THE MARCH
2.5-25 X 42 SCOPE REVIEW
This March came with a standard duplex reticle - an aiming pattern now considered old fashioned. But March supplies a handy measuring guide for this pattern that acts as a ready reference guide for ranging. For example, at 10 power and at 100 yards the thick bar subtends 0.8 inch while the space
Chromatic aberration is the failure of a lens to focus all colours to the same point (the opposite to a rainbow). It occurs because lenses have a different refractive index for different wavelengths of light (the dispersion of the lens). The refractive index decreases with increasing wavelength. Chromatic aberration is easy to test for in a scope, if you can see ‘fringes’ of colour along boundaries that separate dark and bright parts of the image you have found it. It can be very evident in poor-quality scopes because each colour in the optical spectrum cannot be focused at a single common point on the optical axis and often presents as a yellow or brown view.
The test
As noted, the test for this scope is simpler than most because we are trying to set up a series of events to make the scope fail. If it passes the test at such short ranges then you can be pretty certain it will exceed normal shooters’ expectations at ‘normal’ ranges.
Results on target. The Meisterkugeln cuts a photo friendly hole (top left) but the Superpoint was the far more consistent pellet when it came to grouping in this air rifle.
between the thick bar and the centre of the cross hair subtends 7.5 inches. Time on the range will soon show what power gives the best distance reading.
The zoom range of 2.5 to 25 power is noteworthy in itself. At 2.5 power it is very easy to shoot with both eyes open - the Bindon method, which avoids tunnel vision. Better yet, identifying your target is very easy and zooming-in to the highest magnification presents no challenge.
Unlike the 60 power model reviewed previously, eye relief is not an issue and there is no need to adjust cheek positions. The key thing to do on all March scopes though is to focus the scope to your eye to get the best definition of target and crosshair. There is no need to be tentative about this but when the ocular is set up properly you will see things that were not evident before.
This is because March scopes use extra-low dispersion glass (ED) lenses which have a smaller refractive index than a typical optical lens in the blue to red wavelength. This enables superior sharpness and color correction by reducing chromatic aberration.
Bearing in mind the poor kinetic values of the .177 pellet, the ranges tested were limited to 10 metres (11 yards) as this is intended to be a test of optics not the rifle. All firing was undertaken from a supported position. A number of different targets were used – with a life-size rabbit silhouette to confirm things were working at the end.
Shooting a springer is hard work. The HW 77 hates being shot off a hard surface and the double recoil
Just to prove the March can sit well on other rifles. The balance and scale of the 2.5 – 25 is obvious on this carbine version of an AICS in 458 SOCOM.
pulse as the spring decompresses and then stops is not conducive to fine or repeatable accuracy.
Using a rear sand bag as a front rest and gripping the stock like gorilla helped a lot. Sighting was best at 10 power (that is equivalent to the target being one metre away) but 25 power (i.e. a target a 40 cms) was also easy. As the power increased, the white paper reflected a blue tinge, which is a function of the ED lens.
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