My friend Laurent was having difficulty seeing .22 bullet hits on black targets at 100 yards with his 24x scope and felt he needed more than just a 30x scope. He found an affordable 60x TPO scope and asked if I would test and review it. It turns out, I knew TPO but under a different name, Texas Precision Optics.
If you’ve never heard of Texas Precision Optics, it’s either because it’s a small scope brand or because you’re more familiar with the old brand name they marketed their rifle scopes under, Sniper. I always found the name Sniper to be a bit a bit cringy and affectatious. It’s a positive move for Texas Precision Optics to update to rebrand their Sniper rifle scopes with the simple initials TPO.
I’ve reviewed a few Sniper brand scopes in the past. I still run a 4-16x on my 10/22 for 100 yard target shooting because it’s one of the smallest and shortest 16x scopes available. Their scopes are in the budget price tier with extra accessories to give them a higher perceived value. But I found their build and construction to be rather unrefined. Despite this, their glass quality makes up for their lackluster externals. Their glass is sharper than some higher-tier brands but has noticeable chromatic aberration.
The TPO KT is a 12-60×60 SFP scope with a street price of $339 which is crazy cheap. Suspiciously cheap. This scope is nearly 20″ long because of the long focal length required to focus a 60x scope. Like TPOs other scopes, the KT comes with extra accessories such as a focus wheel and scope rings with a diving board.
TPO’s build quality hasn’t much improved since my previous reviews with rough finishes, reminding me of Soviet-style (or ChiCom) construction. The elevation turret is TPO’s standard hand-painted and CNC etched numbers which I find to be bold but hard to read due to the paint filling in some curves. The turrets have audible clicks and have quite a bit of slop between clicks.
The scope rings are similarly budget quality but have been improved with squared cross bars in the bases that function like recoil lugs. I appreciate the diving board scope ring top that’s included and the replacement “normal” ring top should you not need the additional accessory rail.
Unlike its internals, this TPO’s glass quality is much improved. While the manual doesn’t state it (which still bears the Sniper brand name), I suspect it uses ED glass. The KT exhibited little to no chromatic aberration. Given the scope’s widest magnification is 12x it’s no surprise this scope has an unforgiving eyebox; this scope tighter than most.
It’s SFP reticle reminds me of specialized European tactical reticles with extra ranging stadia and diagrams. My quibble is that it has a rather fat central floating dot as its center aimpoint which would obscure a Benchrest bullseye ring at 1000 yrds. Unfortunately for my friend, his goal was to see .22 holes on a black target at 100 yards but at 50-60x the scope loses too much contrast and brightness to make out those holes. The TK at 60x is not clearer than a 35x Discovery ED-PRS or Arken EP5.
The TK is still an amazing value for a high-power scope. The better-built Athlon Ares ETR 60x costs about 3 more and more premium 60x scopes by S+B, NF, and March are thousands more. Despite the TPO KT’s rough build quality, tight eyebox, and milky view at 60x, it is a value.
BUY
Amazon https://amzn.to/3EDY0uk
SPECS
TPO KT
Magnification: 12-60x
Objective: 60mm
Reticle Position: Second
Eye Relief: 4.3~3.9″
Close Focus : 30 yrds
FOV: 3.38~1.68 @ 100 yrds
Click Value: 1/8 MOA
Max Elevation Adj: 70 MOA
Max Windage Adj: 70 MOA
Illumination: Red/Green
Battery: CR2032
Weight: 41 oz
Dimensions: 19.6″
My other Sniper brand scope reviews
ZT https://youtu.be/Oa2Ylq20pc4
