New Falcon M18 Scope - Review blog

[Savhmr]

I thought that the guys at Falcon deserved some positive feedback, not just for their sensible and freely offered advice but their excellent and personable customer service. I always believed that it was a wealthy man who could afford cheap glass...and still do to an extent, but the advent of the M18 scope just may have moved the goal posts and appreciably at that!

 

This is not to be confused with earlier 4-14 models, as it's a generation ahead and uses better and more precise, higher quality erector tube assembly/turret adjustment mechanisms and the glass is simply superb. I'd go as far as to say nothing comes close at or at twice or even three times the price. Optics are all quality Japanese multi-coated elements. Tube is 30mm and turrets are 0.1Milrad click adjustable and have a feeling of precision and indestructibility about them. Parallax correction is via side focus. The scope comes well appointed with screw off sunshades, and flip up covers as standard along with a scope back, cleaning cloth and allen key plus instructions.

 

So far, I've just bench tested the scope for resolution and eye relief at all magnifications and compared directly with a Hawke Endurance 30 8 x 56 and a Leupold V3 4.5-14 x 50, some way above the budget of the Falcon and the mainstay of many stalkers and small game shooters serious about quality and rugged optics.

 

I'll just post initial brief impressions for now and try and give a more in depth review with photos at a later date, with feedback after use on the rifle(s).

 

For now: Hawke was the worst performing although still impressively clear with a good FoV and average resolution. Nice bright image and easy to see (illuminated) centre dot. Adjusters feel ok but not the most precise. I wouldn't want to use this for any long distance stuff where dialling in shooting solutions was needed but to be fair have not yet tested repeatability. At 100yds, individual leaves of grass just picked out. Good colour rendition.

 

M18: Fabulous build quality and feel, way above its price point. Way better contrast and resolution than the Hawke up to about 14x magnification. At 18x, a slight bit of edge definition loss crept in with slight signs of edge vignetting. At 100yds, individual grass leaves could be picked out and no visible chromatic aberration was evident. Turret movement is very precise and has a quality feel and by all accounts, tested repeatability has so far been spot on with no reported issues. My only gripe is that eye relief could have done with being a smidgen better but on the whole, this scope betters my old Bushnell Elite 4200 hands down in every respect. Ret is in Milrads but not too cluttered and could easily make a good hunting ret providing mag settings when light fades are set to 8 to 10x to account for the thin ret line and first focal plane setting.

 

V3 LR Leupold: Better colour rendition and very slightly better contrast than the M18 and clearly superior to the Hawke scope. Adjustments on turrets not as precise as the M18 and zoomed in to 12 times or more, obvious chromatic aberrations make the Leup lose out on absolute usability depending on lighting conditions. Initial impressions surprisingly are that the M18 betters it optically on absolute resolution, especially at higher magnifications but the Leup's LR varmint ret whilst thin is still a bit more visible. Better eye relief and less chance of a black eye on high recoil rifles!

 

Of the three scopes, I'd take the Falcon every day of the week for target work, and would also take it for longer distance vermin control. For closer range stuff, the Hawke is fine and for larger game, I'd have the Leup simply for the thicker ret and the better eye relief.

 

If I had to pick one as an ideal all rounder (is there such a thing?) the M18 wins hands down, no contest. Everything about it suggests high quality even compared with the Leup. Frankly, I think judging by the positive and well made controls and general finish, it's easily on a par with or betters the V3 and I wasn't expecting that.

 

Photos to follow in due course.

Edited September 11, 2015 by Savhmr