Discoveryopt HD 2-12X24 SFIR FFP-MIL test and review
The Discoveryopt HD 2-12X24 SFIR FFP-MIL is an MPVO with great quality at a very affordable price that punches well over its category.
Discoveryopt HD 2-12X24 SFIR FFP-MIL: recensione e test
The Discoveryopt HD 2-12X24 SFIR FFP-MIL is a compact rifle scope belonging into that category called Medium Power Variable Optic (MPVO) that has recently gathered a lot of interest, and rightly so.
After the rise of the Low Power Variable Optic (LPVO) as the ideal scope to mount on AR15 style rifles, that allowed the shooter to have an aiming device capable of acting both as a red dot and a rifle scope, the concept was found very effective and scaled up to become the MPVO.
MPVOs are scopes that range in power between 2x and 12-15x and can fulfill both the role of a quick-shot, close range scope for bush hunting at the lower magnification power, and of a scope for medium to long range shooting at higher magnification.
The Pedersoli Guidemaster-X chambered for the powerful and far reaching 45-70 was the perfect rifle to mate with such a scope as the Discoveryopt HD 2-12X24 SFIR FFP-MIL: its heavy hitting capabilities coupled with excellent accuracy (sub-MOA groups are not something you see everyday on a lever action) and far reach just beg for a scope at home in the bush as well as on a long-range shooting range.
The HD 2-12X24 SFIR FFP-MIL glass is bright and crisp. At 2x it offers a wide field of view allowing fast target acquisition and great awareness of your surrounding shooting with both eyes open.
When cranked at its maximum 12x, its high definition, lack of optical aberrations and crisp image allows the shooter to confidently engage targets at medium to long range with confidence.
Contrary to many comparable scopes meant mainly for hunting, the HD 2-12X24 SFIR FFP-MIL offers open, adjustable turrets that allow the shooter to dial in correction as the situation requires.
If the glass is very good, from a mechanical standpoint this scope is no slacker as well: the mechanism is all metal and, actuating the turrets, presents a solid, crisp feedback. Checked with an optical collimator, the reticle tracks flawlessly with precise movements and consistent intervals between clicks.
Another nice to have on such a scope is the parallax adjustment: most LPVOs and many MPVOs have their parallax correction fixed at 100m, which is nice and well for scopes meant for close to medium range shooting, but would not do if you are to engage targets out to 500 meters and beyond.
The presence of parallax adjustment speaks clearly of a scope that knows how far it can reach.
The only thing it lacks is a zero stop, but it’s a venial sin on such a scope.
Another great feature is the reticle: LPVOs and MPVOs are often limited to crosshair or BDC reticles that are not useful at all when the scope is removed from its intended abode (i.e.: over an AR15 chambered in .223 Rem.) and brought in new, weird territory, like a .45-70 lever action that from a ballistic standpoint is closer to a trebuchet than to a rifle.
The Christmas tree on the HD 2-12X24 SFIR FFP-MIL leaves little room for guessing, even with the Pedersoli Guidemaster-X: you find your ballistic solution on your ballistic app or in your dope, and either directly use the reticle or, if the correction exceeds the reticle’s capability, dial it in, shoot and, if you miss, use the crater left from the shot as a reference in the reticle to apply instant correction for the next shot.
The scope was mounted using the rail provided by Pedersoli and manufactured by Contessa, which is offset to the left to allow the top ejection 1886 mechanism to do its job, and some Contessa rings. The stock of the Guidemaster-X is ingeniously provided with an equally offset cheek rest that brings the shooter’s eye right behind glass.
Eye relief is perfect to achieve a correct sight picture while protecting your eyebrow from enthusiastically meeting the eyepiece, both at minimum and maximum magnification.
The feeling of the scope on this lever action rifle is just perfect: the scope doesn’t add all that much to the already massive Guidemaster-X, and the ensemble tracks perfectly when pointing to different close up targets, while at maximum magnification from the bench the crisp image on the scope allows to clearly see small targets far away and deliberately aim to achieve sub-moa groups.
Dialing in corrections is a matter of a moment, thanks to the very tactile feeling of the locking turrets that allow counting the clicks of small corrections easily without looking, while for more significant input the large numbers on the turrets are a blessing for eyes that don’t see so well close up as they used to do a few years ago. Having to don reading glasses to dial in correction is impractical and, well, somewhat embarrassing.
At the end of the tests, the Discoveryopt HD 2-12X24 SFIR FFP-MIL was the perfect mate for the Pedersoli Guidemaster-X, as it would be for any large caliber lever action or compact large caliber carbine that feels at home both in close range shooting and at long range and, at the price it fetches on the market, it’s very hard to beat.
