Pride-Fowler Industries Ten Power Long Range Rapid Reticle Riflescope

 

by Jeff Quinn

photography by Jeff Quinn & Boge Quinn

June 30th, 2008

UPDATED July 14th, 2008

 

 

 

 

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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Click pictures for a larger version.

 

Pride-Fowler's RR800-2 scope mounted on a DPMS SASS .308 rifle.

 

 

The Rapid Reticle system is effective and easy to use.

 

 

Jeff does some long-range target shooting at the NRA Whittington Center.

 

 

Low-profile target knobs are clearly marked.

 

 

The RR800-2 features a handy side focus knob.

 

 

Screw-on sunshade is included.