The Premier Reticles Heritage
5-25x56 Tactical Scope by Chris Parkin
The Premier Reticles Heritage 5-25x56 Tactical Scope by Chris Parkin
Premier Reticles is a name synonymous with scope modification and customisation, certainly familiar to both Field Target air rifle and Benchrest shooters who wanted to boost magnification on a Leupold. Now, they have moved into their own line of optics and, when a tactical scope arrives with a price of £2429, a performance promise and a specification list to match it, the sceptic in me wants to see if it lives up to the hype.
No mistaking the prime target
The first characteristic that struck me was the visual and proportional similarity to what has become the current benchmark in this field, the S&B PMII, so Premiers’ prime target is clear. There are a lot of specification choices that can be made - with turrets and click units, along with full reticle information easily accessible online. However, only two reticles are offered, both in the first focal plane. Anyone buying a scope of this type will more than likely study these specifications carefully and/or certainly has knowledge of their individual features before reaching for their wallet. Premiers’ own website is keen to point this out! www.
premierreticles.com
First Focal plane MIL dot reticules are a popular choice as mistakes are impossible. Im not sure they work well with a 5x erector tube though.
The reticle on our scope is a `Gen2 XR` - essentially a variation on the standard mil-dot with extra hash marks every half milradian (Mrad). Being set in the first focal plane (FFP), it exhibited the usual compromise of staying precisely relative in size to the target image at the expense of being large or small at either end of the zoom range. Mil readings, aim-offs, adjustments and zeroing are virtually impossible to do incorrectly but, as magnification bottoms out, the reticule reaches a fifth of its former size.
The tactical turrets are beyond fingertip size and the ones here were getting on for fist-sized grip requirements, so no problem with gloves on. Clicks were 0.1 Mrad with a more solid detent and heavier click every full Mrad. This is in line with a competitor
- US Optics patent and allows corrections that are more quickly and easily defined, MTC simply means `More Tactile Click`.
15 Mrad are available within each rotation and the turret is double turn, the spec shows 28 Mrad are available but, after zeroing, I was limited to 18 Mrad although at approximately 64 Minutes of Angle (MOA), this is roughly the same as the PMII and quite adequate. The turret rotated
clockwise for `up` but anti- clockwise ones are an option and as this is a topic that often divides shooters’ opinion, top marks there.
First Focal plane MIL dot reticules are a popular choice as mistakes are impossible. Im not sure they work well with a 5x erector tube though.
What is missing is a Schmidt & Bender type rotation indicator. Although a zero stop is featured, helpfully
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