Very good scope - Kruger Optical 2.5-10x50mm TacDriver Rifle Scope - Illum. Mildot Reticle, 30mm Tube, Matte Black

I was impressed on first examination out of the box. This is a VERY beefy scope weighing in at 750 grams or about 25.5 ounces and appears to be a very well made and durable scope. At the range, people were drawn to the scope like it was lit up in neon. They liked its look and feel, several commenting that they thought it was a tactical Leupold or NightForce opticit generated quite a crowd. Optics Planet advertising says this is a US made scope and the Kruger website implies it is US made. There are no serial number or OM markings; fortunately there is not a made in China sticker on it either. If it is US made, the scope/packaging should say so. That said, Kruger is an American optics company that builds some of their scopes in the US with US and imported parts. They also import some scopes from their overseas Asian plant. This scope has a 30mm maintube, fully multicoated optics, large tactile resettable locking win/elev turrets marked in 1/4 MOA, a large tactile power zoom ring and tactile side parallax focus turret, an innovative illuminated mil-dot reticle, and very good flip-up lens covers. Markings for zoom, side parallax focus, and win/elev turrets are bright and clear. However, the index marker on the turret saddle for win/elev is a small dot which is partially covered by the up/right adjustment arrow markings...the index markers should be larger and/or moved away from the adjustment arrow markings. The win/elev adjustments are positive and distinct. The turrets pull up to adjust and lock solidly in the down position to prevent unintentional adjustment in the field. Win/elev adjustment/tracking was a little stiff and appeared a little sloppy but I did not shoot the box as I was having some issues with the shooting platform (a custom rifle still in development) so continued testing is in order on another, proven platform. I was a bit disappointed with optics claritywhile reasonably bright and clear in bright daylight, it was not as bright as the smaller 40mm objective Leupold VX-II. I also noticed some minor edge color fringing and edge blurring with the power zoomed to greater than 8. Optics performance fell off somewhat in twilight conditions with the scope being outclassed by a smaller 40mm objective Leupold VX-I and a same sized 50mm objective Simmons Whitetail Classic. The only major issue I have is the Kruger website says the scope is a front focal or first image plane reticle but this scope has a second image plane reticle which means MOA target sizing and ranging is only accurate at one zoom range (typically 10X). The company should update their web-site data to accurately represent what they are selling, particularly something as vitally basic as a first or second image plane reticle. I bought this scope because I thought it was a first image plane reticle, fortunately I like it enough to keep it anyway. Also, the literature that comes with the scope is very basic and generic to their entire line of scopes (except their DTS Gen II). A more detailed brochure covering mildot ranging with their tactical scopes would be very helpful and would build confidence in their product, not to mention better product presentation. Unfortunately, the TacDriver scope packaging/presentation appear no different from generic imports. Many of todays shooters prefer US made opticsnot stating US made is in fact the same as advertising Not Made in USA. Overall, I think this scope is a good buy. It has features of a scope costing three times as much but performance appears to be on par with its cost. I will post an updated review after Ive had a chance to test it again, particularly win/elev adjustment and tracking at the range.
Pros: Well Built, Large Tactile Adjustments
Cons: Fair Optical Performance

This review was written in the old system and had content requirements that are different than reviews written today.