Guidelines for Mil-Dot Scope Reviews
- Conduct a head-to-head comparison of several scopes. If you only own one scope and say, “yeah, it works great,” that does not really mean anything to anybody. Only review scopes that sell for less than $1000, but include the Mark IV as a benchmark to compare the others against, as it is familiar to all U.S. military snipers. Do not repeat information that is available from the manufacturers – just link to the manufacturers’ online descriptions. Also, link to online cataloguers who stock the scopes.
- Do not review a scope until you have competed in at least a dozen rifle matches with it. A problem that I have had with both the BSA and the Leupold VX-II is that the windage dials come loose after extended use. This is potentially catastrophic in combat because it renders one’s rifle useless and, while it can be fixed, one must then leave the battlefield to find a range where one’s rifle can be re-zeroed.
- In the afternoon, while the light is still good, have one person set a target in the brush 300 to 500 yards away while the others look away. Then, with their scopes on their highest power, challenge them to quickly find the target. If they struggle to locate it, then their scopes have too high a magnification for combat use. (Dialing a scope down in the field is inadvisable as it may result in a miss if you forget to dial it back up before shooting.)
- At dusk, set up a target at least 300 yards away, though 500 or 600 yards would be better, and fire until it gets too dark to shoot. Fire from the prone position without the use of a bipod, sandbag or other rest. Take turns firing your buddies’ rifles to make a direct comparison of the quality of their glass. Also, set up a target (do not shoot at it) about 10° away from the setting sun and see if your view washes out in the glare. (This is a test of the quality of the coating on the lenses.)
- After the sun has set, remove the bolts from your rifles to ensure that they are safe and have a friend walk into the bush and then walk slowly back towards you. Challenge the others to try to spot him first through their scope. Also, ask them to see how close the person must be for them to put their cross-hairs on him, as non-illuminated crosshairs are harder to see than the target itself. I have found that the most recognizable feature of humans is the silhouette of their legs, as trees never grow side-by-side like that. Just breaking up this silhouette by tying a jacket around one’s waist or tucking a towel into one’s belt often works as well or better than camouflage.
- Create your review as a Microsoft Word document of about 1000 words. Also, take a picture of the several scopes you reviewed. Submit your review by pasting it into the comment section of my contact page. Once I know who you are, I will ask you to send me the Word document and the photo. But do not send them immediately, as I do not open attachments from people that I do not know.
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