DarkLordOfOptics
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Apex Summit Pro 12x50 Binocular
Binocular with a reticle: long overdue
October 01, 2023

12x is quite a lot of binocular magnification.  Well, it is for me.  My normal go to binocular is a 10x50 since I moved to New Mexico and started hunting out here.  Historically, it was a 8x42.  However, when distances open up, you need magnification.  I have an antelope hunt in a week, which is a perfect opportunity to work out a nice pair of high magnification binoculars.  

I have had the Summit Pro 12x50 binocular from Apex for a little while now (first saw it SHOT) and, up to now, I have mostly used it at the range.  When I first saw this thing at SHOT, I talked to the gentleman behidn Apex Optics and quietly advised him that he should charge more for these than he was planning to.  Looking at the price, I was a little concerned that people will underappreciate how nice this thing really is. 

He did not listen to me and the price for the version I have is sitting at $850.  If the one I have is a representative sample of how the rest of them are, it is a very good deal.

https://apexoptics.co/summit-ed/

I have not made a detailed study of all available 12x binoculars on the market, but I have seen a good number.  Like with most high magnification optics, I have not seen an inexpensive one (under $500) worth buying.  With binoculars, since aside from the normal considerations, the alignment between two barrels is exceedingly critical, I am even more leery of budget options because I have had plenty of bad experiences with budget binocualrs staying properly collimated and with the focusing in both barrels remaining identical.  The Summit Pro, so far, has stayed nicely consistent.

Also, rather importantly, with higher magnification optics, I really prefer to have a ranging reticle.  There are two reasons for this.  One is that it is very helpful when spotting shots.  Another is that ranging with a reticle is a perishable skill.  It is much easier to grab a binocular and go practice range estimation than do so with a riflescope on a rifle.

Apex' Summit Pro combines a good quality Japanese 12x50 binocular with a reticle for well under $1k.  

The reticle in a binocular is a bit of a different proposition than a reticle in a riflescope.  In a binocular, I want it to be there when I need it, but out of the way when I am just looking at things.  Apex' take on a binocular reticle, TR2, is what we call "just right" in terms of sizing and line thicknesses.

It gives me 0.2mrad hashes, so the basic look and ranging process is very similar to how I would go about it with a riflescope.  The reticle is fairly thin, which fits the application well.

Since the orientation of binocular barrels changes when you adjsut interpuplarry distance, reticle orientation also changes.   To mitigate that, the left barrel that contains the reticle, has an adjustment to rotate it.  If memory serves me right, Kenko (a prominent Japanese OEM) had a patent on that, so I suspect they are the ones building it for Apex.  

The right barrel has the eye-focus adjustment.  It is non-locking, but has enough friction to stay in place.  

The center focusing knob looks to be well calibrated.  There appears to be a slight amount of hysterisis, but if I was not looking for it, I would never find it.

At 32 ounces, the binocular is a little lighter than I would typically want in a high magnification optic, but that is a good thing if you have to hike with it.  It is well balanced and my hands naturally settle in a  spot where the focus knob is right under my index finger.  That's probably individual though.

Optically, it looks like a very good optic, especially for the money.  12x Razor UHD is better.  So is 12x Leica Ultravid.  Both of these are a lot mroe expensive though.

The most direct competitor price-wise is probably Leupold BX-5.  I have not spent a ton of time with it, but if my recollection is accurate, it is pretty close, but Apex has a reticle.

I have some mileage with Vortex 12x binoculars, of which I have seen three: Viper, Razor HD and Razor UHD.  In terms of pure image quality, the Summit Pro is somewhere between Viper and Razor HD, but closer to the Razor.

It has a little less FOV than Razor HD and I think Razor has a large sweetspot.  However Summit Pro looks to have a slight edge in center field performance.

FOV of the Summit Pro is about 5% narrower than the Razor.  The difference is not huge, but I can see it.  Apparent FOV is right around 62 degrees for the Apex, which is appropriate for a fairly compact 12x50 bino.  Razor is about 65degrees AFOV.

There is some CA on high contrast objects (mostly purple), but it was very difficult to capture it with a camera.  I'l make a few more attempts.  The objectives utilize ED lenses, so good CA performance is not surprising.

Depth of Field did not seem anythign out of the ordinary.  It was neither unusually shallow, nor unusually deep.

Contrast and color rendering are very natural.  Razor UHD has punchier colors in comparison.

Flare looked to be well controlled.  I could induce some veling flare with particularly obnoxious conditions on an open plain, but overall this was very good performance.

I have spent a lot of time with these during the dusk and dawn, as well as in good light.  However, I did not really do much evaluation when it is pitch black.  That is not how I use them, but I plan to do that for a little bit before I shoot the final video.  For the most part, I use those conditons to look for ghost images.

The interpupillary distance adjustment range was sufficient for my somewhat substantial mug and for my 10 year old son.  We'll call it flexible enough, but it is not intended as a kids binocular.

When we were out scouting, he was using my 6.5x32 Kowa with much more ease.  For what it's worth, that little Kowa has become my absolute go to general purpose binocular.  https://bit.ly/3J4XjcU  There is something spectacular about a very wide FOV of a moderate power bino. 

Still, for the open plains where we were, a 12x bino on a tripod was definitely the right tool for the job.  Summit Pro is compatible with all the normal tripod adapters.  In this picture, I am using a Vortex Pro binocualr adapter on a Spartan Precision Ascent Gen2 tripod  https://amzn.to/3rAU0Vk  It is not the best tripod for the money.  It is probably not the best starter tripod for people new to this.  However, if I am not out testing something, given a choice, this is the tripod that heads to the field with me.

I'll be useing the Summit Pro 12x50 binocular on a pronghorn hunt next week.  Given my skill level and luck, chances are I will not even see a pronghorn, but I will spend three solid days glassing.  I'll let you know how it goes.  So far, Summit Pro has been good in not inducing excessive fatigure, which is a promising sign.

In the meantime, I am exceedingly pleased with the Summit Pro.  It offers very good optomechancial performance for the money and a reticle that definitely pushes it up a notch against the competition in my view.

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Delta Stryker 3.5-21x44 Wrap-up

This scope comes up a lot since I really like the configuration. It is time to do a final wrap-up of it.

It is one of my favourite scopes on the market today, especially for the money, since I naturally lean toward general purpose-ish designs. Still, while the 3.5-21x44 Stryker is relatively compact and light, it still clearly leans toward the precision side of things, which suites me very well.

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I had a couple of ARs I wanted to set up for long range training. There is more to do with them, but I started out by swapping out the handguards for models with an integrated full length Arca rail. Larger flat on the bottom of the handguard helps it settle on the sandbag and makes it easier to shoot off of a tripod. I also found the ability to slide the bipod to different positions occasionally helpful.

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Burris XTR PS Wrap-Up

The first Burris XTR PS scope I got my hands on landed here in the beginning of March.
That means I have been messing with this design for a bit under four months. That does not quite qualify as a long term test by my standards, but it is a fair amount of time and quite a few rounds shot, mostly 5.56 and 308.
I have both of the models of XTR PS and both work well.
https://alnk.to/3U3cZEC

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Sig P320

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Leupold Scope dump at CDNN.

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https://www.cdnnsports.com/optics.html?manufacturer=LEUPOLD

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Scoping Gas Guns
an interesting question that acme in via PM

I received this question via a private message and thought it was interesting enough to answer it in some detail.  I have been thinking a lot about appropriate optics for gas guns recently, so this came it at the right time.

 

Here is what I ahve been messing with last few days:

 

Above: 18" WOA barrel 5.56 AR-15 with Burris XTR PS 5.5-30x56 on it.

Below: 22" Satern barrel 224Valkyrie AR-15 with Delta Stryker 3.5-21x44 on it.


For obvious reasons, I am not posting who asked the question, but what I'll do is send him a link to this article, so that he gets an answer and we might have a good discussion.
Here is what I received:

Had a question for you
I have a Knights Armament SR25 6.5CM with a 14.5" barrel - I plan on shooting 100 - 600 yards at targets at 100 yd intervals
I am favoring the TT 315P with an Aimpont Acro mounted on top -( see you liked the TT315M) - would that be enough magnification?
I saw the SB SB 5-20 which offer more top end - I like the turrets on the Tanget and tooless Zero - what are your thoughts between the 2?
If I stayed 400 and under - how do you see the TT315P with the Acro Red dot against the SB 1-8 Short Dot (saw your review on that)

There isn't really enough information in the question for a simple answer, so let's consider a couple of options.

What is the gun for? 

For shooting medium range (out to 600) with occasional close range use?  If yes, go with a conventional scope and offset or piggybacked RDS.

For shooting at close distance with occasional med/long range use? If yes, so with a nice LPVO like the above mentioned S&B Short Dot 1-8x24 https://alnk.to/3J8vlFv.  It is quite capable at long range, but where it will really knock your socks off is up close and personal.

The question of what is enough magnification is pretty personal.  For me, 3-15x is plenty, but I shoot a lot off of the tripod and off of barricades which likely influences my decision.  For that, my 3-15x50 TT315M Tangent works great and 6mrad of elevation is plenty.  https://alnk.to/gVNkUXB  175gr #08 out of a shoter tube will drop in the 5 to 5.5mrad range at 600 yards.

For a dedicated long range semi-auto, other than the looks, there isn't much downside to a larger scope, which is why I set up Burris' XTR PS on the 5.56 AR pictured above.  It is for my son to learn to shoot at distance and to us in next year's BOTC match.  https://alnk.to/gp33YuR

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S&B Short Dot is a very nice scope, but March is a newer design and, other than the lowest light, has an edge in terms of image fidelity and stray light control.

TT315P Tangent is a veyr ncie scope and toolles turrets are appealing.  However, there is a weight penalty to that.  For me, that was not worth it.  I ahve 5-25x56 and 7-35x Tangents and those toolless turrets are spectacular.  However, in a 3-15x50, I am quit ecomfortable with simpler 6mrad per turn knobs on the TT315M.

 

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A morning with a chronograph

When I tell people that I am using Hornady's factory ammo for matches, I get occasionally surprised looks.  Occasionally.  Most of the time, I get fairly condescending looks from handloaders who would not let a factory round pollute the chambers of their precision rifles if their lives depended on it.

To be fair, if I had the time, I might be reloading as well.  I might be able to do better than modern factory ammo, but the truth is that I am not a quarter MOA shooter, so a lot of that would be lost on me.  The UKD matches I fidn most interesting can be done by a competent shooter with a 1MOA gun.  I am working on that first part.  I reload when I have to, but if I can get factory ammo that's not outrageously expensive and that shoots well, I will go with that every time.

I looked around and realized that I have about 600 rounds of Hornady 147gr 6.5CM factory ammo from two lots.  400 rounds from one that I will use during the match later this month.  The remainder I will likely use up practicing prior to that.

I woke up early and snuck out to the range while my family was still asleep earlier today.

I set up in the 100 yard tunnel we have.  I took my four shots to zero with the lot I plan to use for the match.  Then I fired a six shot ~0.7MOA group.  That's accurate enough for my purposes.

Here are the chronograph results:

It is slow, but accurate and consistent.

Then I shot a five round group of Hornady 147gr ammo from the other lot.

Both of those lots are not too shabby for factory ammo.  POI was within 0.2mrad between the two lots, all laterally.  

 

I had some other ammo on hand, so I fired two five shot groups with Berger 144gr hybrid target ammo and Sako TRG 136gr.

Here is what I got for five rounds of Berger:

That's not a ton of statistics, but it is a data point.  The group was ~1.1MOA

 

Here the data for the Sako TRG 136gr ammo:

This ammo showed some mild pressure signs, but not too significant.  

Again, this is not a ton of data, but Hornady is looking pretty decent here.

I'll repeat the zero retention and consistency tests a couple more times between now and June 18th when we head to Wyoming.

I might pick up a couple more boxes of Hornady 147gr from a different lot to get some more data.

More to come.

 

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First PRS Match is behind me
High Noon at Del Norte

My first PRS match is officially behind me.  It was, I think an officially sanctioned regional PRS match at the shooting range called Del Norte about an hour from me (just east of Rio Rancho).
As I discussed previously, rather than using the rifle I originally prepared for it, I ended up having to change gears at the last moment and slapping a 5-25x56 Tangent on my daughter's 6ARC MiniFIx.  A lightweight 16" Proof barreled 6ARC is not an ideal set up for PRS competition, but, in the grand scheme of things, the rifle did hot hold me back at all.  I had a couple of weights that fit the Q-cert handguard, so I slapped them on there as well, which got the rifle to right around 12lbs.  The balance point was almost where I want it, but not quite.  In all other ways, this was a very handy rifle to shoot.  I am actually thinking of getting a couple more weights that I can stack on it (Sawtooth weights are stackable), so that I can shoot some future local matches with it.  It shoots Hornady's Black 105gr ammo very well (it also shoots 108gr ELD-M and 103gr ELD-X well, but I had a larger supply of Hornady Black ammo on hand).

It chrono'ed pretty consistently for factory ammo.  Here are the measurements for a 20 shot group.

If I were to take out the fastest shot, SD drops down to 8fps.  

In terms of wind performance, it is a 5mph rifle, so slightly better than the 308 ammo I was going to use originally, but not as good as the 6.5CM that was my intended match rifle for this year (we make plans, but then life happens).

I do have to admit that I really enjoyed shooting the match with the MiniFix.  So much so, that I am seriously thinking of building another one for myself, since this rifle is technically my daughter's.

The closest shot we had was a bit over a couple of hundred yards.  The furthest was around 1150.  That was a bit challenging for the 16" barreled 6ARC, especially since the terrain there is tricky and wind is doing strange things.  Morning was relatively quiet wind-wise, but then the wind becamse gusty with changing directions.

It was a one day match with about 30 shooters (six squads) and ten stages.  The 17 year old kid who won the match was in my squad with his dad.  Apparently he is on the US team, so it should not be surrpising that he won.  He was very good.

Overall level of the shooters in the match was quite good.  I really was not sure what to expect.  Somewhat paradoxically, the only matches that I have shot in so far are the much larger two day NRL Hunter matches.  In those, I am just out of the bottom third in terms of skill level.  In this match, it was pretty much in the same spot, I think.  

The terrain was a little bit like Cameo, I think (I have been there, but not shot there), with some angle changes and sufficient vegetation to make getting on target occasionally troublesome. 

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