Accupower 1-8 Initial Impressions (Range Review Coming Soon)
So all of us are looking for the Holy Grail of Scopes, an end all be all jack of all trades, well this scope might fit the bill. I'll start by saying that I love Trijicon, but if you have owned Trijicon then you understand why. I purchased this scope to put on my 18inch 3gun rifle, a shooting discipline where you need a jack of all trades optic, because you need to engage multiple targets under 10 yards one stage then later in the match you'll be shooting at an 8inch gong at 400 yds. On 1x the reticle is very similiar to the VCOG and reminds me of an eotech reticle which is still my preferred red dot sight. However when the user cranks up the magnification you expand the segmented circle to a crosshair with an illuminated cross in the center that is 4 MOA long by 4 MOA tall with a .75 MOA thickness. Some people worry about this cross being too large to punch small groups, this is a possibility but it is thinner than the VCOG cross and has more magnification so should be still possible to punch small groups, however this scope is not a bench rest target scope. The space between each tick mark in the MOA model is 2MOA which allows for accurate holds but does not make the reticle too busy. The eye relief is generous and it has a forgiving eyebox, this is a trademark of both the accupower and accupoint line. The adjustments are in 1/4 MOA which lets you get a precise zero, I do prefer the capped turrets of the other acupowers and accupoints as I do not see the point of dialing on a 223 gun but I know there is a crowd that wanted it. The knobs feel solid and need to be lifted to adjust it to prevent accidental adjustments. This scope is a beast though, I'm used to a 14oz TR24 on my two rifles I use but twice the magnification seems like it could be worth twice the weight. MSRP is $1699 which is actually affordable when you consider the features that it comes with. Street price however is in the 1400-1490 range. I was able to get mine for $1286 so it is affordable when you factor it's a 1-8, Trijicon durability and glass, FFP, daylight bright. I think this is great scope and it is not only has the potential to be a great 3gun scope it can be a great battle rifle scope. 1-4/6 scopes allow you to be fast up close but having 1-8 lets you get more out of a 308 in my opinion.
