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Steiner MX5i 5-25x56

Steiner MX5i 5-25x56

5-25x56 1st focal plane riflescopes are a breed of optics that has evolved from Military requirements and must perform in some of the hardest environments on Earth. The likes of Schmidt & Bender, Minox and Kahles offer close rivals in specification, showing few caveats but for the exact pricing and ‘name’, which can mean all to some prospective ‘Tactical’ buyers. Toughness, durability, speed of tactile adjustment, illuminated reticles and a 34mm tube form the baseline specifications, with weight less of an issue than durability.

Steiner’s approach to elevation dials was quite new to me, with a smart curtainlike collar that lifts when you enter the second 15 mils of adjustment, meaning incorrect values can’t be visible on the elevation turret, which will now show from 15 to 26 mils. This is a neat way of doing it and in daylight, very accurate and difficult to make mistakes. A zero stop is present and the outer dial is resettable to zero with two Allen key grub screws. No clicking noises sound in the background when they are slack, which assures you that you are rotating just the dials, not adjusting the internal mechanics, which I find far preferable to scopes that still click when ‘floating the dials’. Parallax runs from 40m to infinity, dialled without backlash on the left of the 34mm tube’s saddle, an illumination control projecting centrally from it with intensity from 0-11 and back. Off settings sit between each increment, for intuitive operation at speed, with a CR2450 battery beneath the cap. No auto-off for angles up, or laid aside, but the parallax dial was large in diameter, offering a hand-sized grip and is firm to turn, so didn’t interfere with illumination. You never accidentally turned it on when attaining a sharp image focus and dialling out any aiming error! Magnification is controlled with a knurled collar at the front of the ocular body and this time is smoother to turn that a previous Steiner I had, which was a little too firm.

First focal plane

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The Steiner’s 42mm diameter dials were easy to grip and operate, with white numbering for 150 clicks/16 Mils per turn. Everything is smoothly hard anodised, with aggressive knurling to aid grip, with or without gloves, yet never gets dirty with ‘finger skin dust’, as I like to term it. Each click is 1cm @ 100-metres, or 0.1mRad, to synchronise mechanical adjustment with the 1st Focal plane MSR reticle, with fine hash marks, rather than more simplistic mil dot, that no longer cut the mustard. Dialling deliberate adjustments over multiple target distances and then back to zero proved it. Assurances of 10-metre submersion tightness, inert gas fill, a solid warranty and unsurprisingly, being a German optic, the image quality was excellent. No tunnelling in the field of view appeared when magnification was lowered to 5. A fast-focus eyepiece is present and excellent flip up eye cups are fitted that fold flat over the objective and ocular bodies.

Smart reticle

The reticle is nicely weighted to leave a clear picture and still position onto smaller targets when wound up to 25x, as it gets bigger in the first focal plane. Missed shots can be corrected by aiming off or dialling and will agree perfectly regardless of magnification. Windage is marked 6 mils left and right of centre on the right-hand turret. 26 mils of total internal elevation travel is available up top but some of this will more than likely be used when initially zeroing the gun. I maximised travel with a set of Burris Signature XTR rings on the flat railed Tikka TAC rifle. Each half mil is hash marked up to 5 mils, with heavier outer stadia showing a further 10 mils from centre. Reticles are very personal choices and I prefer lines to ‘dots’, so preferred the finely etched MSR reticle, with its finer segments in the lower quadrants for precise target measuring.

I enjoyed shooting with the Steiner and particularly liked the innovative, mechanically elegant elevation turret design. Some may say it lacks a tactile second turn indicator but who actually uses scopes like this in the dark in the civilian world? Even more so, dialling the second 15 mils of adjustment would have you shooting out a very long way in the darkness! The field of view was fully circular, showing no tunnelling but field of view was fractionally smaller than my current Minox, which I use to bracket the full wall on a McQueens shoot when awaiting the heads popping up in windows. This again is fractionally narrower than the S&B PMII but accessibility of the exit pupil is also key here. The MX5i exit pupil was slightly more critical than my usual choices but again, we are into seriously personal opinions and several other shooters who viewed through the optic were as Impressed as I was with the brightness and colouration. I personally thought the image just a smidge less sharp than some competitors but these are more expensive, and at this price point, which with a street price probably very close to £2k, the Steiner is a superb optic and I was very happy to be using it.

Conclusion

The MSR reticle was pleasant to use with good definition on either paper or reactive targets and as always, dialling or aim offs with a 1st focal plane scope are a joy compared to ‘2nds’, as I now call them.

  • Steiner MX5i 5-25x56 - image {image:count}

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  • Steiner MX5i 5-25x56 - image {image:count}

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  • Steiner MX5i 5-25x56 - image {image:count}

    click on image to enlarge

  • Steiner MX5i 5-25x56 - image {image:count}

    click on image to enlarge

  • Steiner MX5i 5-25x56 - image {image:count}

    click on image to enlarge

gun
features

  • Model: Steiner: MX5i 5-25x56
  • Magnification: 5-25x
  • Field of View @ 100-metres: 23.6 - 4.6
  • Eye Relief: 89-116mm
  • Exit Pupill: 9.8-2.2mm
  • Length: 422mm
  • Reticle: G2B Mil-Dot or MSR
  • Windage Range @100-metres: 60cm (6 mils)
  • Elevation Range @100-metres: 260cm (26 mils)
  • Price: RRP £2350
  • Contact: GMK www.gmk.co.uk
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