Received my Tract Toric 30 4-20x50 with the MOA/MOA set up. I can honestly say this scope is incredible. The glass is definitely top tier, I have seen Zeiss, Swarovski, and Leica glass, and this is comparable in every way. I admit, I am not a glass guru, nor a glass snob...the controls are perfect for dialing ranges, illumination, and parallax. The turrets are fantastic...pull up or out on the turret to unlock, dial your clicks, then push down to lock. Has a zero stop that is SOLID ! Reset to zero is super simple. Clicks are solid, audible, and accurate to the adjustment measurement. The zoom dial is smooth, requires enough effort to turn, but is not stiff. The zoom range seems to be higher than it is, but it is probably due to the glass quality.The parallax matches with the yardarges on the knob, something I've never experienced before. I'm sure the top tier scopes are equal, and superior in a lot, or all aspects, but at the price range, I honestly would trade out all of my scopes for these...would like to hear opinions of other owners of these scopes....Thanks,rsbhunter
Tract Toric 30
- Thread starter rsbhunter
- Start date
Yes, I would like someone who has some of the top tier to compare it against...I know how it compares to Sigtron SIII's , Leopold VX-III , and Zeiss Conquest, as I have those....I am honestly impressed with the controls, all power rings, parallax, dial and eye cup adjust with different amounts of resistance, power is smooth but firm. The parallax knob moves a little easier than the power. The eyepiece focus is firm, won't move unless you move it. Turrets , to me are fantastic. Pull up on elevation turret, dial to dope, push turret knob down, it's locked. No fear of it getting turned going into or out of a case, or being bumped while slung on my shoulder. I also use a backpack pack with a rifle sleeve built in...no more worried about windage or elevation being "adjusted". And the zero stop is 100% solid....you can hear the metal on metal pins click when it hits zero....Will be taking it out again in a couple days when it dries out at the range....rsbhunter
I am very critical of optics as I am a non-prof. photographer. I have quite a few very expensive camera lens so I understand what what it takes to produce good images and optics. Here is a re-print of my gun file notes on the Tract Toric 30mm scope. It's exceptional for the money. I wish they had more reticle selections. They said they will have more next year. The most notiable feature is the color contrast of the image. It's beautiful. Greens and reds really pop out due to the enhanced lens coatings that boost those light wavelengths. I like the Toric scope so much I also bought their Tract Toric 10x50 binos which use the same glass and are awesome binos even compared to my more expensive Stiener 8x56mm and Nikon ATB5 binos (same price as the Tract).
My Vortex PST Gen II is a good scope but the Tract slightly beats it in every catagory most notiable at the higher powers. The Tract was about $200.00 more but is worth every penny of the difference.
Compared to the Vortex Razor the Tract is just a tick lower in optic quality. The Tract Toric is just under the optical performance of a Razor but just barely. That makes the Tract a great buy for the money. You can buy better optics but Tract glass is killer for their price point.
My Comments
· Image quality, feature set and construction is Exceptional for this price point. Image quality equals scopes costing much more. Noticably better than my Vortex PST Gen II. A very crisp and detailed image can be obtained using the side focus knob. Image contrast and color definition is Exceptional. Image brightness is very good in low light conditions.
· Closest focus distance on 4X is about 13 yards. Closest focus distance on 20X is about 20 yards.
· No ‘Fish Eye’ distortion is apparent at any power magnification.
· Image and reticule appearance quality is not altered as magnification is varied up or down.
· White Wall Test: Image brightness is VERY GOOD at or below 12x but begins to slightly darken at 13x and expectedly gets worse as power increases. At 20x it is only somewhat noticeable but is not a real problem in full sun light. This is mainly due to physics of Exit Pupil getting very small (2.5mm) as power magnification increases to full power.
· Fast focus Ocular adjustment works well. Medium stiff ring movement reduces mis-adjustment due to casual impacts.
· Medium stiff power magnification ring dial movement. No need for a large lever. Ring dial diameter is 1.730”.
· Elevation and Windage turrets are very precise with tactile and audible clicks. These are great locking knobs.
· No perceivable image Vignetting can be seen at any magnification power.
· Image is crisply focused all the way out to the edge of the image on every power if the head is held on scope center line. The outer 3% of the image will distort but only if head is not on center line and only at power levels above 18x. Max power is 20x.
· The MOA First Focal Plane reticle is very precise and crisp when NOT illuminated.
· Reticle Illumination: The illuminated reticle is crisp up to 13x magnification at any brightness level. The entire reticle receives illumination and level of brightness is linear across the full dial range of adjustment from #1-#11. No abrupt increase of reticle brightness occurs across the entire range of brightness settings. At the very last moments of sun light at dusk, settings # 4 or 5 work best against dark tree backgrounds. Illumination is bright enough to be usable in Full sunlight conditions.
Reticle Illumination negatives.
In very low light (near dark) conditions the reticle is not crisply defined when illuminated above 14x magnification at full brightness level. Red Blooming occurs on ANY brightness setting beginning at 14x magnification and get worse as magnification increases. At 17x to 20x magnification and at a brightness of #10 or #11 the reticle subtentions are bloomed out and useless.
· Exit pupil eye box is fairly generous but precise centerline head placement behind scope is required to avoid any “scope shadow” in the upper magnification range.
· I have not performed a tracking test yet.
· I feel this scopes performance and features are a bargain for the price, despite some minor flaws of the illuminated reticle which are not detrimental in actual usage under low light conditions.
My Vortex PST Gen II is a good scope but the Tract slightly beats it in every catagory most notiable at the higher powers. The Tract was about $200.00 more but is worth every penny of the difference.
Compared to the Vortex Razor the Tract is just a tick lower in optic quality. The Tract Toric is just under the optical performance of a Razor but just barely. That makes the Tract a great buy for the money. You can buy better optics but Tract glass is killer for their price point.
My Comments
· Image quality, feature set and construction is Exceptional for this price point. Image quality equals scopes costing much more. Noticably better than my Vortex PST Gen II. A very crisp and detailed image can be obtained using the side focus knob. Image contrast and color definition is Exceptional. Image brightness is very good in low light conditions.
· Closest focus distance on 4X is about 13 yards. Closest focus distance on 20X is about 20 yards.
· No ‘Fish Eye’ distortion is apparent at any power magnification.
· Image and reticule appearance quality is not altered as magnification is varied up or down.
· White Wall Test: Image brightness is VERY GOOD at or below 12x but begins to slightly darken at 13x and expectedly gets worse as power increases. At 20x it is only somewhat noticeable but is not a real problem in full sun light. This is mainly due to physics of Exit Pupil getting very small (2.5mm) as power magnification increases to full power.
· Fast focus Ocular adjustment works well. Medium stiff ring movement reduces mis-adjustment due to casual impacts.
· Medium stiff power magnification ring dial movement. No need for a large lever. Ring dial diameter is 1.730”.
· Elevation and Windage turrets are very precise with tactile and audible clicks. These are great locking knobs.
· No perceivable image Vignetting can be seen at any magnification power.
· Image is crisply focused all the way out to the edge of the image on every power if the head is held on scope center line. The outer 3% of the image will distort but only if head is not on center line and only at power levels above 18x. Max power is 20x.
· The MOA First Focal Plane reticle is very precise and crisp when NOT illuminated.
· Reticle Illumination: The illuminated reticle is crisp up to 13x magnification at any brightness level. The entire reticle receives illumination and level of brightness is linear across the full dial range of adjustment from #1-#11. No abrupt increase of reticle brightness occurs across the entire range of brightness settings. At the very last moments of sun light at dusk, settings # 4 or 5 work best against dark tree backgrounds. Illumination is bright enough to be usable in Full sunlight conditions.
Reticle Illumination negatives.
In very low light (near dark) conditions the reticle is not crisply defined when illuminated above 14x magnification at full brightness level. Red Blooming occurs on ANY brightness setting beginning at 14x magnification and get worse as magnification increases. At 17x to 20x magnification and at a brightness of #10 or #11 the reticle subtentions are bloomed out and useless.
· Exit pupil eye box is fairly generous but precise centerline head placement behind scope is required to avoid any “scope shadow” in the upper magnification range.
· I have not performed a tracking test yet.
· I feel this scopes performance and features are a bargain for the price, despite some minor flaws of the illuminated reticle which are not detrimental in actual usage under low light conditions.
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Vortex Optics Viper PST Gen II #PST-5256, 5-25x50mm
My Comments
· Over all scope performance is VERY GOOD for this price point. Optical performance is just behind the Tract Toric 30mm especially in low light conditions.
· Image is focused all the way out to the edge of the lens on every power.
· Image brightness is very good in dusk low light conditions (better than naked eye) on the lowest power of 5x. It begins to worsen at 12x and continues to degrade at higher magnifications as expected.
· Closest crisp focus distance on 5x magnification is about 19 yards. Closest focus distance on 25x is about 25 yards.
· Reticule appearance quality is not altered as magnification is varied up or down.
· A very crisp image can be obtained using the side focus knob up to 17x magnification. Image quality slightly degrades due to Vignetting as power increases above 17X. Vignetting is noticeable only at and above 17x magnification. The entire image darkens slightly as power increases even with bright sun light. This disappoints me.
· Slight Image Shift occurs at and below 12x when moving head off scope center line. This effect is not present above 12x.
· Exit pupil eye box is very generous. It is easy to get behind this scope even on Full magnification. No “scope shadow” or “tunnel effect” on any magnification if head is directly on or very close to scope center line.
· White Wall Test: Image brightness is very good at or below 10x but begins to slightly darken at 12x and gets worse as power increases. At 25x it is very noticeable but is not a real problem in Full Sun light. This is mainly due to physics of Exit Pupil getting very small as power magnification increases. When viewing objects in Full Sunlight the image begins to slightly darken and loses some color contrast (this produces a grayish tone to the entire image) at 17x and gets only slightly worse as magnification increases. Color contrast suffers above 17X and is very noticable.
· The EBR-7C MOA First Focal Plane reticle is very precise with crisp dots and hash marks on all magnifications when NOT illuminated. When illuminated, reticle is crisp with exceptions noted below.
· Reticle Illumination: Range #1-10
Daylight Conditions………The illuminated reticle is barley visible but still somewhat useable at #9 and #10 (the highest) in Full sunlight conditions. Illumination feature is not practically useful in daylight conditions.
Dim Light / Dark Conditions……… The entire reticle receives illumination. Brightness is linear from #1 through #8 with an abrupt increase of brightness at #9. Then linear again from #9 to #10 which can only be used in Full Sun as these settings Red Bloom the reticle against a dark background. Reticle is crisp up to #8 on 18x, and begins to bloom at ANY brightness setting beginning at 16x getting worse as magnification increases. On 19x to 25x magnification and at a brightness of #9 or #10 the reticle subtentions are still detectable and useable but a red halo surrounds the reticle lines fairly bad. While the reticle is great when not illuminated, it's overall lite performance is lacking.
At the very last moments of sun light at dusk, settings #4 through #6 work best against dark tree backgrounds.
· Fast Focus Ocular adjustment works well. Medium stiff ring movement reduces chance of knocking it off focus due to casual impacts.
· The illumination adjustment dial is extremely stiff, even painful to operate after making only a few setting changes. Wear gloves!
· The power magnification ring is medium stiff and somewhat hard to turn. Needs a large power lever. Ring dial diameter is 1.810”.
· Elevation and Windage turrets are very precise with tactile and audible clicks but they do not lock.
· I feel this scopes performance and features are a VERY GOOD for the price, despite some minor flaws of the illuminated reticle which are not detrimental in actual usage under low light conditions. Optical clarity is VERY GOOD for this price.
· I have not performed a tracking test yet.
My Comments
· Over all scope performance is VERY GOOD for this price point. Optical performance is just behind the Tract Toric 30mm especially in low light conditions.
· Image is focused all the way out to the edge of the lens on every power.
· Image brightness is very good in dusk low light conditions (better than naked eye) on the lowest power of 5x. It begins to worsen at 12x and continues to degrade at higher magnifications as expected.
· Closest crisp focus distance on 5x magnification is about 19 yards. Closest focus distance on 25x is about 25 yards.
· Reticule appearance quality is not altered as magnification is varied up or down.
· A very crisp image can be obtained using the side focus knob up to 17x magnification. Image quality slightly degrades due to Vignetting as power increases above 17X. Vignetting is noticeable only at and above 17x magnification. The entire image darkens slightly as power increases even with bright sun light. This disappoints me.
· Slight Image Shift occurs at and below 12x when moving head off scope center line. This effect is not present above 12x.
· Exit pupil eye box is very generous. It is easy to get behind this scope even on Full magnification. No “scope shadow” or “tunnel effect” on any magnification if head is directly on or very close to scope center line.
· White Wall Test: Image brightness is very good at or below 10x but begins to slightly darken at 12x and gets worse as power increases. At 25x it is very noticeable but is not a real problem in Full Sun light. This is mainly due to physics of Exit Pupil getting very small as power magnification increases. When viewing objects in Full Sunlight the image begins to slightly darken and loses some color contrast (this produces a grayish tone to the entire image) at 17x and gets only slightly worse as magnification increases. Color contrast suffers above 17X and is very noticable.
· The EBR-7C MOA First Focal Plane reticle is very precise with crisp dots and hash marks on all magnifications when NOT illuminated. When illuminated, reticle is crisp with exceptions noted below.
· Reticle Illumination: Range #1-10
Daylight Conditions………The illuminated reticle is barley visible but still somewhat useable at #9 and #10 (the highest) in Full sunlight conditions. Illumination feature is not practically useful in daylight conditions.
Dim Light / Dark Conditions……… The entire reticle receives illumination. Brightness is linear from #1 through #8 with an abrupt increase of brightness at #9. Then linear again from #9 to #10 which can only be used in Full Sun as these settings Red Bloom the reticle against a dark background. Reticle is crisp up to #8 on 18x, and begins to bloom at ANY brightness setting beginning at 16x getting worse as magnification increases. On 19x to 25x magnification and at a brightness of #9 or #10 the reticle subtentions are still detectable and useable but a red halo surrounds the reticle lines fairly bad. While the reticle is great when not illuminated, it's overall lite performance is lacking.
At the very last moments of sun light at dusk, settings #4 through #6 work best against dark tree backgrounds.
· Fast Focus Ocular adjustment works well. Medium stiff ring movement reduces chance of knocking it off focus due to casual impacts.
· The illumination adjustment dial is extremely stiff, even painful to operate after making only a few setting changes. Wear gloves!
· The power magnification ring is medium stiff and somewhat hard to turn. Needs a large power lever. Ring dial diameter is 1.810”.
· Elevation and Windage turrets are very precise with tactile and audible clicks but they do not lock.
· I feel this scopes performance and features are a VERY GOOD for the price, despite some minor flaws of the illuminated reticle which are not detrimental in actual usage under low light conditions. Optical clarity is VERY GOOD for this price.
· I have not performed a tracking test yet.
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Bluestreakrem, that was awesome !!!!! Thank you....I was impressed with mine, but like our children, we all think we got the "good ones"...LOL...I had been waiting on a Meopta Optima, but the 4.5-27 seems to keep getting pushed forward on eta's....That's how I ended up going with the Tract.....Again, thank you very much for your time and educated opinion....it's as good as gold as far as I'm concerned...rsbhunter
No problem. Glad to give my 'two cents' opinion if it can help someone make a more informed decision. I'm anal about all my hobbies like guns, optics, photography and motorcycles. I keep detailed info files on every item..........mainly because I can't remember what I've done to them if or when I change something. Ha Ha Ha! Getting too old.
While the Tract Toric is not the 'End All' of scopes (because there are better optics if you want to throw a lot of money at them)...............It is an uncommon value for the price point IMHO. It is the BEST value scope I've ever purchased but not the most expensive. If Tract developes more popular magnification ranges and reticles for PRS and Target shooters (like Jon said they will have next year) and they keep this level of quality, they are going to really hurt the other high end premium scope manufacturers like Nightforce, Vortex, ect. at the current $2-3K price range. I just hope I get on the front end of their production time frame when their new scopes come out before everyone discovers them and their prices get too high. Ha Ha Ha! They have already bumped some Torics up from what I purchased them at when they first came out. I have two of their scopes and one pair of their binos and all of them are steller optics for the money. When I was working, money was not too much of a concern. Now that I'm retired I'm not afraid to admit I'm cost conceious now. Ha Ha Ha!
It always hard to jump off and buy an unknown. Like what I did with the Optika. Like you, I'm also still waiting for my 3-18x50, SFP scope to show up. I wish it would get here.
While the Tract Toric is not the 'End All' of scopes (because there are better optics if you want to throw a lot of money at them)...............It is an uncommon value for the price point IMHO. It is the BEST value scope I've ever purchased but not the most expensive. If Tract developes more popular magnification ranges and reticles for PRS and Target shooters (like Jon said they will have next year) and they keep this level of quality, they are going to really hurt the other high end premium scope manufacturers like Nightforce, Vortex, ect. at the current $2-3K price range. I just hope I get on the front end of their production time frame when their new scopes come out before everyone discovers them and their prices get too high. Ha Ha Ha! They have already bumped some Torics up from what I purchased them at when they first came out. I have two of their scopes and one pair of their binos and all of them are steller optics for the money. When I was working, money was not too much of a concern. Now that I'm retired I'm not afraid to admit I'm cost conceious now. Ha Ha Ha!
It always hard to jump off and buy an unknown. Like what I did with the Optika. Like you, I'm also still waiting for my 3-18x50, SFP scope to show up. I wish it would get here.
Yeah, I'm in the same retirement position....I don't mind spending the money for value....I'm kinda glad I changed from waiting on the Optika to buying the Tract....one review from someone that did actually get one left me believing that they (Optika's) are comparable to the Vortex PST gen 2? Granted, the Tracts are more money, but I'll pay the extra for the quality..I am happy with mine...although I did just find a deal on a Savage LRPV for $400 that will need a scope, soooooooo. Here I go again....think I'll wait and see how you like your Optika before I part with my cash...Thank you once again....rsbhunter
rsbhunter...............Sounds like you are as bad as I am. You can't finish a project without buying another rifle and end up needing another scope for it. Ha Ha Ha! I have the same affliction! Life is good.
I read that Optika review as well and if its glass is as good as my Vortex PST Gen II............ I'll be very happy with it considering that I paid almost half for the Optika versus the Vortex. I hope no one thinks I'm not happy with my Vortex because I like it a lot. I just like a bargin when I can get it.
I read that Optika review as well and if its glass is as good as my Vortex PST Gen II............ I'll be very happy with it considering that I paid almost half for the Optika versus the Vortex. I hope no one thinks I'm not happy with my Vortex because I like it a lot. I just like a bargin when I can get it.
For what it's worth.........These are my comments on the other Tract scope I purchased. IT IS NOT a Toric model so it doesn't have the optical performance of a Toric 30mm but for $ 194.00 it was a steal. Jon was closing them out because as he put it............ "No one wants to buy a one inch scope anymore". It is a GREAT scope even at their original asking price. I mounted it on an AR15 I put together.
Tract Optics Response AR, 2.5-10x42mm, Tactical rifle scope, one inch main tube and SFP, 223/5.56 NATO BDC reticle.
My Comments
· Image quality is VERY GOOD for this price point even at the original asking price. Image is quite bright for scope of this price level. Brighter than the naked eye at any power level.
· Object must be beyond the Close Focus Distance for each magnification power to be in crisp focus. Image focus degrades if the subject is too close for a given power magnification due to a fixed 100 yard Parallax setting. This is normal and expected for a fixed Parallax SFP scope.
· Entire image is in crisp focus all the way out to the edge of the lens on all powers up to 7 power if subject is beyond the Close Focus Distance for a given magnification power. Slight distortion near the image outer edges begins to occur on 8 power and up through 10 power at any distance.
· Minimum Close Focus distances increase as the power magnification increases.
Closest crispest focus distance on 2.5 to 4 power is 10 yards. Can be used as close as 5 yards.
Closest crispest focus distance on 5 power is 15 yards. Closest crispest focus distance on 6 power is ??? yards.
· No ‘Fish Eye’ effect or Vignetting is apparent.
· Slight Side-to-Side Parallax error exists at all power magnifications if head is held off of scope center line beyond 100 yards. Be sure to maintain scope center line when shooting to minimize this error.
· Medium stiff but smooth power magnification ring movement. No need for a large lever.
· The Fast Focus type Ocular allows a crisp and precisely focused BDC reticle.
· Generous eye pupil box on all power levels. No tunnel effect at any power level up to 9X. Only slightly worse at 10X.
· I originally centered the scope reticle at halfway between the total turret travel clicks.
Elevation total travel was 348 clicks.
Windage total travel was 356 clicks.
Tracking test was very good.
Tract Optics Response AR, 2.5-10x42mm, Tactical rifle scope, one inch main tube and SFP, 223/5.56 NATO BDC reticle.
My Comments
· Image quality is VERY GOOD for this price point even at the original asking price. Image is quite bright for scope of this price level. Brighter than the naked eye at any power level.
· Object must be beyond the Close Focus Distance for each magnification power to be in crisp focus. Image focus degrades if the subject is too close for a given power magnification due to a fixed 100 yard Parallax setting. This is normal and expected for a fixed Parallax SFP scope.
· Entire image is in crisp focus all the way out to the edge of the lens on all powers up to 7 power if subject is beyond the Close Focus Distance for a given magnification power. Slight distortion near the image outer edges begins to occur on 8 power and up through 10 power at any distance.
· Minimum Close Focus distances increase as the power magnification increases.
Closest crispest focus distance on 2.5 to 4 power is 10 yards. Can be used as close as 5 yards.
Closest crispest focus distance on 5 power is 15 yards. Closest crispest focus distance on 6 power is ??? yards.
· No ‘Fish Eye’ effect or Vignetting is apparent.
· Slight Side-to-Side Parallax error exists at all power magnifications if head is held off of scope center line beyond 100 yards. Be sure to maintain scope center line when shooting to minimize this error.
· Medium stiff but smooth power magnification ring movement. No need for a large lever.
· The Fast Focus type Ocular allows a crisp and precisely focused BDC reticle.
· Generous eye pupil box on all power levels. No tunnel effect at any power level up to 9X. Only slightly worse at 10X.
· I originally centered the scope reticle at halfway between the total turret travel clicks.
Elevation total travel was 348 clicks.
Windage total travel was 356 clicks.
Tracking test was very good.
I completely agree with you. The erector tube and guts must repeat or it goes in the trash bin. But a basic tracking test is all I am willing to perform.
I will admit I can't remember ever doing a 'POI shift' test or a 'Zoom' test on a scope. When I do a tracking test, the scope stays on what ever power I started it at............usually the highest. If it prints to the appropriate 'come ups and downs' and tracks back to where I started............I consider it a keeper.
To fully evaluate a scope worthy of a high price tag, it should undergo more stringent testing but to test a scope to that degree of accuracy, is beyond what the average shooter is capable of performing or willing to go through to do it properly.
To be fair to a scope, it would have to be rigidly mounted in a fixture at the bench and the target perfectly plumb to eliminate all shooter induced error. The average shooter (including me) can not hold a rifle steady enough to resolve the minute tracking error that this type of testing is seeking to reveal. Some gun magazine writers go to this extreme to test a scope but most of them don't. Testing to that level of accuracy is not practical or needed for the vast majority of shooters but it would be nice to know how accurate they are. A basic tracking test like the one I do can reveal the level of accuracy I expect from a scope but then again I'm not a PRS competitor competing for money.
There are exceptions but I think most high dollar scopes track much tighter than most shooters can reveal including me. So for the most part I have to trust (and expect) the scope is better than me. If it will not pass my basic test it would go back to the manufacturer.
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Ledd Slinger
Silver $$ Contributor
The information one can get from this forum, especially this topic, is fantastic. I agree with the above comments....the one thing that always makes me question the validity of any test I do , is me ! I can shoot a bug hole one day, go back the next day and best I can do is 1/2" ! Not that I demand one hole accuracy, but it sure makes me smile. If I can get minute of coyote out to 5-6 hundred yards, then I should be happy......but if I just had, a better _________ (fill in the blank) my groups would be AWESOME !!! We are the ones who keep these companies in business....I would like to thank everyone on these forums who contribute their knowledge for no other reason that to help someone else make a decision , or keep them from making a mistake. Thank you, rsbhunter
Lead Slinger, according to a lot of the poster's , you don't reach "top tier" til you're in the S-B, I OR, U.S. Optics, etc. In other words, the $3k to 5k range.....to me , Zeiss, Swarovski, and others are the "top tier, the s-b, IOR, etc, are in the rarified atmosphere category...I don't ever expect to own one of those, nor have a need for one....young eyes can use those to a much better advantage....there are different categories of optic levels....mine fit in the class that I need....rsbhunter
Ledd Slinger
Silver $$ Contributor
Yeah I was just confused because you stated that you've seen top tier scopes and that the Toric was "comparable in every way". But then said in the next post that you only knew how it compared to mid priced optics.
Glass is no doubt subjective to a person's eyes. But there is a consensus about top tier glass that is consistent amongst shooters because the glass and scope construction truly is better.
Everything looks good and perfectly focused at 100-300 yards. The big differences are truly seen when a person really starts to stretch the range of the optic. I always try to compare optics at a ridge behind my house that ranges from 600 yards away at one point to over 2400 yards at the far end. Then again at a mountain range that is many miles across the valley. The main advantages I see with top tier glass vs. mid grade glass doesnt show up until I'm looking at objects around 1300 yards and further. The glass is one aspect, but the focusing mechanism and eye box design both play a huge part as well. You can have the best glass in the world, but with a poor rear ocular and focusing design, you will never be able to see the benefits.
Just to play the devils advocate a little bit here:
One thing I see right away in the Toric that I dont like is the way the turrets are designed. In wet weather, the o-ring on the center elevation turret post will eventually start leaking after it wears down, especially if not greased regularly. The design literally creates a vacuum like a syringe that sucks water down into the turret when pulled up to make adjustments. Fine for shooting on nice days with a paper punching or steel ringing rifle, but not what I would want for an optic on a serious hunting rifle. I have seen that turret o-ring design fail first hand in foul weather where it was full of water under the cap. Then if you hit freezing temps with water in there, things go real bad.
I hope the glass is as good as the reviews say and the rest of the optic seems like a solid and sound design. I would love to get my hands on one personally for review, but would not purchase one due to the turret design.
Well, I'm hoping that the o-ring problem won't be an issue as I'm in New Mexico, we have had 4 inches of rain this year in the S.E part of the state, in 2 days! (That's almost TOTAL rainfall). As to the turret filling up with water, unless it's underwater when you operate the lock feature, I find it hard to imagine that much water getting in there. BUT, to save others the same experience, what brand of scope was that? I agree with the distance, I have places where I can shoot farther than a bullet will travel,so optics are important. It might have been confusing the way I posted. To me, the Zeiss, Bushnell, Vortex, nightforce are the top tier(2k-3k)....to a lot of the guy's on the forum, they are their everyday scopes....For some guy's, the S-B, I OR, and other's I don't even know of, are obtainable and owned by them. By the way, I'm 64 years old, pick my hunting days and weather....my days of humping a 12 lb rifle , 30lb pack for elk, oryx, deer and pronghorns is over...now it's at a covered range, or mountains that are under 10,000 ft altitude. rsbhunter
When I took mine apart I also noticed how the O ring was utilized on the turrets. Yes it could draw water past it if the turret was pulled up and water was present on top of the turret at that moment in time. Might get some water in the ratchet works but not in the tube internals. There's another O ring below the ratchet works.
Anyway I'm like rsbhunter these days.............I can't see myself hunting (and dialing a scope) in the rain............. so it won't be a problem for me either.
Here's a good review of the Tract Toric.
They said tracking was spot on perfect and the reticle had properly spaced subtentions.
https://rifleshooter.com/2018/05/tract-toric-4-20x50-uhd-30mm-rifle-scope-review/
Anyway I'm like rsbhunter these days.............I can't see myself hunting (and dialing a scope) in the rain............. so it won't be a problem for me either.
Here's a good review of the Tract Toric.
They said tracking was spot on perfect and the reticle had properly spaced subtentions.
https://rifleshooter.com/2018/05/tract-toric-4-20x50-uhd-30mm-rifle-scope-review/
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Ledd slinger , now I have the confused emogee....how do you know the turret would pull a vacuum with only rain being on top of the turret when lifted ? You state you haven't handled one ? The turret outer knob is not in contact with the center turret, thereby there is not a chance of creating a vacuum, unless possibly underwater.....either way, I am impressed with the scope, had it out today shooting between 100-600 yards, in between 100,200,300,etc silhouette swingers with first shot hits on all....clicks are positive, setting marks line up every time. I understand it's not a Tangent Theta, but it will do what I need out to 1000 yds...rsb
Ledd Slinger
Silver $$ Contributor
I dont know if it's a vacuum exactly but I had another scope with the same locking turret design years ago when manufacturers first started making different styles of locking turrets. Cant remember the scope brand but I'll do some digging to jog my memory.... The one thing I remember very distinctly about that style of locking turret was that I was practicing at long range in the rain and when I removed the turret later on at home to reset zero, there was a bunch of water under the turret. It appeared that there was very little grease on the o-ring.
The water did not get inside the scope tube as that was waterproofed, but I knew from past experience that it would create issues if water was in there in freezing temps. The reason I knew that was because I also had the Gen 1 Vortex PST 6-24 scope years ago. That was a horrible turret design as well. Water and moisture would get down inside the turret and freeze. One fall that happened to me and I couldnt adjust my turret to make a shot on a mule deer buck at 400 yards. It was froze up solid. I was forced to use reticle holdover and fortunately still made a good clean kill shot. Sold the scope after the season and never looked back.
If not hunting in rain or snow, I dont think the design would be an issue. If used in foul weather, then at the very least, a person needs to make sure the o-rings are greased regularly and hopefully it will never be an issue. Just something to keep in mind for those that might have different intended purposes for the Toric optic.
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That was some great info on possible problem that needs attention. And thank you for bringing to my attention that the o-rings need regular maintenance/ checking. With all the new features being put on these optics, I'm sure people don't think about these things.....wouldn't be a bad thing to have a sticky about the required maintenance needed on today's optics.... I know it would be information I would use....rsbhunter
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