Monstrum Banshee 1-10x BDC-B1

by moondog on May 4, 2024 with No Comments

When I compared the new Monstrum Banshee 1-10x to the SIG Saur Tango the Banshee outshone the Tango in most aspects, save for one: its reticle. The Tango’s MSR reticle is a bullet drop compensating (BDC) reticle similar to the Primary Arms ACSS. But within weeks of completing my video, Monstrum released a new Banshee with their own BDC reticle: the BDC-B1.

The Banshee’s image quality is bright and clear with very no chromatic aberration (the 1-8x and 1-10x models have ED glass). The image is flat and with very little edge distortion. The eyebox and eye-relief are decent for an LPVO, especially for a 1-10x which are notorious for their unforgiving eyeboxes.

I’ve been using this Banshee for a few months now on my H&K G36/22 and it’s held zero and been an exemplary optic for action shooting matches. I sent a Banshee to my friend Mark on the GD Boomer channel. He mounted it on his Barrett .50cal rifle and confirmed that it would hold zero even under 50 BMG recoil.

The Banshee BDC-B1 is physically identical to the original version that I reviewed, save for the MX-1 reticle. The turrets are clearly audible and tactile positive. The BDC-B1 has a circular Donut of Death graphic with windage holdovers and a BDC vertical crosshair bar. It is significantly more tactical and faster to aim than the MX-1 but it is not perfect. That said, the Banshee is probably my favorite Monstrum LPVO and this BDC-B1 version is the best variant.

I do have a few suggestions for Montrum. Make the illumination brighter and truly daylight bright. The aiming donut should be both smaller and thicker, while the central aiming dot should be a smaller 0.5 MOA dot. In short, do a better job copying the Primary Arms ACSS like SIG did.