9 Top Rifle scopes

Modern hunters generally fit some form of optical sight, which enables them to see and shoot their quarry accurately. Our experts have selected a few of their favourites…

• Shilba Gold Medal 1-4 X 24

  

  Reviewer: Bruce Potts

  This 1-4x24 scope uses HR 400 rated Japanese lenses with a proprietary multi coated surface for a sharp vignette free image, which is clear right up to the outer edge of the view and the colour retention is good. The body is a one-piece 30mm aluminium tube with fast focus, illuminated reticle. It feels very well made and finished with an overall finish of tough smooth matt black anodising, and all the zoom and adjustment controls feel smooth. Internal parts are all CNC machined and the centre dot of the 4A type reticle can be illuminated in red or green. The scope’s turrets have ½-inch clicks and the illumination turret is on the left middle of the main tube and uses a CR2032 battery and the adjustment wheel is graduated in five increments for both green or red illumination. You get a set of lenses covers on elasticated straps and lens cloth and a five-year warranty. Shilba offer good value, looks and performance.

  Name: Shilba Gold Medal 1-4 X 24

  Price: £325

  Contact: X-Calibre UK. ateo.org.uk

• Vortex Crossfire II 2-7×32 Scout Scope

  

  Reviewer: Graham Allen

  Scout rifles are popular all around the world, as they allow the shooter to engage targets very rapidly, often with both eyes open using a relatively low powered scope. Vortex make a hug range of optics but the Crossfire II 2-7x32 Scout Scope has been developed for this type of rifle. It has a one inch, black anodised alloy body and uses capped 1/3 MOA elevation and windage adjusters and there are 15 MOA of travel per rotation; a total of 60 MOA of adjustment is available in total. Parallax is set for 100-yards, so is spot on for many applications. The Vortex Crossfire II 2-7x32 Scout Scope comes with an incredibly generous 9.45-inch eye relief to accommodate forward mounting, and a 2-7 zoom range, the Vortex Crossfire II 2-7x32 Scout Scope is the perfect optic for any job you and your scout rifle want to throw at it. The field of view is 5.2-18.3-feet at 100-yards. At 10.5 -inches long and with a weight of 12-ounces it won’t unbalance any rifle that it is mounted on.

  Name: Vortex Crossfire II 2-7x32 Scout Scope

  Price: £136

  Contact: Optics Warehouse.

• Konus Pro 550 4-16 X 50 ballistic

  

  Reviewer: Graham Allen

  Konus Optics is a brand based in Verona, Italy and is a family run business for more than 30 -years and was originally a general optics company, manufacturing telescopes, microscopes and binoculars brand into the hunting and shooting category. high-quality optics at an exceptional value.

  This affordable 4-16x50 target scope has a one-piece aluminium tube, finger adjustable turrets that have precision 1/8 MOA clicks. All internal lenses are multi coated for an enhanced image. The engraved 550 reticle provides you with several aiming points that correspond to different distances and are based on the most popular centerfire and black powder loads and due to its lateral hash marks, this reticle also allows for compensation in case of strong crosswinds. The adjustable objective lens provides a clear, sharp view of the target.

  Name: Konus Pro 4-16 x 50

  Price: £150

  Contact: Range Right. www.range-right.co.uk

• Optisan EVX 6-24 X 50 F1i

  

  Reviewer: Graham Allen

  The Optisan EVX range of scopes is designed and engineered for sub-MOA precision shooting and hunting and is field tested up to .308 and .300WM. The GEN II redesigned optical system has a 25% larger field of view with a generous eyebox for fast target acquisition. The eye relief is from 3.5 inches and is consistent throughout the magnification range so that the head position stays steady. All EVX scopes now comes in mil/mil matching turret/reticle and a redesigned mil-hash reticle for long range holdover; the turrets are push/pull lockable with five mils per rotation.

  The EVX 6-24 X 50 F1i has a matte black anodised, onepiece 30mm diameter aircraft grade aluminium tube and houses an extremely useful MIL-F1MH24i reticle in the first focal plane, which can be illuminated via the six-step adjuster that has off positions between each setting. All lenses are fully multi-coated. A 3-inch sunshade and metal flip up covers are included. Weight is 26.5-ounces and length is 14.8-inches. Image quality is very good thanks to the quality coated lenses and this scope is perfect for all types of long distance target work.

  Name: EVX 6-24 X 50 F1i

  Price: £459

  Contact: Optisan Eu. opisan.eu

• Karl Kaps TLB 3-12 X 50 FFP Riflescope

  

  Reviewer: Larry Fowles

  The has a 30mm tube and the TLB 3-12 X 50 reticle is a standard German No.4, with three thicker posts at 3, 6 and 9 narrowing in the centre. Set in the first focal plane (FFP) here, the reticle changes size when the scope is zoomed, it’s is perfectly sized for hunting. 1cm @ 100m.

  It is an excellent all-round hunting reticle, not lost at 3x or too thick at 12x. An advantage of a FFP scope is the constant distance between the reticule posts, enabling range estimation, at any magnification.

  The red dot is fine and bright, dimming to an imperceptible glow as required. The operation is a little quirky. Turning the left-hand control on the middle saddle a few degrees up or down from a centre indent adjusts an infinitely variable rheostat. A further turn up and brief hold turns it off. It works very well, but is needlessly complex, more simple systems are available. It will, however, turn off after 6 hours automatically to save the battery if inadvertently left on. Lenses are made from Schott and are excellent in low light with good contrast. This is another scope I would be happy to keep permanently on my rifle.

  Name: Karl Kaps TLB 3-12×50 FFP Illuminated

  Price: £1150

  Contact: Optics Warehouse. www.opticswarehouse.co.uk

• Hawke Frontier 30 1-6x24 Riflescope

  

  Reviewer: Chris Parkin

  Hawke Frontier 30 1-6x24 Riflescope Reviewer: Chris Parkin The 1-6x24 Frontier 30 is a real master of many realistic hunting trades and I ran the scope on a Henry Big Boy Steel 357 rifle, which turned out to be an ideal vehicle for such a scope. The small 24mm objective lens within a 30mm one-piece aluminium body tube keeps the mounting solution to your rifle low and the centre of the tube shows a simple spherical saddle with ¼-inch click dials under threaded screw caps. A centre fastener allows a flat blade screwdriver to remove and reset the dial to `Zero` and with 80 clicks or 20-inches of 100-yard adjustment per turn, just under 11 total rotations gives more than 200-inches of internal mechanical adjustment to complete your zeroing setup regardless of range.

  The left side of the saddle supports a bi-directional illumination intensity control dial marked from 0-11 for the simple centre dot of the second focal plane L4A reticle powered by a single CR2032 battery. Parallax is fixed at 100-yards. The tube is nitrogen charged and with up to 21 coatings on the lenses, the transmission is sharp and reasonably bright and I didn’t notice any chromatic aberration.

  Name: Frontier 30 1-6 X 24

  Price: £579.99

  Contact: Hawke Sport Optics. hawkeoptics.co.uk

• Kite 1.6-10 X 42

  

  Reviewer: Pete Moore

  The Kite 1.2-6 X 42 uses a 30mm, one-piece body tube, with an illuminated reticle in the second focal plane, turrets are the capped, though easy to dial and re-set. The reticle is the standard #4-type and allows you to go out to 500m using a simple, animal-width grid/ladder based on a Roe deer. Light transmission is quoted at an impressive 93% and all models offer a 6x zoom range and all exterior lens surfaces are treated with PermavisionTM exclusive coating, which is water and fog repellent. The build sees a semi matte black finish and at the rear is a fast-focus eyepiece with a deep, slotted magnification ring that shows a raised fin for easier dialling.

  The saddle shows two mid-height turrets with removable caps and inside the lift to zero drums looked very familiar to the ones that Bushnell and others use. Click values are 7mm @ 100m.

  On the left of the saddle is the drum-type, 11-position rheostat, with switch off points between the numbers. Optical quality appears very good with a crisp and bright image, though I did find the inner arms of the reticle a tad slim and on that matter. At 1.26lbs and 12.5-inches long, it’s a light and handy package that will not overpower any rifle it’s put on.

  Model: Browning/Kite KSP HD2 1.6 -10x42i (code K282240)

  Price: £1130

  Contact: International Sports Brands. www.browning.eu

• Kahles 318i

  

  Reviewer: Bruce Potts

  The Kahles 318i has a 34mm aluminium body tube and is very short (only 310mm long) and incorporates a 6x zoom factor. With a spec of 3.5 to 18x power, you have a sensible and very useable mag range that allows a good field of view and precise aiming at all distances. Combine this with a large 34mm body tube and 50mm objective and you have a good adjustment range and double turn elevation turrets; it weighs 925-grams, so is quite heavy. The zoom ring is deeply grooved for grip, with a raised fin for ease of dialling, operation is smooth but firm. There is also the standard fast-focus eyepiece and the large eyepiece certainly helps quick target acquisition.

  The first focal plane (FFP) MSR ½-Mil-Dot reticle can be illuminated via a CR2032 battery and stays the same size in relation to the target regardless of magnification. There is no vignetting, or blurred edges, thanks to the coated lenses. Colour retention is excellent and the multi coated layers allow great contrast between objects. Again, another outstanding scope from Kahles.

  Model: Kahles K 318i

  Price: £2666

  Contact: Swarovski, info-uk@swarovskioptik.com

• March 10-60 X 56

  

  Reviewer: Graham Allen

  March scopes are hand-built in Japan by Deon Optical Design, who have over 3 decades of experience in design and manufacture; they are all built to the highest standards. They have optics for competition, tactical, and hunting situations and the 10-60 x 56 has a 4mm thick, 34mm tube made from solid billet and is built for serious long-distance target shooting where a crystal clear image a repeatable turret adjustments are vital. The scope has high quality optics made from Super ED glass and 1/8 MOA clicks and have a total of 60 MOA of elevation and 40 MOA of windage adjustment using the high target-style turrets that have clearly engraved numbers. One full turn equals 10 MOA and the turrets can be re-set to zero if required. Side focus/parallax adjustment allows for targeting from 10-yards to infinity and the extra-long eye relief allows these scopes to be fitted to rifles with the heaviest recoil. A variety of reticles are available for a wide range of shooting disciplines and the range covers just about every shooting discipline. Weight is 24.7oz and it is 16.5-inches long.

  Model: March 10-60 X 56 High Master SFP

  Price: From £2506.80

  Contact: March Scopes. marchscopes.co.uk