Ok, so it's been a couple of weeks since I promised I'd post a review. I forgot to be honest
Well, the initial trip I was able to zero the scope pretty easy. The adjustments were tactile and it was understood that you had made the adjustment. The scope dialed in easy, considering the conditions I was shooting in. The ammunition I used was the 80grn Remington, and it shot well enough. I test fired a few rounds of the Barnes Vor-Tex 80grn with tipped TSX bullets. It grouped the same as the Remington and the poi was the same.
I had intended to do some tracking tests on the scope just because, and to shoot out to 300yds prior to actual hunting. However, with how things work in life that didn't happen. Here is what did happen. My sons hunting trip was cancelled at the last minute, so I went to stay with family in West Texas to hunt. They have a Feeder that's approximately 100yds from their back door
and a shooting bench about 75yds from the feeder. My son is 7, so this was really ideal to get him started. We woke up early, bundled up for the balmy 26* morning with lots of frost on the ground and got to the bench about 10mins before first light.
2 things that I found notable about the Diamondback scope. 1st was how well it did NOT fog up. It went from very warm indoor temps to a VERY cold outdoor temp and did not fog. When the rifle was sat on the bench, it melted the frost away, and the scope stayed clear as possible. This I found impressive, and handy in this situation. Second, I have hunted with 50mm objectives for far too long as I found the scope dimmer than I had hoped. Granted, where we were, we were looking at a dark wooded area that is darker than the surrounding fields even after first light. Using the Leupold 10x50 binoculars, I was able to see a lot more than I was with the Diamondback. The scope had a difficult in the first light hour at bringing in light especially at maximum magnification. If backed off to about 8x, it was better. There was a lot of cloud cover, and we were looking at dark objects just at daybreak. I could pickup targets, but prefer a little more light transmission. With that said, I really think the 1" tube, combined with the 40mm objective was to blame, not the scope. I think with a larger objective or 30mm tube that it would have been a nonissue.
Once light came in, we had about 8 deer at the feeder, one was a buck in full rut chasing all the smaller bucks away and acting like a big boy. Before light, using the scope I was under the impression that he was pretty large, but this deer left chasing a doe never to return. A second buck quickly came in after light, and presented my son a shot at around 85yds. My 7yo son took aim, fired one shot and the deer bucked both front legs off the ground before running due West. I found no blood, but walked due West and found him piled up 75yds from where he was shot with a clean shoulder shot placed by my son. (pretty good for 7
) His Christmas gift was a hit, and he is officially hooked and is BEGGING me to find pigs for him to shoot at.
I found that the scope works very well during average hunting conditions, no matter the temp. I also found that during good lighting, or even cloud cover, that the scope was very bright to the eye and a pleasure to use. I found the glass to be exceptionally clear, with little distortion. In low light, I found some minor distortion at max magnification, and lower than expected light transmission. (granted, I use all Leupold VX 50mm scopes on all my other rigs but one). Comparing this scope to my Leupold Vari-x II 3-9x40 I found that during daylight it was as good or better than the Leupold in clarity. I think the Leupold does better at maximum magnification and low light transmission. The price on the Diamondback is great for the value and a much better scope than what I'm probably giving it credit here. I'm very happy with the scope, and find that it's built like a tank and should last very well.