Heavy, but worth every penny - Trijicon VCOG VC18 1-8x28mm Rifle Scope, 34 mm Tube, First Focal Plane (FFP)

I'll get the minor issues out of the way immediately: (1) The wire loops that hold the turret caps on are a pain; (2) It's heavy at 31.5 oz, but that includes the integral mount, so comparable to other LPVOs plus a mount; (3) The illumination is picked up in tiny spots along the numbering and some of the mil hashes, though it's only noticeable in very low light, and if you have the brightness slightly too high; (4) The magnification dial is slightly stiffer than I'd like; (5) It's too expensive for me to put one on every gun I own!

With those out of the way, let me just say that I love this scope! After using a couple Primary Arms scopes, mostly a 5x Prism fixed-zoom and Leatherwood CMR-4, the glass on the VCOG is incredible. Virtually no distortion, with a crisp, clear picture from edge to edge, and a great field of view when I compare the VCOG at matching magnifications (5x and 4x). The thing could probably survive a bomb blast and will probably outlive my DD5V3, and they'll both outlive me. Once I got it dialed in at 100m and put 60 rounds on paper, I took it off and mounted it again and fired a couple more groups to check if it held zero, which it did perfectly. I didn't do the box test, but I did adjust it 10 clicks to the right, then 20 clicks left, then 10 clicks right to get it back on center, and it performed admirably. Each .1 mil adjustment is a precise, crisp, audible click.

The eye box at 1x allows about a 3/4" of wiggle room forward/backward, and about 1/2" to any side, and maybe half those numbers at 8x. Eye relief is stellar: 4" at 1x and 3.9" at 8x. With a good cheek weld, there's no need to move your head around to get back to the sweet spot after magnification changes. Illumination is great. Gets dim enough to use in near darkness (I believe 1 and 2 are NV settings) and bright enough to see in the endless ND prairies on a bright, clear day.

The reticle was a huge selling point for me. I prefer a chevron, but after looking at many high-end LPVOs, they tend to have "big" 2 MOA dots or thick crosses. The VCOG 1-8 has a cross at the center like the 1-6, but the center is "hollowed out," and there's a tiny .15 mil (.52 MOA) dot right at the center. The segmented circle is easy to pick up at 1x with illumination off. The crosshair just appears as basically a tiny dot, easily visible with illumination on. At full magnification, the hollowed out cross and tiny center dot allow you to still see your target and aim with precision. It's really fantastic. A chevron would probably still be better, but this is just as good.

I picked up a DD5V3 and spent months trying to find the right optic before I settled on the VCOG 1-8, and it was definitely the right choice. Money well-spent, high marks across the board, and a solid recommendation.