Very Nice.
How would you say the resolution is at 28 compared to 25?
Does it drop off a bit so to speak?
Thanks.
Take this for what it’s worth because they are just my personal observations/opinions. I am not an optical engineer nor am I an expert in optics. I do not have the resolution charts to test optics nor do I really care to use them. I’d rather take the optics out into practical scenarios and see how they perform. I feel that I have a good eye for noticing subtle differences while being extremely thorough and unbiased in my testing. Rifles and scopes are tools for me so I don’t have an emotional attachment to the money I spend on them. They get used hard and if they don’t live up to the calling, they get sent down the road or used for another purpose.
Unfortunately, the first few times I looked through the M7Xi were crudely executed. I began by free handing the scope while making the adjustments on a day with high mirage. Due to this, my initial impressions were that it lost more IQ than it actually does. The parallax was a little finicky when I was free handing the scope and this led to most of the IQ degradation I was seeing initially. A result of an unsteady sight picture. Since then, I have come up with a temporary solution for securing both M7Xi’s a little better until the mounts arrive.
After more time spent getting the diopter and parallax adjustment set properly while being more steady behind it, I’m not seeing the same drop off in IQ North of 22x that I had before. I see maybe a 5% degradation in edge to edge resolution going from 25x-28x but at this time of year in central Texas it could mostly be from mirage distortion the times I’ve been behind it. I’ll need more time with it mounted to confirm this. The M7Xi’s ability to handle mirage is excellent and the image does not get cloudy or darken at all (that I have noticed) as you approach max magnification like the Razor Gen II does between 20x-27x or how the M5Xi becomes slightly dark and hazy from 20x-25x. The more that I compare these M7Xi’s side by side against the other scopes I currently own or what I remember of the scopes I have used in the past, the more impressed I become.
Up until the M7Xi, the most impressive scope that I have ever spent time with is a S&B PMII 5-25 MSR several months ago. I was blown away by the optical performance to the point that I began to feel that maybe I had made a mistake by taking the plunge on the two M7Xi’s. After the first few moments with the M7Xi’s, I knew no mistakes were made and I wouldn’t be wanting a PMII anytime in the forseeable future.
For testing purposes, I bottomed out the erector. I cranked the elevation on each scope to the max allowed after setting zero as well as using 20x-Max magnification.
Location: Central Texas
Date/Time: 4/15/19 @ 16:50
Distance: 5,200 yards
Atmosphere: Sunny, 75°F, 60% RH, 1900ft elev., 16mph SE wind(right to left from my position), decent mirage present.
•M7Xi dialed to 27mrad
•M5Xi dialed to 23mrad
•Razor dialed to 24mrad
Edge- Edge Resolution as my eye sees it;
•M7Xi @ 28x = 15% > M5Xi @ 25x
•M7Xi @ 25x = 20% > M5Xi @ 25x
•M7Xi @ 20x = 20% > M5Xi @ 20x
•M7Xi @ 28x = 40% > Razor @ 27x
•M7Xi @ 20x = 30% > Razor @ 20x
* These values are subject to change as I spend more time with them.
I used man made structures, vehicles, and vegetation between 3,000-5,200 yards as the test bed for these scopes. I understand the majority of shooters will never venture out this far but I feel this distance significantly increases the chances of finding optical flaws without much time needed behind each scope. At a distance of 5,200 yards, parallax was easily removed from both M7Xi’s and the M5Xi. With the Razor Gen II, I could not remove parallax until below 19mrad @ 27x. The M7Xi’s ability to resolve fine detail from edge to edge at 5,200 yards is quite impressive next to the M5Xi and utterly staggering next to Razor Gen II.
When I have a rock house at 5,200 yards in the center, there is another house at the edge of the FOV at 5 o’clock. With the M7Xi at 28x and 27mrad, I can easily distinguish the sections of corrugated tin on the roof of this house. At 25X it’s only a touch better. With the M5Xi at 25x and 23mrad, I can barely tell the same roof is corrugated. It’s not as defined as the M7Xi until that particular house is moved a little closer to center of the M5Xi’s FOV. With the Razor at 27x and 24mrad, I could barely tell that it was even a house no matter where in the glass I put it.
The M7Xi does not lose much, if any optical quality at the extremes of erector travel while at max magnification that I can discern. This is the area in which I noticed the other scope’s IQ suffer next to the M7Xi. The M5Xi holds it’s own up to about 18x-20x but then falls behind the M7Xi quite a bit, but is still useable. The Razor does well as long as I don’t use more than 20mrad of dialed elevation above 22x. Once I’m above these adjustments, edge to edge clarity falls off to embarrassing levels compared to the M7Xi.
I’m sure people will disagree and that’s fine. For those that will say that you give up nothing going with a Razor 4.5-27 over something like the M7Xi, I say there’s a 100% chance they haven’t played with a scope like the M7Xi next to the Razor. The only thing I can see being given up would be the ability to lock the turrets and I’ve come to really appreciate the stiffer, non-locking turrets of the M7Xi- no slop. Hell, I used to think the same, that there was no reason to spend the extra money after looking through an M5Xi MSR years ago next to the Razor. The M5Xi looked only slightly better on 25x than the Razor did at 27x. I thought the price difference wasn’t worth it. The caveat with this is that I didn’t crank either erector to its limits at the time and compare so I didn’t realize difference in optical performance toward extremes of adjustments between the two designs. I need to add that the M5Xi 5-25 MSR2 that I have and used for this comparison must’ve been built by someone who really wanted to be at work assembling M5Xi’s that day. It is absolutely amazing compared to the older M5Xi that I looked through years ago. The only CA that I notice is when I get off axis more than what is naturally comfortable. Other than this, the IQ is extremely good and I would not hesitate to pick up another M5Xi over the Gen II Razor.
In conclusion, being able to make complete use of an optical system at either extreme end of erector travel while using max magnification definitely warrants the price difference in my eyes. I’ve learned that in a lot of instances, you get what you pay for and if you don’t apply adequate research beforehand, there’s a good chance you might get shit on. (It’s happened to me plenty of times in the past) Rifles and optics are investments as tools for me so if I find something that makes my job and life easier, I make the investment. If it turns out to not be what I need, I won’t try to make it work and I’ll pass it on to the next person who has use for it. The M7Xi has not disappointed to say the least.
. Your “modifications” look allot better than mine, though. Glad I have several extra Spuhr wedges laying around 
