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First delivered in late 2010, this unit has already drawn praise from the tactical community. JR, posting on SnipersHide.com Forum, declared: “I had the opportunity yesterday while at the Modern Day Marine show in Quantico to take a look at the new 3-20×50 PM II and to say that it impressed would be an understatement. The overall size was right between the 3-12 and the 4-16 and the 50mm objective is perfectly proportioned to this optic. Locking MTC turrets are very user friendly and it’s nice to have the option to leave them in the unlocked position when needed. Having a parallax range of 25 metres to infinity can also be very beneficial in many circumstances. Overall I was very impressed with the newest PM II … this scope will most definitely be sitting on one of my rifles before the year is over.” Another observer, writing in the Optics Talk Forum states: “If money is no object, consider the Hensoldt. But I think the scope that will be hardest to beat in the high-end tactical market will be the Schmidt & Bender 3-20.” That’s probably an intelligent call. However, at $3100.00+ per unit, we wonder how many shooters can actually afford the new 3-20x50mm PMII.

New Illuminated 1-8×24 Hunting and Multi-Gun Scope
At about $1899.00, Schmidt & Bender’s new 1-8x24mm Zenith scope is considerably less expensive. This scope is designed for short to medium-range tactical use, multi-gun competition, and hunting. One nice feature is that the scope has a “pure 1-power” setting that is 100% parallax-free. There will also be an illuminated version offered for $2149.00 US.

These Weavers are attractive new options for tactical shooters. The pricing is very competitive considering these scopes have all the “right stuff” for tactical shooting: FFP, Mildot Reticle, Side Focus, and wide zoom range. We also like the new Weavers’ reset-to-zero turrets.

The new waterproof/shockproof/fogproof Weaver Tactical scopes feature one-piece construction, argon-purged tubes and multi-coated lenses with extra hard exterior coatings. For Tac Comps, the 5 times zoom ratio offers a very wide field of view for close-range or moving targets, yet plenty of magnification is “on tap” for long-range targets. The first focal plane reticle stays constant relative to the target at all magnification levels. This allows targets to be quickly ranged with mildots at any magnification setting.