Curious about the Elcan?

[WS6]

I'm looking at two options: Nightforce NXS 1-4, and Elcan 1/4.

Once with a QD mount, the Elcan will actually be 4oz lighter than the NXS + ADM mount.

4X is plenty for my uses.

Questions I have about the Elcan:


---The mount...Is it G2G? I heard they were changed or altered some time back to be adjustable or better or something?
---The zero-shift during magnification changes...is it "real" if properly zeroed on 4X per the manual, and is it significant (more than 2-3 MOA)?
---Is there something I am missing, here? I am viewing this as a daylight visible illuminated 1 and 4X optic that can compete with the NF NXS for my purposes. Technically...it's there. I like the specs. It will do what I want. But does this translate? Will it hold zero? Will it fit most "mil-spec" rails? Is the illuminated dot in the center of the crosshairs properly? Is the ARMS mount on it good to go? Does real-world performance match what I'm looking at on paper?

[Jakedasnake]

That Elcan is a beast. In quality, price, and lens clarity. My friend has one, and there is absolutely NO shift in zero during magnification. If you zero it as the manual states. I wasn't there when he zeroed it, but I've shot with it in both 1&4x, and it was dead on.


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[steyrman13]

Do they make a mount besides the ARMS lever mounts? Those break pretty easily. Also the Switch lever is prone to breaking on the Elcan.
Also read this thread for some info from some experience.

https://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php?53941-Can-the-Elcan-SpecterDR-1x-4x-replace-my-Eotech-and-ACOG

[HKGuns]

Search is your friend. There are quite a number of SME's who've commented on the Elcan being "crap".

https://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php?161262-Is-there-a-1-amp-4-%28not-1-4%29-scope-in-our-future&p=2055595&highlight=#post2055595

[Onyx Z]

I checked one out at the gun show a couple of weeks ago. I was in awe of the glass and how bright the dot was. I've heard of people having problems with them though. I would do A LOT of research before buying.

[JBecker 72]

I've had mine for about a month. It's the latest gen 3 version.

Now I'm not sure how true the POI shift rumor may be, but mine doesn't have any between 1-4. Just make sure you zero it the way the manual tells you to and you won't have a problem.

Regarding the mount, it seems to be rock solid and returns to zero well when removed. I was also amazed I required less than 3 clicks of adjustment to get it zero'd on my rifle. What I am not sure if is the ARMS levers. They aren't my first choice and I'd prefer something else. Like ADM. I might try the MK2 ARMS levers some day. But for now I just have a couple spare original ones.

Mine came with an ARD or kill flash device. It makes the optic much harder to use so I removed it.

In 1x mode it's a very easy to use optic and isn't much slower than using a normal red dot. In 4x it's amazing how clear it is and how well it gathers light. The red dot and reticle is dead on and easy to use.

So far I've shot it at 25m, 100m, and 200m both from a sand bag and off hand. But I plan on some 300m shooting soon and want to see what kind of precision I can get out of it with some good ammo.

As far as durability goes, it seems to be built like a tank. The mount is solid and the way it adjusts is very robust. Having said that I can see why some guys don't like it, and a soldier can break just about anything. Been that way since war began.

I'm happy with my purchase and everyone who has handled it at this point has been impressed.

http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s73/hownowbrowncow_02/Guns/FF01BAAF-AABC-4276-AF53-3DC56886EDEF_zpsxglqwceo.jpg (http://s149.photobucket.com/user/hownowbrowncow_02/media/Guns/FF01BAAF-AABC-4276-AF53-3DC56886EDEF_zpsxglqwceo.jpg.html)

[the_1iviper]

I'm looking at two options: Nightforce NXS 1-4, and Elcan 1/4.

Once with a QD mount, the Elcan will actually be 4oz lighter than the NXS + ADM mount.

4X is plenty for my uses.

Questions I have about the Elcan:


---The mount...Is it G2G? I heard they were changed or altered some time back to be adjustable or better or something?
---The zero-shift during magnification changes...is it "real" if properly zeroed on 4X per the manual, and is it significant (more than 2-3 MOA)?
---Is there something I am missing, here? I am viewing this as a daylight visible illuminated 1 and 4X optic that can compete with the NF NXS for my purposes. Technically...it's there. I like the specs. It will do what I want. But does this translate? Will it hold zero? Will it fit most "mil-spec" rails? Is the illuminated dot in the center of the crosshairs properly? Is the ARMS mount on it good to go? Does real-world performance match what I'm looking at on paper?


the mount seems very robust. the lateral adjustment bar (windage adjustment) was beefed up in gen 3b models as a result of the scar 17 testing.

zero shift was mostly in the early model's. 2nd and 3rd gen model's should show minimal poi shift

i have both an nxs 1-4 and an elcan 1-4. as others have said my elcan has minimal zero shift between 1x and 4x. i did install the mk2 lever's on mine because i applied cerakote a bit thick on my upper receiver and the regular lever's were a bit tight. the reticle in the elcan is tits. it's basically an acog ta01 reticle that you can illuminate the whole reticle for low light or turn on an aimpoint bright red dot in the center of the reticle. the fc-2 reticle in the nxs is my second favorite reticle. both optics stay on 1x 90 percent of the time but when you want some magnification the instant flip of the elcans lever is nice. the elcan prob has a bit smaller eye box than the nxs but if your a ntch shooter with a pretty consistent cheek weld both are pretty similar. if you have the dot illuminated in the elcan and move your head too far out of the eye box the dot will appear to flicker , like a mk6 but not as bad. i know most here don't care for the elcan but mine has been a great optic so far. the big difference in the elcan vs most other optics is it's fov , which is huge by comparison even on 4x.

here's a few pics of the reticle in the daylight. these were taken with an ipotato so the quality isn't the best. the dot is turned up about 2/3 of the way. the dot in the last pic is brighter than it appears , it's about as close to washing out as it gets.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v619/1iviper/elcansu-230areticle_zps32c9b829.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/1iviper/media/elcansu-230areticle_zps32c9b829.jpg.html)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v619/1iviper/elcansu-230areticlelit_zps7fe8857d.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/1iviper/media/elcansu-230areticlelit_zps7fe8857d.jpg.html)


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v619/1iviper/elcansu-230alowsetting_zpsccbe220f.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/1iviper/media/elcansu-230alowsetting_zpsccbe220f.jpg.html)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v619/1iviper/elcansu-230alitreticle_zpsb658d150.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/1iviper/media/elcansu-230alitreticle_zpsb658d150.jpg.html)

[JBecker 72]

Yeah the reticle is amazing on this thing.

[j-ro]

It is very expensive however.