considered a plague but its meat was exported, mainly to Germany, at a very profitable price. It was an important market, growing rapidly and thousands of hunters hunted these rodents, which seemed to breed constantly, every winter, with commercial purposes. The vast territory of the Argentinian pampas, the quality of its soil and the great weather were the ideal environment for all types of farming and these vermin were a threat to crops.

The first two basic 4x32 and 4x40 models were an immediate success and the first batch of 2000 units was sold out in less than 60-days, only through word of mouth. It was clear that these scopes had good optics at a very good price that made it affordable in comparison with the expensive American and European models. More models were development, for use in a variety of shooting disciplines.

Some years later, in 1981, the factory owners decided to retire, due to their age and lack of heirs and sold the Shilba brand, their knowledge and contacts to the current owners, knowing that it would mean a rebirth of the brand. Shilba’s Japanese technology and quality optics were applied more and more to a vast range of products and soon binoculars, spotting scopes and astrological telescopes appeared. The volume of products rapidly exceeded the needs of the Argentine domestic market and, in the year 2000, they started to be exported to neighbouring countries in Latin America.

In 2004, and after the creation of a complete range of No. 4 reticles within 30mm tubed scopes, the most used in Europe, these scopes began to be sold in Spain, a country with a great hunting tradition which rapidly adopted the brand and is today one of the main buyers.

Today

Dave Mills, of the ATEO and X-calibre Ltd knows his way around guns and scopes and also knows quality when he sees it and after seeing the Shilba range of optics at IWA in Germany in 2015, he entered into negotiations to bring them into the UK. I saw an example at the Northern Shooting Show and the full range at IWA this year and I was impressed with the build quality and featuresthey are also well priced, which is an added bonus.

Dave recently supplied me with a selection of Shilba scopes to have a look at and I must say I’m impressed! There are various ‘series’ within the range and they are- Classic, Classic Illuminated, Master Hunter, Varmint, Gold Medal and Target Pro. They cover everything, from 1-4x24 compacts up to FT-ready 8-32x56 sidewheel parallax models. Here are a few examples:

Gold Medal

This range all have aircraft grade one-piece 30mm tubes, glass etched No. reticles that can be illuminated either red or green, smooth zoom rings, fast focus ocular lenses, lowprofile ¼ MOA turrets, CNC machined components, Nitrogen purged and have a tough matte black anodised finish.

1-4x24: £325

This little beauty is perfect for rimfires up to deer stalking rifles and can be mounted low down due to the small front lens. The scope weighs 14-ounces and is 10¼-inches long.

1.5-6x42: £325

Another scope that’s perfect for all forms of rifle shooting but the larger objective lens compared to the 1-4 allows for a brighter image. This scope will however require slightly higher mounts. Weight is 1lb 1oz and is 11¾-inches long.

2.5-10x50: £375

This higher magnification optic is better suited to longer range use and the 50mm objective lens sucks in plenty of light, even in gloomy conditions. Weight is 1lb 4oz and length is 13-inches

3-12x56: £375

You can reach out even further with this scope, or just enjoy a more magnified target or quarry! The 56mm objective brings in even more light as well. Weight is 1lb 6¼oz, length is 13½-inches.

These Japanese scopes look really classy and I’m sure they’ll be popular with the UK’s shooters.

There are a couple more scopes here, one is ideal for airgun shooters after quarry and for general target work and one a more dedicated Field Target scope.

Varmint 4-16x40: £150

This 1-inch tubed scope has an adjustable objective lens marked from 10-yards to infinity, a Mil Dot reticle that can be illuminated in either red, blue or green via an adjuster on the left of the saddle, ¼MOA target turrets and a fast focus eye bell.

Target Pro 8-32x56: £325

This is real big one! This Field Target (FT) scope has a 30mm tube and all the features needed to tackle a course of knock downs! It features a crisp clear image, a sidewheel parallax adjuster, ¼ MOA target turrets, a Mil Dot reticle that can be illuminated in either red or blue, a fast focus eye bell and flip up covers. All this for £325! I look forward to testing this one on my Walther LGU Varmint spring gun.

Conclusion

As I said, Dave knows quality and a bargain too, so it’s not surprise that he’s distributing this range of optics and this is just a small selection of the Shilba range. Please note: these scopes aren’t just for airguns, even though this review is in the airgun section, they are suitable for all types of rifle.