Discovery Optics has quietly been making high featured optics in the price tier usually considered “budget”. Discovery sent me a pre-release sample of their new ED-AR 1-8x24SFIR FFP LPVO. This is part of their top tier ED line of optics which utilize Japanese ED glass.
This is an evolution on the ED-AR 1-6×24 not just in illumination but also in the addition of a side-focus parallax adjustment knob. This feature is nearly unheard of in LPVOs. Moreover, this scope is able to focus from infinity to an unprecedented 5 yards; making this optic an option for hunting, NRL22 or precision airgun.
The overall glass quality was bright, clear and sharp. While not quite the same league as the Vortex Razor HD it come much closer than most LPVOs under $500. At launch this scope is selling for a street price of $200 on Amazon and the Discovery Optics website which makes this optic cheaper than Swampfox, Primary Arms and many other budget optics! The retail version does not include rings or a mount; I recommend mounting this on an offset mount for your AR like Discovery Optics and Monstrum QD mounts.
Like other FFP’s, the ED-AR suffers from a thin reticle at 1x. Unfortunately the ED-AR’s illuminator is typical of most LPVO’s, not quite daylight bright and only useful in low light or CQB. I would suggest Discovery offer this optic with a much thicker 1x reticle configuration similar to the Arken EP8 or the Sig TANGO MSR.
Over multiple range visits, the scope held zero. It has a lifetime warranty. With their new service office in California customer service shouldn’t be a problem. If they can keep this unit at this price point the ED-AR has the potential to change the LPVO landscape.
Enter to win an ED-AR 1-8×24 LPVO from Discovery Optics. Subscribe to my travel channel, Moondog Go or follow me on X. Entries must be received no later than 12pm EST on September 30, 2024.
CONTEST INSTRUCTIONS
Screenshot
1. Subscribe to my travel channel on YouTube: Moondog Go or follow me on Twitter/X.
2. Post a reply comment in my video on YouTube or X with your last name and the words “wants to win”.
3. Take a screen shot of the page showing your FOLLOWED or SUBSCRIBED button.
This prize supplied by Discovery Optics and is awarded at their sole discretion and direction.
RULES
NO PURCHASE IS NECESSARY TO ENTER. YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING DO NOT INCREASE WITH A PURCHASE. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED.
1. Eligibility
Void where prohibited by law. Must be legal resident in the USA and Canada. Moondog Industries employees, subsidiaries, affiliates, suppliers, advertising and promotion agencies, employees’ immediate family members, are ineligible to participate in the contest/giveaway.
Entrants must be willing and able to appear on YouTube to discuss the contest and post images of the prize on their social feed should they win the contest.
2. Sponsors and Platforms
Discovery Optics (known as the SPONSOR) and Moondog Industries (known as the CO-SPONSOR) is a video Edutainment producer and game promotor based in San Francisco, CA. YouTube, TikTok, Rumble, X and online video platforms (known as PLATFORMS) are not SPONSORS or in any way affiliated with the contest or content.
3. Agreement to Rules
By entering your contest, participants agree to abide by the SPONSOR’s Official Rules and decisions. The SPONSOR retains the right to refuse, withdraw, or disqualify entries at their sole discretion. By submitting an entry, the participant agrees to accept the decision of the SPONSOR as final and binding.
4. Entry Period
Contest email entries must be received between: 12:00pm EST 31 August 2024 and 12:00pm EST 30 September 2024
5. How to Enter
This contest requires your skill in navigating your phone or computer controls to screen capture an image of the following YouTube channels/Social Media accounts. Subscribe or Follow and make a screen capture of those pages showing a greyed out Subscribe button or indicator that your account is Following that page. Send a screen capture image file of any of those sites to contest@moondogindustries.com . One entry per person or per Social Media account. Fraudulent methods of entry, photo retouched, or other methods of circumvention of the rules may result in the SPONSOR invalidating a participant’s entries.
6. Prizes
Winner must be able to receive the prize by e-mail or by physical mail. Prize may be substituted at the sole discretion of the SPONSOR. Acceptance of the prize grants SPONSOR permission to use the Winners entry, name, and likeness for advertising, promotion, and trade without further compensation or remuneration unless prohibited by law.
7. Odds
The odds of winning is dependent upon the number of eligible entries received.
8. Selection and Notification of the Winner
The winner will be chosen at random by the SPONSOR from among the entrants that demonstrated the skill to navigate the electronic entry and have met the minimum requirements. Winners will be contacted via the email used to enter the contest no later than December 31, 2024. Winner must have a legal address within the US to ship the prize.
SPONSOR is not liable for the winner’s failure to receive notification of winning if he or she provided the wrong email address or if their email security settings caused your prize notification to go into the spam or junk folder. If a winner does not respond within 24hrs of sending a notification, the SPONSOR will select an alternate winner. Receipt of the prize is upon the condition of compliance with federal, state, and local laws.
9. Rights Granted by the Entrant
The SPONSOR, upon submission of an entry into the giveaway or contest, has the right to use the participant’s submission, voice, likeness, image, statements about the contest, etc., for publicity, news, advertising, promotional purposes, trade, and so forth, without any further notice, review, consent, compensation or remuneration.
Participants shall defend or settle against such claims at their sole expense, and shall indemnify, defend and hold harmless the SPONSOR from any suit due to damage of or by the prize.
10. Terms & Conditions
The SPONSOR reserves the right to modify, suspend, cancel or terminate in the event that non-authorized human intervention, a bug or virus, fraud, or other causes beyond your control impact or corrupt the security, fairness, proper conduct, or administration of the contest/giveaway.
11. Limitation of Liability
Entry into this contest constitutes the participant’s agreement to release and hold harmless the SPONSOR and PLATFORMS, subsidiaries, affiliates, employees, etc., against all claims liability, illness, injury, death, loss, etc., that occurs directly or indirectly from participation in the contest or use/misuse of the awarded prize.
12. Disputes
As a condition of participating in the promotion, the participant agrees to resolve all disputes with an arbitrator designated by the SPONSOR in the state of California, without resorting to any form of class action. Entrants waive all rights to punitive, incidental, or consequential damages, and waive all rights to have damages multiplied or increased.
13. Privacy Policy
Participants agree to abide by all privacy and NDA laws in the State of California and any federal laws of the United State of America.
14. Winners List
Participants may request a list of winners by submitting a request in writing to Moondog Industries for up to 30 days after the contest ends.
15. Social Media Platform Rules
Winners will agree to post a photo of the prize on their social media channels in such a way as does not violate any rules of that platform. The winners also agree to appear for an interview where they will discuss the prize and its performance. If there are functional problems with the prize, the winner agrees to make a good-faith effort to resolve all issues with the SPONSOR prior to posting reviews or opinions about the prize.
16. Affirmation of Acceptance of and Agreement to All of the Official Rules
By entering the contest, the entrant has affirmatively reviewed, accepted, and agreed to all of them.
Discovery released new scope rings made of 7075 aircraft grade aluminum and with precision features like their “Lightweight 7075 offset mounts”. The design makes extensive use of lightening cuts to reduce the weight. Uniquely the upper and lower ring halves have an index pin to precisely line up the halves without the need for play in the Torx screws.
Discovery also went to the extra effort of pre-lapping the rings with a finishing buff on the rings inner surface to assure a smooth, high contact interface with your scope. The rings come in 30mm, 34mm, and 35mm tube sizes in 1.5″ center height and higher profile 1.93″ heights. Overall the rings look as good as those made by big brands for a lot less than half the price.
Discovery recently updated their premium scope ring and scope mount offerings with their new Lightweight Scope Mounts. The “Lightwenght” typo in the first batch of boxes was not an intentional Trademark name. I pointed this out to them to their embarrassment but I won’t judge given the number of typos in my articles.
The rings are made of 7075 aircraft grade aluminum and make extensive use of lightening cuts to reduce the weight. Technically these aren’t cuts but milled indents into the surface that do not go all the way through. This allows a thin wall of material that helps keep it stiffer.
The mount comes in 30mm, 34mm, and 35mm tube sizes in 1.5″ center height and higher profile 1.93″ heights. Its my understanding that more SOF trainers prefer higher profile mounting of optics to promote a more heads-up shooting position for operators. Discovery also offers mounts with a 20 MOA tilt for long range; the mounts I tested were standard 0 MOA.
On close surface inspection the milling and construction appears of high quality. The mounts have recoil lugs, use Torx screws (star), and a unique indexing pin on the rings which in theory provides more precise alignment of the ring tops and additional stiffness without having the rely on the quality and alignment of the screw/bolt supplier. Using my Monstrum laping kit, I found the mount to be nearly perfectly aligned, requiring no lapping (Those competing in ELR will probably still want finer tolerances). Overall the mounts look as good as those made by big brand mounts for a lot less.
Discovery Optics sent me their ED-LHT precision hunting scope. The new Gen2 features Japanese ED glass, reducing chromatic aberrations and improving overall sharpness. Or at least that’s what ED glass is supposed to do, but given the LHT’s budget price, one can get a little suspicious.
My dubiousness wasn’t helped by the fact that Discovery Optics scopes come with an outrageous amount of stuff. Not just a set of scope rings, but a scope level tool, flip up lens caps, a sun shade, a cleaning cloth, and a cleaning tool. Many budget scopes include mounts or other accessories with the scope to try and attract novice gun buyers by given them trinkets while offering mediocre optics.
But in my testing the ED-LHT out-performed some better known scopes brands I’ve reviewed. The image was clean and bright and impressivlely sharp. I was able to see detail in the USAF Optical Resolution chart at 15x that I’m used to seeing with 24x scopes.
The LHT does have some drawbacks. Its eyebox is tight and unforgiving. Is a bit heavy at almost 28oz. But it’s performance for a $300 scopes is impressive. And with all of its accessories, its even more of a value.
CONGRATULATIONS TO THE WINNER Edward M. of Lewisville TX
April 28 Discovery ED-PRS Scope Contest
Win a Discovery Optics ED-PRS Gen2 FFP Scope. The contest Prize will be chosen from all entries submitted. Entries must be received no later than 12pm EST on April 28, 2024
CONTEST INSTRUCTIONS
1. Take a screen shot of my YouTube or Rumble channel showing you have subscribed/followed.
NO PURCHASE IS NECESSARY TO ENTER. YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING DO NOT INCREASE WITH A PURCHASE. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED.
1. Eligibility
Void where prohibited by law. Must be legal resident within the USA or Canada. Moondog Industries employees, subsidiaries, affiliates, suppliers, advertising and promotion agencies, employees’ immediate family members, are ineligible to participate in the contest/giveaway.
Entrants must be willing and able to appear on YouTube to discuss the contest and post images of the prize on their social feed should they win the contest.
2. Sponsors and Platforms
Moondog Industries (known as the SPONSOR) is a video Edutainment producer and game promotor based in San Francisco, CA. YouTube, TikTok, Rumble, and online video platforms (known as PLATFORMS) are not SPONSORS or in any way affiliated with the contest or content.
3. Agreement to Rules
By entering your contest, participants agree to abide by the SPONSOR’s Official Rules and decisions. The SPONSOR retains the right to refuse, withdraw, or disqualify entries at their sole discretion. By submitting an entry, the participant agrees to accept the decision of the SPONSOR as final and binding.
4. Entry Period
Contest email entries must be received between: 12:00pm EST 16 Mar 2024 and 12:00pm EST 28 Apr 2024
5. How to Enter
This contest requires your skill in navigating your phone or computer controls to screen capture an image of the following YouTube channels/Social Media accounts. Subscribe or Follow and make a screen capture of those pages showing a greyed out Subscribe button or indicator that your account is Following that page. Send a screen capture image file of any of those sites to contest@moondogindustries.com . One entry per person or per Social Media account. Fraudulent methods of entry, photo retouched, or other methods of circumvention of the rules may result in the SPONSOR invalidating a participant’s entries.
6. Prizes
Winner must be able to receive the prize by e-mail or by physical mail. Prize may be substituted at the sole discretion of the SPONSOR. Acceptance of the prize grants SPONSOR permission to use the Winners entry, name, and likeness for advertising, promotion, and trade without further compensation or remuneration unless prohibited by law.
7. Odds
The odds of winning is dependent upon the number of eligible entries received.
8. Selection and Notification of the Winner
The winner will be chosen at random by the SPONSOR from among the entrants that demonstrated the skill to navigate the electronic entry and have met the minimum requirements. Winners will be contacted via the email used to enter the contest no later than December 31, 2024.
SPONSOR is not liable for the winner’s failure to receive notification of winning if he or she provided the wrong email address or if their email security settings caused your prize notification to go into the spam or junk folder. If a winner does not respond within 24hrs of sending a notification, the SPONSOR will select an alternate winner. Receipt of the prize is upon the condition of compliance with federal, state, and local laws.
9. Rights Granted by the Entrant
The SPONSOR, upon submission of an entry into the giveaway or contest, has the right to use the participant’s submission, voice, likeness, image, statements about the contest, etc., for publicity, news, advertising, promotional purposes, trade, and so forth, without any further notice, review, consent, compensation or remuneration.
Participants shall defend or settle against such claims at their sole expense, and shall indemnify, defend and hold harmless the SPONSOR from any suit due to damage of or by the prize.
10. Terms & Conditions
The SPONSOR reserves the right to modify, suspend, cancel or terminate in the event that non-authorized human intervention, a bug or virus, fraud, or other causes beyond your control impact or corrupt the security, fairness, proper conduct, or administration of the contest/giveaway.
11. Limitation of Liability
Entry into this contest constitutes the participant’s agreement to release and hold harmless the SPONSOR and PLATFORMS, subsidiaries, affiliates, employees, etc., against all claims liability, illness, injury, death, loss, etc., that occurs directly or indirectly from participation in the contest or use/misuse of the awarded prize.
12. Disputes
As a condition of participating in the promotion, the participant agrees to resolve all disputes with an arbitrator designated by the SPONSOR in the state of California, without resorting to any form of class action. Entrants waive all rights to punitive, incidental, or consequential damages, and waive all rights to have damages multiplied or increased.
13. Privacy Policy
Participants agree to abide by all privacy and NDA laws in the State of California and any federal laws of the United State of America.
14. Winners List
Participants may request a list of winners by submitting a request in writing to Moondog Industries for up to 30 days after the contest ends.
15. Social Media Platform Rules
Winners will agree to post a photo of the prize on their social media channels in such a way as does not violate any rules of that platform. The winners also agree to appear for an interview where they will discuss the prize and its performance. If there are functional problems with the prize, the winner agrees to make a good-faith effort to resolve all issues with the SPONSOR prior to posting reviews or opinions about the prize.
16. Affirmation of Acceptance of and Agreement to All of the Official Rules
By entering the contest, the entrant has affirmatively reviewed, accepted, and agreed to all of them.
While testing the new Gen2 ED-PRS Discovery Optics sent me to review, I was filled with deja vu. It felt like I had just reviewed the ED-PRS though that was a year ago. Visually the Gen 1 and the Gen 2 are nearly identical save for slightly bolder font on the turrets.
The Gen 2 comes in a slightly smaller box than the Gen 1. Discovery scopes come with a ludicrous amount of accessories including high-quality scope rings, a scope base leveler, a lens cleaning cloth, a lens cleaning brush, and sun shade. Missing are the two additional 3″ sun shade tube sections present in the Gen 1.
The size and weight of this scope are hard to forget at nearly 4lbs and over 16″ long; over 19″ with the sun shade attached. One important difference with the Gen 2 is its greater range of adjustments, doubling the Gen 1’s numbers. The Gen 2 is also 4 oz heavier.
The ED-PRS has huge turrets. It’s like they looked at Arken’s turrets and said, “Hold my beer”. That said, the turrets are quite audible and tactile-positive with no slop. The elevation turret has a ring and cog tooth style zero stop.
The Gen 2 sports Japanese ED glass. Optically the image is quite bright and clear, with a slight warm tint but with little chromatic aberration; noticeably less than the Gen 1. The sharpness and resolution were quite impressive.
The only disappointing aspects is the Gen 2’s unforgiving eye box (which it shares with other Discovery scopes I’ve tested) and illumination. The maximum illumination isn’t visible in shaded daylight but is sufficient for low light. Neither of these issues is a deal breaker.
Then Gen 2 has excellent features and performance, a plethora of quality accessories, and an Amazon price of $400 If you need a long-range scope and weight and size aren’t an issue, the Gen 2 is arguably the best value scope. Period.
I was contacted by Discovery Optics a few months ago to review their new ED-PRS scope. What I got was a scope in a large box filled with accessories. Usually when you get a ton of stuff with a scope this is a bad sign; they are cheap accessories designed to distract you from a mediocre scope. The Discovery ED-PRS on the other hand contained some high quality accessories that were a step above what you’d often get with some other scope brands.
Instead of a simple sheet of fabric cleaning cloth, the ED-PRS came with a soft chamois. In addition to the chamois, it also included a photography lens cleaning pen with an optical nano carbon cleaning tip. It included a set of high-profile scope rings with recoil lugs and printed torque markings.
In the box was an all metal scope level kit which helps you level and square your scope to your rail. I’ve only seen this tool is usually sold as an after-market accessory. And perhaps the most unusual items was a 3-piece sun shade tube which ads about another 10″ to the 13″ long scope.
The scope itself was sizable. It weighs 24oz but feels heavier. Its most notable feature are its oversized turrets. The ED-PRS’s turrets are even wider and taller than an Arken EP5. The turrets are non-locking, resettable and contain a cog wheel style zero-stop similar to Athlon’s Gen2 scopes. The turrets have brass cores and were loud and tactile with no slop.
The turrets, wheels, and nobs feature aggressive fine knurling, which along with being oversized make them generally easy to turn even when wearing gloves. All except for the magnification power ring which was exceedingly stiff and difficult to turn; even with the removable throw lever attached. I found myself really having to manhandle the lever to change magnification which severely impact performance for hunting or competition.
Not that I would take this scope hunting. I think it’s probably too bulky and heavy for most hunters (except those shooting from pimped out blinds or truck beds). The ED-PRS is probably best suited for precision bench-rest shooting with its easy to read markings and fine lined first focal plane reticle. While the scope features a ELR style Christmas tree reticle, serious long range shooters may be disappointed with the glass.
The ED-PRS has what they call a SFIR reticle, which looks a lot like the Arken VPR reticle but with more subtension markings. Like the Arken, the Discovery’s reticle only illuminates the very center cruciform of the reticle, creating something of a red-dot effect when used in low magnification. The illuminator has 6 brightness settings each separated by an OFF setting.
The first unit I received also had a very dim illuminator. Even with the scope cap on I could barely see the illuminated center cross at its highest illumination setting. Discovery sent me and a replacement scope and return label for the defective scope but the process took 3 weeks. They did warm me of the delay due to Lunar New Year which causes many delays in factory production in China. The new scope had a much brighter illumination but even this was not quite daylight bright.
Looking through the scope the image was surprisingly good for a budget scope. Bright with good center to edge sharpness. The other edge of the sight picture had only a hint of distortion even at 25x. The scope kept focus and point of aim throughout its magnification range. The eye box and eye relief were good for a budget scope.
The scope advertises ED glass but I noted some softness in detail at long range that I attribute to chromatic aberration. This was noticeable in mid day light with the target backlight. Overall resolution was better than average for the scopes price tier but not the best in its class. The ED-PRS was still sharp enough to allow me to pick out .22cal holes on paper at 100yrs.
The ED-PRS’ glass is not in the same league as a Leupold VX, Athlon Argos, Vortex Diamond Back Tactical, or even an Arken EP5. But when comparing what you get in the box for a street price of $399 (as of this writing) I would still consider the ED-PRS a good value. If you’re a beginning long-range shooter with a limited budget, this scope is something to consider.
This scope is available through my Affiliate links
