THE MARCH
2.5-25 X 42 SCOPE REVIEW
Prologue
When we talk accuracy with scoped rifles, we tend to talk about long-range accuracy. We tend to reference the scope’s ability to identify targets at long range and the rifle’s ability to hit these targets.
Target Shooter is not a hunting magazine but the pursuit of accuracy is dear to the heart of all shooters and finding the limitations of equipment in any particular circumstance is a key requirement for reviewers. The distance between the eye and the ear of an adult rabbit - the only goal for a .177 to anchor a rabbit - is approximately eight millimetres. The goal was to tweak the equipment to hit that eight millimetre target at effective air rifle ranges repeatedly and with confidence.
The rifle
The March 2.5 – 25 x 42 set up on the HW77. These rifles were the peak of technology in the early to mid 80s but technology has changed.
The last March scope review covered in detail the benefits of using an 8 - 80 power March for long-range benchrest-style shooting using a range of centre-fire cartridges.
What we - as scope reviewers - often fail to develop in a review relates to how the scope performs at short ranges; ranges not normally shot by most people but ranges that require ultra high levels of precision to achieve a successful result - and that is just as a much a test of precision as 1000 yard shooting.
When I received a March 2.5 – 25 x 42 in the mail, my immediate response revolved around how to review this scope in such a way that we learn something new and we are able to contribute new information to the body of knowledge on these scopes. The answer was simple; the execution more complex. Put it on a powerful and accurate air rifle and find the most difficult thing to test the accuracy of both scope and rifle.
My HW77 is the air rifle I lusted after as a teenager in the early 1980s. Back then the HW77 and 80 series were the Rolls Royce of the air gun world - at least in Australia and I avidly read every UK magazine I could about what was happening on the air rifle scene in the UK.
I finally managed to get my hands on one as an adult, rebuilt it with modern springs and seals and put it in the cupboard for later. The only regret I had was that it is in .177 calibre - great for paper and pest birds but challenging for rabbits without very precise shot placement.
14
The HW77 is one of the first field target rifles made. Coming from the Weihrauch factory in Germany, it and its break-barrel brother the HW80, spawned a series of copy-cat rifles in the 1980s and contributed to a lot of the custom work that we now consider normal. The sliding breech and loading port was a major design innovation in its day and was a move away from the tap-style loading port that leaked air. New in its day but now considered a normal way to load a fixed barrel rifle.
The Rekord trigger is one of the best in the business. PCP rifles and target triggers surpass it these days
The turrets were a pleasant surprise when the caps were removed. Big, easy to read and more importantly, easy to set-up and return to zero.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98