Rifle Scopes March 1x-8x24mm

[James A. Kelbly]

I have a very simple question, March came out with their 1x8x24mm FFP scope two years ago. We have been having some difficulty in selling this scope. What I would like to know is, what is missing in this great little scope that you tactical guys would like to have? We are very interested in your opinions.

Thank you for your time.

Jim

 

[glock24]

Jim,

Have you read this review?

Sniper's Hide » BigJimFish Review of March-F 1-8x24mm Illuminated Rifle Scope

In short, many shooters want the 1x range of the optic to be more useful, not just the 8x range.

- reticle
- illumination
- eye-box

 

[Drifter™]

I own two March 3-24x42mm scopes, and have been very happy with 'em. But when it comes to the 1-8x24mm, I'm just not too fond of the reticle choices.

Maybe a mil version similar to the MTR-4 (from the 1-10x24mm moa), but with a few numbers (instead of just unlabeled hash marks).

I might even consider the 1-10x24mm (SFP) if it had a numbered MTR-4 in mils (with 1/10 mil clicks). Perhaps labeling every other mil (2, 4, etc), or at least 5 and 10 designations.

Another option might be the FML-1 (from the 3-24x), with the addition of an illuminated circle around the center dot.

 

[Timo Turl]

1. Reticle choice is poor
2. Illumination is awful for a $3k scope
3. It isn't considered a "quick" scope and in the 1-8 or 1-6 range it needs to be
4. No disrespect but March need more than one US distributor if they are going to broaden the brand in the US. It is niche and whilst that's great most paying that much want aspirational products others are raving about - few are raving. Even in the UK few are excited by it

 

[kombayotch]

I was really excited to see this scope when I came out. The size and weight are perfect. The optics are clear. However, as others have pointed out, the reticle is awful, as is the illumination. I would like to see a reticle more like the one in the Bushnell LRHS; a mil-based "christmas tree" style reticle with a ring around it at high magnification that becomes an illuminated dot at 1x (a dot large and thick enough that you can still see it without illumination if your battery dies). Definitely NOT a BDC ladder like the Leupold Mark 6 1-6x that is meant for 1 load. It needs to be mil based.

I would also buy one of your 5-40x56 FFP scopes if it had a better reticle. My friend has two of them, and I don't find the reticle works well near the top of the magnification range. 0.05mil is way too thick at 40x, and the gaps around the floating dot are too large. A good solution would be to have a reticle where the center is thinner, but the outer lines get thicker so that reticle doesn't get too thin at low magnification. Like what they have done with the G2 reticle, but maybe with three steps in thickness: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B6ViSAoYmOusd1VGLW95MEhBOFk/edit?pli=1

 

[James A. Kelbly]

This what I have been telling Deon, that we need more reticle choices, we are currently looking into some new reticles and they are on the line of what several of you have suggested. We will let you know if and when we have more reticle choices.

One the illumination, Deon has a new illumination system in a prototype I saw last month and the illumination has improved greatly and I was able to see reticle easily in the daytime. I am currently waiting to hear when this new system will hit the market.

 

[kombayotch]

Illumination is a key selling point for a 1-n scope. Scopes that don't have illumination that is visible in daylight don't even get considered by many. They basically want the scope to be an Aimpoint at 1x (or as close as they can get to one).

FFP in power scopes has huge potential, but only if the reticle is designed right. Because the reticle "changes size", there exists the possibility of designing something that has advantages at both ends of the magification range over a scope where the reticle always looks the same.

 

[dbransco]

I found that there are a lot of trade offs when considering an optic of this type. I don't believe there is a perfect one or a S&B PMII 5-25 of this class. I really like my March 1-8 (non-illuminated), but the reticle gets thick at 8x. In my opinion, if you get some better reticles and better illumination, it would be as good as any.