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Rifle Scopes IOR 3-18x42 ?

wrongside

Sergeant
Full Member
Minuteman
May 21, 2010
226
1
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SE MICH
What is your feelings about the IOR 3-18x42 scope ? How is it at distances ? Thinking of one, to keep the Recon company.
 
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I asked Scott at Liberty specifically about that scope and the newer 3.5-18x50...he said there was a marked improvement in the eye box over that model - I got the newer so I can't tell you what the real world difference is, but the 3.5-18x50 is excellent.
 
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I have the older 3-18x42 without illumination. Everyone who has looked through it has been really impressed. The glass is noticeably better than my 4.5-14x50 Mk4 M1 with Preimer's FFP Gen 2 reticle. On the negative side the finish is easily marked by rings and a Larue mount can be tightened too much and keep thd magnification ring from being able to turn.
 
One of the best damn scopes you can buy period. Bar none.

Good gawd!!! You must not get out much. In addition to all of the problems with tracking, egw actually had to design a new scope base just so you could mount this abortion of a scope. Just take a gander at the lack of tube space to mount the rear ring. Yup, it has good glass...that is all. The market space formerly occupied by IOR has been taken over by a number of much better options. Bushnell and Steiner to name two.
 
I just sighted in my new 3-18x42 MP8 x1 a few weeks ago. I love this scope, the glass and reticule are awesome. It fits perfectly on my SR25EC. I was looking at a bunch of different scopes but after talking with Scott at Liberty Optics I decided to give the IOR a shot. I am very happy with my purchase and highly recommend this scope.
 
I just sighted in my new 3-18x42 MP8 x1 a few weeks ago. I love this scope, the glass and reticule are awesome. It fits perfectly on my SR25EC. I was looking at a bunch of different scopes but after talking with Scott at Liberty Optics I decided to give the IOR a shot. I am very happy with my purchase and highly recommend this scope.

Welcome to the IOR brotherhood and congratulations on your purchase of one of the finest scopes on the planet.
 
Someone just compared Bushnell glass to Steiner and IOR?

If they really believe Bushnell are even close to the other two then maybe they consumed too much of Santa Xmas fairy dust??
 
Someone just compared Bushnell glass to Steiner and IOR?

If they really believe Bushnell are even close to the other two then maybe they consumed too much of Santa Xmas fairy dust??

And how many Bushnell DMRs have you used??? I am guessing a whopping ZERO. Rather than talk out of your ass about what you THINK you know from your vast cyber experience, you may want some substance to back up your bullshit.

Also your reading comprehension blows...never once was GLASS compared. Rather SCOPES were discussed. Never once was IORs fancy glass addressed in my post other than in a positive light. As said before, the only good thing about an IOR is the Schott glass...which is notably, the only part of the scope that IOR DOES NOT MAKE.
 
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And how many Bushnell DMRs have you used??? I am guessing a whopping ZERO. Rather than talk out of your ass about what you THINK you know from your vast cyber experience, you may want some substance to back up your bullshit.

Also your reading comprehension blows...never once was GLASS compared. Rather SCOPES were discussed. Never once was IORs fancy glass addressed in my post other than in a positive light. As said before, the only good thing about an IOR is the Schott glass...which is notably, the only part of the scope that IOR DOES NOT MAKE.

Speaking of reading comprehension, have you read the rules to this site?

1.Exercise common sense and be considerate toward your fellow users. Diversity of opinion and intelligent civil discourse is encouraged; by the same token, Personal attacks, rudeness, flaming, baiting, insults to others, or arguments will not be tolerated. Challenge others' points of view and opinions, but do so respectfully and thoughtfully.

Just in case you missed it.
 
I will take my chances big boy. You may want to try a scope made in a country in which they use something other than their mouths to castrate sheep before you make such a bold pronouncement regarding the superiority of your beloved IOR.

BTW. Hows that Trabant running??
 
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wrongside,
Responded to your PM, you can place it in here if you want, allot of folks seem to reference IOR's of 12 or more years ago. I can remember when NF and S&B's would go belly up all the time!

I'm about to head back to my unit after some wonderful weeks at home and in leaving here for a while again I'll repeat one thing that I've stated in another thread; SOCEUR was turned onto IOR scopes and other optic devices by the USMC Precision Weapons Section after extensive testing that they do every year on optics new and old that are in the system or being considered.
We have now been using some IOR equipment on weapon systems (two year point) and have been very pleased with them. Some replaced NF and S&Bs that were ok but the specific IORs had some better attributes for our needs and we have not gone back on any of them.

wrongside...find what YOU like and don't be swayed by other opinions.
 
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Good gawd!!! You must not get out much. In addition to all of the problems with tracking, egw actually had to design a new scope base just so you could mount this abortion of a scope. Just take a gander at the lack of tube space to mount the rear ring. Yup, it has good glass...that is all. The market space formerly occupied by IOR has been taken over by a number of much better options. Bushnell and Steiner to name two.

I agree with 19Scout77!!!

There are much better options available, I've had about 7 different IOR scopes all with problems except one!! I've had main tubes come loose, ocular lens come loose, parallax fail, mag ring lock up, tracking blah blah blah!!!

The 3-18 is hard to mount, and makes your rifle feel top heavy.

They are hard to sell because to be honest IOR scopes are as Gay as 2 dicks touching
 
It's so funny listening to 5 Jump Chumps, parading around like yardbirds doing the chicken walk. Reminds me so much of the Texas saying "The funny thing about that little white speck on the top of chicken shit...that little white speck is chicken shit too.
 
If you look at the first five pages of the optics for sale section right now you will see 28 Night Force scopes for sale, compared to only 4 IOR's. If fact of the scopes that one would consider "Top Tier" there are less IOR's for sale than any other brand. For you guys that love "stats" I don't know how you can argue that.

Hard to imagine something being so terrible, yet everyone is holding onto them?
 
If you look at the first five pages of the optics for sale section right now you will see 28 Night Force scopes for sale, compared to only 4 IOR's. If fact of the scopes that one would consider "Top Tier" there are less IOR's for sale than any other brand. For you guys that love "stats" I don't know how you can argue that.

Hard to imagine something being so terrible, yet everyone is holding onto them?

Thats like saying look how many Fords and Chevys there are for sale compared to Lada's!!
Lada's must be so superior everyone is hanging onto them
 
I have been running my 3-18x42 for a considerable time.
I have not had any issues with it. I did recently have a speck appear on an interior lens, which happens to other scopes as well.
I have been very pleased with my scope, I have never had an issue with mounting it, though it does occupy the very last slot on the standard, 20moa pic rail.
I am fairly long limbed though, the restricted mounting options ARE an issue for some.
Tracking has NEVER been an issue.
Return to zero has NEVER been an issue.
I would buy another in a heartbeat.
 
I've got a 3-18x42 that I've had for a year and a half. The tracking has been right on and the glass is very nice. I love the MP8x1 reticle. The only complaint I have is I had to reduce my length of pull because the scope has limited rearward travel. Even with that it has worked very well for me.
 
If you look at the first five pages of the optics for sale section right now you will see 28 Night Force scopes for sale, compared to only 4 IOR's. If fact of the scopes that one would consider "Top Tier" there are less IOR's for sale than any other brand. For you guys that love "stats" I don't know how you can argue that.

Hard to imagine something being so terrible, yet everyone is holding onto them?

That is not a fair comparison, a lot of shooters never heard of IOR. there are umpteen NF, S&B, Vortex and Bushnell scopes sold for every IOR sold. Maybe they have worked out their problems with the new scopes, time will tell.
 
Newbie to posting here. Great timing, though.

I just received my IOR 3-18x42 scope in priority today's mail. I need to offer a quick shout-out of thanks to Scott at Liberty Optics who was a pleasure to work with.

I haven't mounted the scope yet but after six weeks of researching, sometimes fondling, and reading up on quality scopes, I'm very impressed with the fit, finish and glass quality of mine. I have an American Defense QD mount coming in the next few days and hope to get a weekend day with wind chill that won't tear the skin off your face to go shooting.
 
Newbie to posting here. Great timing, though.

I just received my IOR 3-18x42 scope in priority today's mail. I need to offer a quick shout-out of thanks to Scott at Liberty Optics who was a pleasure to work with.

I haven't mounted the scope yet but after six weeks of researching, sometimes fondling, and reading up on quality scopes, I'm very impressed with the fit, finish and glass quality of mine. I have an American Defense QD mount coming in the next few days and hope to get a weekend day with wind chill that won't tear the skin off your face to go shooting.

Great choice, you will love it. One of the best damn scopes on the planet. Period, bar none.
 
Even with the 3-18? I'm asking this because, for a while, I was inquiring about them as a possible purchase due to the supposed increase in reliability and durability. Right now I'm running a nightforce(MOA) and am currently looking at the Vortex Gen II 4.5-27x as a replacement. I had the gen I Razor HD and sold it but think the new MOA reticle from Vortex is a HUGE improvement. I've always seen the IOR MP8 reticle to be at the top of the food chain on moa reticles and their glass kicks hardcore ass but the reliability and durability to be VERY questionable. There was some claims that all of this was remedied with the new version of the 3-18x IOR and that it's become a hallmark of IOR which is more than can be said for the rest of their scopes which seem to be as shady as always.

The IOR are very nice scopes but I would recommend looking at other scopes also.

Mike @ CSTACTICAL
 
Even with the 3-18? I'm asking this because, for a while, I was inquiring about them as a possible purchase due to the supposed increase in reliability and durability. Right now I'm running a nightforce(MOA) and am currently looking at the Vortex Gen II 4.5-27x as a replacement. I had the gen I Razor HD and sold it but think the new MOA reticle from Vortex is a HUGE improvement. I've always seen the IOR MP8 reticle to be at the top of the food chain on moa reticles and their glass kicks hardcore ass but the reliability and durability to be VERY questionable. There was some claims that all of this was remedied with the new version of the 3-18x IOR and that it's become a hallmark of IOR which is more than can be said for the rest of their scopes which seem to be as shady as always.

Go with the IOR, Best damn scope on the Planet. Period, Bar None.
 
Dude, give it a rest...

We get it, you like your IOR. I, for one, am glad that you do.

I really hope you don't have any issues, like many that have gone before you. I agree, IOR has really good glass, but they don't have the reliability track record that many of us demand for the money they ask. Maybe they are getting that turned around now, but the bad taste left by their previous mistakes will not easily go away.

But, your statement of "best damn scope on the planet, Period, bar none" is laughable. A scope is a heck of a lot more than just glass.

I have to ask what incentive IOR has provided...
 
I have both the IOR 3.5-18x50 and the Razor GEN 1 HD. Honestly, if I were you, I would hold out for the Gen II RAZOR 4.5-27. That scope seems VERY promising!!!

The IOR glass is outstanding, but I would say the Razor is better built. I've had no issues with either scope.
 
Darn guys it must be hard on for IOR Day... Sounds like LowLight tearing Premier a new one. Reading the threads a lot of the top tier scopes appear to have had teething issues at one time or another. All these scopes are amazing in many ways. Almost as good as my Counter Sniper. :). Just adding some levity.
 
What is your feelings about the IOR 3-18x42 scope ? How is it at distances ? Thinking of one, to keep the Recon company.

I have one exactly this model IOR 3-18x42 , this is what i can tell you after 2 years of use :

- is more a 3.5x to 4x-18 then 3-18 because at 3x tunneling is very present ,tunneling disappear when you get at 3.5x-4x so if you intend to use this at his lower magnification think at 4x as your lowest
-the tube is short , after turret housing you have only around 5 cm (2 inch) to play with , can cause some problems when you mount this scope , in my case all is OK but at the limit to get the proper eye box
-tracking is good not problem at all , error is in par with top scope producers around 0.096-0.098 MIL per click from my measurement, in my case after zeroed my .308 i have 12.9 MIL of adjustment , enough for 1000 or more .
-clicks i like , feel and sound OK but this can be verry subjective from user to user
-reticle is very good in my point of view one of the best reticles designed for a riflescope MP8 , at 3-4x for some eyes can be too small but this is a common case for FFP scopes , note the fact at maximum magnification you will not be able to see the entire reticle , so if you intend to shoot at 16-18 x and want to holdover you will have only 10 MIL of holdover not the entire 15 MIL reticle range
-paralax adjustement i will define as fine in the way the fine means fine tuning , you need to rotate the knob slowly to get the perfect picture
-glas ;) well is very good (and i say this after a comparision with top glass scopes as Kahles or Swarovski) , personaly i will always chose a very good glas in front of magnification , with a good glass you will solve more and see more at 10x the with a scope at 16x or even 20x but with not so good glass .
-light transmission is average-good i use this scope also for hunting (here we can hunt at night) in full moon night i can see, solve and shoot wild boars with no problems but only at max 6x after it gets darker (optically speaking absolutely normal) , bigger diameter scopes will do better if you want to use this also for hunting at night , at dusk is OK this 42

I have this scope on a .308 , no hard kicks from a .308 so no problem until now with my scope because of the recoil , i know 2 other guys who have IOR's on 338 Lapua and stand very good but different models so i can't use this as a fact for scope durability (i can and want to confirm only my personal experience with this scope) but i can tell you rifle and scope get good beating at hunting , dragging , bumping , occasional throw and no problem at all , keep zero , good tracking .

I need to mention also turrets who can't be locked , this cost me a beautiful roe deer (i didn't check the turrets and ...was off , missed ...) so you need to check this too before you send the shot.

Is the best scope ? Is the best scope in his class? You can get better scopes for the same money or less?
I can't answer to this , my experience is limited and as all i wrote above is MY experience and is also subjective to my general experience , i made a decision for me and my needs and i don't regret this .

Regards

P.S. Note also the fact i'm Romanian so my decision can have a +subjective factor .
 
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I will take my chances big boy. You may want to try a scope made in a country in which they use something other than their mouths to castrate sheep before you make such a bold pronouncement regarding the superiority of your beloved IOR.

BTW. Hows that Trabant running??

19Scout77 can you please explain this sentence ? What you mean by "a country in which they use something other than their mouths to castrate sheep" in context with IOR ? The practice you described is in a way related to my country Romania ?

I look forward to receiving your reply.
Thank you .
 
Despite my problems with IOR (3.5-18) i'd say they WERE (if you still own one they still ARE) a good choice back when they came out with 3.5 and gen4 models of 3-18 and 6-24 but with price increase and competing in the top tier of scope market i'm afraid they are not so tempting anymore especially now that more and more companies are producing comparable or better equipped (feature wise) scopes. I was very fond of IOR at first (mainly due to the price/glass quality) but now seeing how they work (several shooters here owned various IORs and they've "all" went belly up, some gen3 some gen4, they were fixed of course but still shows how IOR does business and which market is important for them - Europe certainly isn't as IOR really has not much customers here who are mostly hunters and prefer Zeiss or Swaro) and how they do not take care of little things (specs of dirt for example) my enthusiasm for this company has evaporated to the point i'd have really really hard time recommending this scope (perhaps if you get substantial price reduction or some other hard to pass deal).
 
One of the best damn scopes you can buy period. Bar none.

Regardless of ones opinion, this right here is bad advise. Best damn scope for what? ELR, target, tactical, hunting. low light usage? Primary usage and budget will dictate any advice that I will give someone asking about scopes. To the OP you have thought out that 3-18x42 may fit your needs what is your primary use going to be?
 
The 3X18X42 has a very short rear tube section. The 3X18X50 is longer both in the rear tube and the rear eye piece and allows the scope to work in application where your ability to move the scope rearward is limited. I am an IOR dealer and use these scopes in the Precision Rifle Series. At nearly $1500 per match, I use them because they work. I have owned 10 IOR scopes to date and had "Zero" issues from any. I check each scope for both mechanical and reticle calibration and so far none of mine have had any significant error. That doesn't mean that IOR has never made a scope that had an issue. Every scope manufacturer has some quality control issues. Shooting on a professional level, I have seen every major brand of scope fail.

My previous competition scope was a Bushnell HDMR with a reticle that was out of calibration (Bushnell admitted and replaced scope). The glass in that particular scope I had was not good and I found the small lead colored targets we shoot in front of blackish/grey dirt nearly impossible to see sometimes so I changed to shooting the IOR's in competition. It was after this change that I became a dealer for the company. I ended up working for IOR because I love the scopes. I don't love the scopes because I am a dealer. Anyone who knows me will tell you I don't support any product I don't have 100% faith in. I can't comment on IOR's quality 10 yeas ago. What I can tell you is that in the last 4 years I have had zero issues with any of my 10 scopes. I worked the SHOT show last month with Val and the only customer to bring a scope by the booth for repair had an older hunting scope that I am guessing was 8 or more years old. Val took it to repair or replace for free.

There are many good scopes on the market from a variety of manufacturers. I personally have never found a scope I like better than the IOR's and I have looked through everything made. Be very careful when you read opinions on this site. Many are not unbiased and the people making them may have motives beyond giving you good advice. You won't find their names at the bottom of most of their posts either. I try to always state up front my affiliation with IOR and I am the first to tell you that there are alot of good optics being produced by different companies. In the end, your particular needs are what will determine which scope and mfg. is the best for you. Don't put too much faith in any one person's opinion including mine. While I shoot professionally and teach at my own gun range full-time, my opinions are based on my needs and experiences. If I can help you in any way, please contact me.
 
I've had a mint condition IOR up in the classifieds for dirt ass cheap for a month or better. Least amount of interest of any scope I've ever listed.

I just came from the for sale section and saw where a guy listed a 3.5-18X50 two days ago and it sold yesterday.
 
Because I'm the type that likes to help my customers. If I can help them, I do.

If I had the money, I'd buy it in a heartbeat.

Sorry you are having trouble moving it, but lets face it. You have it listed here on this site, which has a hostile predisposition towards the product, mostly earned by an admittedly inferior product IN THE PAST.

Besides that, repeatedly telling folks that IOR products are shit and then trying to sell one of them in the classifieds seems like a self-defeating way of operating.

IOR makes a very good scope. Did they in the past? No. They have fixed the problems and back up their product with a very good warranty.
What more could you ask?
 
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A lot.

I have the same listing on 4 other websites, so I'd venture a guess it has very little to do with snipershide "meanies."

You're right, I suppose we should all ask for more than a very good product at a very reasonable price with very good customer support.
 
I've had a mint condition IOR up in the classifieds for dirt ass cheap for a month or better. Least amount of interest of any scope I've ever listed.

Ouch!! Doing the right thing by a customer may have landed you a "Life Member" (scope you'll have forever)

Do you know what Generation it is?? Gen 1,2,3,4 or Gen 57!!! 2nd IOR's are bad for business