HR5-IR 5-25x56 FFP MR1-MIL reticle - 8/10

George Cooper reviewed the HR5-IR at Marloo Shooting Range, Gauteng, South Africa during Day 1 of the NRL Warrior Grind - 02 July 2021.

The day started with the temperature in the low teens (3 degree Celsius) and progressed to high 20’s (28 degrees Celsius).

Rifle and modifications used

Tikka CTR 308 Win Standard, Warrior Suppressor; Ammo: 175gr Nosler RDF 42,4gr VV N140, Lapua Cases, Federal Gold Medal Match Primers

Testing criteria

Ten aspects pertaining to the riflescope were highlighted for review to determine overall build, quality and value of the offering (each item was rated out of 5 with an overall score out of 10 which subsequently was 8/10):

1. Eye relief & Diopter Adjustment :

• Eye Relief: Scope was mounted to provide proper eye relief at maximum magnification (25x) in the prone position. Eye box seemed very generous, during the Warrior Grind shoot scope was mainly used between 10-16x magnification. During the shoot various shooting positions were required which made proper alignment behind the rifle difficult, however I never noticed any fisheye effects from improper alignment. Scope used was also clear to the edges.

• Diopter Adjust: Reticle was easily focus with a smooth turn of the diopter adjustment ring. Machined cutouts on adjustment ring secures the scope cap firmly, however this means the aligning the flip-up cap vertical depends on the relation to your focus setting and aligning these slots to scope cap. 4/5

2. Magnification adjustment :

• Magnification rings seems sturdy and well made, a bit stiff to adjust but turns smoothly throughout range without and noticeable tension changes. 4/5

3. Turrets (windage & elevation – click feel, click audibility, turret size) :

• Turrets work flawlessly throughout the shoot, good feedback from clicks I could clearly feel and hear the click engaging. Click also felt clean and precise, no mushy feeling as the Diamondback. Turret size is in line with Long-range target/tactical scopes, although they turn very easy if rubbed against and object (like your arm when carrying the rifle to the next stage).

• Scope zeroed easily with the three grub screws and lining up the hash marks was precise. 10MRAD of elevation adjustment per revolution is enough to get my 308win out to a 1000m in one rotation (Strelok calls for 9.8MRAD at 15C). Another feature I quite liked was how easily your eye gets drawn to each 0.5MRAD mark due to the progressing hashmarks. This really assisted me in finding the odd 2.7MRAD or 5.3MRAD marks easily under competition time stress.

• The zero-stop also spoilt me, the functioned as intended and ensured that I was always able to return to zero without losing count of revolutions. 4/5

4. Tracking (adjustment response upon firing, recoil handling, etc.)

• I would like to have the scope for a longer period to properly test the tracking by putting it through a box test and tall target test.

• During the shoot I dialed for each range, from this field test scope seems to be tracking 100%. All my missed shots I can only attribute to the shooter not on the scope's tracking, I only had one instance where the elevation required did not match my dope. However, this was due to me not adjusting for the temperature gain. 4/5

5. Parallax / Focus adjustment knob :

• Parallax adjustment is smooth and scope focusses easily with just the right amount of tension. 5/5

6. Reticle (focal plane, size, thickness, holdovers, design) :

• I love front focal plane scopes and the HR5-IR does not disappoint in this regard. The reticle is nice an clean with a center dot in the middle providing an fine aiming point for zeroing.

• Further to add to this aiming point the openings around the dot makes it easy to align on grind type target to attain a proper zero.

• During the shoot I heavily relied on windage holds whilst dialing for elevation. The sub-tensions of 0.2MRAD made wind holds easy and precise whilst not overcrowding the reticle. For dialing elevation and holding for wind this MR-1-MIL reticle worked brilliantly. 4/5

7. Glass (ocular lens, objective lens, overall clarity at variable ranges, etc.) :

• The glass quality in the HR5-IR to my eyes seem much better, clearer, and crisper than my Diamondback.

• Reticle provided same image from edge to edge with no noticeable distortion.

• Whilst zeroing the scope the day before the competition, shooting in close to twilight hours face the setting sun I had issues seeing the bullet holes at 100m. However, I feel it would not be fair to list this as a flaw as many more and higher end scope would have fared similarly. 5/5

8. Illuminated reticle adjustment knob :

• Was not able to test the illumination function due to forgetting to install the battery. The adjustment knob turned easily with just the right amount of tension to ensure they will not be accidentally activated. Positive stops in all positions. 4/5

9. Overall scope aesthetics and packaging :

• Decent packing on par with most other scopes in this class.

• Scope was already opened when I received the scope so cannot comment on what is included or can be found in the box.

• This scope is huge and heavy compared to my Diamondback Tactical, however, this is also on par with scopes within this sector of the market. 4/5

10. Price :

• I believe that this is where the scope really shows up to the party.

• For the price of R17900 a lot more shooters will be able to afford quality optics and not break the bank.

• From my field testing this scope really gave me the impression of “damn I won’t be able to afford this”, quality is definitely on par, if not surpassing” its competition in the under R20k market. It's only after the shoot that I went onto the SouthPoint website, and boy was I surprised. 5/5