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12.5-50x56 PMII Scopes Schmidt & Bender 5-25
By Chris Parkin
these scopes is their superior (i.e. wider) field of view regardless of magnification setting. At 200 yards, most scopes will be typically set on 12 power to cover the whole ‘wall’ (at Diggle Ranges) but I was able to set my magnification at between 15 – 18 power and at 300 yards, where 18 power is the accepted maximum, I was using between 20 – 23 power.
Foolproof - the ‘lighthouse’ turns yellow when you get on to the top (yellow) scale of elevation adjustment.
balance, contrast and definition is very honest with no visible chromatic aberration – or fringing - which is often seen as a yellow-green fringe around high- contrast subjects on many scopes.
Needless to say, absolutely no zero shift occurs between zoom settings and the majority of my precision shooting and testing was carried out at 35- 40 power. I have shot McQueens, F-Class competition and a little bit of vermin with both scopes and not once did they let me down, although only once did I use full magnification on the 12-50.
The 25 was more suited to vermin as the lower end allowed you to zoom up on distant rabbits that had been found through binoculars. One criticism - although the side parallax adjustment was solid and repeatable with no backlash, the markings on the dial were several hundred metres out. At a 400 yard shoot - the only time I got to use it at 50 power - the turret was set beyond infinity. Having said that, at 50 power, the correct parallax-free setting agreed with the focus and it snapped in and out with crisp precision. Impressively, it will focus down to about 10 metres!
When shooting the McQueen - a nice little stress-fire competition which requires rapid target acquisition and accurate shot-placement all in a time of three seconds at 200 and 300 yards - field of view is critical. The shooter must pick up the target quickly in any one of ten ‘windows’ and one outstanding feature of
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In other words, I had a larger image to aim at and this, coupled with the superb image quality, led to a feeling of having more time AND a greater level of precision when the shot happened. Competition shooting can be tiring on the eyes as you spend maybe up to an hour staring through the scope in an F Class shoot with three shooters to a target. I found using the Schmidt gave me a more relaxed visual experience than with some scopes.
25 or 50 Power?
Although the 12.5-50 is the larger magnification, it is actually cheaper, mainly because it does not feature illumination and has a four-times rather than a five-times magnification range. The main choice between the two for some users - especially those in a serious `tactical` environment - is that 12.5x lowest magnification may limit you in certain circumstances more than 25x maximum does in others but, it is horses for courses and each shooter must make his
Very easy to see and adjust from the shooting position. See the number 2 in the window?
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