Ben Unten rates an affordable feature-packed scope by Pecar
I was fortunate enough a while back to be asked by Australian Shooter to review a selection of Pecar Optics riflescopes, which I found to be packed with features and very reasonably priced. So when the chance arose to run the numbers on the biggest scope in the range, the Black Carbon 5-25x56IR FFP, I was keen to put it to the test.
But first a quick recap. The Pecar Optics team has been around for decades and pride themselves on research and development and, so confident are they in these products, they offer a 10-year warranty on all optics.
There are three grades of riflescopes to choose from, top of the range being Black Carbon which offers professional grade, precision optics. For those pursuing affordable full-featured scopes there’s the Blue Carbon selection, while for the everyday shooter the White Carbon range is probably the most popular option.
Black Carbon 5-25x56IR
Measuring 365mm long and weighing 672g, this one’s at the larger end of the scale, sporting a 30mm tube and 56mm objective, typical in a higher-powered scope. Sweeping through the 5x-25x magnification range is done by rotating a knurled ring with a single raised rib, with eye relief at maximum power listed as 100mm. The top target-type turret adjusts elevation and the right-hand one windage.
Unscrewing the far end of the larger (left) turret facilitates installation of a CR032 3v coin-type supplied battery which allows the reticle to be illuminated, adjustments made via a segmented ring. A knurled ring sits inside that which allows for parallax adjustment. Included is a removable neoprene scope cover with generous finger loops at each end, a cleaning cloth, two Allen keys and a pair of clear scope covers connected by two elasticized ribbons.
In use
I mounted the Black Carbon 5-25x56IR on my heavy-barrelled Tikka .243 to conduct some longer-range testing. Initial focusing is achieved by rotating the rubber protective ring of the eye piece with magnification then adjusted to your preferred setting.
Windage and elevation adjustments are made by first lifting the knurled turret caps to ‘unlock’ them, then rotating in the directions indicated by arrows on the caps. Once sighting-in has been completed, the turret caps are pressed back in to ‘lock’ the adjustment in place. Parallax adjustment is in yards from 15 to infinity and is easily visible from behind the scope, which avoids having to break your hold to check the yardage.
Adjustments for this scope are in MRAD or milliradians or MIL as opposed to MOA (Minute of Angle). This is a slightly complex concept and an online search states: “Strictly from the math side of things, MRAD is a measurement of an angle based on the metric scale. When talking about gun scopes, MRAD is a measurement of distance.”
A recent Field & Stream article reported: “One radian is an angular unit of measure that can be applied to a circle. Take a measurement from the centre of a circle to the outside edge (this is called the radius). Then take the length of the radius and wrap it around the outside edge of the circle. Mark the point where it ends and extend another line to the centre of the circle. This should give you a pizza slice and the angle at which your pizza has been sliced equals one radian. The prefix ‘milli’ means 1000, so one milliradian is the angle between two-1000ths of one radian.”
Now you’re thoroughly confused I’ll add that MOA is roughly 29mm at 100m and not 25mm as most of us incorrectly believe. So what does all this mean in laypersons’ terms and in rounded numbers? Well, ¼ MOA click = 7mm change of impact at 100m and 0.1 MRAD/MIL click = 10mm change of impact at 100m. This makes calculations more straightforward at known distances, especially for countries which use the metric system. MRAD is currently preferred in some military and law enforcement circles.
Another feature of this scope is its ability to ‘zero reset’ the turrets, which is done once the rifle is sighted-in at your preferred range. Then with the turrets pushed in and locked the three grub screws under the cap are loosened, allowing the turret cover to be removed and rotated to the ‘0’ position. The screws are then re-tensioned and any future adjustments you make can all be referenced from this ‘zero’.
The Black Carbon 5-25x56IR features a First Focal Plane (FFP) reticle, meaning when you increase magnification the reticle increases in size. As the photos show, there’s a fair bit going on with an MRAD reticle and the sight picture changes with the magnification, the advantages being corrections shown remain the same no matter the magnification.
The illuminated reticle has six brightness settings, accessed by rotating the inner ring of the left-hand turret clockwise, each click representing the next level of brightness. A very clever feature is that in-between each of the brightness settings is an ‘off’ position, meaning you’re never more than one click away from you preferred setting.
Testing
Due to the 56mm objective, high mounts were required. I began by sighting in at 50m and, once on paper at this range, stepped the target out to 100m, 200m and finally 300m. The reticle and MRAD adjustments took a little getting used to but the mildots were helpful during the sighting-in process, the scope comfortably passing the 10-click box test by returning to zero after ‘40 square clicks’.
The Black Carbon 5-25x56IR retails for around $1195. It offers features found on much higher-priced scopes and when you add the 10-year warranty into the mix, it represents extremely good value. For more and to see the full range of products and dealer listings, visit www.protactical.com.au