Further Information

To commemorate the launch of the new Leatherwood M1000-PRO rifle scope, we decided to test the Practical Accuracy of the M1000-PRO out to my rifle and ammo's maximum effective range. 

The Leatherwood/Hi-Lux HPML scope is a high quality 3-9x40mm scope that incorporates the company's All Terrain Riflescope construction, and this scope is built to take anything that Mother Nature can dish out. This is one tough recoil proof muzzleloader hunting scope. Features include bright fully multi-coated lenses of photographic quality, Tri-Center spring tension on windage and elevation adjustments (1/4" click), fast focus eyepiece, one-piece aluminum scope tube, and wear resistant finish - all backed by a limited lifetime warranty.

Last November, I put in a lot of time looking for a decent buck. Most of it, I didn't spot any horns at all. An end of the season muzzleloader hunt for either mule deer or whitetails, took me into the Missouri Breaks country of central Montana. The first three days, I concentrated on mule deer, and spotted several true "Monster Bucks", but could not manage to get within range.

What he sent me was a .50 caliber Traditions VORTEK model, topped with one of the 3-9x40mm Nikon BDC (Bullet Drop Compensating) multi-reticle Omega muzzleloader scopes. The rifle was identical (an almost exact duplicate) to a VORTEK rifle I often use as a test rifle. The only real difference in these two rigs was that mine is topped with one of the Hi-Lux Optics 3-9x40mm TB-ML multi-reticle muzzleloader scopes - which I developed for that company

A couple of months back, I received my Malcolm 8x USMC Sniper model scope before I had a rifle to put it on. Fortunately, I have a father-in-law with close to 500 guns...many of them with the blocks for this style scope already mounted on them. Among that wealth of firearms are seven Winchester Model 52 .22 caliber target rifles.

What really sets the newer versions of the ART system apart from the military ART models of the 1960's is the cam system which automatically allows for the trajectory of the round being shot.  Let's face it, the original ART scopes were set up to allow tactical shooters to keep hits on a man-sized target out to around 600 yards ... shooting rifles chambered for the U.S. military rifle cartridges of the time - the 5.56x45mm NATO (.223 Remington) and the 7.62x51mm NATO (.308 Winchester).

The 1-4X optic power range has become a very hot area as 3 Gun shooters start to move around while shooting or shoot standing unsupported. Big magnification will just lead to frustration and slow shots. This low power optic concept is based on the military Designated Marksman optic requirements were moving and shooting is the norm at distances from 0-600 yards...

What made the Whitworth rifle so different is that the bore had no rifling grooves at all.  Instead, the bore was hexagonal in shape...and the bore itself spiralled with a one turn in 21 inches rate of twist.  The original bullet was a long 580 grain hexagonal bullet. 

This past week, this particular Hi-Lux Optics TB-ML scope, with a bullet drop compensating BDC reticle, surpassed having 12,000 rounds fired under it.  These weren't low recoiling target loads either, but rather stiff hunting loads.  Easily 75-percent of the shots fired under this scope were with my favorite hunting load - 110-grains of Blackhorn 209 and the Harvester Muzzleloading saboted 300-grain Scorpion PT Gold.  

Where most optics are designed around a single duplex reticle with a “best ballistic compromise” zeroing point (usually 300 yards for AR15s), a BDC reticle like the one on the Hi-Lux CMR4 greatly increases precision at all ranges.

One of the reasons 1-4X scope have been taking the AR industry by storm is that at 1X magnification, the scope can take the place of a both eyes open red-dot sight and with higher magnification setting it provides the power for reliable hits at longer distances.