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Rifle Scopes 2019 BigJimFish Review blog Meopta, Nikon, Zero Compromise, factory ammo, Sub $1k long range optics.

BigJimFish

BigJimFish

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Jul 24, 2011
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What this thread is:

Last year I did a 2018 review blog thread It worked out well in 2018 and I think the concept has value as a way to keep me on schedule, keep the companies involved updated, and provide a place for you readers to discuss and comment on things. I'll update the thread from time to time with what is going on a well as eventually link to the completed reviews. You guys can comment, question, or sound off as you like.

This year I spend a good deal of time reporting on the new products I saw and found interesting in my Shot Show 2019 blog thread. Doing this generated a few leads for products too review this year and, as the first product arrived two days ago, I decided it was time to start up this thread for the year and let you know what I have slated for this year.

7063887

Norma 77gr SMK .223rem and 130gr Scirocco II 6.5CM ammo just arrived

Sub $1k long range optics reviews:

Last year I did reveiws of 3 sub $1k, ffp, mil/mil, long range rifle scopes. These were the Sightron SIIISS624X50LRFFP/MH, Athlon Midas TAC 6-24x50mm, and Athlon Ares BTR 4.5-27x50 FFP IR Mil. These reviews went very well and the products in them surprised me with their performance. One of the highlights of the show for me was the Meopta Optika 6 scopes that fit in this category. That went right on my list for this year. Frank also asked me to do a review on a Nikon Black he had which pleased me since one of those was originally slated form my sub $1k reviews but just never arrived. I may also do a low cost Acme scope and a higher cost (~1.2k street) Athlon Ares ETR that they guys at Athlon wanted me to take a look at. Of course, all of these are tentative at this point, and I am not sure yet what power ranges of some of them I will be examining, but the rundown of possibilities so far is:

Meopta Optika 6
Nikon Black
Acme
Athlon Ares ETR


Factory Ammo article and updates to custom rifle reviews:

During the process of doing reviews of two custom rifles last year, the Kelbly's Atlas tactical, and Mesa Precision Arms Crux Ti, I did a substantial amount of ammo testing of high end factory loads. Quite frankly, it performed better than I had expected, a credit to both the rifles as well as the ammo. Frank had done a factory ammo article a few years back in which he concluded that current factory ammo could perform this way. This was why I had done the factory ammo testing in those rifles.


This year I will be continuing factory ammo testing on those two review rifles as well as a few other rifles. I'll add that data to those rifle reviews and also put together a separate: factory ammo, what to expect article, on what sort of results a should expect to be able to get with a factory load that is both good, and a good fit for their particular rifle. The first ammo for this arrived yesterday. It is NormaUSA .223rem 77gr SMK, and Norma 6.5CM Scirocco II 130gr. There will also be some more Lapua coming shortly.



Spin off reviews:

The Mesa Precision Arms Crux Ti, had a some pretty lengthy sections on TriggerTech Triggers and McMillan stocks. I'm going to finish my thoughts on these and spin them off into full reviews. This will include something on each of their new products from SHOT 2019. These will certainly be the first reviews done this year and the first should be done this weekend.



Zero Comp and Athlon Spotter

The Zero Compromise ZC420 and Athlon Cronus Tactical 7-42x60 mil spotter were both products I saw for the first time at SHOT this year (I skipped the 2018 show) and which caught my eye. They asked me to review them and I was interested in reviewing them. I'm excited to see how each performs.
 
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Too bad we all hate Norma now, haha!

I realize this is by no fault of your own & this was put in motion long before last week...
 
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J-Ham said:
Too bad we all hate Norma now, haha!

I realize this is by no fault of your own & this was put in motion long before last week...
Click to expand...

I sought out and agreed to testing the Norma ammo prior to knowing as much as I now do about the Ruag / Prime situation. At that point all I knew was that there had been a partnership and it had ended. Nothing seemed amiss in that. Since then there has been a good deal more information put on the forum indicating things are much more complicated than that. This now puts me in a rather uncomfortable position. At this point my intention is to simply fulfill the agreement that I made with the Norma folks to fairy test the ammo and include it in the rifle reviews.

Floglock said:
Would those be Norma’s stolen formulations? Or original?
Click to expand...

Everyday it seems I am told a little more about all this.
 
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Sorry Jim, didn't mean to sound like I was being critical of you, not my intent at all. I was merely commenting on the irony & unfortunate nature of the timing here. I always enjoy your thorough reviews, carry on, sir.
 
Looking forward to your impressions of the Athlon Cronus Tactical Spotter. I'd had one on order from many months past, and it finally arrived here (tan model) over a month ago. I've done nothing more than put it on a tripod & take it outdoors to compare with a couple of other spotters I have. It's very clear, easy to focus, and I've not noticed any CA. Need to take it to some matches to get some feedback from guys I shoot with.
 
I'm pretty new to the forums, what happened between prime and Norma? Someone have a link to an article or something?
 
Recently got a Nikon FX1000, curious to see your findings if/when they get one to you. Jeremy B should be able to hook you up, or hook you up with the guy that can hook you up.
 
Update 4-21-2019

The first review of 2019 is on the McMillan Edge Carbon Adjustable Game Warden stock and it is up. This is shorter review that is a spin off of the big Mesa Precision Arms Crux custom rifle review I did last year. It has some of that reviews text but has been expanded to include some discussion on chassis systems vs. composite stocks. It also talks a little about their A10 model that I saw at SHOT Show 2019.

I will be doing one more of these spin off reviews on TriggerTech triggers in a month or so. This will cover my experiences with the Primary and Diamond triggers as well as a bit on their new two stages that I saw this year at SHOT.

J-Ham said:
Sorry Jim, didn't mean to sound like I was being critical of you, not my intent at all. I was merely commenting on the irony & unfortunate nature of the timing here. I always enjoy your thorough reviews, carry on, sir.
Click to expand...

Thanks, the irony is not lost on me.
 
Update 4-26-2019


The second batch of ammo for this years reviews arrived today. This is the bundle from Capstone Precision group and includes both 69gr Lapua .223rem and 140gr Berger 6.5CM. The Lapua .223 is the same ammunition that performed so well in the Kelbly's Atlas Tactical custom rifle review last year. This Lapua was the best performing round in the Kelbly. It turned in significantly better than .5MOA average 5rd 100yd performance during that rifle review with a few groups going sub .25" and a velocity SD of 20fps. Because of this, I ordered up a bunch of it to use this year while doing the rifle scope reviews planned. The 6.5CM Berger was one of the rounds I was hoping to test last year in the Mesa Precison Arms Crux review but, due to the facilities move I will speak about in a moment, didn't end up being feasible then. I'm really excited to see how this performs as I have heard good things.

7068053

Lapua 69gr .223rem and Berger 140gr Hybrid 6.5CM from Capstone Precision Group


I think here would be a pretty good place to talk about Capstone Precision group. CPG is a combine of Berger, Lapua, SK, VihtaVuori, and, in a way, Applied Ballistics Munitions which is essentially an abandoned brand name for Berger's loaded ammo products. This is not what I would call the normal story in which somebody gobbles up somebody else, uses their name, and nothing else remain. Berger still has it's people and machines and brought back all of it's operations to where it started in the Phoenix AZ area last year. They also decided to rebrand their Applied Ballistics Munitions line of loaded ammo developed with Bryan Litz (hence the name) to Berger. Moving their operations, or in this case moving them back, is what caused all those disruptions in supply that pretty much everybody noticed last year. The machines are all up and running again now and as evidence I have 10 boxes of 6.5CM Berger cartridges in front of me and see the Berger 6mm bullets that even their sponsored shooters ran low on last year in stock pretty much everywhere online. Similar to the story with Berger, Lapua stuff is still made in Finland with their machines and their people. This means that the people at CPG have two entirely separate state of the art facilities for manufacturing both bullets and loaded ammunition. I am told that this is starting to result in some cross pollination of ideas so I am pretty interested to see what fruit these new relationships will bear in the coming years. I, for one, wouldn't mind if Lapua inspired .22lr production happened to find it's way to the Berger facility. For now though, the most visible result is that Berger ammo is now loaded with Lapua brass which I understand is a change. In the case of the 6.5CM in front of me, this means the higher pressure tolerant small rifle primer that Lapua uses in it's all it's 6.5CM cases as well as some .308 ones.

7068054

Berger 140gr Hybrid 6.5CM now using Lapua's small rifle primed cases. BTW, I actually took this pic and it looks professional as hell, must have been an accident.

In other review related stuff. I have been working on the TriggerTech spinoff review. This will be more in depth than the section on TriggerTech in the Mesa Precision Arms review. Part of that will be more focus on their Diamond trigger and part of it will be some talk about the 2-stage versions coming up later this year that we saw some prototypes of at this years SHOT show.
 
Update 7-15-2019

7112224

Testing with the Berger 140gr Hybrid 6.5CM, Mesa Precision Arms Crux, and Athlon Midas TAC scope.


It's been a while since I have done an update on this years reviews but things have been progressing so I'll try to get you all caught up.

Progress of scope reviews:

I recently spoke with Meopta and the Optika6 should be arriving mid August. The one I will have for review will be a 5-30 and will have the reticle ILya recently posted that I have reposted here. My plan is to try to get as many optics to drop in my lap at that time as possible, especially the ones that are of similar price point. I have not recieved any updates on the timetable for any of the other optics (Zero Comp, Athlon, or Burris) but I have not yet followed up with them either. I will be doing so soon to try to coordinate everything arriving.

7112225

Meopta Optika6 5-30x56mm PTM1 MRAD RD Reticle

Progress of the TriggerTech spin-off review:

According to my original plan, this review was going to be done in May I think. Between work, the kids, and finding out I had a lot more I wanted to say than I thought I did, that didn't happen. It is done now, sort of. What is going to happen is that I am first going to post the review and then, in a couple months, it will be updated to include their new 2-stage model. I should have the first installment up very soon now.

Progress on the second round of ammo testing in the Kelbly's Atlas and Mesa Precision Arms Crux rifles:

I've now done the first testing of the Berger and Norma ammo in last years review rifles. The performance was quite good, particularly so for both the Norma and Berger 6.5CM rounds. I'll leave you for now with the image jump of the data. The Kelbly's and Mesa Precision Arms reviews will soon be updated with this fresh ammo data.

7112230

Berger 140gr 6.5CM #65-31010 from the Mesa Precision Arms Crux rifle

7112231

Norma 130gr 6.5CM Scirocco II #20166302 from the Mesa Precision Arms Crux rifle

7112232

Norma USA 77gr SMK #10157502 from the Kelbly's Atlas Tactical rifle

7112235

Data table for all ammo tested in the Mesa Precision Arms Crux in 6.5CM

7112234

Data table for all ammo tested in the Kelbly's Atlas Tactical in .223rem
 
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Update 7-30-2019

Both the Kelbly's Atlas Tactical and Mesa Precision Arms Crux rifle reviews have been updated with the data from the new ammo tested in them this year. I think adding these few new rounds has given a better overall perspective on what range of performance to expect from these custom rifles with the limitation of factory ammo. More importantly though, it has given me more data to add to my thoughts on harmonics.
To some extent, obtaining a really accurate rifle / ammo platform is and art rather than science. By this I mean that hypotheses abound but theories (in the scientific rather than laymen's sense of the word) are underdeveloped. We talk of the effect of jump to the lands on bullet deformation, over twist on jacket deformation, 5 lands vs. 4 on bullet deformation, vibration of the barrel on group dispersion, and curve of the barrel leading to a .22lr round slapping back and forth on its way down. We don't really know the magnitude of the effect of any of these things though or, in some cases, whether they even happen. They are hypotheses to explain data and they usually remain that because to really test them would be quite expensive. In the end, we try a few different bullets, vary the seating depth, and vary the powder charge with maybe a couple different powders and when we get something that works we tell ourselves a story that makes some sense.

One of these under tested hypotheses that has been running around in my head is the idea that most of the time the difference between a really good shooting load / ammo, and a so-so one is simply harmonics. Subconsciously this is probably an appealing idea to me more because of what it would mean if it was than because the data points to it. If the idea is right it means that by changing the harmonics, easy enough with a barrel tuner, a wider variety of ammo / loads could be the right ammo for a rifle. This is important in an era when factory ammo is better and more affordable because, unlike hand loads, there will never be an infinite variety of factory ammo to be the right, custom, fit for your rifle but with a tuner you could fit the rifle to the ammo. Tuners have been used on rimfires for ever but are only starting to be common on center fires because, until recently, there really wasn't any factory ammo worth tuning for.

During the testing of these two rifles I played for the first time with both a magnetospeed chrono and a proof carbon barrel. The magnetospeed has been said to change harmonics and I believe that it did sometimes loosening (Mesa rifle with Hornaday ammo) and sometimes tightening (Kelbly rifle with Lapua) groups. The Proof wrapped barrel has been said to be less harmonically lively than a conventional one. If that is true you would expect it's average group size to be lower even if it's best was no better. This was also the case and I came away thinking that the Proof barrel could be more ammo tolerant than a conventional barrel (I have updated it's sub-section of the Mesa review to reflect this thinking.)
The takeaway from this is that I intend to do some barrel tuning testing over next year to see if I can get more answers on this as well as a plausible range of expectations for shooters.
 
^^^ Fish, I bought a Winchester M70 Stainless Lightweight with BOSS in the 90's, Browning also incorporated the BOSS into some of their rifles, the idea was the same as what you mention here with "tuning" to a specific load, with the BOSS, it was designed for different bullet weights, so you'd screw in or screw out the BOSS to tune per a specific weight, did it actually work, maybe some but it wasn't like it took a 2" group down to a 1/2" group or anything like that. In fact, that Winchester action became the foundation for my SAC 6.5 Creedmoor with PROOF barrel that shoots consistently better than the old 308 BOSS ever did. I will be curious to read your results as you pursue this further. My Magnetospeed shifts my POI, so I have to remember when I am sighting in, to not use the Magnetospeed. I also shoot with suppressors the majority of the time and I'm sure they must have an effect on barrel harmonics, but again I only recognize that it shifts the POI more than it tightens or loosens groups. But now that I say that, my old AR-10 that I built did noticeably better without the suppressor than it did with one, but all groups were pretty bad with the 308 barrel until I swapped the barrel to a PROOF 6.5 Creedmoor and then that rifle sung a sweet melody of tight groups (I regret ever selling that rifle).
 
I will anxiously await your review of the 2-stage Diamond once you get your hands on it, I am perfectly happy with my Timney single stage I use with my Bighorn TL-2 currently, but the Diamond 2-stage may get me to swap as I am a big fan of 2-stage triggers ever since my first Geissele SSA-E on my AR-10.
 
Update 9-4-2019

It will probably come as no surprise to any of you who have followed the workings of the optics industry to find that the Meopta Optika 6 has been delayed some. This is pretty much par for the course in the industry as a whole. Moving from prototypes to production at scale seems to always take longer than expected. The Burris XTR 3 is, similarly, also delayed. The latest estimate for the Meopta is middle of this month and I don't have an estimate for the XTR 3 at the moment. So the takaway is that neither I, nor the good folks at the optics companies, have forgotten about these reviews. They will happen when the scopes are on hand... Eventually.

Research and interviews with experts on the topic of harmonics have been going quite well. Although I do not think I will have anything finished on the subject until next year, I do think it will be well worth it and of great improvement for the factory ammo shooter as well as some improvement even with handloads.

In preparation for the two stage TriggerTech I will be testing later this year I picked up quality used force gauge. The Haag-Streit Correx ones I used in the TriggerTech and Bix'n Andy reviews were loaners that have gone back. Recently, I was able to acquire a similar quality but very old used Halda Haldex AB gauge for future testing. Of course, different gauges can produce different results because measurement instruments are not perfect and themselves introduce errors. This is especially so in the case of force gauges. As such, I tested the Halda gauge today on some of the same triggers I had used with the Haag-Streit Correx gauges. Indeed, the Haag and Halda results are not interchangeable. The used Halda I bought, which is probably 50 years old, reads slightly more force on the same triggers than that Haag did. For example, the TriggerTech primary bottoms out at 32.62oz on the Haag and 33.30oz on the Halda. I have no idea which gauge is more correct (perhaps I will test with some calibrated weights at some point as this is quite knowable) but they are a little different. The Halda is quite old so most likely it's calibration is the one that is off. More interestingly though, the used Halda shows lower shot to shot variance (lower SD value) on all tested triggers. It is therefore most likely that, despite likely having it's calibration, and therefore accuracy, a little off, the gauge itself is probably a bit more precise. Lastly, the Halda I have acquired does not cover the entire range of the combined two Haag-Streit Correx ones. It's range is 100-1000grams (3.53-35.3oz.) So, some triggers will be able to get lighter than it can read with great accuracy and some presumably heavier than it can read at all. The takeaway is that I will not be stacking numbers from the Halda gauge side by side in the same table with those from the Haag-Streit Correx gauges as the standard deviations on triggers tested with the Halda would look much better than those tested on the Haag-Streit Correx gauges.

2019 4 9 halda gauge testing.jpg

Testing how the used Halda gauge measurements compare to those of the previously used Haag-Streit Correx gauges.
 
Update 9-22-2019

The Harrell's tuner brake arrived yesterday for the factory ammo tuning article. I was a little surprised when my research on tuner brakes brought up only one option which fit both the 5/8"-24 threads, and the larger muzzle sizes of my rifles. Despite the paucity of other choices, I am pleased with the product. Harrell's precision is quite well known in the benchrest community for making very accurate volumetric powder measures (yes, I have wondered for some time if they could prove accurate enough for long range shooting provided a small grain size powder is used but that is a test for another time) and also for their portable reloading presses. At the benchrest matches I have attended virtually everybody uses both of these products. The powder measure and press mount to your bench with a clamp and are therefore easy to take to the range with you to develop loads in an efficient manner. Of course, what we are trying to do in this article is to find out if we can tune factory loads effectively enough to avoid having to do all that load development stuff. The irony of this is delicious.

The Harrell's tuner brake shows the clean, high quality machining I would expect and is generally a pretty nice looking unit. At $90 it also appears to be priced on the benchrest price scale and not the tactical one. Say what you will but the tactical tax is a real thing.

2019 9 21 harrels tuner brake compsite text.jpg

Harrell's tuner brake

There are a few features that the Harrell's tuner brake has that I like and one that is less desirable. The brake uses a jam nut adjustment lock system to secure the adjustable weight collars. This is greatly preferable to me over set screws which require a tool to manipulate, have a greater tendency to come loose, and can bung up the thread they run on if over tightened or not tipped with a soft material. The marking system on the brake for keeping track of your settings is quite well designed. The brake contains markings on the body for each complete revolution. These bear the designations 0,50,100,150 as well as 10 markings on one of the weight collars per revolution. Therefore, a simple single number is produced for each possible setting when the markings are added. For instance, if the reading on the brake is 100, and that of the weight 7, your total setting would be 107. Very easy to record and keep track of. The only major downside I see to the design is that it is radialy symmetric and therefore exhausts gasses in all directions. It is nice that you don't have to index it but you western folks are going to kick up some dust. I'm from Ohio, so for me, this is a case of somebody else's problem.

Since the website lacks some detail on the specifications I'll give you my measurements here:
Total weight 7oz (2.10oz in the movable weights and 2.9oz in the stationary brake.)
Inner diameter of weights .9930" (will only work with barrels with a muzzle smaller than this)
Overall adjustment travel: 15 complete revolutions ~.47"

The next step in the process of this tuning article will be to create a standard operation procedure for tuning and then try it out with the Kelbly .223. Hopefully, the result will be some clear cut improvement in group sizes.

 
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Update 10 9 2019

2019 10 9 harrells tuner mepta lapua rt side.jpg

Experimenting with tuning Lapua factory ammo using the Kelbly's Atlas rifle, Harrell's tuner brake, and Meopta Optika 6 5-30x56 RD FFP scope.



Earlier this week the Meopta Optika 6 5-30x56mm RD FFP scope arrived for review. It arrived the day before I had scheduled to do the barrel tuning testing. Excellent timing on that. As such, I did the tuning testing using the Meopta. I don't yet have much in the way of comments on the scope as I have not had it side by side with anything else or run it though the tracking testing. My biggest thought is that it has a pretty comfortable eyebox for a 30x unit. Comfortable enough that every single through the scope picture came out well. I don't think that has ever happened before.


2019 10 9 meopta optika 6 mrad rd tuning.jpg

Through the lens of the new Meopta Optika 6 5-30x56 RD FFP scope

As for the barrel tuning of factory ammo.... Well, I haven't run the numbers on the data yet, but I'm pretty sure the conclusion will be that tuning is not a worthwhile endeavor with factory ammo as the signal to noise ratio is too poor. It felt a bit like chasing ghosts. I should have the whole article put together in a few weeks despite my sadness at the outcome not being what I desired.
 
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There is part of me that dislikes the "openness" of the center of the reticle for the Optika6 5-30, but another part is drawn to the simplicity realizing that each dash outside the center dot is .2 mil away from the center dot and .2 mil long which makes for easy measurement/hold without the hash marks. I am really curious how you like this reticle BigJim
 
wjm308 said:
There is part of me that dislikes the "openness" of the center of the reticle for the Optika6 5-30, but another part is drawn to the simplicity realizing that each dash outside the center dot is .2 mil away from the center dot and .2 mil long which makes for easy measurement/hold without the hash marks. I am really curious how you like this reticle BigJim
Click to expand...

It's funny, the whole floating center dot thing that has become so popular vs. a thin central section of the cross-hairs strikes me as a rehash of the age old target dot vs. fine duplex argument that has been afoot in conventional competition rifle scopes for years. For my part I generally prefer the thin cross hairs vs. the necessarily thicker dot.

That being said, the reticle lines in this scope are on the more narrow side of the spectrum you usually see and I did not find the dot to be to bulky. What I think is more important is what you mention about the dashes and gaps all landing on .2mil increments. Many scopes do strange things near the center when it comes to those increments vs. the increments further out and you have to end up spending extra time thinking about just what the marking your shot landed by means. This is unnecessary mental overhead and introduces greater possibility of error under stress. I found the markings on this reticle very intuitive and the minimalist way they were conceived to be an excellent design. Furthermore, I consider the open 12 oclock section to be a big win for getting a clear view of the target area. Similarly, the very thin floating elements in the Christmas tree section are preferable to the thick multi crosshair thing many have going. I have still not decided if I think Christmas trees are worth while in the trade off from not seeing the splash as easily to having the option of holding dope more accurately in a pinch but I am sure that when present I prefer as minimalist as possible.

Anyhow, I will probably have more thoughts on it after shooting it at some steel at distance, but for now, the well done, consistent .2mil center section and open 12 o'clock are big wins with me.
 
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Thanks, Jim.

Overall, I am pretty happy with how this reticle turned out and Optika6 seems to be a good platform to have this reticle in.

The center arrangement with a dot and four hashes is specifically done that way to aid visibility on low power without makign it too thick. As yo go down in magnification, it is supposed to start looking kinda like a small crosshair.

The larger dots in the tree that are spaced every 1 mrad are sized that way partially to remain visible on fairly low magnification.

Are you going to SHOT in January? If you are, we should talk a little about coordinating schedules.

ILya
 
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308ftWIN said:
@BigJimFish , any idea at what mag the above Optika6 reticle picture was taken?

Thanks,
Click to expand...

It is at the full 30x.

sleeplz said:
Any update on the Athlon spotter?
Click to expand...

Wow, I completely forgot about that. At ShotShow in January they had asked if I would like to do a review on that spotter. I agreed and followed up a few times in the spring. My plan was to do that review early on in the year before the scopes were available for this years scope stuff. I guess what happened is that the Athlon people lost interest for whatever reason as they never sent one by. If I was to guess I would say it probably had something to do with the internal timing of different product releases and when they were trying to get exposure for what. It probably just fell through the cracks. I got busy with other stuff as well and eventually forgot all about it. At this point I wouldn't have time left in the schedule this year to do anything with it until next year. I would guess that review just is never going to happen.
 
Update 10 17 2019

First up, The new, 34mm main tube Midas TAC 5-25x56mm just arrived for this second year of sub $1k long range ffp mil/mil scope reviews. Next week I should be getting a Nikon Black and a Sightron (I think it will be the S-Tac.) These, with the previously mentioned Meopta Optika 6 5-30x56mm should round out the lineup.

The biggest thing about this Midas, vs. the 6-24x I reviewed last year is..... its bigness. It has a 56mm objective vs. the previous 50mm, 34mm tube vs. 30mm, has 32mil of elevation adjustment vs. 25mil, a 5x vs. 4x erector ratio, weighs 30oz vs. 26.3oz, and is 15.4" long vs. 14.6." I suspect that purchasers willing to spend the extra $220 street vs. the 6-24x will be most interested in either the big objective or the greater elevation adjustment. In these respects it represents something of a lower cost Ares ETR option in that it's size and elevation range are similar to that of the ETR but without illumination and with Midas TAC instead of Ares ETR level of glass.

I will be interested, in testing, too see if the extra size objective gives the 5-25x56 any edge in optical performance over the 50mm Midas TAC or Ares BTR's that I reviewed last year.


2019 10 17 Midas tac 34mm vs 30mm size.jpg


New, 34mm tube Athlon Midas TAC 5-25x56 with existing, 30mm Midas TAC 6-24x50mm (mounted on my Mesa Precision Arms Crux rifle)

In other news, the factory ammo tuning article should be completed in a few days and I expect I will have it up a week or so after that point.
 
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Update 10-28-2019

First up, I have posted the barrel tuning factory ammo? article. It is an interesting read even if I didn't post a big improvement in group sizes through tuning and it was a well worth the effort involved to gain the knowledge I have gained in the process.

Second, the last of the scopes for the Sub $1k long rang FFP Mil / Mil series started last year arrived this week and I have done a good bit of testing. These last two are a Nikon Black FX1000 6-24x50SF Matte IL FX-MRAD, and a Sightron S-TAC 4-20x50FFPZSIRMH. If you were a little board by the very similar, and generally good, performance of last years scopes, tune in for this years reviews. There is a lot of difference between scopes in this group.

2019 10 26 scope box stack.jpg

All the sub $1k long range ffp mil / mil optics reviewed this, and last, years


Third, following the optics reviews, I will be doing a review on the new RCBS matchmaster powder measure.

This is basically a faster and more accurate (.04gn) version of the popular chargemaster. I'm interested to see how it performs as well as how they choose to price it. At the same time, I will be taking a look at the Matchmaster die set. I'm especially interested in the bullet window seating die as I have often found it a bit tricky to get bullets to slid into my seating die from the bottom just right so as to minimize run out.
 
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Looking forward to the RCBS Matchmaster powder measure. List on Midway is $1123.95 and pre-order price $899.
 
At 899 for a Matchmaster, just get a V3 auto trickler system at that point.
 
sleeplz said:
At 899 for a Matchmaster, just get a V3 auto trickler system at that point.
Click to expand...

The cheapest I have been able to find a full V3 auto trickler system (throw, trickler, scale), which really comes down to the cheapest I have been able to find one of the correct balances to pair with it, is $1050. I have not tried either product but I would guess head to head people would prefer the AT V3 to the MatchMaster and certainly the MatchMaster would be universally preferred to RCBS's own ChargeMaster.

Therefore, the way I see it, RCBS has a window between $350 and $1,000 where the MatchMaster measure will be the best solution for the price. If it works as advertized, it would be no half measure (pun intended) either. It addresses both the issues (speed and accuracy) that the ChargeMaster has. It really will come down to price. Nearer the $350 end I think most will go with the MatchMaster. Nearer $1k, most will pay the extra for the AT V3. The RCBS rep indicated to me that last week they were not quite sure what price they were going to ask so there may be some wiggle room for them to re-price if their initial ask proves too high.
 
CEProducts has the full AutoTrickler/fx-120i combo available for pre-order for $960.
 
Update 11-7-2019

This years Sub $1k scope reviews are coming along well. You will see the Meopta Optika 6 5-30x56mm at the end of the month followed by the Sightron S-TAC 4-20x50FFPZSIRMH, Athlon Midas TAC 5-25x56, and finally the Nikon Black FX1000 6-24x50SF Matte IL FX-MRAD.

The RCBS matchmaster dies arrived this week. They sent a few more than I expected. They sent one of each set that they have available and this adds up to 3x bullet seating dies, a full length resizer, and a neck resizer. I guess I won't have to be changing any seating die settings to go from one bullet / load to another. At least not for the first 3 work ups.

2019 11 6 matchmaster die unboxing.jpg

RCBS matchmaster die set options in .223 rem



What interests me most on these die sets is the bullet window seating die. Getting the bullet seated straight in a conventional die is not just a pain in the ass. It also sometimes comes with a degree of uncertainty because you cannot see the projectile for the last, most important, part of the stroke because it is inside the die. It has been my experience that if the bullet is not pretty close to exactly straight when going in, it often ends up with less than ideal run out. The die is supposed to align things properly, and fully, before substantial force is brought to bear, but that has not proven to be the case with all the dies I have used. This is what initially prompted me to abandon conventional seating dies in favor of dies that also featured sliding internal sleeves to improve bullet alignment. These RCBS MatchMaster seating dies are one of those featuring sliding internal sleeves.


The way that these seating dies work is that you drop the bullet, tail down, in the die though the window in the top. The bullet falls into the sliding alignment sleeve and comes to rest on the edge of an o-ring that stretches across a little channel in the alignment sleeve to form a stop. The bullet sits quite low in the die, in what is essentially a long tubular alignment section not much larger than the bullet diameter. There is very little play between the bullet and this alignment section. In the picture below you see a fairly long 69gr projectile in the .223rem die. You next raise the case in the press into the bottom of the die where the case fits into the bottom of the sleeve and raises it to the seating stem. The stem and bullet fit though the sleeve and nudge the o-ring aside pushing the bullet into the case. It looks like a slick system which will not result in pinched fingers and will also require less ram stroke distance than seating in competing dies without windows do by a pretty substantial amount. I should last mention that the seating stem is hollow so it won't bottom out on long VLD pills.

2019 11 6 matchmaster die 69gr in it.jpg

69gr bullet dropped down in the RCBS matchmaster seating die
 
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I didn't realize the actual window was meant for dropping the bullet into and the die then aligns the bullet to meet the case on the upstroke, that is pretty slick. I look forward to hearing more about this feature as you use it for your loads.
 
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