UPDATE!
July 14th, 2008
Pride-Fowler is now offering a 10% discount
to Gunblast.com readers! Just call in your order and mention
that you read the review on Gunblast.com to receive your
discount.
It has been almost four years since I have
reviewed a riflescope from Pride-Fowler Industries (PFI).
At that time, they had just introduced their line of high
quality riflescopes which featured reticles with multiple aiming
points and windage hold points. I used their Mini Mil-dot scope
that is calibrated for the .22 Long Rifle cartridge, and it
worked very well. Look
here for that brief review.
Since that time, I had not used a PFI scope
until this past March while attending the Confederate
Sixgunners Association annual get-together in Clarksville,
Arkansas. At the shooting range, Doug Mann had with him
their RR800-1 scope, which is a 3 to 9 power variable built on a
30mm tube. I was impressed, and so was Doug. You
can see Doug’s review of that scope here.
Shooting a rifle with the RR800-1 mounted out to
about 200 yards, it proved to be dead-on with its reticle
markings, but I wanted to see how it would do at long range. So
I ordered the RR800-2, which is a 30mm tube with ten power
optics and a side focus knob. This is a serious riflescope,
built for long range precision. Most long range military snipers
prefer a straight ten power for serious work, trusting their
simplicity and rugged reliability over that of a variable power
scope. I have never had a problem with a quality variable scope,
but I have also never had to depend upon one in a life-or-death
situation, and I trust that our military snipers depend upon a
straight ten power for good reason. Also, I have found that more
often than not, I never turn the power adjustment on a variable
in the field, preferring to just leave it alone.
The RR800-2 is a matte black finished scope that
uses an aluminum one-piece main tube, and weighs in at about
eighteen ounces. The length measures about thirteen and
three-quarters inches long, not counting the detachable
sunshade. With the shade attached, the overall length measures
sixteen inches. The RR800-2 has low-profile target turrets that
are covered with threaded caps. The target knobs underneath are
very clearly marked, and easy to see. The scope has a side focus
knob, which I greatly prefer to the adjustable objective bell
type of focus. It too, is covered with a threaded cap. The scope
appears to be of very high quality with clear optics, and is
built in Japan to PFI specs.
Like other riflescopes from Pride-Fowler
Industries, Inc., the distinguishing feature of the RR800-2 is
the reticle, which they call their Rapid Reticle. The
Rapid Reticle is designed to allow the shooter to make precise
shots on target very quickly, without adjusting the target knobs
or reading from a range card. If the distance to the target is
known, you simply hold the correct aiming point on target, and
squeeze the trigger. If the distance to the target is not known,
you can use the reticle to estimate range also, but in doing so
accurately, the size of the target must be known. I prefer to do
the ranging with a laser rangefinder. It is so much simpler and
quicker for me. The Rapid Reticle also has windage correction
aiming points at each crosshair to allow the shooter to more
accurately adjust for crosswinds. The Rapid Reticle has
crosshairs at 100 yard increments from 100 to 800 yards, with
hash marks between them at every fifty yards out to the 400 yard
mark, and every twenty-five yards thereafter. My description
might sound overly complicated, but looking at the picture that
I took of the reticle, it is clear that the rapid Reticle is not
complicated at all, and is one of the easiest to use that I have
ever tried. I have seen some reticles on the market that are
inside of high-dollar scopes that appear to be a picture taken
looking through a screen door with numbers scattered throughout
the grid. If the view gets overly complicated, with me having to
do mathematical calculations, I do not like it. The Rapid
Reticle is easy on the eyes, and easy to use. The markings are
self-explanatory, and you do not have to take the owners manual
to the deer stand with you. I like simple. When I go hunting,
along with all the clothes, calls, binoculars, thermos bottle,
and boloney sandwiches, I do not want to carry charts and
graphs. With the rapid reticle, you can shoot just as fast as
you can with a simple crosshair.
I recently carried the PFI scope with me to the
NRA Whittington Center
for some long range shooting. The Rapid Reticle is calibrated
for any bullet that has a ballistic coefficient in the high .400
and low .500 range, with a muzzle velocity of around 2700
feet-per-second or so. This means the heavy-for-caliber bullets
that are built for long range shooting, like the wonderful Sierra
Match Kings that are popular in most .30 caliber rifles. The
Rapid Reticle works with many other cartridges as well. I like
the Buffalo Bore .308 Sniper ammunition that uses the 175
grain Match King bullet, and the Rapid Reticle works perfectly
with this load. I had mounted the scope atop my DPMS .308
SASS rifle, and fired at steel targets out to 800 yards using
the Rapid Reticle. Switching from target to target at various
ranges, I never missed, shooting the rifle from its bipod
resting atop the shooting bench. Hits were so predictable, that
it was almost boring. Align the crosshair and squeeze the
trigger, hear the bullet hit the target. Time after time until
the ammo was gone, the Rapid Reticle performed superbly. While
not cheap, the PFI scopes are priced below scopes of comparable
quality, and the Rapid Reticle is in a class by itself. Check
out the Pride-Fowler scopes online at: www.rapidreticle.com.
If you like to shoot at long range, whether at
paper and steel targets, rock busting, big game or varmint and
predator hunting, the Rapid Reticle can give you a real edge in
making the shot. I highly recommend it.
Jeff Quinn
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