Tag Archives: LPVO

Shooting Sports

September: ED-AR Contest

September Contest: Discovery ED-AR LPVO

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.

BONUS ENTRY: Donate to our school Walk-a-Thon fundraiser (any amount) and take a screen shot of your email receipt: https://pledgestar.com/stanne/pledge/?LgAdGRVZegEBHX9WXH5XQUlfRDsGBFQoDwE_XAQCDEU-

4. Prove you have the skills to fill out a form and upload screen shots. 1 entry per social platform; up to 3 entries per person.

SUBMIT ENTRY

SUBMIT ENTRY

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. 

Shooting Sports

Nightforce ATACR 1-8×24

The ATACR is the optic of choice for special forces, contractors, and SWAT. In many ways, it’s the gold standard for tacticool LPVOs known for its light transfer and intensely bright illumination. Nightforce is known for it’s durability and reliability in real world combat. But also known for being Gucci with a street price around $3000.

The ATACR’s FFP reticle optimized for long range use fine MIL stadia and a horseshoe of death with holdover markings. At 1x it appears as a T-style reticle which is a bit thicker and more usable without illumination than the Vortex Razor HD. But thankfully it has red dot bright illumination to compensate for it 1x reticle.

Its illumination knob features 10 levels of visible brightness and 3 additional night vision settings; with off settings in between. Curiously, there is a stop between it’s lowest NV and highest visible setting which does not allow you to turn it past. This brightness is not without a cost with reports of shorter battery life when on extended patrols (there is no free lunch).

Optically I found it to be impressively sharp and bright. While Nightforce uses ED glass the ATACR does exhibit chromatic aberration at the edges of it scope view; high light transfer glass tends to exhibit more CA. Despite the CA, the resolution was impressive at 8x and comparable to scopes of higher magnification.

While the eyebox is better than most 8x LPVOs, it still is not as forgiving as a red dot. But overall the LPVO lived up to my expectations. LEOs and Military get discounts from Nightforce but for us civilians, it’s $2,900 which is still way out of my league. The only reason I was able to get a hold of one was because my buddy lent it to me and he thinks its worth it.

BUY IT

Amazon affiliate link: https://amzn.to/46gGVAe

RESOLUTION

Element 6 / Group -1

STATS

Magnification: 1-8x
Focal Plane: First (FFP)
Tube: 34mm
Length: 10.1in/256 mm
Weight: 21.0 oz/595 g
Click Value: 0.1 MRAD
Elevation Adjustment 30 MRAD
Windage Adjustment: 30 MRAD
Parallax: Fixed 125 m
Eye Relief: 3.7 in/95 mm
FOV @ 100 yd: 1x: @ 96.1 ft/32.0
FOV @ 100 yd: 8x: 13.1 ft/4.4 m
Exit Pupil 1x: 11.3 mm / 8x: 3.2 mm

Shooting Sports

Athlon Midas 1-6×24 BTR Gen2

Athlon designed the Midas BTR Gen2 1-6×24 LPVO for 3Gun competitors. It features low profile turrets to maximize the shooter’s field-of-view when moving through the course. Its ATSR4 second focal plane reticle has a high-visibility Death Circle, minimal graphics (no wind holdover stadia), and BDC holdover dots offering just enough reference points for quick hit adjustments, while not obscuring steel targets.

Athlon sent a sample of this competition grade optic for my tests. The package comes minimal contents, just the optic, a CR2032 battery, cleaning cloth, and the user manual. At 18oz it is relatively light weight, which is ideal for competitions where speed is a factor in scoring.

It’s illumination is daylilght bright enough for 3-gun with an off in-between it’s 6 intensity settings. It’s capped turrets offer a crisp and loud 0.25 MOA per click. Its tracking tests proved it precise with an impressive 75MOA per direction of adjustment.

Optically, the scope is sharp and flat with a decent eyebox. At 6x the glass is not very bright, my target view appeared muddy in a shaded cover but this shouldn’t effect most 3-gun competitions which are conducted in broad daylight. The ASTR4 reticle proved very quick to aim and intuitive. It’s a good copy of the ACSS reticle which is an evolution of Trijicon’s horseshoe-of-death reticle.

In my live fire tests it held zero and proved to be one of my favorite 1-6x LPVOs. With a street price just under $500, this LPVO is a surprisingly good value.

AFFILIATE RETAIL LINK

Amazon https://amzn.to/4bkjAPd

RESOLUTION

Element 1 / Group -1 @ 100yrds

SPECS

Magnification1-6
Objective Lens Diameter24 mm
Reticle ATSR16 SFP IR MOA, Glass Etched illuminated
Surface FinishMatte 
Lens CoatingAdvanced Fully Multicoated 
Extra CoatingXtra Protective Coating 
Tube Material6061 Aluminium 
Tube Diameter30 mm
Exit Pupil 12.5- 4 mm
Eye Relief3.8″
Field of View @100 yards108-17.6 ft
Click Value0.25 MOA
Adjustment range per rotation30 MOA
Total Elevation Adjustment150 MOA
Total Windage Adjustment150 MOA
Turret StyleCapped
Parallax AdjustmentFixed
Purging MaterialArgon 
Length10.6″
Weight18.1 oz
Shooting Sports

Improved Monstrum Panzer 1-6×24

If you’ve feeling de’ja vu, it’s because I reviewed a nearly identical Monstrum Panzer 1-6×24 FFP LPVO two months ago. The main criticism I had about the Panzer was it’s middle reticle illumination (to be fair, it is typical for most LPVOs). Monstrum listed to the feedback and came up with a new illuminator and sent me a sample of their first daylight bright FFP reticle. This new illuminator only outputs in red (the original version offered both green and red) but improves upon the the original version by having an OFF setting between each of its 6 intensities.

Apart from the illuminator the rest of the optic remains unchanged. Same glass, body, tube, mount, and reticle. Which is why they’re choosing not to call out the change but instead quietly rolling out all new batches of Panzer with this illuminator. They won’t be calling this Gen2, the name remains simply the Panzer.

Panzer, is the German word for “tank” or “armor”. This is why the Monstrum Panzer has tank tread inspired designs to its turret caps and magnification ring. These ‘treads’ provides a useful grippy surface beyond its unique aesthetic.

The Panzers come with a user replaceable fin on the magnification ring which can be swapped out for the included throw lever. In addition, the package includes a quality, high-recoil, cantilever mount and basic flip up caps. The turrets are capped and resettable with a hex key.

The Panzer now offers two choices in FFP reticle. The Panzer 1-6x I tested has their new CM3 reticle which has a tactical style BDC reticle with a tree style set of windage holdovers below a circle dot. I previously tested the CM2 reticle which is an MOA range finding reticle.

The most common comment I get about this LPVO is does it hold zero? This test with a .50 cal rifle should prove that it does. https://youtu.be/J8sXKSiBIr8

BUY IT

Amazon affiliate https://amzn.to/3UzK9cC

RESOLUTION

@100yrds: Element 6 / Group -2

SPECS

Magnification: 1-6x, 1-10x

Objective Diameter: 24 mm

Tube Diameter: 30 mm

Max Windage Adj: ±70 MOA

Max Elevation Adj: ±70 MOA

Adjustment Increments: 1/2 MOA

Eye Relief: 4.0-4.5 in

Weight: 17 oz

Length: 11 in

Lens Coating: Full Multi-Layer

Materials: 6061 Aluminum

Shooting Sports

Will a Panzer hold zero?

I’ve tested the Monstrum Panzer against the military grade LPVOs. I compared it head-to-head against both the SIG Tango6T and the Vortex Razor HD Gen3 and discovered the Panzer was a surprisingly good for a budget FFP LPVO. No, it’s not just as good as the SIG or the Vortex for a street price under $200 its an amazing value.

One most common question about the optic is, does it hold zero? Over the course of five months, I’ve put the Panzer through hundreds of rounds of 5.56mm and it’s held zero. And it’s not just me, regular viewers of my channel have posted similar results shooting the Panzers on their .308 AR10s. But rather than argue the number of rounds shot or the caliber of rifle tested, lets just cut the chase and see if a Monstrum Panzer can hold zero under the biggest civilian rifle available, a .50 cal.

I asked my buddy Mark on the GD Boomer Channel if he would try a Monstrum Panzer on his Barrett M107A1 rifle to see if it could handle the recoil of 50BMG. I contacted Monstrum Tactical and they agreed to sponsor the video to reimburse GD Boomer for the ammo he would use. Monstrum ordered a brand new Panzer 1-6×24 from Amazon and shipped to him directly.

At his local rifle range, GD Boomer zero’d out the scope with a lazer and set up a two small targets at 100yrds. The challenge with a 6x SFP LPVO at 100yrds, is that the center dot of the reticle covered up the target bullseye. The groups he printed were not his best but they were consistent; proving the Panzer held its zero through all 10 shots. The budget Panzer could handle the recoil of event the largest bullet cartridges.

AFFILIATE RETAIL LINKS

Monstrum Panzer 1-6×24 LPVO on Amazon: https://amzn.to/4f65ELU

Monstrum Panzer 1-10×24 LPVO on Amazon: https://amzn.to/4bDH2Hj

Shooting Sports

SIG vs Monstrum 1-6x FFP

Monstrum Tactical asked me to compare their new Panzer 1-6x FFP to the LPVO that was chosen by the US Army, the Sig Sauer Tango6T 1-6x FFP. Monstrum sent me samples of both LPVOs new in the box. You can about each LPVO in greater detail in my previously posted reviews of the Tango6T and Panzer 1-6x

As a quick overview, the most striking difference between the two optics was the color. The Tango6 comes in a metallic Flat Dark Earth (FDE) color which was a US Army requirement. Their was far less difference between the two LPVOs when looking at their specs. One notable difference was that the Tango6T comes in MRAD and the Panzer comes in MOA. Moreover, the Panzer’s turrets have a range adjustment more than double that of the Tang6T.

Optically both are great but the Tango6T was ever so much better in brightness, flatness, detail, and sharpness despite having more visible chromatic aberration than the Panzer. Both had pretty good eyeboxes (for LPVOs) but again the Tango6T was just a little bit better, a bit more forgiving.

All in all both LPVOs preformed quite well in my range and live fire testing, holding zero. The Tang6T offers true daylight bright illumination of it donut-of-death. This new release (Gen2?) of the Panzer, just months newer than the model I tested in March, now offers daylight bright red illumination on par with the Tango6T.

Whilst the Tango6T is hands down the better optic, the Panzer is still a solid LPVO. But the Tang6T costs more than 10x the price of the Panzer. Yes, the Tango6T is a better but I don’t think 10x better. If given $2000 and the choice between the two, I’d pick the Panzer and use the left over money to buy Level 5 body armor, digital night vision nods, and extra ammo.

AFFILIATE RETAIL LINK

Tango6 on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3V2A5ug

Tango 6 on Optics Planet: https://shrsl.com/4ja69

Panzer on Amazon https://amzn.to/3UzK9cC

RESOLUTION

TANGO6T @50yrs: Element 1 / Group -1

PANZER @50yrs: Element 6 / Group -2

TANGO6T SPECS

Focal PlaneFirst
Magnification1-6x
Objective Lens Diameter24 mm
ReticleDWLR-556
Adjustment Increments0.2 MRAD
Weight22.1 oz.
Maintube Diameter30 mm
Travel Per Rotation20 MRAD
Parallax Setting300 m
Field of View High/Low (@100yds)105.8/17.7 ft.
Eye Relief High/Low4.1/3.9 in.
Exit Pupil High/Low11.4/4.0 mm
Diopter Adjustment Range+/- 2.5
WaterproofingIPX 8
Ocular (Rear) Outer Diameter1.81 in (46mm)
Objective (Front) Outer Diameter1.18 in (30mm)
Internal Gas PurgeArgon
Illumination Settings9 Daylight/2 NV
Total Elevation Travel31 MRAD
Total Windage Travel31 MRAD
Battery(1) CR2032
IlluminationRed

PANZER SPECS

Magnification: 1-6x, 1-10x

Objective Diameter: 24 mm

Tube Diameter: 30 mm

Max Windage Adj: ±70 MOA

Max Elevation Adj: ±70 MOA

Adjustment Increments: 1/2 MOA

Eye Relief: 4.0-4.5 in

Weight: 17 oz

Length: 11 in

Lens Coating: Full Multi-Layer

Materials: 6061 Aluminum

Shooting Sports

SIG Tango6T 1-6x LPVO

In 2019 the US Army selected the SIG Tango6T as the optic for their HK Designated Marksmen Rifles and for use by Special Forces. The model I tested is the civilian version, differing in its markings but effectively identical to the Army version. I have read conflicting articles stating that the DMR rifles is an SFP version of the Tango6T but I can not confirm this. Of the two Tango6T samples I tested, one lent to me by Monstrum Tactical and another was the personal optic of a friend in law enforcement.

The Tango6T is finally built with subtle body details that speak to extra time milling. The Tango6T has an Flat Dark Earth (FDE)/burnt bronze flat anodized finish specified by the Army. Its control surfaces have fine diamond checkering pattern for grip.

The scope came pre-installed on a SIG Alpha4, a high quality cantilever mount with convenient printed torque specs. Contrary to internet scuttlebutt, the Alpha4 is not a Geiselle mount (though superficially similar in look). The Alpha4 was designed by SIG for the Tango6T, fabricated in California and assembled at SIG’s factory in Oregon.

I had an opportunity to compare the newest model of this LPVO to a pre-DOD selection model of this optic. Superficially it appears identical save for a slightly darker shade of FDE which appears more burnt than bronze. After contacting the folks at SIG, they were very helpful in giving a historic background on the various versions of this LPVO. There are a number of configurations available from SIG, the current Mil and civilian reticle is the Hellfire DWLR-556 reticle.

The Tango6T has 11 levels of brightness on its illumination, 9 visible settings and 2 which are night vision compatible. It has a unique illuminator locking ring on which prevents the knob for changing or turning on or changing setting when engaged. The reticle appeared daylight bright though not quite the “red dot bright” intensity found on the Nightforce ATACR or Vortex RAzor. The unit is powered by a common CR2032 coin battery.

It has capped turrets which are wide diameter but low profile; the down side is that the area only allows for small font numbers which may be hard to read for some folks. Each click is 0.2MIL and is audible and tactile positive so you can infer your changes by click feel if you can’t do so visually.

The Tango6T’s DWLR6 is a BDC design with a Christmas tree of holdovers for long range shooting beyond 500yrds. As with most FFP LPVO’s the 1x seems to be an afterthought, feeling a bit too thin and easily lost against a dark or complicated background. The bright illumination makes up for this. It’s central horse shoe of death is intensely illuminated with a slight outline on the rest of the stadia elements.

Optically the LPVO had excellent brightness, and clarity. Even though it had noticeable chromatic aberration, I was still able to resolve detail at 6x that would only see in LPVOs that were 10x. At 1x the image was flat and much better than Razor or Riton FFP LPVO’s I’ve tested. This scope is world’s better than SIG’s similarly named Tango MSR 1-10x LPVO which I was underwhelmed by a few months ago. Save for it’s thin 1x reticle this is one of the best LPVO’s I’ve tested.

AFFILIATE RETAIL LINK

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3V2A5ug

Optics Planet: https://shrsl.com/4ja69

RESOLUTION

@50yrs: Element 1 / Group -1

SPECS

Focal PlaneFirst
Magnification1-6x
Objective Lens Diameter24 mm
ReticleDWLR-556
Adjustment Increments0.2 MRAD
Weight22.1 oz.
Maintube Diameter30 mm
Travel Per Rotation20 MRAD
Parallax Setting300 m
Field of View High/Low (@100yds)105.8/17.7 ft.
Eye Relief High/Low4.1/3.9 in.
Exit Pupil High/Low11.4/4.0 mm
Diopter Adjustment Range+/- 2.5
WaterproofingIPX 8
Ocular (Rear) Outer Diameter1.81 in (46mm)
Objective (Front) Outer Diameter1.18 in (30mm)
Internal Gas PurgeArgon
Illumination Settings9 Daylight/2 NV
Total Elevation Travel31 MRAD
Total Windage Travel31 MRAD
Battery(1) CR2032
IlluminationRed
Shooting Sports

Daylight Bright LPVO’s real or hype?

Not a few years ago, when a scope’s illumination was described as “daylight bright” that just meant that you could see a color cast on the reticle on a cloudy day. With advances in technology, daylight bright really means you can see it in daylight. Engineers embedded a fiber optic thread inside a reticle cross hair. This projects dot to in the center of the reticle that can be as bright as a red dot.

This fiber optic reticle was first rolled out on premium optics but in short order, budget tier optics like the Monstrum Banshee now offer daylight bright reticles. Some premium LPVOs like Vortex and Nightforce have developed a way to illuminate floating FFP reticles so that it is also daylight bright at 1x. This brightness does come at a premium with the Razor and ATACR costing around $2000. If a you don’t need a FFP reticle, a daylight bright budget fiber optic LPVO can be had for less than $200.

These optics are available on Amazon through these affiliate links which support my channel:

Banshee https://amzn.to/424Kfwz

Viper PST Gen2: https://amzn.to/48DwR4X

Shooting Sports

Will a Monstrum Banshee Hold Zero?

I’ve tested the Monstrum Banshee and discovered it was a surprisingly good for a budget LPVO. No, it’s not just as good as a Leupold, Vortex, or [INSERT YOUR FAVORITE PREMIUM OPTIC BRAND HERE]. But optically, features, and performance it checks the boxes, especially for a street price under $200.

One most common question about the optic is, does it hold zero? Over the course of five months, I’ve put the Banshee through hundreds of rounds of 5.56mm and .22LR and it’s held zero. And it’s not just me, regular viewers of my channel have posted similar results shooting the Banshee on their .308 AR10s. Regardless I still get the occasional doubter challenging the number of rounds shot or the caliber of the rifle used.

To address doubters I proposed a torture test. I asked my buddy Mark on the GD Boomer Channel if he would try a Monstrum Banshee on his Barrett M107A1 rifle to see if it could handle the recoild and hold zero after 10 rounds of 50BMG. I contacted Monstrum Tactical and they agreed to sponsor the video to reimburse GD Boomer for the ammo he would use. Monstrum ordered a brand new Banshee 1-10×24 from Amazon and shipped to him directly.

At his local rifle range, GD Boomer zero’d out the scope at 100yrds and set up a two targets. He was able to print a decent 5 shots group on the first and a similar sized 5 shot group on the second, with one flyer on the 9th round. He was shooting military surplus rounds so nothing close to match grade or hand loaded cartridges, or user error jerking the shot, or both. Ok, it was user error.

Hopefully this test will satisfy most folks that the Monstrum Banshee is capable of holding zero on their rifle.

AFFILIATE RETAIL LINKS

Monstrum Banshee 1-10×24 BDC (B1 reticle) on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3WN08Hi

Monstrum Banshee 1-10×24 BDC (C1 fiber optic reticle) on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3WIo9iF

Monstrum Banshee 1-10×24 (MX1 MOA reticle) on Amazon: https://amzn.to/44MZ7ku

Monstrum Banshee 1-6×24 BDC (C1 fiber optic reticle) on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3wO337O

Recoil testing, conducted at a rifle range, courtesy of GD Boomer. Ammo sponsored by Monstrum Tactical: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwZssTN1oGs&t=1s

Shooting Sports

Monstrum Panzer 1-6×24 FFP

The Monstrum Panzer, is named after the famous German WW2 tanks (“panzer” is the German word for “armor”). The Panzer sports tank tread inspired design to its turret caps and magnification ring that provides a useful grippy surface beyond its unique aesthetic. Monstrum showed me the prototype of the Panzer 1-6x at SHOT Show 2024.

The Panzer is Monstrum’s first focal plane (FFP) line of LPVO. Externally it is nearly identical to the Panzer 1-10x that I reviewed previously save for a 1″ shorter tube making it a few oz lighter. The trade off to the top end of magnification is that the 1-6x has a slightly more forgiving eyebox but the differences is subtle. One could argue that the difference in practical clarity between a 6x and 10x to the typical shooters ability to hit targets is similarly subtle. The biggest object difference is the $30 lower price of the 1-6x.

The Panzers come with a user replaceable fin on the magnification ring which can be swapped out for the included throw lever. In addition, the package includes a quality, high-recoil, cantilever mount and basic flip up caps. The turrets are capped and resettable with a hex key.

The Panzer now offers two choices in FFP reticle. The Panzer 1-6x I tested has their new CM3 reticle which has a tactical style BDC reticle with a tree style set of windage holdovers below a circle dot. I previously tested the CM2 reticle which is an MOA range finding reticle. Both reticles are illuminate only the center circle dot with a selection of 5 intensities in both red or green. The illumination is low light / CQB bright but not true daylight bright like Monstrum’s BDC-C1 Banshee.

Recoil testing, conducted at a rifle range, courtesy of GD Boomer. Ammo sponsored by Monstrum Tactical: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwZssTN1oGs&t=1s

AFFILIATE RETAIL LINK

Amazon https://amzn.to/3UzK9cC

RESOLUTION (50yrds)

Element 6 / Group -2

SPECS

Magnification: 1-6x, 1-10x

Objective Diameter: 24 mm

Tube Diameter: 30 mm

Max Windage Adj: ±70 MOA

Max Elevation Adj: ±70 MOA

Adjustment Increments: 1/2 MOA

Eye Relief: 4.0-4.5 in

Weight: 17 oz

Length: 11 in

Lens Coating: Full Multi-Layer

Materials: 6061 Aluminum