Falcon 4-18x44 M18+ 30mm Riflescope for Field Target??? UPDATE - NO!!!

[Terry Vanpool]

I have 2 M18+ scopes on FT rifles and like them as well as any. Both mine are FFP with .1 mil clicks, one with a mil-dot reticle and one with B20 reticle. These are Chinese scopes and like most scopes in this class they are heavy, about 30 oz. but the glass is better than any other Chinese scopes I have tried. The parallax adjustment has >180° of rotation from 9 yds yo 55 yds which gives good separation on the longer distances. The turret adjustments are crisp/positive and accurate. It has a shallower depth of field than the others which let it snap in and out of focus better than most.

The scopes I have to compare it to are, in order of my preference:

1. Falcon M18+ 4x18 FFP
2. Athlon Helos 6x24 FFP
3. Bushnell Elite 6500 4x16
4. Optisan Mamba Lite 4x16
5. Hawke 4x16 Sidewinder 30

The top three are all very good scopes and will work well for "Hunter" class FT, the Optisan and Hawke I would not recommend.

[Gear_Junkie]

I have 2 M18+ scopes on FT rifles and like them as well as any. Both mine are FFP with .1 mil clicks, one with a mil-dot reticle and one with B20 reticle. These are Chinese scopes and like most scopes in this class they are heavy, about 30 oz. but the glass is better than any other Chinese scopes I have tried. The parallax adjustment has >180° of rotation from 9 yds yo 55 yds which gives good separation on the longer distances. The turret adjustments are crisp/positive and accurate. It has a shallower depth of field than the others which let it snap in and out of focus better than most.

The scopes I have to compare it to are, in order of my preference:

1. Falcon M18+ 4x18 FFP
2. Athlon Helos 6x24 FFP
3. Bushnell Elite 6500 4x16
4. Optisan Mamba Lite 4x16
5. Hawke 4x16 Sidewinder 30

The top three are all very good scopes and will work well for "Hunter" class FT, the Optisan and Hawke I would not recommend.

Good info - thanks Terry!

[TwiceHorn]

Ah I see.  Well, Paul P and Cameron K are both using them on 97s and so far so good.  Pretty sure I am going to take a flier on one.

Please post what you think.  I was about to order the Reaper 6-24x50, until I found out it wasn't springer rated.  If I was under 12fpe, I probably wouldn't worry about it, but I'm a hair over 13fpe right now.

Thanks!

I'm a spot under 12 myself, so I will keep my fingers crossed.  Even though I now shoot Hunter (started in WFTF), I think I am going to get the Sentinel 10-40.  I don't think there is much "transitiveness" to a scope brand or even model-line (Sentinel in the case of Tac Vector), that guarantees or even supports an inference that all of them range well.  Also, it appears that the different model lines of Tac Vectors have pretty different chassis from one another, so may be qualitatively very different scopes.

Besides, from what I can tell, the 10-40 is definitely longer, but only a couple ounces heavier, than the 4-16x. 

[JKC]

I have 2 M18+ scopes on FT rifles and like them as well as any. Both mine are FFP with .1 mil clicks, one with a mil-dot reticle and one with B20 reticle. These are Chinese scopes and like most scopes in this class they are heavy, about 30 oz. but the glass is better than any other Chinese scopes I have tried. The parallax adjustment has >180° of rotation from 9 yds yo 55 yds which gives good separation on the longer distances. The turret adjustments are crisp/positive and accurate. It has a shallower depth of field than the others which let it snap in and out of focus better than most.

The scopes I have to compare it to are, in order of my preference:

1. Falcon M18+ 4x18 FFP
2. Athlon Helos 6x24 FFP
3. Bushnell Elite 6500 4x16
4. Optisan Mamba Lite 4x16
5. Hawke 4x16 Sidewinder 30

The top three are all very good scopes and will work well for "Hunter" class FT, the Optisan and Hawke I would not recommend.

Terry, what kind of side wheel are you using with your Falcon M18 scopes?

[Terry Vanpool]

I use a modified UTG 100mm wheel.

[JKC]

Thanks Terry, and especially thank you for posting the photo.

Your photo shows that you get pretty darn good separation between the marks for those longer distances. That's encouraging.

 

[Gear_Junkie]

Thanks Terry, and especially thank you for posting the photo.

Your photo shows that you get pretty darn good separation between the marks for those longer distances. That's encouraging.

 

Yeah it is - especially if it snaps in and out of focus.  Jack - I think you should order one so that I can try it out 

[JKC]

Well, in Reply #20 above, Terry does say this about the Falcon M18:

"It has a shallower depth of field than the others which let it snap in and out of focus better than most."

I'm thinking seriously about getting an M18. My current scope, the Athlon Midas BTR 2.5X-15 with the APLR1 reticle is fabulous for bracketing, but not so great for side focus ranging. Since not all match venues use standard sized concrete blocks to anchor the targets, my bracketing dope has limited usefulness.   

[Terry Vanpool]

JKC the Falcons that I have are very good Hunter class FT scopes but at the 16 power we have to use, focus ranging beyond 40 or 45 yards is never going to be as precise as the other classes using 50 to 80 power scopes. I do have an Athlon Helos that I also use.
I guess what I am trying to say is, don't expect any 16 power scope to be significantly better than your Athlon. Continue to hone your bracketing skills for those long targets, that is what I do when possible.

[JKC]

JKC the Falcons that I have are very good Hunter class FT scopes but at the 16 power we have to use, focus ranging beyond 40 or 45 yards is never going to be as precise as the other classes using 50 to 80 power scopes. I do have an Athlon Helos that I also use.
I guess what I am trying to say is, don't expect any 16 power scope to be significantly better than your Athlon. Continue to hone your bracketing skills for those long targets, that is what I do when possible.

Thanks Terry.

Based on my experience (about 2-1/2 seasons of Hunter Class now), I'm in total agreement with what you stated.

BTW, Athlon has announced two new scopes that look interesting. Probably won't see them until next summer however. https://athlonoptics.com/product-category/rifle-scopes/midas-tac/

Jack

[Yogi]

Terry and Jack,

Does having FFP really help in FT hunter class?  I assume you set it at 16X and leave it alone??
For hunting I get FFP, for paper, metal target punching, I don't get it!

TIA,

-Yogi

[Terry Vanpool]

Terry and Jack,

Does having FFP really help in FT hunter class?  I assume you set it at 16X and leave it alone??
For hunting I get FFP, for paper, metal target punching, I don't get it!

TIA,

-Yogi

Yogi the FFP has zero to do with this being my favorite FT scope. It has a shallow depth of field which means it snaps in and out of focus with little movement of the sidewheel and it has about 180° of rotation from 10 yds. to 55 yds. which gives good separation on the wheel. I do like the FFP because I can make a single range card and it will be good for all power settings, unlike SFP scopes that require some math when you change power. The only drawback is the reticule gets too small for me at <8x, but I almost never need it at low power settings.