Schmidt & Bender 1-8x24 Exos

I think most shooters favour variable power optics as they do have much to offer. However, we do tend to be seduced by higher magnification whether we need it or not! Sure everything looks bigger but a reduced field of view (FOV) and light gathering are negative side effects. More realistically can you hold it steady as more mag means more wobble; certainly on less easily supported shots?

BE HONEST

I am guilty as the rest at times of big mag syndrome but discovered that often my 3-15x50 etc. was often dialled down to x7/8 to put everything in perspective. At this power there’s more than enough magnification for longer shots and FOV and light gathering are much improved. Wind it down even more and these two get better! Also when the action is close some of these higher magnification scopes do not offer a sufficiently lower bottom end and though x3 is not bad x1 is better! That is why I use low/mid-range compacts that offer specs of 1-4x24, 1.2-5x36 and 1.5-6x42 alongside my bigger glass.

This rather long introduction then begs the question; is there a perfect specification? No! But in a hunting scope I might have found something in Schmidt und Bender’s Exos 1-8x24 Flash Dot. This amalgamates all the advantages of the aforementioned compacts and adds just a bit better top and bottom ends.

 

PERFECT PAIRING

I’ve always wanted to test one and when the Blaser BD14 Bock Drilling came along I could not think of a better pairing due to the short/long range nature of this triple barrelled rifle/shotgun! The Exos does not look that special with its long/ straight 30mm body tube though exhibits all the build quality I associate with S&B.

It’s reasonably conventional with a fast-focus eyepiece bell and their capped, Posicon turrets that shows how much reticule movement remains by an integral dial with red and green zones and a pointer. The turrets are easy yet precise to dial and allow you to wind in corrections if required. Plus they incorporate a slipping ring you can set zero with. Useful to a degree on longer range shots! I have an S&B 3-12x50 Zenith on my 17HMR Ruger and from a 100 yard zero, 11-clicks gets me out to 200 yards.

Two areas where the Exos differs is the fact the reticule is in the 2nd Focal Plane (SFP) not unique for a Schmidt but not usual either! This offers a fixed size Flash Dot unlike a 1st Focal Plane (FFP) system where it gets bigger and smaller as you dial the mag up & down. Secondly the magnification range is marked CC, 1.1 to x8, CC is a true x1 power setting and gives another advantage of these scopes in that you can use it with both eyes open for close work where it acts like a red dot. Which is ideal for driven hunts and similar where you don’t need any serious magnification, just a highly visible aim point and a good FOV. Conversely up at x8 there’s enough power for most practical needs. You can get these features to a greater degree from most compact optics but wrapping this up in a true x 1 – x8 magnification is what makes the Exos that bit special!

 

FD 0 TO FD 7

The build is all aluminium including the magnification ring, which has no rubber on it, instead there’re deep gripping slots machined in and Schmidt’s signature semi matte black finish. The 11-position rheostat is on the left of the saddle and has OFF positions between the numbers meaning you can select a setting and just click back one rather than dialling up from 0. Unusually there’s no spare battery under the turret cap!

Click values are 1cm @ 100m with 70-clicks per turn and just over 3.5 rotations giving a top to bottom/side to side of 245 cms (96”) which is impressive! There is a choice of four Flash Dot (FD) illuminated reticules: FD 0 single dot/no posts, FD 2 tapered post, FD 4 medium 4A and FD 7 open 4A, mine came with the FD 4! Currently there is only one specification: 1-8x24.

In use there were no real issues, I did find the magnification ring a little stiff, but apart from that the promise of the 1-8 range made this a near ideal scope for use from 0 to 300 yards. For example up the high seat one of my longer shots is 247 yards; x8 is more than enough, equally stepping down into the wood winding down to CC with the dot on gives a fantastic point and shoot ability out to 50 yards +, with as can be imagined everything inbetween. I also preferred the fixed size red dot, which is possible with this SFP system! Low light was good though not as good as my Zenith 1.5-6x42 as that extra 18mm of objective pays dividends. I’d like to see Schmidt offer a 1-8x42 option, which might just have the edge! Though saying that you could go for this spec in their Stratos which is FFP though I prefer the simpler, rotary rheostat and fixed size dot of the Exos!

PRICE: £2040
CONTACT: Schmidt & Bender, +49 (0) 6 40 9 / 81 15 – 0 www.schmidtundbender.de for your nearest of 14 approved UK dealers