March scopes and my aging eye - Also a shout out to March service

[Turbulent Turtle]

I bought my March-X 5-50X56 5 years ago to replace my Nightforce NXS 12-42X56 because I was looking for a better, brighter picture for the early morning competitions and those very cloudy days. I was not disappointed and the March performed well for me.

Let's talk reticles. My NXS has the NP2DD reticle and I bought my March with their MTR-2 reticle, which was thinner than the NP2DD. I really like that style of reticle for F-Class; it's uncluttered. It's two horizontal lines emanating from a central dot, with a vertical line under the dot. The MTR-2 is very thin and now that I am well into my 60s, it was getting difficult to see on the target. At 40X, the magnification at which I mostly shoot, the central dot on the MTR-2 was 1/16 MOA (2/32) and I would have trouble seeing it on the black target. I would try to make up for the invisible dot by guestimating where I was holding based on the gap between the two horizontal lines and where the vertical was pointing.

That didn't work so well in the last few years, and I have a huge collections on 9s and 8s that will attest to the fact guessing where the dot is, simply is not conducive to good scores. At the March website, they were showing the new MTR-5 reticle which is essentially a thicker MTR-2. At 40X, the central dot is 1/8 MOA (2/16, 4/32), which makes it 4 times the size of the 1/16 MOA dot of the MTR-2. The lines are double the thickness of the MTR-2, while keeping all the same features and divisions.

So I decided to bite the bullet and send in my scope to get the reticle changed. I shipped my scope to Shiraz's outfit, Marchoptics.com in Bellingham, WA on Monday afternoon, February 4. It was delivered to my house straight from Japan on Saturday, March 16th. The scope was pristine and in the box was a note from March that informed me they had cleaned it, inspected it and calibrated it thoroughly, had exchanged the MTR-2 for an MTR-5 and had adjusted the long rage focus. On Sunday, I went to my local range (100/200yards) with a 35X40 poster board on which I drew some vertical lines. I shot once with the rifle sporting the NXS 12-42X56 that I had reinstalled after I had shipped the March. I then swapped out the scope and after the third shot, I was at the same point and ready for the next 1000 yard match in a couple of weeks. The reticle was exactly what my eyes needed and I'm looking forward to getting back in the game.

The service from March was exemplary; I shipped them the scope, I got a few emails along the way, first from Marchoptics in WA and then March-Deon in Japan to confirm everything and the scope showed back up at the house. Easy, painless, efficient and I'm pleased with the results.

 

[bench]

Got to love a March scope
Buying my second for a hunting 308 Win

 

[Turbulent Turtle]

Yesterday I finally got to the 1000 yard range with my updated March-X scope now with its MTR-5 reticle. We shot very early in the day and only one relay and put everything away before the monsoon rains descended on us. My elevation was dead on but I was off target on the right; a combination of old age, wind, and early morning without the proper infusion of high quality caffeine. Of course, age, wisdom, and experience (the reciprocal of the prior issues,) saved the day so to speak and I was in the 9 or 10 ring by shot #3. (In other words, I got lucky.)

I did two things to the scope set up on my rifle; 1- I got the MTR-2 changed for the MTR-5 and 2- I cracked up the line of sight by a half inch, now at 2.5 inch above the bore line compared to 2 inches prior.

The thicker reticle allows me to discern it very nicely on the black target and the middle dot is now 4 times the size of the prior dot and is easily distinguishable with my aging vision and yet does not subtend much of the X-ring, which proved to be elusive yesterday. So this reticle is a perfect fit for me; I like the design and I see it well now.

Elevating the scope a little more makes the rifle a better fit for me. It's a little strange but the way I interpret it, having my face lower pushed me to look through the top of my glasses or would strain my eye. It's counter-intuitive, but having the head up straight a little more, helps in keeping it in position and looking through the scope. This is really a very personal thing with which people have to experiment to find what works best for them, but I always felt that being very comfortable behind a scope was critical to proper marksmanship. I also think age has something to do with it because things do change over time.

 

[Engrbill]

What did March charge for the change??

 

[Turbulent Turtle]

The price for a reticle change is $395, which includes shipping to Japan and then back to you. You ship your scope to Marchoptics.com in WA and they take care of shipping it to Japan. The scope will come back directly from Japan to your house.