US Optics SR 8c Rifle Scope with C2 Reticle

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US Optics has built a strong reputation over the years by creating some of the best rifle scopes on the market today. From humble beginnings in 1990 when John Williams began the company in his own garage, US Optics has developed into one of the leading American companies when it comes to constructing scopes for rifles.

One of their more notable achievements is the SR-8c 1-8x 27mm Scope w/C2 Reticle. This particular scope has garnered a lot of praise for its fine construction, excellent features and low, affordable cost.

Physical Description

The SR-8c is a well crafted scope that is heavily packaged by US Optics during shipping to protect it from damage. The scope itself is rather long at about 12”, yet surprisingly thin at only 30mm. Overall, it is a little on the heavy side for scopes at about 34 oz. However, its rather unique appearance does not inhibit its noted performance. It simply has its own unique characteristics when it comes to scopes in general.

Reticle

There are four reticle units that have been created for the SR-8c so far, the most common one is the 8c mil. Although the circle feature that this particular reticle has is not really necessary, the illumination is quite good and aids in proper aiming. The updated 8c however has no circle inside the scope. The JNG Mil is a reticle that is very similar in function to the 8c to the point that differences between them are rather small.

The SR-8c also has a Horus reticle option available as well. This particular one is a part of the MOA and the overall accuracy may be called into question because of the rather odd use of math when it comes to calculating accurate distances. The Horus reticle is an acquired taste, but frankly all of the reticle units for the SR-8c are certainly more than adequate and you can find the right one for your particular needs.

Optics

The SR-8c is certainly a very impressive scope that ranks in the upper half of scopes overall when it comes to its options. Despite a rather unusual platform, the scope does have very good clarity at all magnifications.

There is some distortion in the curvature of the field when used at high power. This does show up when the 6x setting is used, however it is not too bad as you can focus on a particular area within the field of the scope. Still, this is not a noteworthy part of the overall design.

At the low 1x setting, the curvature of the field is far less apparent and the while the overall image may be a little distorted, it is certainly not any worse than many other, more expensive scopes of this particular quality.

Illumination

Using what is known as beam splitter technology, the SR-8c does offer a unique set of optics for its cost. The illumination itself is quite good especially during the daylight hours when this form of technology is at its best. Although it does not have dual mode technology, the scope itself is easy to maintain, service and the battery shuts off after an hour which is great feature as it does extend its life.

In fact, in terms of overall illumination the SR-8c is one of the most impressive scopes on the market today. However, for those who want to shoot long range targets in low light conditions, this scope does suffer from the same issues as many others.

Speed

For many, speed is of the essence when moving and finding new targets. There are four major areas when it comes to this aspect of optics, the design, reticle, illumination and eyebox

Design: At the 1x mark, you do not get a flat, distortion free field which is somewhat troubling and may throw off the accuracy just a little.

Reticle: In this aspect, the SR-8c is more noted for what it doesn’t do which is put a lot of unnecessary information in the way such as crosshairs under illumination which is actually a good thing with speed.

Illumination: The daytime bright dot with beam splitter technology simply cannot be beat. This is arguably the best aspect of the SR-8c design.

Eyebox: Although the eyebox is rather tight, it is not too detrimental in terms of speed. Although for some this aspect can be quite annoying.

In overall terms, the speed of the particular scope was good, but nothing really outstanding. This is because the SR-8c is really a hybrid scope and not one fully dedicated to speed in general.

Testing & Turret

Capped zero turrets are the only ones currently offered for the SR-8c and they are only intended to zero in the optics themselves. The overall performance is what was expected of these rather straightforward turrets, but they do their job no matter the original setting.

When it comes to the overall effectiveness of the scope at ranges of 100 yards or more, it is quite accurate and the beam splitter technology does work quite well. When performing a series of tests with the scope at different ranges, groupings and speed, the SR-8c did work quite well. The overall usefulness of the scope combined with the versatility that was demonstrated at different ranges, groupings and shot speed really worked quite well.

Conclusion

Overall, while the SR-8c was arguably not the best scope in terms of performance in a single manner, it arguably was the best when it came to all around performance. This was especially true is bright, daytime conditions when the beam splitter technology really came into its own. The overall simplicity of design and directness of the illumination process resulted in achieving pretty much all the goals that a typical shooter will require with a scope. If there is a noticeable weakness, it is with the optical platform itself with some of the features with the scope not combining as well as could be expected.

Advantages

  • Great Illumination
  • Good Clarity
  • Easy to Adjust
  • High Mils per Turn and Good Zero Stop

Disadvantages

  • High Magnifications delivered Significant Curve
  • Limited Adjustment to Standard Reticle
  • Heavier than Normal Scopes
  • Small Field of View

Backed by US Optics warranty and excellent customer support system, the SR-8c is certainly a very good scope that tries to bridge the gulf between speed and accuracy. For the most part, it does succeed thanks to its unique design.