Optolyth Optik TBG 80 w/ Mil Reticle

TBG 80 from Optolyth with Mil based Reticle.

It seems like every week there are constant calls in the forum here at Sniper's Hide about a spotting scopes with reticle that will match our rifle scopes. For the longest time the only choices for the US shooter to get a spotting scope with a reticle built in was from Leupold in their Tactical Spotter line. At the time you were able to get that spotter with a Mil Dot reticle and then later from Premier with a GEN II upgrade. Several years later Zeiss began importing their Mil Reticle eyepiece into the US for their Sport Optic Spotter the 65 T. It seems strange considering for how long the sniper / spotter combination has been taught as the standard way of doing business. Yet there was a huge gap in the market for a spotter with reticle to match our rifles.

Lately, the market has been trying to fix that buy producing more and more spotter with either reticles build in or by making eye pieces available with reticles to be added later.

Enter the Optolyth Opik TBG 80 with a fixed 30X eye piece and mil based reticle.

Optolyth Optik of Nuremberg, Germany has been making optical equipment since 1856. The TBG 80 is, as advertised 100% German made optics imported into the US by IOR Valdata Optics. Sniper's Hide was giving a demo unit through Scott Berish of Liberty Optics on loan from IOR.

The Spotter

Immediately when we received the spotter from Scott we took to using it on the Range at Rifles Only. As well we used during our Spring Match - The Sniper's Hide Cup to introduce it to as many shooter as possible. We do a lot of precision rifle classes in the course of a year, as well with the match around the corner we felt it was a perfect opportunity for us to use this spotter in order to put it through its paces.

Construction

The TBG 80 is a rather large unit, covered in oil & acid resistant rubber armoring. It is just shy of 16" long and weighs 3 pounds, so it's a big unit with an 80mm objective. It has a retractable lens hood and rotating tripod adapter ring on the main body. Below is a size comparison to my Zeiss 65, so you can how it looks side by side.

The reticle

The design of the reticle we really like. It built into a 30X eye piece that is labeled as their wide view to take advantage of the 80mm objective. Its not your standard crosshair type reticle that is found in your rifle scope, however it is the same as it is mil based. In the application for this spotter we found the reticle was well designed to help spot impacts without obstructing the target. For those familiar it is very similar to the Zeiss Spotter 60 reticle, although much thicker in size. The reticle itself is broken up into .5 Mil hash marks and it first referenced at the 5 Mil mark continuing on to 10 Mils either side of center. The long side of the L moving down goes 15 Mils. Which give the shooter a wide reticle in which to work.

Glass and Coatings, the Optolyth is their High Definition Ceralin plus multi-coated lens. It is a wide band multi-coating designed to give the user optimal performance with sharp natural coloring.

On the Range

As I stated earlier, we immediately started working down here at Rifles Only with the TBG 80, and found it very useful to work behind. The reticle was the shining feature of the scope, although we would like to have it in something with a little less magnification. We all felt that the combination of 80mm objective and 30X was a little too much to worth with in the bright South Texas sun. It worked well, but we found the mirage hard on the scope. I think in lesser conditions the spotter would perform better, but a clear hot day, it was tough to use at time. In lower light it appears to shine more than midday.

During the match we had lot of hands on the unit and while some gave the spotter high marks for having a reticle, other felt it was too big to carry around in a tactical situation. It was a valid concern. At the same time we were working with the TBG 80 we also had a Zeiss Spotter 60 on side and it quickly over shadowed the Optolyth, which considering the price of the Spotter 60 may not be much, however the Optolyth is not a bargain spotter by any means and is actually more expensive than the Zeiss 65 w/ their mil dot eye piece. In my opinion having used the Zeiss 65 w/Mil Reticle since they first appeared in the US, I have to say the Optolyth is a far second place to the Zeiss sport optic. Even though the TBG 80 is armored, the Zeiss is a better buy.

I personally found the eye relief to be a little tough, It seemed you had to be right on top of it in order to get a good picture. As well I also thought the eye piece cover was tough to screw on and off as the threads didn't appear to be well cut into the plastic.

Overall, it's not a bad spotter, however I feel the price tag puts it away from the recommended list when you consider what you can buy for the same money. Overall it gets plus points for incorporating the reticle, however it loses those points when you consider the size and weight of the optic and the picture quality in bright but less than perfect light conditions. In hot harsh environments its a bit diffused.

For more information please contact:

Scott Berish
Liberty Optics LLC
An Official Vendor of Sniper's Hide.
www.libertyoptics.com
"See Better, Shoot Better"
406-890-2714
If no answer 352-572-1469
Scott@LibertyOptics.com

IOR Valdada Optics
6685 W Ken Caryl Ave
Littleton CO 80128